Thanks to rising ocean temperatures, more and more icebergs are calving from Antarctic glaciers and drifting around the Southern Ocean. In order to learn how various drifting iceberg-lets affect cold-water marine animals and algae, a team of scientists from MBARI's Midwater Ecology group spent December chilling out – literally! – in the Weddell Sea. Studying marine life in and underneath Antarctic icebergs, the team used nets, sampling bottles, and a small ROV to compare the animal communities normally associated with icebergs to communities in the open ocean.

Although they concluded that iceberg-bound animals prefer their drinks on the rocks, the remainder of their research is incomplete. Interestingly, though, because the researchers spent several weeks flying the ROV beneath the massive blocks of ice, they all became qualified ROV "ice pilots," an honor that I would be very proud of and brag about at each and every opportunity. (“Hi. My name is Willy. And I’m an ice pilot…”)

[Via Leptonyx]