Antarctic OceanThe brutal conditions of war ultimately doomed Ernest Shackleton's famous 1915 expedition aboard the ship. Endurance. Although the icy environment quickly became fatal for many unlucky explorers, it is not completely inhospitable place. While trying to find Shackleton's shipwreck in 2019, researchers unexpectedly recorded a strange sight – a vast geometric complex consisting of more than 1,000 ice fish nests. The fish nests are described in a study published Oct. 29 in the journal. Borders.
The initial discovery occurred six years ago on board the polar research vessel SA. Needles II during his visit to the western Weddell Sea. Although one of the main goals of the expedition was to discover Endurancethe researchers also intended to study the region thinning ice shelves. These floating barriers hold back the vast ice flows of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, and their disappearance is directly linked to rising sea levels.
In 2019, the expedition passed through a 656-foot-thick ice shelf that had opened just two years earlier. The 2,240-square-mile iceberg A68 broke off from the Larsen C Ice Shelf in a process known as calving, creating an entrance for Lassieremotely operated vehicle (ROV) of a research vessel.
The pilots were in charge Lassie and additional autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) through the dark, cold depths in hopes of spotting signs of a shipwreck. However, it did not take nature long to put pressure on the vessels. To avoid a similar fate as Endurancethe crew eventually retreated from the multi-year ice packs surrounding them.
The team did not return and report the ship's suspected location, but they were able to collect extensive video from the bottom of the Weddell Sea. Reviewing the footage, they counted more than 1,000 nests belonging to yellowfin note (Lindbergichthys nude), or ice fish. Noti, a member of the rock cod family, lives in the cold waters of Antarctica. What makes them especially strange is the way they hatch and raise their young. Each parent fish builds a round nest after clearing the area of ​​planktonic detritus. The Noti then lay their eggs in these dwellings and guard them until they hatch.
Instead of being scattered randomly across the seafloor, their nests are deliberately arranged in geometric groups. The study authors believe this is an example of the “selfish herd” theory, in which weaker icefish at the center of these communities are protected by their neighbors. Meanwhile, the nests on the outskirts of each noti quarter are usually occupied by the largest and strongest fish.
The team's discovery builds on the work of a previous expedition to the Weddell Sea in 2022. documented icefish lives in one of the largest fish breeding colonies on the planet. Taken together, these two studies provide clear evidence that the region meets the definition Vulnerable marine ecosystemand further supports the need to define the Weddell Sea as Marine protected area.
Regarding EnduranceThe participants of the 2019 excursion received their final refuge. another chance to search for the ship in 2022. This time they succeeded.
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