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Science 8 March 2002:
Vol. 295. no. 5561, pp. 1890 - 1892
DOI: 10.1126/science.1068574
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Reports

Antarctic Krill Under Sea Ice: Elevated Abundance in a Narrow Band Just South of Ice Edge

Andrew S. Brierley,1*dagger Paul G. Fernandes,2 Mark A. Brandon,3 Frederick Armstrong,2 Nicholas W. Millard,4 Steven D. McPhail,4 Peter Stevenson,4 Miles Pebody,4 James Perrett,4 Mark Squires,4 Douglas G. Bone,1 Gwyn Griffiths4

We surveyed Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) under sea ice using the autonomous underwater vehicle Autosub-2. Krill were concentrated within a band under ice between 1 and 13 kilometers south of the ice edge. Within this band, krill densities were fivefold greater than that of open water. The under-ice environment has long been considered an important habitat for krill, but sampling difficulties have previously prevented direct observations under ice over the scale necessary for robust krill density estimation. Autosub-2 enabled us to make continuous high-resolution measurements of krill density under ice reaching 27 kilometers beyond the ice edge.

1 British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.
2 Fisheries Research Services (FRS) Marine Laboratory Aberdeen, Post Office Box 101, Victoria Road, Aberdeen, AB11 9DB, UK.
3 The Open University, Department of Earth Sciences, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK.
4 Southampton Oceanography Centre, Empress Dock, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: andrew.brierley{at}st-andrews.ac.uk

dagger    Present address: Gatty Marine Laboratory, University of St. Andrews, Fife, KY16 8LB, UK.

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