Ice Scour Disturbance in Antarctic Waters
Dan A. Smale,
Kirsty M. Brown,
David K. A. Barnes,*
Keiron P. P. Fraser,
Andrew Clarke
The West Antarctic Peninsula is one of the fastest warming regions
on Earth, and, as a consequence, most maritime glaciers and
ice shelves in the region have significantly retreated over
the past few decades. We collected a multiyear data set on ice
scouring frequency from Antarctica by using unique experimental
markers and scuba diving surveys. We show that the annual intensity
of ice scouring is negatively correlated with the duration of
the winter fast ice season. Because fast ice extent and duration
is currently in decline in the region after recent rapid warming,
it is likely that marine benthic communities are set for even
more scouring in the near future.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dkab{at}bas.ac.uk
