Antarctic glaciers and the Southern Ocean food chain

Antarctica is home to krill, the small, shrimp-like crustaceans that in turn are food for whales, penguins, seals and fish. All are dependent on phytoplankton, the microscopic organisms that underpin the Southern Ocean’s food chain and carbon storage. Changes in the extent of sea ice affect environmental conditions, such as greater light availability and altered nutrient dynamics – and this in turn affects levels of phytoplankton in the water.

Read full story: Tracking the climate-driven shift in Antarctic plankton from space