An expedition has revealed the first evidence of biological changes under the sea caused by the collapse of ice shelves in Antarctic.
Scientists searched 10,000 square km of sea bed that were covered for millennia by two massive roofs of ice, Larsen A and B.
The ice shelves disintegrated 12 and five years ago respectively, due to higher temperatures that have been linked to man-made global warming.
As the ice broke up, it made the region accessible for the first time, lifting the lid on the unique plants and creatures inhabiting this part of the ocean floor.
A team of 52 international marine scientists aboard the German ice breaker Polarstern have now completed the first comprehensive 10-week survey of the ice shelf ecosystem.
Hundreds of new species of sea life have been found.
Dr Gauthier Chapelle, from the Brussels-based International Polar Foundation said, "This is virgin geography. If we don't find out what this area is like now following the collapse of the ice shelf, and what species are there, we won't have any basis to know in 20 years time what has changed, and how global warming has altered the marine ecosystem."
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