REMARKABLE images of newly discovered marine creatures have been released by scientists who found a unique ecosystem after the collapse of ice shelves, which had covered the Antarctic ocean bed for thousands of years.
Secrets unlocked by the disintegration of the two shelves on the edge of the polar ice cap include a giant prawn and a 12-legged starfish. They were among 1,000 species collected by the international team of researchers from the US-based Census of Marine Life (CoML).
CoML scientist Dr Ron O'Dor said the team on the polar research ship Polarstern had discovered a previously unimagined ecosystem living under the ice and had also been able to observe the colonisation of the opened up area by creatures moving in from deeper water beyond what had been the edge of the ice shelf.
Dr O'Dor added: "It's big news that there was anything at all under the ice.
"There was lots of stuff living down there, species which people had never seen before.
"What we are seeing is a unique ecosystem under there, which has been living on food brought in under the ice by ocean currents.
"Nature has done a giant-scale experiment for us and we were able to take advantage of it using a very sophisticated research vessel."
He added: "It's every scientist's dream to see something like this. It's a wonderful opportunity to look at what was there before and what has happened since."
Two massive sheets of ice - the Larssen A and B ice shelves - fell into the sea 12 and five years ago respectively.
The disintegration of the shelves were two of the biggest collapses of ice ever recorded.
Now scientists have discovered colonies of deep sea lilies, sea cucumbers and sea urchins, normally found in much deeper water.
It's believed that, because the creatures normally live at depths where food was scarce, they were able to adapt to life under the ice shelf. The researchers also found that giant prawns, measuring 100mm long, unique ice fish and the bizarre 12-legged starfish had started moving in from deeper waters.
Other finds include 15 shrimp-like creatures and four organisms closely related to coral, jellyfish and sea anemones.
One of the anemones lives on the back of sea snails, offering the anemone transport and the sea snail protection from predators.
A remote submarine also captured video of clamshells on the ocean floor, thought to have been colonies living in warmer micro-systems created by the seepage of methane and sulphide from the ocean floor, known as deep sea seep.
Dr O'Dor said that the process of collapse may have caused the release of gases and when the ice went, the habitat died as well.
And he warned that evidence of meltwater working its way under the remaining ice may contribute to further collapses in the future.
He added: "This expedition is a very powerful tool for understanding how future changes as a result of global warming will impact on the eco-system."
He added that the effects of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide was also affecting the seas because, as well as going into the atmosphere, it dissolved in water.
Dr O'Dor said: "That is making the ocean more acidic, which will have major implications for coral reefs in tropical waters and for other marine life.
"The general public is undoubtedly going to benefit from this new level of understanding."
He added that some climate models predicted the shutting down of the Gulf Stream, which warms northern Europe, including Britain.
Dr O'Dor said: "If dramatic changes are going to happen, people need to be warned."
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