life in the iceberg

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Have you found any samples of life in an iceberg?

from,
Connor Collins

Port Aransas,TX.

What special adaptations might this life have?

Joined: 20 Apr 2004 Posts: 7

Hi Connor!
Thanks for writing!
There are many different types of icebergs and some are loaded with life
and others are not. When we first started hitting ice on our way north
we were going through first year ice. The whole underside of first year
icebergs were a khaki color because they are loaded with ice algae.
Several species of amphipods move in and feed on this algae. Sometimes
we could also see grey layers in the ice. The grey was from sediments
getting trapped in the ice as it froze. We are way up north now and the
ice is a gorgeous turquoise blue and very clear looking. This is called
multi year ice and is 6-12 feet thick. Not much light can penetrate
through that thick of an ice layer so not much ice algae can grow here.

Many animals up north, including the amphipods that live on the bottom
of ice floes, have lots of food (ice algae) in the spring and summer
when there is lots of light and nutrients. In the winter it is very
dark in the arctic and the ice algae disappear leaving the amphipods
without a food source. To survive, the amphipods graze like crazy in
the spring and summer and store lots of energy in their bodies as oil
drops. This oil is what will sustain them through the winter.