An iceberg the size of Chicago broke off am Antarctic ice shelf to reveal a thriving ecosystem underneath, according to researchers.

In January 2025, researchers on the Schmidt Ocean Institute's R/V Falkor (too) had to divert their plans after an iceberg roughly the size of Chicago broke away from the George VI Ice Shelf, a floating glacier that had been attached to the Antarctic Peninsula ice sheet.

An international team on board Schmidt Ocean Institute's R/V Falkor (too) working in the Bellingshausen Sea rapidly pivoted their research plans to study an area that was, until last month, covered by ice.