When I am diving sometimes I am supporting the scientists on the Iceburg Impact Study (IBIS). This is set up in South Cove…

Little is understood about the effect of iceberg imact on benthic communities. This study attempts to quantitively assess several aspects of this unique polar ecological phenomenon. The study hopes to address the following questions
Do icebergs have as great an affect on the range of flora and fauna as currently believed and how does this vary with marine depth.

Do iceberg impacts actually improve biological diversity and in some cases actually save certain scavenging groups from what would be starvation.

What affect has the presence of icebergs had on the evolution of Antarctic fauna and flora assemblages?

What will happen if the numbers of iceburgs increase due to predicted global warming?

Two sites have been set up one of east beach and the other in south cove. Each site has three transects with grids of impact blocks at varying depths. The impact blocks are amade of concrete and plastercine. The top layer of plasticine is than colored and gridded. Thsi design provides three levels of impact, from the slightest scratch to the plasticine being squashed to the concrete being broken into peices or even completely obliterated.

Monitoring the biodiversity is achieved by photographing the sites and calculating the percentage colonization of different species.

Other projects within the grid are surveying icebergs from teh same vantage points as regular intervals and integrate the images within a Geographical Information System. Also deploying settlement plates and cleaned rocks within recent iceburg scours.