A huge section of water near Antarctica has not seen sunshine for 120,000 years. Scientists allege that climate change caused a trillion-ton iceberg that is as big as the state of Delaware to break off from Antarctica’s Larsen C Ice Shelf.

Now, a huge piece of broken ice is moving away from the continent, revealing a huge underwater area that has not seen the light of day for 120,000 years.

The iceberg first detached in July 2017, and in the wake of this event, a team of researchers have come together to launch an expedition to explore this hidden gem. That team is currently rushing down to Antarctica to finally start their exploration efforts. This is a unique opportunity to explore an ecosystem that has been under an ice shelf for so long.

Scientists have labeled this expedition as “urgent” because sunlight may soon destroy what is already there, so they want to get there before the sun’s rays can destroy things.

“The calving of (iceberg) A-68 (from the Larsen C Ice Shelf) provides us with a unique opportunity to study marine life as it responds to a dramatic environmental change. It’s important we get there quickly before the undersea environment changes as sunlight enters the water and new species begin to colonize,” said Katrin Linse from the British Antarctic Survey, which is leading the expedition.

Scientists are confident that whatever they find under the ice shelf will be groundbreaking. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to see what they find!

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