Scientists concerned about dwindling Antarctic sea ice
Disappearing sea ice has scientists concerned about Antarctica's ecosystem.
Glaciologists say the amount of sea ice floating around the continent has decreased by about 20 per cent in the past 50 years.
The total amount of sea ice around Antarctica has dropped by about 500,000 square kilometres.
Glaciologist Tas Van Ommen says the sea ice zone produces a lot of algae.
"That algae is not just useful for us, it turns out to be an important species at the bottom of the ecosystem, of the food chain in Antarctica, so this is very significant in terms of ecosystems as well as in terms of understanding climate change," he said.