Because of global warming Antarctica has warmed by more than 2 degrees snce the 1940's even though the rest of the world has only warmed by about half a degree. As a consequence of global warming, large areas of the Antarctic ice-shelf as well as large glaciers are melting along the coastline.

Image from World Resources Institute

The surface water in the Southern Ocean has warmed and the ice shelves, like the Larsen B, have broken apart. Future warming in Antarctica will continue to break up the ice shelves, eventually exposing land and creating new ecosystems. Because of all the melting ice, the ocean has become less saline and many animal groups have been forced to move to new locations.