Science Summaries 2017-18
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'Landscapes of Exploration' Education Pack
Landscapes of Exploration February 11 – 31 March 2012 Peninsula Arts Gallery Education Pack Cover image courtesy of British Antarctic Survey Cover image: Launch of a radiosonde meteorological balloon by a scientist/meteorologist at Halley Research Station. Atmospheric scientists at Rothera and Halley Research Stations collect data about the atmosphere above Antarctica this is done by launching radiosonde meteorological balloons which have small sensors and a transmitter attached to them. The balloons are filled with helium and so rise high into the Antarctic atmosphere sampling the air and transmitting the data back to the station far below. A radiosonde meteorological balloon holds an impressive 2,000 litres of helium, giving it enough lift to climb for up to two hours. Helium is lighter than air and so causes the balloon to rise rapidly through the atmosphere, while the instruments beneath it sample all the required data and transmit the information back to the surface. - Permissions for information on radiosonde meteorological balloons kindly provided by British Antarctic Survey. For a full activity sheet on how scientists collect data from the air in Antarctica please visit the Discovering Antarctica website www.discoveringantarctica.org.uk and select resources www.discoveringantarctica.org.uk has been developed jointly by the Royal Geographical Society, with IBG0 and the British Antarctic Survey, with funding from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) supports geography in universities and schools, through expeditions and fieldwork and with the public and policy makers. Full details about the Society’s work, and how you can become a member, is available on www.rgs.org All activities in this handbook that are from www.discoveringantarctica.org.uk will be clearly identified. -
Office of Polar Programs
DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SURFACE TRAVERSE CAPABILITIES IN ANTARCTICA COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION DRAFT (15 January 2004) FINAL (30 August 2004) National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Boulevard Arlington, Virginia 22230 DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SURFACE TRAVERSE CAPABILITIES IN ANTARCTICA FINAL COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................1-1 1.1 Purpose.......................................................................................................................................1-1 1.2 Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation (CEE) Process .......................................................1-1 1.3 Document Organization .............................................................................................................1-2 2.0 BACKGROUND OF SURFACE TRAVERSES IN ANTARCTICA..................................2-1 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................2-1 2.2 Re-supply Traverses...................................................................................................................2-1 2.3 Scientific Traverses and Surface-Based Surveys .......................................................................2-5 3.0 ALTERNATIVES ....................................................................................................................3-1 -
2. Disc Resources
An early map of the world Resource D1 A map of the world drawn in 1570 shows ‘Terra Australis Nondum Cognita’ (the unknown south land). National Library of Australia Expeditions to Antarctica 1770 –1830 and 1910 –1913 Resource D2 Voyages to Antarctica 1770–1830 1772–75 1819–20 1820–21 Cook (Britain) Bransfield (Britain) Palmer (United States) ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ Resolution and Adventure Williams Hero 1819 1819–21 1820–21 Smith (Britain) ▼ Bellingshausen (Russia) Davis (United States) ▼ ▼ ▼ Williams Vostok and Mirnyi Cecilia 1822–24 Weddell (Britain) ▼ Jane and Beaufoy 1830–32 Biscoe (Britain) ★ ▼ Tula and Lively South Pole expeditions 1910–13 1910–12 1910–13 Amundsen (Norway) Scott (Britain) sledge ▼ ▼ ship ▼ Source: Both maps American Geographical Society Source: Major voyages to Antarctica during the 19th century Resource D3 Voyage leader Date Nationality Ships Most southerly Achievements latitude reached Bellingshausen 1819–21 Russian Vostok and Mirnyi 69˚53’S Circumnavigated Antarctica. Discovered Peter Iøy and Alexander Island. Charted the coast round South Georgia, the South Shetland Islands and the South Sandwich Islands. Made the earliest sighting of the Antarctic continent. Dumont d’Urville 1837–40 French Astrolabe and Zeelée 66°S Discovered Terre Adélie in 1840. The expedition made extensive natural history collections. Wilkes 1838–42 United States Vincennes and Followed the edge of the East Antarctic pack ice for 2400 km, 6 other vessels confirming the existence of the Antarctic continent. Ross 1839–43 British Erebus and Terror 78°17’S Discovered the Transantarctic Mountains, Ross Ice Shelf, Ross Island and the volcanoes Erebus and Terror. The expedition made comprehensive magnetic measurements and natural history collections. -
UK Funding and National Facilities (Research Vessel Facilities and Equipment)
UK Funding and National Facilities (Research Vessel Facilities and Equipment) Lisa McNeill and the UK community National Oceanography Centre Southampton University of Southampton Research Council Funding • Natural Environment Research Council primary funding source – Part of Research Councils UK (RCUK) – Potential to apply to other RC programmes e.g., EPSRC (e.g. for engineering related technology development) • A: Responsive mode (blue skies). Includes Urgency Funds • B: Research Themes (part of current focus – increasingly strategic, applied and impact focused). Relevant themes: – Forecasting and mitigation of natural hazards (includes “Building resilience in earthquake-prone and volcanic regions”) – Earth System Science – Sustainable Use of Natural Resources • Increasing cross Research Council themes and programmes, e.g.: – Living With Environmental Change • Impact of current economy: – Reduction of overall NERC budget in real terms – Focused on significant capital budget reduction – “Protecting front line science” through various measures including efficiency savings – External funds to support major capital investments, e.g., RRS Discovery replacement – Maintaining share of the budget for responsive mode research funding, although implementing “demand management” IODP-UKIODP • UKIODP also funded through NERC, with associated research funding • This includes funds for site survey, post-cruise and other related research International Collaboration • Many examples of co-funded research • Usage of barter/joint agreements for research -
A NEWS BULLETIN Published Quarterly by the NEW ZEALAND ANTARCTIC SOCIETY (INC)
A NEWS BULLETIN published quarterly by the NEW ZEALAND ANTARCTIC SOCIETY (INC) An English-born Post Office technician, Robin Hodgson, wearing a borrowed kilt, plays his pipes to huskies on the sea ice below Scott Base. So far he has had a cool response to his music from his New Zealand colleagues, and a noisy reception f r o m a l l 2 0 h u s k i e s . , „ _ . Antarctic Division photo Registered at Post Ollice Headquarters. Wellington. New Zealand, as a magazine. II '1.7 ^ I -!^I*"JTr -.*><\\>! »7^7 mm SOUTH GEORGIA, SOUTH SANDWICH Is- . C I R C L E / SOUTH ORKNEY Is x \ /o Orcadas arg Sanae s a Noydiazarevskaya ussr FALKLAND Is /6Signyl.uK , .60"W / SOUTH AMERICA tf Borga / S A A - S O U T H « A WEDDELL SHETLAND^fU / I s / Halley Bav3 MINING MAU0 LAN0 ENOERBY J /SEA uk'/COATS Ld / LAND T> ANTARCTIC ••?l\W Dr^hnaya^^General Belgrano arg / V ^ M a w s o n \ MAC ROBERTSON LAND\ '■ aust \ /PENINSULA' *\4- (see map betowi jrV^ Sobldl ARG 90-w {■ — Siple USA j. Amundsen-Scott / queen MARY LAND {Mirny ELLSWORTH" LAND 1, 1 1 °Vostok ussr MARIE BYRD L LAND WILKES LAND ouiiiv_. , ROSS|NZJ Y/lnda^Z / SEA I#V/VICTORIA .TERRE , **•»./ LAND \ /"AOELIE-V Leningradskaya .V USSR,-'' \ --- — -"'BALLENYIj ANTARCTIC PENINSULA 1 Tenitnte Matianzo arg 2 Esptrarua arg 3 Almirarrta Brown arc 4PttrtlAHG 5 Otcipcion arg 6 Vtcecomodoro Marambio arg * ANTARCTICA 7 Arturo Prat chile 8 Bernardo O'Higgins chile 1000 Miles 9 Prasid«fTtB Frei chile s 1000 Kilometres 10 Stonington I. -
Surface Characterisation of the Dome Concordia Area (Antarctica) As a Potential Satellite Calibration Site, Using Spot 4/Vegetation Instrument
Remote Sensing of Environment 89 (2004) 83–94 www.elsevier.com/locate/rse Surface characterisation of the Dome Concordia area (Antarctica) as a potential satellite calibration site, using Spot 4/Vegetation instrument Delphine Sixa, Michel Filya,*,Se´verine Alvainb, Patrice Henryc, Jean-Pierre Benoista a Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Ge´ophysique de l’Environnemlent, CNRS/UJF, 54 rue Molie`re, BP 96, 38 402 Saint Martin d’He`res Cedex, France b Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, CEA/CNRS, L’Orme des Merisiers, CE Saclay, Bat. 709, 91 191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France c Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, Division Qualite´ et Traitement de l’Imagerie Spatiale, Capteurs Grands Champs, 18 Avenue Edouard Belin, 33 401 Toulouse Cedex 4, France Received 7 July 2003; received in revised form 10 October 2003; accepted 14 October 2003 Abstract A good calibration of satellite sensors is necessary to derive reliable quantitative measurements of the surface parameters or to compare data obtained from different sensors. In this study, the snow surface of the high plateau of the East Antarctic ice sheet, particularly the Dome C area (75jS, 123jE), is used first to test the quality of this site as a ground calibration target and then to determine the inter-annual drift in the sensitivity of the VEGETATION sensor, onboard the SPOT4 satellite. Dome C area has many good calibration site characteristics: The site is very flat and extremely homogeneous (only snow), there is little wind and a very small snow accumulation rate and therefore a small temporal variability, the elevation is 3200 m and the atmosphere is very clear most of the time. -
Biodiversity: the UK Overseas Territories. Peterborough, Joint Nature Conservation Committee
Biodiversity: the UK Overseas Territories Compiled by S. Oldfield Edited by D. Procter and L.V. Fleming ISBN: 1 86107 502 2 © Copyright Joint Nature Conservation Committee 1999 Illustrations and layout by Barry Larking Cover design Tracey Weeks Printed by CLE Citation. Procter, D., & Fleming, L.V., eds. 1999. Biodiversity: the UK Overseas Territories. Peterborough, Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Disclaimer: reference to legislation and convention texts in this document are correct to the best of our knowledge but must not be taken to infer definitive legal obligation. Cover photographs Front cover: Top right: Southern rockhopper penguin Eudyptes chrysocome chrysocome (Richard White/JNCC). The world’s largest concentrations of southern rockhopper penguin are found on the Falkland Islands. Centre left: Down Rope, Pitcairn Island, South Pacific (Deborah Procter/JNCC). The introduced rat population of Pitcairn Island has successfully been eradicated in a programme funded by the UK Government. Centre right: Male Anegada rock iguana Cyclura pinguis (Glen Gerber/FFI). The Anegada rock iguana has been the subject of a successful breeding and re-introduction programme funded by FCO and FFI in collaboration with the National Parks Trust of the British Virgin Islands. Back cover: Black-browed albatross Diomedea melanophris (Richard White/JNCC). Of the global breeding population of black-browed albatross, 80 % is found on the Falkland Islands and 10% on South Georgia. Background image on front and back cover: Shoal of fish (Charles Sheppard/Warwick -
Halley Research Station
British Antarctic Survey Halley Research Station Halley V The Station alley V took six years from being conceived at the The Laws Building comprises three sections, a Hdrawing board to its commissioning in February services/technical support area, living area and sleeping 1992. It is novel in that the three main buildings sit 4 m quarters. Diesel engines provide electrical power and above the snow on independent jackable steel platforms. their waste heat warms the buildings and melts snow to The largest is the Laws Building (accommodation) which provide water.The living area includes a darkroom, is 59 m long, 14.6 m wide and 3 m high.The smaller lounge, library, dining room, kitchen, computer room, base Simpson Building (meteorology and ozone studies) and commander’s office, communications room, recreation Piggott Building (upper atmospheric sciences) house room, storage areas, washrooms, a hospital and a surgery. specialist laboratories.The height of the platforms above There are 20 two-person bedrooms.The winter station the ice shelf affects the local wind turbulence and the complement ranges from 14 to 18 and includes scientists, build-up of drifting snow. Each summer the platforms are support staff and a doctor. Summer visitors are raised an average of 1m to compensate for the accommodated in the Drewry Building,a self-contained accumulated snowfall. In addition, the supporting legs can building on skis that is towed to a fresh site each year to be realigned to correct for distortion caused by avoid burial, and also serves as an emergency refuge.The differential movement in the flow of the ice shelf beneath. -
Antarctic Primer
Antarctic Primer By Nigel Sitwell, Tom Ritchie & Gary Miller By Nigel Sitwell, Tom Ritchie & Gary Miller Designed by: Olivia Young, Aurora Expeditions October 2018 Cover image © I.Tortosa Morgan Suite 12, Level 2 35 Buckingham Street Surry Hills, Sydney NSW 2010, Australia To anyone who goes to the Antarctic, there is a tremendous appeal, an unparalleled combination of grandeur, beauty, vastness, loneliness, and malevolence —all of which sound terribly melodramatic — but which truly convey the actual feeling of Antarctica. Where else in the world are all of these descriptions really true? —Captain T.L.M. Sunter, ‘The Antarctic Century Newsletter ANTARCTIC PRIMER 2018 | 3 CONTENTS I. CONSERVING ANTARCTICA Guidance for Visitors to the Antarctic Antarctica’s Historic Heritage South Georgia Biosecurity II. THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT Antarctica The Southern Ocean The Continent Climate Atmospheric Phenomena The Ozone Hole Climate Change Sea Ice The Antarctic Ice Cap Icebergs A Short Glossary of Ice Terms III. THE BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT Life in Antarctica Adapting to the Cold The Kingdom of Krill IV. THE WILDLIFE Antarctic Squids Antarctic Fishes Antarctic Birds Antarctic Seals Antarctic Whales 4 AURORA EXPEDITIONS | Pioneering expedition travel to the heart of nature. CONTENTS V. EXPLORERS AND SCIENTISTS The Exploration of Antarctica The Antarctic Treaty VI. PLACES YOU MAY VISIT South Shetland Islands Antarctic Peninsula Weddell Sea South Orkney Islands South Georgia The Falkland Islands South Sandwich Islands The Historic Ross Sea Sector Commonwealth Bay VII. FURTHER READING VIII. WILDLIFE CHECKLISTS ANTARCTIC PRIMER 2018 | 5 Adélie penguins in the Antarctic Peninsula I. CONSERVING ANTARCTICA Antarctica is the largest wilderness area on earth, a place that must be preserved in its present, virtually pristine state. -
Variability in Krill Biomass Links Harvesting and Climate Warming to Penguin Population Changes in Antarctica
Variability in krill biomass links harvesting and climate warming to penguin population changes in Antarctica Wayne Z. Trivelpiecea,1, Jefferson T. Hinkea,b, Aileen K. Millera, Christian S. Reissa, Susan G. Trivelpiecea, and George M. Wattersa aAntarctic Ecosystem Research Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, La Jolla, CA, 92037; and bScripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 Edited by John W. Terborgh, Duke University, Durham, NC, and approved March 11, 2011 (received for review November 5, 2010) The West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) and adjacent Scotia Sea terns of population change observed before and after 1986 are support abundant wildlife populations, many of which were nearly explained by recruitment trends. During the first decade of our extirpated by humans. This region is also among the fastest- studies, 40–60% of the penguins banded as fledglings recruited warming areas on the planet, with 5–6 °C increases in mean winter back to natal colonies, and first-time breeders constituted 20– air temperatures and associated decreases in winter sea-ice cover. 25% of the breeding population annually (Fig. 1 C and D). These biological and physical perturbations have affected the eco- Subsequently, survival to first breeding dropped precipitously in system profoundly. One hypothesis guiding ecological interpreta- the 1980s, and the recruitment rates of both species have de- tions of changes in top predator populations in this region, the clined (7). Less than 10% of Adélie penguins banded as chicks “sea-ice hypothesis,” proposes that reductions in winter sea ice survive to breed (Fig. -
Thirty Years of Marine Debris in the Southern Ocean Annual
Environment International 136 (2020) 105460 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Environment International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envint Thirty years of marine debris in the Southern Ocean: Annual surveys of two island shores in the Scotia Sea T ⁎ Claire M. Waludaa, , Iain J. Stanilanda, Michael J. Dunna, Sally E. Thorpea, Emily Grillyb, Mari Whitelawa, Kevin A. Hughesa a British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK b Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, 181 Macquarie Street, Hobart 7000, Tasmania, Australia ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Handling Editor: Adrian Covaci We report on three decades of repeat surveys of beached marine debris at two locations in the Scotia Sea, in the Keywords: Southwest Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. Between October 1989 and March 2019 10,112 items of Marine debris beached debris were recovered from Main Bay, Bird Island, South Georgia in the northern Scotia Sea. The total Plastic mass of items (data from 1996 onwards) was 101 kg. Plastic was the most commonly recovered item (97.5% by Scotia Sea number; 89% by mass) with the remainder made up of fabric, glass, metal, paper and rubber. Mean mass per − − Antarctic item was 0.01 kg and the rate of accumulation was 100 items km 1 month 1. Analyses showed an increase in South Georgia the number of debris items recovered (5.7 per year) but a decline in mean mass per item, suggesting a trend South Orkney towards more, smaller items of debris at Bird Island. At Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, located in the southern Scotia Sea and within the Antarctic Treaty area, debris items were collected from three beaches, during the austral summer only, between 1991 and 2019. -
The Netherlands Polar Programme and the Dirck Gerritsz Laboratory
Earth and Life Sciences (ALW) Netherlands Polar Programme: the Dirck Gerritsz Laboratory The Netherlands Polar Programme and the Dirck Gerritsz Laboratory The Netherlands Polar Programme (NPP) is a research programme that funds Dutch scientific research into and at the polar regions. The assessment of the research proposals together with the realisation and coordination of the NPP has been assigned by the financiers to NWO, and NWO’s Division for the Earth and Life Sciences has assumed responsibility for this. The NPP has set up the Dirck Gerritsz Laboratory at the British Antarctic Survey’s Rothera Research Station in Antarctica. Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Definition of the problem The polar regions are very sensitive to climate change: they form the heart of the climate system. Climate change in the polar regions has major physical, ecological, social and economic consequences that extend far beyond their boundaries. Due to the worldwide atmospheric and oceanic circulation systems, changes in the polar regions are felt throughout the world. A good understanding of these changes is important for the Netherlands; for example, as a low-lying country the Netherlands is vulnerable to sea level rises. Dirck Gerritsz Laboratory at Rothera Research Station NWO has set up the Dutch mobile research facility at the British research station Rothera on the Antarctic Peninsula. With this laboratory the Netherlands has become a fully fledged research partner within international polar research. Antarctica is a unique research environment where the consequences of climate change can be clearly measured without the disruptive influences of people. NWO is collaborating on Antarctica with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).