Sixty Successful Years of the Antarctic Treaty

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Teleconnections South America-Antarctica Deschampsia antarctica vs Cancer Polar ction in English Interview Kirk Johnson (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History) Proposal for a new Marine Protected Area Science Program 2019-2020

ADv cE i CHiL A T rcTiC Ci E cE n5–2019

Sixty successful years issn 0719-5036 of the Antarctic Treaty

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01 editorial Official publication of inach. Its goals include dissemination of information on the Chilean o2 short notes Antarctic Science Program and related activities. Ilaia has a circulation of 1,000 copies, 02 Fossil Patagonia: An intriguing project to encourage distributed free of charge to regional and “science tourism” national authorities, international Antarctic 02 Celebrating the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Strait of

institutions, Chilean and foreign libraries, Magellan and 200 years of Antarctic exploration s. izquierdo universities, and researchers. Ilaia is an annual 03 Open call for media coverage of the 55th Chilean Antarctic Editorial publication. The opinions expressed here are Scientific Expedition those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of inach. Total or partial The Antarctic Treaty: 60 years of peace, 04 advances in chilean antarctic science reproduction is allowed with mention of the knowledge... and hope source. “Ilaia” is a Yagan word that means 04 Teleconnections: South America-Antarctica. How does the White Continent affect South America? “beyond the South.” Dr. Marcelo Leppe 05 Physical Teleconnections with Antarctica Director inach 06 Ozone hole influence on rainfall in South America

08 Oceanic-Atmospheric System Teleconnections: interactions he number of international migrants (people living in a country other than their country of between Antarctica (Southern Ocean) and Chile (South Pacific) birth) reached 258 million worldwide in 2017. The economic and social crises that occur in many parts of the world lead us to believe that this number has increased. Almost half of the director 10 Biological Teleconnections: South America-Antarctica Tmigrants (48%) are women and more than 36 million are children (data from https://migrationdat- Marcelo Leppe 12 Antarctic isolation, under the spotlight aportal.org/). This phenomenon has stimulated public discussion about several issues of great importance. editor 14 Boeckella poppei and Halicarcinus planatus: Borders and immigration policies. Identity and how it is built and how it changes. The socio-economic Reiner Canales Two crustaceans testing the circumpolar barrier impact of the arrival of large numbers of people in certain territories. [email protected] 18 Environmental Teleconnections Is there a link between these migrations and the climate crisis? In a global warming scenario of 20 More than the sum of its parts: Biomagnification and the effects 2ºC, the projected increase in sea level is 5 meters or more in the coming centuries. If it is possible editorial advisory committee of pollutants on coastal areas of Antarctica and Patagonia to limit the heating to 1.5ºC, the rise in sea level would be maintained under 1 meter in the long term. Marcelo Leppe, Edgardo Vega, The bad news is that this latter scenario is no longer achievable, and we are facing a more likely 22 Antarctic pollution pathways Marcelo González, Paulina Rojas, scenario of an increase of 1.7ºC or more. Elías Barticevic. 24 Ancient Teleconnections between South America and Antarctica Consequently, if we don’t currently accept that there is a relationship between migrations and climate change, in the future we could see a stronger linkage, with perhaps entire populations aban- 26 Echoes of a once-green Antarctica in modern Chile translation doning coastal areas or places inexorably struck by endless drought. Robert Runyard In Antarctica and especially in the Peninsula, a warming of only 1.5º C will have considerable effects. The number of days with temperatures above 0ºC will increase, rains will increase and the ice 30 A compound derived from Antarctic plant inhibits growth surface will melt. The ocean will become more turbulent and will release heat to the surface of the sea photography in colorectal cancer and to the coasts. The distribution patterns of marine life will change and in the continent new spaces inach archives, René Quinán, Harry will be opened for the successful arrival of non-native species. Again, the projections appear bleak. Díaz, Pablo Ruiz, Sergio Izquierdo, 32 horizon scan This year, from 2-13 December, Chile will host COP25, the highest decision-making body of the Felipe Trueba. 34 Antarctic fiction in English: A thematic analysis United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which brings together 196 member countries plus the European Union (197 parties). This is the largest such summit held each year to address design global action against this phenomenon. 40 international collaboration www.negro.cl Members of the scientific community, and particularly those dedicated to Antarctic science, 42 Interview. Dr. Kirk Johnson, are making their best and biggest efforts to supply information that illustrates the current state of cover illustration Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History the climate crisis and its possible projections, with an eye on collaboration to assist with political decision making. Harol Bustos 46 Interview. Gabriela Roldán, And so we can now look at the legacy of the Antarctic Treaty from a brighter and more optimistic Gateway Antarctica, University of Canterbury, New Zealand Printed by Ograma perspective. Signed almost 60 years ago and today endorsed by 54 countries, the Treaty pursues 49 Interview. Dr. César Cárdenas, the vision of protecting an entire region, promoting science and other peaceful activities, where the Chilean Antarctic Institute only frontiers are those of the human desires and capabilities to produce greater knowledge, all the Instituto Antártico Chileno - inach while without putting at risk the preservation of this polar region. Plaza Muñoz Gamero 1055 52 chilean antarctic science program 2019-2020 The Antarctic spirit of fraternity and collaboration is palpable not only on the White Continent, Punta Arenas, Chile but also in the cities which serve as the gateways to this icy region, and in the countries that feel Phone (56-61) 229 81 00 the call of Antarctica. In December we will celebrate the six decades of this unique instrument of 67 antarctic science publications 2018 (Web of Science) [email protected] international relations, an example of the human ability to reach agreements and put the interests (and rights) of future generations first. Let’s hope that this will serve as an example for key decisions Reg. Prop. Int. nº 224.246 75 southern lights that must be made sooner rather than later. ilAiA | short notes ilAiA | short notes

Open call for media shOrt NOtEs coverage of the 55th Chilean Antarctic Scientific Expedition

n 2018, for the first time, the Chilean Antarctic Insti- tour guides and public officials, we hope will prove to be tute (INACH), held an open Fossil Patagonia: An intriguing project The materials produced beneficial in this new paleo-tourism route.” Isolicitation to choose the me- under this project to encourage “science tourism” The head of the Antarctic Institute also stressed that are available for free dia that would cover its 55th he would like to see the creation of a way of observing download at this Antarctic Scientific Expedition these “paleo” objects, where the citizens of the Magallanes site: www.inach.cl/ (ECA 55) and disseminate the patagoniafosil An investment of 180 million pesos (about region would be able to generate high quality scientific in- information concerning the US$270,000) and 30 months of work has formation which would serve as the basis for technology Chilean Antarctic Science Pro-

culminated in the completion of a special- transfer and the development of useful subject matter. “We trueba f. gram (procien). The goal was interest tourism project that attempts are providing a guide book to foster the understanding of to communicate knowledge of the landscape here, to tell its story. We stress that this is Antarctic matters for the great- to “open a window into time” to travel not intended to serve as a guide for fossil hunters. This er community, through media presence that features high back to the Cretaceous period to discover document is free and downloadable from the inach web quality journalism and addresses a wide range of interests. the ancient connection between South page. We have a limited hard-copy printing and we are This effort hopes to develop a national community that aiming at the tourism and educational sectors to develop infrastructure, interconnectivity, the promotion of tourism appreciates the importance of knowledge about the White America and Antarctica. their own competencies.”• and investment, as well as scientific cooperation and pro- Continent as well as measures for its protection. tection of the environment. Media professionals (newspapers, radio, television, and n January 2016, the electronic media) and audio-visual producers were invit- Chilean Antarctic Institute 200 years of Antarctic exploration ed to apply and become “embedded” within the Antarctic (inach), with financing In 2020, the 200th anniversary of three decisive milestones Scientific Expedition. This would include travelling to the Ifrom the Economic Develop- Antarctic Peninsula region for on-site reporting on Chilean of Antarctic exploration will also take place. These include ment Agency (corfo) for the Celebrating the 500th anniversary of two of the first sightings of the continent, and of the first scientific and logistic activities during the Antarctic season Magallanes region, under- recorded landing on these coasts. 2018-2019. The open call is a way to obtain greater trans- took an intriguing new spe- the discovery of the Strait of Magellan In the summer of 1820, the expeditions of the Russian parency in coverage of Chilean scientific activity, as well as cial-interest tourism project. and 200 years of Antarctic exploration Admiral Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, (aboard the top quality, in addition to generating new communication This involved condensing Vostok, January 27) and the English sailor William Smith alliances. scientific information from (aboard the Williams, January 30) made the first sightings In this first solicitation, 32 applications were received more than ten years of paleontological research and or- October 2020 will mark 500 years of the northern regions of the Antarctic Peninsula. On De- from both national and foreign media. The proposals were ganizing it all into a tourism-oriented theme activity. Then since Hernando de Magallanes passed cember 16 of that year, Andrew Macfarlane (on board the evaluated by a committee made up of professionals from the effort evolved into a nine-point visitor route between Dragon) landed on the Antarctic continent, on a sector inach and its citizen advisory board (Consejo de la Sociedad Punta Arenas and Cerro Guido, leading to a true “window through the narrow austral strait that of the peninsula located south of Deception Island. Both Civil). According to the rules of the open call, nine commu- into time” for time-travel back to the Cretaceous period, bears his name, uniting the Atlantic and the Dragon and the Williams had sailed from the port of nication professionals from different media or production to discover the ancient connection between South America Pacific oceans. This milestone, which is Valparaiso, Chile. This reminds us of the importance of this companies were selected to cover activities in the plat- and Antarctica. part of the Fifth Centennial of the First country as a bridge to Antarctica, and of Punta Arenas as forms in which scientific work would be carried out. After thirty months of work, on July 2018 at the hear- the gateway to the White Continent during that period. ing room for the national comptroller for the Magallanes Circumnavigation of the World, brings Chile The “long, thin country” would continue to play a vital role The selections included: region, the ceremony heralding the completion of project together with Spain and Portugal, during the so-called “heroic era” of Antarctic exploration, in Professor Julio Escudero Station (INACH) was held. This included the certification of tourism guides in commemorating the event. the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. • Rosario Jiménez-Giliand & Eva Vera Cuadra (CNN, that make up part of theory-and-practice course along this In this context, Chile, through its Antarctic Institute, will BioBioTV, CuriosityStream) route. These guides take note of the landscapes and flora reissue the updated book, Traces of Antarctica around Punta • María Skinner Huerta (Heureka, National Maritime and fauna as they were 65 million years ago, to subse- ith this in mind, Chile wanted to highlight this Arenas and the Strait of Magellan, which brings together Museum, Blog NGO Plastic Ocean) quently present these to visitors in a narrative specially date with the creation of a high-level Presidential information about fifty places related to Antarctic history.• adapted to a new form of tourism. Advisory Council to lead the national celebrations AP-41 Aquiles, Chilean Navy Wof the Fifth Centenary of the Magellan’s Voyage Around the During the development of the “Fossil Patagonia” initia- • Claudia Aranda Arellano (Pressenza) tive there were several instances of transfer of knowledge World, an event which opened the door to greater cultural • Fernando Caro Carrasco (El Mostrador) involving a number of public-interest objectives, includ- and commercial exchange in the world. The celebrations • Cristian Fuentes Valencia (University of Chile) ing training for pre-school educators and public officials, also recognize that the discovery of the Strait was a key • Paula López Wood (EcoWatch, The Explorers Journal, exhibitions of fossils and “paleo art” to the community, factor in the opening of maritime routes and expanded El Mercurio, Ladera Sur) conferences and workshops for artists and entrepreneurs, shipping. As a result, the government of Chile and the involvement of citizens, and scientific field expeditions. In Municipality of Punta Arenas are preparing a program of Marinero Fuentealba, Chilean Navy addition, a field guide was developed along with a digital activities to get underway this year (2019) and extend be- • Nadia Politis Mella (Autonomous University of Chile) application. There will soon be an installation of two urban yond October of 2020. The project to upgrade the Punta landmarks at Punta Carrera and Cerro Guido to help solidify Arenas waterfront includes a site museum with full-scale Yelcho Station (INACH) and distribute the content of this fossil story. replicas of emblematic ships of world exploration: the Nao • Andrea Navarro Gezán (IDEAL Center, EFE, CNN, Dr. Marcelo Leppe Cartes, director of inach, pointed Victoria (Hernando de Magallanes), the HMS Beagle (Robert Chilevision) out that this project attempts to permanently translate FitzRoy-Charles Darwin), the Ancud (John Williams), the this scientific content for tourism operators and guides, James Caird (Ernest Shackleton) and the Yelcho (Luis Pardo). The preliminary evaluation has been positive, resulting in for incorporation into meaningful tourism information. With this, Chile hopes to honor the 21st of October, an increase in the number of press releases in local, nation- Dr. Leppe: “Through this document we are providing in- 2020, to celebrate this date which marks five hundred years al, and international media. The reporting has shown im- formation that is reliable and validated scientifically, with since the of the discovery of the Strait of Magellan. This day proved relevance in covering the institutions that support material from current publications. The products we are will memorialize the historic voyage that eventually led to and carry out the Antarctic activity for Chile. The selected providing (the guidebook, the downloadable application for the development of the southern territories of the conti- professionals are committed to publishing the resulting

smartphones, and a web page), along with the training for nent, through the facilitation of trade, the development of h. díaz material throughout the year 2019.•

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Physical Teleconnections with Antarctica ADvA�cE� Author he term “teleconnection” is role in teleconnections. Hence, the Ocean. These have been linked to associated with the existence Southern Annular Mode (sam) or rapid winter warming around the Ricardo Jaña INACH of low-frequency variations Antarctic Oscillation, is a climatic Antarctic Peninsula, while changes in i� cH |lE A� Tin climate that are evident in the at- pattern that reveals the north-south the ocean surface temperature in the mosphere and in the ocean, having a displacement of the westerly winds central tropical Pacific have been tied significant correlation of climatologi- belt that circulates around Antarctica. to the warming of western Antarctica. cal variables between a reference base Consequently, the variation in the The negative phase of the Inter- region and other distant areas on the latitude of the west wind belt affects decadal Pacific Oscillation is said to be a�tARCtiC planet. It can also be said these are the intensity and position of both the characterized by anomalies similar to recurring and persistent anomalies, cold fronts and other mid-latitude those observed by the changes in pres- of large both temporal (over many systems. Thus, positive values for the sure at sea level, and the force of zonal years) and spatial (over hundreds or Antarctic Oscillation indicate that the winds near the surface (850 hPa) near thousands of kilometres) scale, af- low pressures are closer to Antarctica, Antarctica, which have led to the ex- SCiEnCe fecting the variability of atmosphere and away from the south of Chile. On pansion of the sea ice extent since the and ocean circulation. At the same the other hand, negative values imply year 2000. This is particularly true in time, although these weather patterns that low pressures are circulating far- the Ross Sea region during all seasons, may last from several weeks to several ther north than usual (farther from involving also the intensification of the months, these may also last for several Antarctica), indicating that periods of Amundsen Sea Low-pressure centre. consecutive years, reflecting inter-an- rainy weeks or months are more likely On the other hand, a 1000-year nual and inter-decadal variability. to happen in the south of Chile. low-resolution simulation of a cou- In this sense, these teleconnec- Recent literature reports a series pled atmosphere-ocean model shows tions are the climatic links between of cases in which teleconnections a natural and highly regular oscillation geographically separated regions, as between Antarctica and the tropical between open-ocean convection and seen in a couple of examples. One cor- and extra-tropical zones, are well doc- non-convective periods in the South- responds to the relationship between umented. For example, massive frac- ern Ocean. The strength and global the El Niño Southern Oscillation turing and destruction of a fixed ice scale of the observed teleconnections Teleconnections: (enso) behaviour’s and their influ- area (sea ice attached to the coast) oc- suggest that the Southern Ocean plays South America-Antarctica ence at high austral latitudes, known curred in Lützow-Holm Bay, near the a very important role in the dynamics as the Pacific South-American climate Japanese Syowa Station in 2016. This of global climate on the shorter inter- How does the White Continent pattern (psa). This generates a series rupture is highly correlated to the annual and multidecadal time scales. affect South America? of standing wave trains of anomalies warming recorded in tropical Pacific Due to the growing interest in ex- that extends southeastward through waters due to a maximum event of the plaining the mechanisms and impacts The discovery of the hole in the ozone layer in to the Amundsen and Bellingshausen El Niño Southern Oscillation (enso) associated with the different modes Antarctica in the mid-1980s accelerated the increasing Seas, crosses the Antarctic Peninsula, during that season. Similarly, model of Antarctic climate variability and interest in the polar regions that had begun at least and extends into the southwestern simulations have provided evidence their interaction with other tropical a hundred years earlier. This was a tangible sign that Atlantic Ocean. that warns about that an increasing climate phenomena, the activities human beings could affect nature on a scale never Another example relates to the number of extreme events of El Niño of the Scientific Research Program before seen. It also showed that Antarctica was not characteristics of a system of coupled Southern Oscillation projected for the “Climate Change in the 21st Century isolated, nor intact, nor safe behind its frozen barrier. atmospheric/oceanic climate anom- 21st century may expose the western (AntClim21)” run for the Scientific The phenomenon of climate change, and the alies that include the inter-annual Antarctica ice sheet to greater and Committee on Antarctic Research confirmation that the Antarctic Peninsula was to be variability of atmospheric pressure at more frequent melting events. (scar) have been reinforced. Thus, one of the critical regions affected by global heating, sea level, wind fields, sea surface tem- At the same time, the Antarc- to examine processes linking tropics propelled the White Continent to the center of perature, and the extent of sea ice. tic Oscillation and the Semi-annual to Antarctica and to understand the conservation priorities, as well as multinational and These phenomena spread around the Oscillation Index stimulate the in- future trajectory of Antarctic climate, multidisciplinary scientific research. Southern Ocean with a circumpolar ter-annual variation of sea ice, due to in August 2016 the scar Tropical With South America being so close to Antarctica, it is flow to the east, known as the Antarc- a general change in the atmospheric Antarctic Teleconnections Action only natural to think that it affects us. But how? In this tic Circumpolar Wave (acw). and ocean circulation in the Southern Group (tate) was created to upgrade ILAIA special, we reveal the many ways in which South Furthermore, annular modes be- Ocean. This fact is demonstrated by inspiring ideas pushed by former col- America and Antarctica are linked, in their physical, tween the poles and the surround- the long-term changes observed in laborative Polar to Tropical virtual biological, environmental, and historical dimensions. ing latitudes, provide oscillations in the sea surface temperature of the institute initiative.• fluctuating weather patterns (such as western tropical Pacific, the tropical imagen de chile imagen www.polartropical.org out-of-phase relationships), playing a Atlantic, and the northern Atlantic

instituto antártico chileno | 5 ilAiA | advances in chilean antarctic science ilAiA | teleconnections: south america-antarctica

Ozone hole influence on rainfall in South America the orographic barrier of the Andes served to be more significant during South Pacific coast of South America mountains. The intensity of these pre- the austral summer. (central-southern Chile)– there have The ozone hole that has appeared over Antarctica every year since the end of the 70s (between August and cipitations is also modulated by the Several previous studies have been significant decreases in wind and December) causes changes in the hemispheric atmospheric circulation, which in turn generate anomalies in natural variability resulting from vari- linked decreasing precipitation be- rain in intensity. wind patterns, cloudiness, and precipitation. In South America, these anomalies have particularly affected ous modes of large-scale atmospheric tween Coquimbo and Aysén (lati- Global warming induced by green- the southern Pacific coast (latitude 30-45º S), where there have been persistent decreases in rainfall (-8% circulation, such as El Niño-South- tude 30-45º S) with the trend towards house gases also favors the positive per decade) in recent decades during the austral summers. Experiments seeking causal attribution using the ern Oscillation (enso) and Southern positive sam values during the austral phase of the sam, but the effect of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) reveal that the Antarctic ozone hole may be responsible for up Annular Mode (sam). summer (with the enso playing only a this forcing on the sam shows simi- to 80% of the current negative trend observed during summer, for the rainfall in central-southern Chile. The index used to identify the minor role in those latitudes). lar intensity throughout the year. On phase in which the sam is found is cal- the other hand, changes in the sam culated using the atmospheric depres- Teleconnection associated with the ozone hole are Lower precipitation in south-central Chile is sion difference (at the surface) record- Observations and simulations carried more intense in summer, due to the due, to a large extent, ed between several meteorological out using global climate models show time necessary to propagate (from to Antarctic climate de chile imagen phenomena. The hole stations located around latitude 40° S that stratospheric cooling resulting the stratosphere to the lower tropo- in the ozone layer, for (the Valdivia sector of Chile) and vari- from the ozone hole over the Antarc- sphere) the cooling signal caused by a example, has resulted in major changes ous Antarctic stations located around tic favors the positive phase of the reduction in stratospheric ozone be- in the composition of the Antarctic the latitude 65°S (Yelcho base sector, sam during the austral summer. This tween August and December. atmosphere, resulting in Antarctic Peninsula region). phase is associated with a decrease in perturbations in wind, cloud, and precipitation patterns, particularly in the south-central region of the country. 1 Changes in wind A B intensity at a height (A) of 2m, and rainfall (B), between 1950-1980 and 1996-2005, using averages from CMIP5 global climate models during the austral summer (December to February).

Authors The ozone hole During the positive phase of the atmospheric pressure at high latitudes Attribution experiments to iden- The ozone hole is a seasonal phe- perature of the stratosphere (strato- posphere. Towards the austral sum- sam, the west wind belt grows in and an increase in atmospheric pres- tify causal factors through the use Raúl Cordero Universidad de nomenon characterized by a sharp spheric cooling) and a more stable mer these alter the westerly winds, strength and migrates hundreds of sure at mid latitudes, which generates of cmip5 global climate models indi- Santiago de Chile decrease in stratospheric ozone con- and persistent polar vortex. These storm tracks, precipitation patterns, kilometers towards the South Pole. hemispheric changes in atmospheric cate that the effects on atmospheric centration over the Antarctic region, conditions facilitate the formation of atmospheric pressure, and tempera- These changes in the atmospheric cir- circulation. circulation of the Antarctic ozone Alessandro Damiani which has been taking place since at polar stratospheric clouds, which in tures. These even affect the extent of culation at latitudes relatively close to Figure 1 shows the percentage hole explain between 40-80% of the Universidad de least the late 1970s. During the austral turn leads to a greater loss of ozone. sea ice and the ability of the Southern Antarctica in turn generate anomalies changes, between 1950-1980 and reduction in precipitation (-8% per Santiago de Chile spring, ozone at altitudes of between Although the ozone hole is more Ocean to absorb carbon dioxide. in wind patterns, cloudiness, and pre- 1996-2005, in the intensity of winds decade) observed during in the austral

Sarah Feron 15-20 km is almost completely absent, intense during the beginning of the cipitation throughout the southern 1A and in rainfall 1B, calculated by summers in recent decades along the Universidad de due to chemical reactions on the sur- austral spring, the effect of strato- Lower rainfall in hemisphere. comparing averages from global cli- Pacific coast of southern South Amer- Santiago de Chile faces of polar stratospheric clouds, spheric cooling is significant until the south-central Chile For example, in the central-south- mate models cmip5 during the austral ica, particularly in the central-south-

Pedro Llanillo which leads to ozone destruction due austral summer, resulting in a change Rainfall along the southern Pacific ern zone of Chile, there has been a summer (December to February). As ern zone of Chile (latitude 30-45º S). • Universidad de to chemical compounds containing in the latitudinal temperature gradi- coast of South America (south-cen- reduction in the cloud coverage and shown in the figure, in recent decades Santiago de Chile chlorine and bromine. ent in the atmosphere. This change tral Chile) comes partly from storms rainfall recorded during recent de- there have been significant increases Atmospheric ozone absorbs promotes the acceleration of strato- originated in mid-latitudes within cades. The negative trend in rainfall in the intensity of winds and precip- short-wave solar radiation, and the spheric zonal winds. the belt of westerly winds, and partly in this region started about 1980 (at itation around Antarctica (over the reduction of this ozone concentra- The effects of these changes mi- from the condensation of air in these about the same time that the ozone Southern Ocean), while at mid-lati- tion contributes to lowering the tem- grate from the stratosphere to the tro- humid winds as they ascend into hole was detected) and has been ob- tudes (30-45º S) –particularly on the

Oceanic-Atmospheric System Teleconnections: (acw). Given the characteristics of the south-austral region of Chile, 40°W 20°W 0° 20°E 40°E its low period and sub-decadal time decreasing surface salinity, a feature interactions between Antarctica (Southern Ocean) South Africa scales, it is coupled with the enso, of sub-Antarctic waters, whose in- and Chile (South Pacific) transmitting its influence through fluence reaches latitudes to nearly Subtropical Front 60° ACC Subantarctic Front 60° the acc and therefore transporting 30° S (the Subtropical front, in the For several decades, the concept of “teleconnections” has been used to relate remote Polar Front the warm sea surface temperature Coquimbo region). To the north, interactions on the dynamics of the oceanic-atmospheric system. One of these is the well- Chile Weddell Gyre anomalies to all other oceans of the the warmest and most saline waters known phenomenon called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which mainly affects the 80° 80° PCC southern hemisphere. (though still cold) predominate, aided coasts of Ecuador, Peru, and northern Chile. Here, the ENSO is associated with increases in sea CHC 50° 60° Antarctica 30°S 40° ACC by an upwelling phenomena bring- surface temperatures and rainfall, among other effects. WWD 100° 100° Antarctica and the Coasts of Chile ing cold subsurface water (known as Ross Gyre On one hand, more permanent con- “Ekman pumping”) due to the pres- Subantarctic Zone Polar Frontal Zone nections can be considered over time, ence of the Pacific Anticyclone and its 120° 120° which contribute to the establish- s-sw winds. These conditions, plus the Situation Normal situation Australia ment of a specific climate for a region. effects of the topography, make for a with El Niño (without El Niño) The west coast of Chile is primari- dry and somewhat unique climate. 140°W 160°W 180° 160°E 140°E ly influenced by the acc, whose core is Finally, there is the influence between the sub-Antarctic front and of circulation of deep water masses the Polar front. However, its north- (thermohaline circulation), the result 2 Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and oceanographic fronts. This shows the ern branch meets the South American of differences in density due to chang- meeting of the South Pacific West Wind Drift Current (WWD), which gives rise to a the currents of Cape Horn current (CHC) and Peru-Chile current (PCC) continent (as the West Wind Drift) es in temperature, salinity, and pres- eatorial or Humboldt Current (map based on Nowlin and Klinck, 1986). atorial atorial in a strip centered on the Taitao pen- sure. Besides those associated with teroclie pwellig teroclie insula, thus creating the Peru-Chile the acc, there are others at various or Humboldt current flowing to the levels of depth that arise in Antarcti- 1 Diagram showing oceanic-atmospheric conditions in the tropical Pacific. Red colors indicate areas of positive sea surface anomalies (warm). Blue indicates north, and the Cape Horn current ca. These include the Antarctic Inter- negative (cold) conditions. Arrows indicate air flows. (Adapted from NOAA/CPC). (chc) to the south. mediate Water (aaiw), generated in Thus, this system carries cold the Antarctic convergence area (Po- Author lthough originally this effect tant event such as the enso affect it? for the entire Southern Hemisphere. water, which influences the charac- lar front), and the Pacific Deep Water 3 A: Diagram showing global thermohaline circulation according to Rahmstorf was thought to be a rather It seems that the El Niño/La Niña ef- This is associated with the northward (2002). B: Longitudinal Profile (segmented line offshore of Chile-Peru in “A”) teristic Chilean climate. The westerly (pdw), which originates near the coast Cristián Rodrigo showing vertical distribution of percentages of water masses, according to Silva Universidad regional event, it was later fects act as a forcing for this “Antarc- or southward movements of the sys- et al. (2009). The direction of the flow is indicated by arrows. STW: Subtropical winds are associated with this system and is very cold and dense, so it flows Andrés Bello Adetermined to be also linked to anom- tic seesaw.” As a consequence of the tem of low Antarctic pressures that Water; SAAW: Sub-Antarctic Water; ESSW: Equatorial Subsurface Water; AAIW: and they bring abundant rainfall to down the Antarctic continental mar- Intermediate Antarctic Water; PDW: Pacific Deep Water. alous variations on a larger scale, re- direct wave propagation, effects are give rise to E-W winds. If these low gin and sinks to the sea floor 3. lated to the behavior of the general observed more in the Antarctic sector pressures are modified by some dis- Generally speaking, this circu- circulation of the tropical Pacific, as- that is “exposed” to the South Pacific. tant forcing, the Antarctic influence lation creates a kind of “conveyor sociated with changes in atmospher- The consequences of El Niño in the on the southern hemisphere would be belt” around the world, bringing the ic pressure systems, which generate Antarctic Peninsula are manifested altered. This could result in significant thermal, gaseous, and other charac- wave trains that carry certain “tropi- in changes in meteorological vari- consequences for the general climate teristics, to various areas around the cal properties” to the middle and high ables such as increased atmospheric of the Southern Hemisphere. A planet, constituting perhaps the larg- latitudes. pressure and reduced rainfall 1. In the Southern Ocean there are est submarine teleconnection system. During recent decades there has In the behavior of the climate important exchanges between the at- It has not been possible to de- been a rapid warming of the Antarctic there is a greater influence from cold mosphere, the ocean and the sea ice. termine the direct influence of these Peninsula (ap) and the western region air masses arriving from the south- The Antarctic Circumpolar Current Antarctic bodies of water along the of Antarctica, as well as an imbalance west. In that case, the extent and con- (acc), which is a shallow (near-surface) southeastern Pacific Ocean and the in the extent of sea ice between the centration of sea ice area on the west- flow and revolves around the Antarc- coast of Chile, due to lack of data and Ross Sea sector versus the Belling- ern side of the Peninsula increases tic, is generated by the westerly winds sampling, but it is believed that these Surface Salinity > 36 shausen-Amundsen area. This dipole (the Bellingshausen Sea area), unlike and other dynamic phenomena 2. Deep Salinity < 34 do impact the local ecosystems and condition resembles the “rocker” the eastern side (in the Weddell Sea). This current plays an important B Bottom Deep water formation the long-term climate. mechanisms that occur between the In Antarctica there are various role in global climate, since it trans- There are still many factors and hemispheres when trying to compen- systems and climate mechanisms that mits thermal and mechanical energy phenomena yet to be understood in sate for changes in the general circu- can be coupled with remote events. to the entire Southern Hemisphere, this complicated web, including an- lation of the atmosphere. It is not within the scope of this ar- as well as climatic anomalies. It has thropogenic effects. This is why more ticle to detail each of those. Howev- been noted that the characteristics research and new data are needed, to Antarctica and the El Niño Effect er, we can take note of the Antarctic of inter-annual variability propagate feed the oceanic-atmospheric models In Antarctica similar processes take Oscillation (ao) or Southern Annular eastward with the acc in the form and thus contribute to sustainable hu- place to balance changes between it Mode (sam), which is important in the of a coupled anomaly system, known man development and protection of climate systems. But how does a dis- rainfall and temperature distribution as the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave the world’s environment. •

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Amphipods on a frond of brown kelp Himantothallus Biological Teleconnections: grandifolius. South America-Antarctica

Isolation in both geographical and environmental terms, ocean currents that act as true physical barriers, and an extreme climate —all of these factors have contributed to the unique Antarctic ecosystem, which has been the focus of attention since the very beginning of Antarctic exploration.

Author lthough, geographical isola- weed and other marine organisms, eling thousands of kilometers thanks tion in many cases does not including mollusks, echinoderms, and to the transport provided by storms. César Cárdenas seem so obvious. For many fin fish. This finding tends to confirm the hy- INACH Ayears the role of the islands of the Our procien (Chilean Antarc- pothesis, under discussion for years, Scotia Arc has been under research. tic Science Program) is no exception about the role of drifting seaweed in These are the only ecosystem step- here. This area of study is well repre- the transport of organisms to polar wa- ping stones between the Antarctic sented, and provides important con- ters from distant geographical areas. region and South America. Likewise, tributions to advance our understand- The new discoveries presented in the existence of mesoscale eddy cur- ing of how species are distributed and this edition invite us to concentrate rents (eddies) has been studied, as how the evolutionary history of high our vision and efforts in enhancing these could provide entry into the latitude organisms has developed. our knowledge of these biological Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the This volume covers several aspects teleconnections, as a part of the chal- great barrier that circulates around of this relationship, including physi- lenges posed by the effects of climate the Frozen Continent. cal, historical, environmental, and bio- change. The first scientific voyages that fo- logical teleconnections. The latter are The evidence of a “permeable” cused on exploration of the Southern covered from a molecular perspective Antarctic Circumpolar Current; in- Ocean passed through the Magallanes that allows us to understand how ma- creasing ocean temperatures that region of continental South America jor environmental changes have taken would allow the colonization of pre- on their way to colder polar waters. place in the past and how these studies viously hostile habitats for certain There they studied and described the modeled the distribution and connec- invasive species (absent for millions distribution patterns of the marine tions of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic of years in Antarctic waters); the in- organisms in those areas. From this organisms. crease in micron- and nano-size plas- work grew a biogeographic perspec- Likewise, the results of work pre- tic pollution and their negative effects tive, showing an important degree of sented in this volume tell us about the on biota; –these are all problems that connection between the Antarctic connection between both areas due to must be addressed by further re- region and South America. the unintended transportation of or- search, in order to better understand Today, our knowledge of this area ganisms in boats, either in ballast wa- and calculate the potential vulnera- has increased considerably thanks ters or attached to the hulls of vessels. bility of fragile Antarctic ecosystems, to better quality and availability of Another study considers transport of and how they can be best protected. • research platforms (ships and scien- biota through eddies or intrusions of tific bases), as well as the rapid de- sub-Antarctic waters, which would velopment of computational tools have allowed the intrusion of non-na- for modeling, along with molecular tive fauna past the polar barriers. analyses, that employs new sequenc- In this sense, the recently pub- ing methods with increasingly better lished evidence of the discovery of data resolution. sub-Antarctic seaweed in the Antarc- These new resources have led to tic Peninsula (its origin confirmed a notable increase in the number of through molecular studies and model- studies and increase in the knowledge ing of currents) confirmed that these about the connections between the seaweeds would have reached the continent and the Antarctic, in sea- coastal waters of the Peninsula, trav- c. cárdenas

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Brown kelp Antarctic isolation, under the spotlight (Cystosphaera jacquinotii) (showing The “cochayuyo” seaweed, the southern bull kelp that is famous and used for human the flotation consumption in Chile, it has the scientific nameDurvillaea antarctica, though it does not grow in mechanism, or air cysts) and a seaweed the waters of the southernmost continent. However, the recent discovery of pieces of this kelp patch drifting in waters of the Antarctic in the Antarctic Peninsula provides evidence that it is possible for organisms to be transported Peninsula. from sub-Antarctic areas. Perhaps, Antarctica is not really as isolated as we have believed.

Author

Erasmo Macaya Horta IDEAL Center

Seaweeds as an alternative these, about 20 million would even Within the scope of research car- dispersal vehicle retain their attachment structures ried out by the ideal Center, we have he Antarctic Circumpolar Recent studies have demonstrated (“holdfasts.”) been looking for floating seaweed Current (acc) is the longest that floating plants and seaweeds along the Antarctic Peninsula. So far and strongest current in the can be an effective dispersal vehicle Southern bull kelp in Antarctica: there have been anecdotal reports of Tworld, extending about 23,000. At connecting remote geographic areas. a record floating patches of the brown sea- the Drake Passage it carries a volume Even Charles Darwin conducted some Some pieces of southern bull kelp weed Cystosphaera jacquinotii, the only of approximately 170 million cubic experiments with floating plants, say- (cochayuyo) were found in the Antarc- known species featuring buoyancy meters per second. It is flanked by ing that “…although we do not know tic Peninsula in the summer of 2017 structures. However, the observation the Sub-Antarctic Front on the north how sea-shells are dispersed, we can provided key indications of an im- and collection of floating material in and the Polar Front to the south. observe that their eggs or larvae, at- pressive trip, confirming the travel of Fildes Bay and around Doumer Island, Both the current and these fronts tached to seaweed or floating wood... floating seaweed crossing the acc. have accounted of more than 5,000 have isolated Antarctica for millions those can be transported hundred of From molecular analysis and com- pieces of floating seaweeds compris- of years geographically, climatically, milles in open sea.” (Darwin, 1859: On parisons with benthic populations ing almost 20 different species. This and oceanographically. These “barri- the Origin of Species). along their range in the sub-Antarctic positive buoyant pieces can represent ers” have kept most species of plants spring. For example, there are reports Map showing the Several species of macroalgae (sea- region, it was possible to show that an alternative dispersal method for discovery location of and animals from going in and going of crustacean larvae on the legs of the weed) have structures that confer pos- the bull kelp pieces traveled from the different species in Antarctica. • pieces of southern out the Antarctic region. wandering albatross, Diomedea exulans. bull kelp (red point) itive buoyancy (aerocysts). For exam- Kerguelen Islands in the southern and their points of The isolation of the Antarctic This bird can make ocean voyages travel origin: Kerguelen ple: Macrocystis, Sargassum, and Fucus. Indian Ocean, and from the South continent has been nearly total, even lasting more than one month, travel- Islands. South Georgia Other species can have gases inside Georgia Islands, in the South Atlan- Islands. though there are reports of incursions ing up to 15,000 km. their tissue, such as the southern bull tic. This indicates displacement of by air or sea of some species, but also SAF: kelp, Durvillaea antarctica. more than 20,000 km, correspond- Sub-Antarctic Front. the transport of organisms that has Transport and biological connec- APF: Once detached from the sub- ing to the longest biological “rafting” been taken place by anthropogenic tions over the ocean Antarctic Polar Front. strate, these seaweeds can stay afloat event recorded to date. SACCF: means, including ships and airplanes. Although there are frequent move- Southern Antarctic for considerable periods of time, The seaweeds journey were even Circumpolar Current It has been reported that it is ments of marine megafauna (for ex- transported by winds and currents. modeled through computer simula- Front. possible for propagules (a structure ample, whales) to and from Antarc- ed in their ballast waters. Also, deca- Studies have indicated that their tions, which indicated that crossing becomes detached from a plant and tica, the trip for smaller organisms is Above: Piece of pod crustacean larvae of crustaceans Durvillaea antarctica buoyancy depends largely on environ- the acc and reaching the Antarctic forms a new plant or algae) and other more complicated and usually must (southern bull kelp) Emerita and Pinnotheres were reported found on the shore mental conditions. In the high lati- coast was possible due to large waves organisms to travel such distances “by be carried out with other organisms ot Aerica in association with specimens of the of Fildes Bay on King tudes, low temperatures tend to favor whipped up by storm events. air.” The presence of pollen from ter- assistance, or using certain oceano- George Island. copepod Acartia on King George the continued floatation of these sea- The finding of these southern restrial plants (Nothofagus, Podocarpus) graphic conditions. Island in 2002. In this case, it is possi- weed clumps. bull kelp pieces are the evidence of has been established in the Antarctic Some studies have revealed that Below: Durvillaea ble that the larvae could have crossed antarctica (southern Most reports of floating seaweed in the possibility to get into Antarctica region, as well as fungi (Tetraploa, certain organisms have crossed bull kelp) drifting in Atarctica ot the Polar Front by using eddies cur- the Southern Hemisphere correspond after crossing the acc. But this is also eorgia Sporomiella) and bacteria, all of which the acc. For example, in 1986 the open waters. Atralia la rents or intrusions of sub-Antarctic to Macrocystis pyrifera and Durvillaea an attention call. If exotic (non-na- would have been transported from Hygrosara crab, a species found in the waters across the acc. antarctica, seaweeds that form dense tive) plants and animals are floating A northerly latitudes. North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, underwater forests at high latitudes. southward and arriving frequently, as A Some migratory birds can also be was reported in samples taken from Some studies have suggested that it soon as the Antarctica becomes more A vectors for transporting organisms. the Antarctic Peninsula. Researchers Arica would be possible to find about 70 hospitable enough (due to climate Birds travel thousands of kilometers suggest that this species would have ergele million seaweed patches (D. antarctica) change), these organisms will be able la from the north to the Antarctic each adhered to the hulls of ships, or float- floating north of the Polar Front. Of to establish themselves.

Boeckella poppei and Halicarcinus planatus: Two crustaceans testing the circumpolar barrier Marion Is.

South Georgia Crozet Is. South Orkney Is Falkland / Malvinas Is.

South Shetland Islands

Kerguelen Is. South America Margarite Bay

Deception Is.

Boeckella poppei

Halicarcinus planatus Boeckella poppei

Halicarcinus planatus

Authors The history of a separation The ancient separation of Antarctic The cooling of the Antarctic con- Karin Gerard Universidad de tinent began approximately 34 mil- and sub-Antarctic fauna was a Magallanes lion years ago, resulting in profound profound event, and affected most changes in the marine and continen- Claudia aquatic organisms. For several to evaluate the teleconnections be- This distribution is unique for in the South Shetland Islands (Red Maturana tal fauna. The advance and retreat of 1 Current distributions million years there has been tween Antarctica and South America Antarctic terrestrial and freshwater Zone 1). of Boeckella poppei (in Universidad de the ice caused the extinction of large Chile and Instituto along two time scales: fauna, representing an excellent mod- green) and Halicarcinus de Ecología y marine groups (osteichthyes or “bony an effective isolation between planatus. Blue indicates Biodiversidad el for understanding the impact of ma- Ancient teleconnections native sub-Antarctic fishes,” chondrichthyes or “cartilagi- populations of seaweed and distribution. Red shows 1. Measure how tectonic and climat- jor past climatic evolution as well as Following the morphological and mo- nous fishes,” crustaceans, and deca- sighting in Antarctica marine invertebrates formerly ic changes between 36 million and current changes, with the underlying lecular identification of the sampled in 2010. pods) and both terrestrial and fresh- co-distributed on both sides of 20,000 years ago affected Antarc- increasing anthropogenic activity. individuals, we found six species of water life. tic life and its connection with Halicarcinus planatus is a marine Boeckella genus, being B. poppei the Today, terrestrial and freshwa- the Drake Passage. There are, South America; brachyura, a small crab that is distrib- only species that inhabits Antarctica. ter biota are restricted only to a very however, still vestiges of past 2. Evaluate the current biological uted throughout the sub-Antarctic The high genetic diversity observed small part of the Antarctic continent connections. In the last ten exchanges between Patagonia, zone of the Southern Ocean (South in mitochondrial dna sequences indi- (0.32%) and comprise primarily inver- years this connection has been the Scotia Arc, and the Antarctic America, and the Falkland /Malvinas, cates that Antarctic populations have tebrates (diptera, mites, collembolae, carefully studied mainly in marine Peninsula resulting from human Marion, Kerguelen, and New Zealand a very ancient origin, probably before nematodes, rotifers, tardigrades, pro- activity and global warming. Islands) 1. It is abundant in the shal- the Last Glacial Maximum. Demo- tists, diplopods, copepods, cladoc- species. At the same time, a small low rocky intertidal zones generally graphic analyzes of these populations erans) and limited communities of number of studies on freshwater Two aquatic crustaceans: associated with seaweed forests. indicate that this species would have plants, mosses, and lichens. ecosystems in South America and Boeckella poppei and This tiny crab has a long plank- remained in sheltered locations south Current global warming in the Antarctica have concluded that Halicarcinus planatus tonic larval phase, giving it a high of the Antarctic Peninsula (Margari- Antarctic Peninsula region and the Boeckella poppei is a small crustacean potential for dispersion, and the pe- ta Bay sector) and Signy Island (South permeability of the circumpolar cur- there would be an extremely small (copepod) that inhabits exclusively culiar ability to reduce magnesium Orkney Is.2). Along with this, the rent recently observed in transport- number of comparable species at freshwater ecosystems, from small concentrations in its hemolymph, strong common genetic structuring ing seaweed (Fraser et al. 2018) have both regions, being represented ponds to big lakes. It has a very inter- which increases as water cools. among the different regions suggests opened a window into less drastic by a few invertebrates and esting distribution, since it is present Halicarcinus planatus is not found in only a limited dispersal capacity in climatic conditions, facilitating the in both South America (Patagonia Antarctica, since all decapods on the these organisms. arrival and survival of sub-Antarctic microorganisms. and the Falkland Islands) and Antarc- Antarctic continental shelf became Contrary to Antarctica, popula- species along the White Continent. tica (Antarctic continent, Antarctic extinct 15 million years ago. Howev- tions of B. poppei in Patagonia are very Our understanding of the evolu- Peninsula, the South Shetland and er, in 2010, H. planatus was observed scarce. After four years of sampling, tionary history of the fauna in marine South Orkney Islands) as well as the at the site of Morro Baily on the outer we have only been able to find three and freshwater ecosystems allows us sub-Antarctic island South Georgia 1. coast of Deception, a volcanic island, populations. These populations were

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on the eastern edge of the Brunswick searched for H. planatus using an au- Acknowledgements Peninsula (Punta Delgada sector) and tonomous diving system in the South Tierra del Fuego. These Patagonian Shetlands (Fildes Bay, Prat Station, This research has been carried out under the scope of CONICYT doctoral thesis 21150317, with CM financing INACHDT_04-16, populations have unique genetic in- Risopatrón Hut), and particularly A FONDECYT Project 1161358 (KG) and CONICYT Project PIA formation that is not shared with around two volcanic islands, Decep- ACT172065 (CM and KG). Antarctic individuals, indicating an tion and Penguin, as well as the area ancient connection, perhaps previous around the Yelcho Station. To date, Further information A to the Last Glacial Maximum. There we have not found any crab in the Aronson, R.B., Frederich, M., Price, R. & Thatje, S. (2015) Prospects is, however, evidence of an ancient Antarctic Peninsula, even though the for the return of shell-crushing crabs to Antarctica. Journal of Biogeography, 42, 1-7. connection, perhaps prior to the Last marine environments seem adequate Billard, E., Reyes, J., Mansilla, A., Faugeron, S. & Guillemin, M.L. Glacial Maximum (> 20,000 years). for their survival. A final expedition (2015) Deep genetic divergence between austral populations Meanwhile, the Patagonian pop- to the third volcanic island of the of the red alga Gigartina skottsbergii reveals a cryptic species endemic to the Antarctic continent. Polar Biology, 38, 2021-2034. ulations of H. planatus show high ge- Antarctic Peninsula, (Paulet Island, in netic diversity in mitochondrial dna the Weddell Sea) is scheduled for the Bisset, A., Gibson, J.A., Jarman, S.N., Swadling, K.M. & Cromer, L. (2005) Isolation, amplification, and identification of ancient sequences, indicating that they would 55th eca. We concluded that, it is very copepod DNA from lake sediments. Limnology and Oceanography, 3, 533-542. also have survived the Last Glacial likely that the presence of H. planatus Maximum in this region. This also reported in 2010 was a one-time event. Convey, P., Gibson, J.A., Hillenbrand, C.D., Hodgson, D.A., Pugh, P.J., Smellie, J.L. & Stevens, M.I. (2008) Antarctic terrestrial life- shows a close (though very remote) Finally, after establishing the geo- challenging the history of the frozen continent? Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc, 83, 103-17. connection to the sub-Antarctic is- graphic distributions of the genetic Halicarcinus planatus lands that include the Falkland and diversity in these two crustaceans, we Crame, J.A. (1999) An evolutionary perspective on marine faunal connections between southernmost South America and Antarctica. Kerguelen Islands (in the Indian sec- can trace the effects of past climatic Scientia Marina, 63, 1-14. tor of the Southern Ocean), demon- and ecological changes. Contrasting Diaz, A., Gonzalez-Wevar, C.A., Maturana, C.S., Palma, A.T., Poulin, strating this species’ capacity for long both aquatic environments (conti- E. & Gerard, K. (2012) Restricted geographic distribution and low genetic diversity of the brooding sea urchin Abatus agassizii distance dispersal. nental and marine) allows us to predict (Spatangoidea: Schizasteridae) in the South Shetland Islands: A the distribution of the biota under the bridgehead population before the spread to the northern Antarctic Peninsula? Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, 85, 457-468. Current teleconnections current projections of global warming Fraser, C.I., Morrison, A.K., Hogg, A.M., Macaya, E.C., van Sebille, E., The whaling industry has been one of conditions and growing human activ- Ryan, P.G., Padovan, A., Jack, C., Valdivia, N. & Waters, J.M. (2018) the human activities with the greatest ity in the Antarctic. Antarctica’s ecological isolation will be broken by storm-driven dispersal and warming. Nature Climate Change, 8, 704-708. impact in Antarctica, at the beginning Activities such as the extraction of the 20th century. Some records of of fresh water for use on scientific and Frederich, M., Sartoris, F. & Hans-O, P. (2001) Distribution patterns of decapod crustaceans in polar areas: a result of magnesium the time indicate that ships and fac- military bases, transporting ballast regulation? Polar Biology, 24, 719-723. tory stations extracted and transport- water, or the accidental or deliberate González-Wevar, C.A., Gérard, K., Rosenfeld, S., Saucède, T., ed water taken from lakes and rivers transport of organisms from one re- Naretto, J., Díaz, A., Morley, S.A., Brickle, P. & Poulin, E. (2019) Cryptic speciation in Southern Ocean Aequiyoldia eightsii from and to Punta Arenas. gion to another, all threaten to extend (Jay,1839): Mio-Pliocene trans-Drake Passage separation and We can still see some vestiges of the current geographical distribution diversification. Progress in Oceanography, 174, 44-54.

this whaling activity in South Geor- of these and other species, bringing Menu-Marque, S., Morrone, J.J. & Locascio, C. (2000) Distributional gia, Deception and Signy Island. The new colonization of non-native organ- pattern of the South American species of Boeckella (Copepoda: Centropagidae): A track analysis. Journal of Crustacean Biology, A whaling industry could have produced isms in the Antarctic region. • 20, 262-272.

the connection we are seeing today in Ocaranza, P., Gonzalez-Wevar, C., Guillemin, M.L., Rosenfeld, S. & Antarctica. In East Antarctica it is Mansilla, A. (In press) Molecular divergence between Iridea cordata (Turner) Bory de Saint Vincent 1826 from the Antarctic Peninsula suspected that human activities may A and the Magellan Region. Journal of Applied Phycology. 2 Haplotype networks (mitochondrial DNA coxI) reconstructed with median-joining and maximum likelihood. also have introduced B. poppei. How- Each circle represents a haplotype (a type of sequence), whose size reflects its frequency and the color Poulin, E., Gonzalez-Wevar, C.G., Díaz, A., Gérard, K. & Hüne, M. indicates its sampling site. Genetic diversity is expressed by the number of different haplotypes present in ever, sedimentological evidence has (2014) Divergence between Antarctic and South American marine invertebrates: What molecular biology tells us about Scotia Arc a place or a species, but also by the number of mutational steps between them. High diversity indicates the dated the presence of this copepod place of origin of a species or a population. geodynamics and the intensification of the Antarctic Circumpolar Above: Boeckella poppei shows high genetic diversity in Antarctica, which is shared with individuals from sub- for more than 9,000 years. Current. Global and Planetary Change, 123, 392-399. Antarctic islands, but not with those from Patagonia, indicating that there has not been a recent connection. Below: Halicarcinus planatus has a higher level of haplotype diversity in Patagonia (shown in red) than in During the 53rd and 54th Antarc- Siegert, M.J., Barrett, P., DeConton, R., Dunbar, R., Cofaigh, C.Ó., Passchier, S. & Naish, R. (2008) Recent advances in understanding the sub-Antarctic islands (Kerguelen and Falkland Islands). This would indicate that Patagonia would be the tic Scientific Expeditions (eca) we 5 10 20 40 originating area for dispersion to the sub-Antarctic islands. Antarctic climate evolution. Antarctic Science, 20, 313–325.

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Environmental Teleconnections Recognizing and mitigating the impacts of human influence in Antarctica is one of the priorities of the international scientific community for the coming decades. While one could have the mistaken perception that Antarctica is an isolated continent, scientific evidence has shown for many years that it is not. On the contrary, Antarctica influences, and is influenced by, the rest of the planet.

arth’s increasing temperature, ing the negative impacts of its own It has been discovered that con- Author due mainly to the generation activities in Antarctica, we currently centrations of tantalum (a metal asso- of greenhouse gases, is clear see the arrival of pollutants that travel ciated with the electronics industry) Marcelo González- Eevidence that what is produced in from other continents, whether per- have found their way into populations Aravena the northern hemisphere will affect sistent organic pollutants, heavy met- of penguins on King George Island. INACH Antarctica. Thus, the influence of this als, microplastics, or plants coming Other emerging pollutants, such as frozen continent on other continents from distant lands. microplastics, have been reported in is irrefutable with respect to the scien- Research carried out by Chile on the waters around the entire Antarc- tific evidence produced in relation to these subjects in early 2000 focused tic continent. New research into the atmospheric and oceanic interactions. on evaluating the distribution and effects of these materials on Antarc- Nevertheless, it is also possible to concentration of atmospheric aero- tic organisms are among the new observe the influence of the rest of sols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocar- challenges for polar research in our the planet on Antarctica, such as the bons, as well as alkanes in water and country. dispersion of pollutants originating in sediment samples taken from Fildes Studies of the ozone layer in the various places, which reach the White Bay (King George Island). 1980s were key factors for developing Continent in ways that demonstrate In the last ten years research has world awareness of our impacts, as a this teleconnection. focused on identifying the presence global society, on the Antarctic. This There is also the impact of pollu- and possible impacts of trace metals brought about the modification of in- tion generated within Antarctica, by on penguin populations, the pres- dustrial processes on an international scientific and logistical activities, and ence of bacteria in the ocean that are scale. Now, the study of the effect of by fishing and tourism. These may multi-resistant and uncontrolled by pollutants coming from other tech- be associated with the discharge of the latest generation of antibiotics. It nologies, such as the plastics or elec- waste from treatment plants, plastic is believed that these bacteria could tronics industries, could help to create garbage, incineration of rubbish, fuel be transferred to bird populations and effective political measures to reduce spills on land or in the waters, or in the Antarctic mammals. This surveillance our footprint on the White Continent introduction of non-native species. is also on the lookout to detect and and, therefore, on our planet. • Although there has been an en- identify non-native pollen, seeds, and vironmental impact since men first plants such as Juncus bufonius (Toad came to Antarctica, this “footprint” Rush) in several locations at the South has increased since the signing of the Shetland Islands. Antarctic Treaty in 1959. After 41 The new challenges in this sub- years of seeing the effects of human ject area are related to exploring the activities, the Antarctic-Environmen- processes of bio-accumulation and tal Protocol (or Madrid Protocol) was bio-magnification in populations of created to regulate the activities of marine organism populations, rang- the different countries. ing from invertebrates to higher ver- While each country is responsible tebrates, such as birds and marine for assessing, correcting, or prevent- mammals. s. izquierdo

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Patagonia Antarctica More than the sum of its parts: 1 Conceptual diagram of methylmercury Biomagnification and the effects of pollutants biomagnification in coastal trophic plots ~ 770 X ~ 1300 X in Patagonia and ~ ~ on coastal areas of Antarctica and Patagonia Antarctica.

s of 1959 there were already 55 sponges, isopods, crustaceans, ascidi- web productivity is supported by mi- Author stations on the sub-Antarctic ans (sea squirts), pycnogonids (marine crobial communities. islands, and these were occu- arthropods), fish, marine mammals Organisms that live in polar re- Gustavo Chiang Fundación MERI Apied by more than 5,000 people. In and seabirds, among others, present- gions have evolved some peculiar the last 50 years, tourism and coming a great biodiversity even greater characteristics. One of them is their METHYLMERCURY mercial fishing have registered a strong than that found in the Arctic. sensitivity or susceptibility to pollut- 1X 1X increase in the human presence. One In Antarctica, marine trophic net- ants, compared to species from other of the possible results of this could works (food chains) are well defined regions. Polar organisms have a slow be the greater emission of persistent but relatively short and simple. The or- absorption of pollutants compared to Not so many years ago Antarctica chemical compounds to an extent not ganisms that support them are primary the biota of temperate climates. The was perceived as a pristine the humpback whale. At the same noted a similar pattern in Antarctica, previously known in the region. producers, composed of several dia- implication is that life forms that have ecosystem. The region had no time, high concentrations of endrin, where sites close to glaciers showed The presence of compounds relat- tom species that make up marine phy- low metabolic rates are able to accu- endosulfan and dichlorodiphenyltri- tms values slightly higher than the ed to organic pollutants has helped to toplankton and are the favorite food mulate pollutants more slowly. associated human activities of chloroethane (ddt) were detected in South Shetland Islands site. determine the effect of human activ- of krill, which itself is a fundamental If we also consider that these polar any great importance. There were cetacean species. This becomes relevant due to the ities on the environment. But unlike species in the Antarctic trophic webs, zone organisms have a concentration no industries, cities, mining, or In much the same way, biopsies toxicological risk of these elements what happens in other ecosystems, since all organisms of higher trophic of energy storage lipids, we may con- similar activities. There was only and fecal samples from leopard seals, considered not essential for wildlife in Antarctica these pollutants for levels (fish, marine birds, and marine clude that the low use of energy for Weddell seals, crabeater seals, south- and human health. the most part are transported from mammals such as seals and whales) their metabolism also slows their de- scientific work. ern elephant seals and southern fur To evaluate this risk, we have outside the region. The presence of depend on it. toxification and purification process- seals showed a higher concentration complemented the analyse of stable these persistent organic pollutants in The trophic webs of the Patago- es. This suggests the greater vulnera- Our understanding of the effects of hexachlorocyclohexane. These pollutant residues and isotopes with Antarctica since 1960 has been ob- nian region are more complex. One of bility of polar organisms to the adverse of anthropogenic pollutants and how contaminants had not been detected levels of porphyrins (a biomarker of served in the biota, atmosphere, water, the main differences lies in the succes- effects of pollutants. they accumulate in these species in in these magnitudes in any of these metabolic disruption) and immune and sediments. sion processes in the phytoplankton One of the objectives of the proj- Patagonia and Antarctica is quite in- pinniped species. responses in Gentoo, Chinstrap, and community during the spring season, ect “Biomagnification and potential complete. These compounds present At the same time, we quantified Adélie penguins. The results indicat- Trophic patterns in Antarctica which depend on physical processes effects of Persistent Organic Pollut- a global environmental problem, due the trophic structure of the sites ed significant differences between and Patagonia, biomagnification, such as light, mixing, circulation pat- ants (pops) in the aquatic food web of to their extraordinary toxicity, per- through the use of stable isotopes of basophils and eosinophils in the three and pollution biomarkers terns, temperature and salinity; and the Antarctic Peninsula and Patago- sistence, and mobility within the envi- carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N), as species. The h/l ratio showed a level The Antarctic biota is very diverse and biological factors such as competition nia” could determine levels of both or- ronment. These compounds not only well evaluating the influence of these of stress in all species. Cytological is composed mainly of marine organ- and feeding. In spring, phytoplankton ganic and inorganic pollutants in wide- bioaccumulate in organisms, but also on the possible biomagnification of alterations (cytotoxic granulations, isms: mollusks, polychaetes (marine predominate, being composed mainly ly varying biological compartments. biomagnify through the food chain, pollutants. vacuolated monocytes, segmented bristle worms), amphipods, bryozoans, of diatoms, while in winter the food reaching high concentrations in top Stable isotope analyzes in pinni- lymphocytes) were observed. predators 1. ped biopsies (δ13C and δ15N) showed a All these results suggest that the Our research has observed the high trophic level in all species and in a levels of pollutants could be impact- presence of polychlorinated biphenyls wide range of forage for both Paradise ing the health of Antarctic biota, and (pcb) congeners, 14 organochlorine Bay and Cape Shirreff. This research point to the need to evaluate the pos- pesticides (op), mercury, cadmium represents pioneering work in Chile, sible point where these contaminants and tantalum in samples of Antarc- for the way this issue is addressed. enter the food chain in these regions. tic and Patagonian biota, as well as We encourage the use of non-lethal Meanwhile, it is essential to con- biomagnification processes and some monitoring to study the concentra- tinue ensuring that national and in- markers of the effects of these con- tions and effects of contaminants in ternational protocols and treaties taminants, particularly in fish and marine mammals. relating to this problem are fully met, penguins. Using values of δ15N and concen- along with the implementation of a From non-lethal biopsy sampling trations of mercury and tantalum, we monitoring system linked to the sci- of fatty tissue from four species of ce- calculated the Trophic Magnification entific research taking place on the taceans, high concentrations of pcb Slope (tms) for the Patagonian coastal Antarctic continent. • were detected in the gray pilot whale trophic plots, showing that there are and the minke whale. biomagnification processes for these On the other hand, of all the an- trace metals. alyzed organochlorine pesticides, ten For mercury in particular, the were detected. The species showing highest tms values were observed near the highest po concentration was Patagonian freshwater sources. We

Antarctic pollution pathways

Atmospheric transport

Biological transport

Authors Antarctica is a sort he list of compounds used for What characteristics of these different applications has not compounds influence their Cristóbal Galbán of sensor that allows Universidad stopped growing, in type nor transport to Antarctica? Andrés Bello us to study the Tvolume. Of these, only a few thousand The first things we must understand concentrations have been studied and about the characteristics of these Thais Luarte pollutants that reach identified in the environment, repre- compounds are their physical and Universidad the region through Andrés Bello senting only a small percentage of chemical properties, especially their Hydrospheric transport various environmental the total. Unfortunately, Antarctica volatility (the tendency of a com- Benjamín Collins Universidad transport routes. is one of the areas where these compound to pass to a vapor phase) and Andrés Bello Human development pounds tend to accumulate. hydrophilicity (the ability of a com- during the last two Persistent organic pollutants pound to dissolve in water). (pops) are characterized by their ten- Bearing in mind these two charac- centuries has entailed dency to endure in the environment. teristics, we can classify compounds the production of They bio-accumulate in organisms according to transport behavior. chemical compounds throughout their life cycle, are toxic Thus we have “flyers,” “hoppers” (or of many types, to wildlife as well as to humans and “single-hoppers”), “swimmers” and, Recently, new transport pathways 2. Tourist activities. Greater num- and these are can be transported over long dis- finally, “multi-hoppers.” are being described that reflect the bers of tourists year after year can tances, either by air or by water, and A “flyer” compound is one that movement of species between differ- result in an increase in transport- necessary for the also transported by animals. Due to does not settle on any surface but ent ecosystems. We are uncovering ed pollutants, especially from the pharmaceutical, their characteristics and transport rather stays in the atmosphere. “Single more and more evidence that migra- most recent chemical compounds, agricultural, food, pathways, pops can reach Antarcti- hoppers” are defined as compounds tory birds can accumulate compounds such as some flame retardants. and manufacturing ca, where they accumulate in various that pass from the atmosphere to the in their tissues. When these animals structures and establish their own surface only once and are retained ir- move from one ecosystem to another The Antarctic ecosystem is not free of industries. bio-geochemical cycles. reversibly on the surface (soils, snow, they become a sort of vector, in what anthropogenic pressures, despite the pops are regulated under the ice, etc.). is known as bio-transport. enormous distance that separates it Stockholm Convention, which was The multi-hoppers are semi-vol- from the sources of possible impacts. ratified by more than 150 coun- atile compounds that involve succes- Local influences We focus our research on how these tries, excluding the United States sive volatilization processes. When Despite the abiotic and biotic trans- compounds are transported over long and China. Originally, this interna- they reach a surface they can volatil- port pathways described above, the distances. Thus Antarctica serves as tional agreement was implemented ize again in successive “hops.” Finally, Antarctic continent increasingly in- something of a thermometer to indi- for twelve families of compounds, the “swimmers” are compounds with a volves increasing population, due to cate the state of health of the planet in which are colloquially known as the high degree of hydrophilicity. Instead greater numbers of people. This could terms of persistent pollution also, not “dirty dozen.” New families of com- of being transported by air, they are be divided into two types of activities: only in global warming. Everything we pounds have been subsequently added transported through surface marine do in our varied activities around the Acknowledgements through the introduction of annexes currents and distributed to distant 1. Research activities. Scientific world creates a footprint that cannot to the agreement. areas. These would be the classic stations or bases can be a local be erased. And so we see more clear- The authors are grateful for the financing provided by INACH (INACH RT1217). Cristóbal Despite their prohibition or lim- pathways for studying the abiotic source of pollutants, as has already ly how Antarctica is interconnected Galbán receives support from FONDECYT projects ited use (with only a few exceptions), transport of pollutants. been observed in several parts of with the rest of the continents that 11150548 and 1161504 and is founder member of the Input Pathways of persistent one of the most interesting phenom- Antarctica. At times there can be surround it. • organic pollutants to AntarCTica (ImPACT) SCAR Action Group. Thais Luarte is undertaking his ena is seen through the study of how an “eventual impact” involving doctoral thesis thanks to the support of the these compounds reach Antarctica, pollution due to accidents. An Vice-Rectory for Research and Development at Andres Bello University. Benjamín Collins is bearing in mind that the main areas example of this is the case of fires supported by the REDI170292 project. where these compounds are used are that can emit organic pollutants as quite far from the White Continent. unwanted byproducts.

22 | advances in chilean antarctic science | n5 instituto antártico chileno | 23 From the geological and paleontological evidence Ancient Teleconnections of ancient connections between Antarctica, South between South America and Antarctica America, Africa, India, and Australia in Gondwana, paleontologists and geologists have been able to infer the connections between South America and Author rom the end of the Eocene period and beginning of Antarctica, as well as when the fragmentation of the Oligocene (about 35 million years ago), the en- this supercontinent occurred. Thus we see that the Lorena Rebolledo vironment in Antarctica changed dramatically. Its INACH geological history of Antarctica’s isolation is closely Ftropical climate, with enormous forests of Nothofagus trees related to the final fate of Gondwana. and ferns with huge leaves, simply disappeared. Gone were the landscapes so similar to the current Valdivian forest. Today only the fossil evidence remains. In Antarctica now, mosses and lichens dominate, with only two species of vascular plants: Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis, which have adapted to the harsh polar climatic conditions. With the separation of South America and Antarcti- ca, and then with the opening of the vast Drake Passage, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (cca) came into being. Starting in the Miocene period (about 15 million years ago), this flow intensified, becoming a powerful ocean current that connects the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, transporting a volume of water of about 170 Svedrup (sv=170 million cubic meters per second), some 60,000 times greater than the flow of Niagara Falls. The cca maintains the region’s biogeographical limits and ensures a high production of phytoplankton and krill biomass, supporting the polar trophic web. In this way, the definitive separation of South America and Antarcti- ca allowed the cca to form, thermally isolating the White Continent, resulting in a progressive cooling. This in turn led to the Upper Cenozoic and Quaternary glaciations around the planet. We can discuss the prehistoric teleconnections between South America and the Antarctic continent from a paleontological perspective, using fossils as stratigraph- ic markers together with geochronological dating. At the same time, we see the evidence of past connections from a geological point of view, in the types of rocks and rock formations present in Patagonia and Antarctica. Knowledge of geological and paleontological teleconnections is growing, providing new understanding and evidence about the past connection between Patagonia and Antarctica. •

Antarctica, millions of years ago, without the mantle of ice that covers it now. This surface, of which today we see only a small part, has partially emerged at various periods of geological history, even forming land bridges that united South America and

nasa Antarctica.

instituto antártico chileno | 25 ilAiA | advances in chilean antarctic science ilAiA | teleconnections: south america-antarctica

Echoes of a once-green Antarctica in modern Chile

Author

Marcelo Leppe INACH

n much the same way, Heading in new directions along with the non-fly- From 250 to 23 million years ago, the ing dinosaurs, such as Antarctic continent had comparative- IAntarctopelta, Morrosaurus, ly high temperatures. This allowed the and Trinisaura, and the arrival, diversification and expansion hadrosaurs and titanosaurs, of plant species that have left their paleontologists see clear mark on other parts of the world. evidence of the connection Before the final separation of that existed between Antarctica and South America from Antarctica, and Nothofagus leaf imprints more than 80 million years old, discovered in 2016 by a Chilean paleontological expedition on Nelson Island in Patagonia. the cooling produced by the forma- Antarctica. Photo: M. Leppe Birds are also well represented tion of the acc, the austral climate here, as evidenced by spectacular was much warmer, and this produced discoveries in the James Ross basin. the conditions for the development Marine reptiles such as comasasaurs of tree species such as Nothofagus, a In the Antarctica of about and plesiosaurs, including a mosasaur genus of plants currently distributed skull uncovered on the island Seymour in Oceania and South America. Antarctica once served as a biological corridor for many organisms whose modern examples today live in widely scattered regions. In the picture, is Dicksonia antarctica, on Mount Donna Buang, in Australia, surrounded by 80 to 70 million years ago, (Marambio) by a Chilean paleontolog- Several scientific expeditions, snow. In Chile it is possible to find relatives of this fern, such as the Dicksonia berteroana, on the island of Juan Fernández, and Lophosoria quadripinnata, which is widely distributed in southern Chile. Photo: S. Chown. among forests and marshes of ical expedition in 2011. The specimen many of them organized by inach, flowering coniferous and fern was named Kaikaifilu hervei in honor have found convincing evidence in plants, dinosaurs and mammals of the mythological reptile of the in- various sectors of the White Conti- digenous Mapuche people, and the nent. This evidence includes fossils abounded, while the seas prominent Chilean geologist Francis- impressions of leaves, tree trunks and teemed with marine reptiles co Hervé. even grains of pollen from these an- and invertebrates such as cient forests. ammonites and bivalves, among Another end for the Antarctic Evidence reveals that on the dinosaurs Antarctic Peninsula and nearby is- many others. The environments A new theory concerns a twist of fate lands there were many unique plant at the end of the Antarctic that may have put an end to the era of species, similar to those that can be Cretaceous anticipated modern dinosaurs 66 million years ago, when found today in such widely scattered Image of Kaikaifilu hervei, whose skull was discovered by a Chilean expedition to forms of plants and animals a new massive extinction checkmated places as Patagonia, New Caledonia, Seymour Island (Marambio) in 2011. Illustration: R. Otero. that were about to populate the Antarctic life. During the Paleocene Australia and New Zealand. Sever- (66-23 Ma) the world moved from al species of trees related to South continents that are at the time a hyper-green environment to the American araucarias, arrayanes, live for long without photosynthesis, growth rates, is still under study. Per- Among the species found here still linked, in various ways, abrupt reduction in temperatures, mañíos, oaks and raulíes covered vast and this which leaves open the ques- haps the answer lies hidden within were enormous titanosaurs, raptors, to Antarctica: Australia, New most likely caused by the final separa- regions of the Antarctic Peninsula and tion of how those early Antarctic trees their dna. hadrosaurs, marine reptiles, mam- Zealand and South America. It is tion of South America and Antarctica their fossils are readily seen on the survived during the long dark seasons. mals, fossil trunks, and flowers. The and the subsequent formation of the Nelson, King George, Seymour, and Certainly, there is a paradox here. The missing bridge leaves of the Nothofagus tree (the old- during this time that the oldest Antarctic Circumpolar Current (acc). James Ross islands. The study of the growth rings of the The recent discovery of a dinosaur est in South America) were among records of the tree Nothofagus Both land masses still maintained Although the conditions for life fossil tree trunks indicates that there “bonebed” (large concentration of the 40 species of plants, with an age appear on Nelson Island. intermittent land bridges, however, were better during this period, of was apparently no significant dif- bones in a single level) in the Cerro of between 78 and 67 million years. Marsupials colonized Oceania and this is attested by the exchanges Antarctica’s location still implied that ferences in the growth rates of the Guido-Las Chinas fossiliferous com- This discovery has posed a key pa- of flora and fauna revealed in the fossil its biota had to support long winters Antarctic forests when compared to plex, located in the northern part of leontological question: for decades, from South America, in an epic record, as elements of the Valdivian without seeing the sun, while during their relatives in today’s Valdivian Chile’s Magellanic Region, has pro- the dominant theory of connection migration that passed through jungle, both by iconic animals like the rest of the year daylight was near- “jungle” in Chile. How these trees vided new insights into the ancient in this region suggested that the only this early Antarctica. the hoofed creatures Litopterna and ly constant for months. A significant endured long periods without photo- relationship between Antarctica and contact between both areas occurred Astrapotheria. number of modern tree species cannot synthesis, and still maintained their South America.

due to the continual continental drift, 90 million years ago... or tectonic plate movement. The Antarctic Peninsula and the continent of serge ouachee serge However, evidence shows that at South America were periods of 73, 70 and 68 million years connected in the Magallanes basin ago, the sea level fell enough to connect the continent to Antarctica, and allow the passage of plant and animal species. Perhaps the most convincing evidence of this connection is the presence of fossilized leaves of Nothofagus tree species in both Antarctica and

South America. There are two key 68 million years ago... characteristics of these species. One The sea level fell sufficiently for the is that their seeds do not tolerate salt creation of a land bridge between the water. The second: the wind does two continents, making not spread those seeds over great possible the arrival of Nothofagus trees from distances. Therefore, the presence of Antarctica and the Nothofagus Nothofagus on both sides of the South- migration of dinosaurs in the other direction. ern Ocean is a sign that at some point Dinosaurs both land masses were connected across the Drake Passage, the strait that today separates the two continents.

Fossil remains Today... of dinosaurs Continental drift has The end of a warm Antarctica permanently separated On the geological scale, the Cenozoic the land masses that were previously or “Age of Mammals” is divided into connected. “cold-temperate” to “polar” climate south pole. This area is known as the three major periods: the Paleocene, About 23 million years ago, during the Neogene, a period in which Beardmore glacier. The fossils corre- which was very warm; the Neogene, Antarctica began to cool the great Antarctic forests started to spond to a type of tundra with scrub- which was comparatively colder and Fossil remains of in a very noticeable way. disappear. At this time life forms dealt by Nothofagus trees, herbaceous plants with global temperatures generally Nothofagus trees. with a selection pressure, a situation such as Ranunculus, moss bogs, and in- falling; and the Quaternary, character- However, the immense in which many organisms that lack sects, all in an assemblage reminiscent ized by great glaciations and extend- modern glaciation process mechanisms to tolerate or avoid low of those at Cape Horn, the island at ing to present times. actually took place much temperatures become extinct. the southern tip of South America. The division between Paleocene slower than is commonly However, many other organisms These fossils have an estimated and Neogene, 23 million years ago did adapt to these new cold condi- age of 14 Ma. Their discovery –almost (Ma), was characterized by a steep re- imagined, happening over tions and survived, bringing about 10 Ma after the beginning of the final duction in temperatures, which sharp- a period of several million several plant and animal lineages that cooling of Antarctica and so close to ly affected the polar regions. This years. Fossil discoveries are endemic to Antarctica. the South Pole– makes us ask our- resulted in a climate ranging from a obtained near the South Western Antarctica provides selves about the persistence of these Pole with an age of only 14 an important fossil record from the environments on the Antarctic Pen- million years reveal that Neogene era, in part because glaci- insula and the South Shetland Islands, vegetation still existed in ated areas are still preserved along where conditions must have been less the coasts. Interpretation of these overwhelming for life forms. Antarctica that was very fossils is yielding information of great One last consideration makes us similar to what can be importance for the understanding of unquestionably certain that during seen today on the Herschel the enormous changes that turned most of the Earth’s history, Antarcti- Island, at Cape Horn Antarctica into what it is today. ca was a continent teeming with life, Bones from hadrosaurs Somewhat paradoxically, our im- and a possible source of many of the (duck-billed dinosaurs) found in a 69 million year old National Park, as shown in pression that the history of “green” species that today populate the south- bone-bed in the Las Chinas valley, in the northern part the photo above. Antarctica ended with the beginning ern continents and biogeographic of the Magallanes Region of the Neogene, 23 Ma ago, came into corridor for many widely scattered in Chile. Bones of these same dinosaurs have been question recently with discoveries of land masses. • discovered in contemporary flora and fauna at 85° south latitude. strata on the Vega and James Ross islands in Antarctica. That is, only about 500 km from the Photo: S. Soto.

A compound derived from Antarctic plant inhibits growth in colorectal cancer

capable of tolerating of high levels of In addition, it produces an immunity forms to good manufacturing prac- m. leppe exposure to uv radiation thanks to its memory, which is what happens when tices (gmp), required by the United production of secondary metabolites you treat an animal with a tumor and States Food and Drug Administration that serve as photo-protective or “sun- that animal is cured but is later sub- (fda) in order to begin clinical trials screen” agents. jected to the same tumor, it enjoys the on humans. Then pre-clinical tests on The scientist Gidekel considers effect of a vaccine and is not infected animals must be repeated, followed this plant to be “masochistic” be- with the disease,” reported Gidekel. by safety and toxicity tests on hu- cause it doesn’t care for good condi- As pharmaco-modulation was mans (Phase I). It’s estimated that it tions. “They actually prefer Antarctic conducted, it was possible to test will take between 36 and 40 months conditions, they like uv radiation and other molecules from the original that to finish the clinical trial Phase I-IIa a number of other things that are im- were obtained from the plant which for the product, to demonstrate its ef- possible to replicate in the laboratory. show effectiveness in the treatment of fectiveness. In these tests, Dr. Manu- For that reason it turned out that the hepatocarcinomas (liver cancer) and el Hidalgo, head of the Hematology most reasonable way to do a phar- other solid tumors, such as gastric, and Cancer Division of the Beth Israel macological study would be to have lung, and breast and neck cancers. Deaconess Medical Center (Harvard a chemical synthesis of the product. University hospital), will be the medi- We have several patents and one dealt What is still lacking be fore this cal advisor for the human clinical trial. with bioreactors, which was obtained treatment is available? These results are described in de- in the United States, to produce Des- Somewhere in the world someone dies tail in the article, “A Tricin Derivative champsia in the laboratory,” reported from colorectal cancer every minute, from Deschampsia antarctica Desv. In- Gidekel. with 700,000 deaths reported ev- hibits Colorectal Carcinoma Growth This research is the continuation ery year from this cause. Surgery for and Liver Metastasis through the A specimen of Antarctic of the first project financed by inach patients with this disease may be an Induction of a Specific Immune Re- grass (Deschampsia esearchers from Chile and Ar- These findings show that Antarti- According to Gidekel, “in the ar- in the year 1998 that used pharmaco- option, put this is applicable in only sponse” published in Molecular Cancer antarctica). gentina successfully isolated na has the ability to induce antitumor ticle we report 30 percent remission logical studies to produce photo-pro- about 20 to 30 percent of cases, and Therapeutics (doi: 10.1158/1535-7163. compounds from the plant immunity against colon and rectal in cancer, but now we have new trials tectors, essentially “sun screens.” In for that reason the scientific world is mct-17-0193). RDeschampsia antarctica which inhibit cancer and could be utilized to devel- which show 100 percent remission in 2003 it was found that an extract of concerned with reaching therapeutic On the 28th of August, the us the growth of carcinogenic colorectal, op new tools for its treatment. What tumors, in advanced colon cancer with Deschampsia showed antineoplastic treatments. Patent and Trademark Office granted hepatic, and gastric cells. The name of is more, in laboratory testing there metastasis in the liver, which is con- activity. The next steps are to conduct a patent rights protecting the industrial the anti-tumor agent is “Antartina” were no observed toxic effects in the sidered an orphan disease, an illness For inach director Dr. Marcelo chemical synthesis process that con- use of this product. • and it has demonstrated surprising doses used. which has no cure.” Leppe, “this is one of many examples results in the study led by the scien- The trials were conducted primar- Gidekel, an agricultural engineer of the impacts that Antarctic science tists Manuel Gidekel (Universidad ily by the biomedical and biotech- (1961, Argentina) with a science doc- could have on the lives of all Chil- Dr. Manuel Gidekel, facing the Collins Glacier, observing a specimen of Antarctic grass (Deschampsia antarctica). Autónoma de Chile) and Guillermo nology company Uxmal SpA with torate in biotechnology, has gone to eans. Although it may seem distant, Mazzolini (Universidad Austral, Ar- participation from the Universidad the White Continent more than 17 the White Continent has important gentina). The results were published Autónoma de Chile in Santiago, at times, thanks to several projects be- keys for the future of humanity, from in the prestigious journal Molecular the Centro de Investigaciones On- longing to the Chilean Antarctic Sci- understanding the extent of climate Cancer Therapeutics, of the American cológicas (Madrid, Spain), through a ence Program. He works in the sector change, to finding a cure for diseas- Association for Cancer Research collaborative scientific effort at the that includes the Collins glacier, on es such as Alzheimer’s or cancer. As (aacr). Facultad de Ciencias Biomédicas of King George Island, where a popu- a Chilean Antarctic Program, we are In laboratory testing, Antartina the Universidad Austral (Buenos Ai- lation of Deschampsia antarctica grows taking concrete steps in that direc- inhibited the growth of human col- res, Argentina) with the team of Dr. and where the Chilean Antarctic In- tion.” orectal cancer. Meanwhile, in testing Guillermo Mazzolini, in the Beth stitute (inach) maintains a working on mice it strongly inhibited tumor Israel Deaconess Hospital (Boston, shelter during the summer season. The polar path to a cure for cancer growth and liver metastasis, result- United States) and the Centro de Antartina is a secondary metabolite ing in complete tumor regression in Química Aplicada y Biotecnología The “bulletproof” plant and makes up part of one type of more than 30 percent of the rats, and (Spain). In Chile, there was also the Antarctica is a habitat for organisms compound from Deschampsia that increased animal survival. Antartina participation of Dr. Ana Gutiérrez with extraordinary abilities, the stuff the plant uses to protect itself from induced a potent lymphocyte T-cell (Universidad Autónoma de Chile and of super-heroes fitted with powers disease, weeds, and microorganisms. response (very important in the im- Universidad de La Frontera). These that allow them to withstand cold, “This is a sugar with a phenol, featur- mune system) against colorectal car- trials were financed by Uxmal SpA’s heat, darkness, wind, solar radiation, ing an activity which destroys tumor cinoma and produced a long-lasting own funds and by Innova Corfo with salinity, or dehydration. The grass cells, but does not harm benign cells. antitumor immunity. logistical support from inach. known as Deschampsia antarctica is

Antarctic Fiction in English: A Thematic Analysis While Antarctica is labelled the “continent for science,” a place to be studied through the languages of geology, glaciology and zoology, there are other modes of engaging with the region that both complement and challenge this categorization. Over the last few centuries numerous novelists, playwrights and poets have produced creative representations of the Antarctic region. Some of them were written in response to actual historical events, others are wildly speculative, and many are somewhere in between, combining imagination with contemporary knowledge of the region. By examining these tales we can better understand past and present attitudes towards the “continent for science.”

or over fifty years Antarctica The best-known Antarctic stories lar party’s but perhaps equally heroic. Author There is no single dominant that (with a few exceptions) Antarctic into the Antarctic literary tradition, has been labelled the “conti- are those that relate the actual expe- “Scott’s Last Expedition” has been fiction by women emerged only in the but also the rise of comparatively nent for science”: a place to be riences of early explorers: Douglas mythologized, and the shape of the Elizabeth Leane story that humans tell about later twentieth century. Recent writ- realistic novels set in icebreakers or School of Humanities Fstudied objectively, to be known and Mawson stumbling into base at the myth (as well as attempts at its dem- / Institute for Marine the South Polar region, but it is ers such as Mojisola Adebayo, creator scientific stations. and Antarctic Studies, understood in the relatively precise, end of a disaster-ridden trek, starving olition or deconstruction) tells us as University of Tasmania possible to trace broad themes of the play Moj of the Antarctic (2008), It is impossible to identify any unambiguous languages of geology, and exhausted, only to see his expedi- much about ourselves and our own elizabeth.leane@ around which Antarctic narratives and Mat Johnson, author of the novel one dominant story that we tell about glaciology, physics, zoology and biol- tion’s relief ship sailing out of the bay; views of Antarctica as it does about utas.edu.au Pym (2010), make their central con- the continent. It is, however, possible ogy. The Antarctic region, however, the ice slowly crushing Ernest Shack- Scott and his men. cluster. This essay briefly surveys cern the reappropriation of the con- to trace broad themes around which A translated Spanish has meanings for human beings that leton’s ship, the Endurance; and the Bainbridge and Cornelius are version of this essay prominent Antarctic literary texts tinent and its literature by those his- Antarctic stories cluster, a selection of was published in cannot be conveyed in these languages attempt on the South Pole by Robert just two of numerous novelists, play- Boletín Antártico torically marginalized because of their which are outlined below. Chileno, 33 (2) pp. written in English, with a focus alone. While physically Antarctica is F. Scott and his four companions, wrights and poets who have produced 95-99. An earlier, gender, race or sexual orientation. shorter version on fiction, identifying the literary layered over by several kilometres of with its unanticipated rivalry with the creative representations of the conti- appeared in the Until recently, almost all creative Utopian Hope exhibition catalogue vocabulary —the genres, themes, ice, culturally it is covered by accu- Norwegian Antarctic Expedition, and nent over the last few centuries. Some Looking South, ed. P. writers who chose to “look south” An antipodean landmass has existed Zika (Hobart: Plimsoll mulating strata of myth, metaphor its terrible disappointments. These of them were written in response to ac- Gallery, 2005). and motifs— which writers have were faced with the task of describ- theoretically (as part of ancient Greek and narrative. are stories of events that actually tual historical events, others are wildly developed as a way of knowing the ing and interpreting a place they had thought) for millenia, occupying dif- Ironically, one story that is often happened, although each generation speculative, and many are somewhere southernmost continent. never seen. This was both limiting ferent sites and portions of the south- told about Antarctica is that it brings tells them differently: Scott’s story in in between, combining imagination and liberating: attempts at realism ern hemisphere as cartographical tra- writers (as well as explorers) to their particular has continually metamor- with contemporary knowledge of the were inevitably second-hand and de- dition changed. For Europeans, this knees: its landscape is too extreme, phosed, from an initial tale of heroic region. Numerically, popular genre rivative, reliant as they were on the terra australis incognita was imagined does not boast an Antarctic title: too empty, too unearthly to find ad- self-sacrifice, to a lesson in misman- novels dominate Antarctic literature: accounts of explorers, whalers and as a site of opposition, a land on the there are even category romances set equate representation; it exceeds our agement and foolish amateurism, to its remote icescape has been a par- sealers; but speculation was given free reverse side of the world where es- in Antarctica, such as Daphne Clair’s metaphors, our very language. But a more complex narrative in which ticularly suitable setting for utopian rein. The Antarctic continent in liter- tablished conventions could be over- Frozen Heart (Mills and Boon, 1980). what place does not, in some sense, luck (or the lack of it) plays a signifi- and dystopian fiction, science fiction, ature has abounded in creatures and turned. The Great Southern Land, In addition, Antarctica has also beggar description? Oceans, deserts, cant role. Creative writers have taken imperial adventure fiction, horror phenomena that appear wonderful, correspondingly, became the setting attracted a fair number of canonical high mountain ranges and outer up the subject. British novelist Beryl and thrillers of various kinds – action terrible and ridiculous by turns: polar for numerous utopias. literary figures writing in English: space all share aspects of Antarcti- Bainbridge’s The Birthday Boys (1991), thrillers, technothrillers, ecothrillers spirits; demon ships; routes to Mars; Some of these literary utopias set Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Edgar Allan ca’s “unwritable” qualities, but have for example, questions the reliability and “cli-fi” novels. Some of Antarc- enormous polar whirlpools; alien in an imagined terra australis, by virtue Poe, James Fenimore Cooper, Mark compelled rather than repelled sto- of any single narrative of the expedi- tica’s most enduring and influential creatures buried in ice; dinosaurs; gi- of a cold climate or a specified polar Twain, Joseph Conrad, Douglas Stew- rytellers. It is no surprise, then, that tion by telling different stages of the narratives emerge from these genres, ant lobsters; giant insects; and giant location, can be arguably classed as art and Thomas Keneally have all been over several centuries a diverse group story in the voices of the five men such as H.P. Lovecraft’s horror At the albino kangaroos. Increasingly, in the “Antarctic,” even though they were drawn, artistically and in some cases of writers have slowly generated a who died. Patricia Cornelius’s play Mountains of Madness (1936), John W. twentieth and twenty-first centuries, written before any human saw the physically, to the continent. It is no literary vocabulary —a set of genres, Do Not Go Gentle… (2010) has five el- Campbell Jr’s science fiction story these speculations have been joined southernmost continent. The earliest coincidence that all of these authors themes, motifs and metaphors— with derly people in a nursing home (two “Who Goes There?” (1938), Ursula Le by more sober offerings. The last few example written in English is British are men. The domination of Antarc- which to “write” Antarctica. This es- of them women) act out the story, Guin’s feminist alternate exploration decades, when writers have been able novelist Robert Paltock’s Life and tic fiction by the popular genres listed say surveys some prominent examples which becomes a powerful metaphor history “Sur” (1982) and Kim Stanley to travel south as tourists or official in- Adventures of Peter Wilkins (1750), in above, along with the exclusion of fe- written in English, with a focus on fic- for their individual journeys towards Robinson’s critical utopia Antarctica terpreters, have seen not only the en- which a Cornish sailor, wrecked “near male actors from the continent’s sem- tion. death – more mundane than the po- (1997). It is hard to find a genre which try of a more diverse group of writers the South Pole,” encounters a pre-lit- inal exploration narrratives, has meant

erate, winged people living in utopian of their own in ridiculous but telling in the early twenty-first century, with the ice, to be defrosted (although it is the Polar Star (1927) – was written by simplicity, to whom he introduces ways. Other utopias, such as Austra- its destabilizing glaciers and ice shelfs scientific rationality that eventually Edward Evans, second in command (with a modicum of retrospective am- lian George McIver’s aptly named ominously pointing to future sea-lev- contains it). This critique of scientific on Scott’s last expedition, who had bivalence) Western technologies and Neuroomia (1894), are more a product el rise, Antarctica remains a site of over-confidence is even more evident at least the advantage of having lived ideas. Even after Cook’s circumnavi- of an expansionist ethos, treating the geopolitical hope. Figured as the one in Lovecraft’s horror At the Mountains in Antarctica. In these tales, whales, gation of the continent in the 1770s Antarctic region as a source of more last uncorrupted place, it represents a of Madness, published in the same mag- seals, volcanos, icebergs and unscru- showed the region to be hostile and space, wealth and/or resources. One chance for humanity to start afresh, to azine two years earlier. The narrator pulous shipmates provide the hazards; icy, utopian novelists wrote of a hid- utopia which arguably satirizes this experiment with new ideas. begins his story of the devastation of the Antarctic functions primarily as a den, temperate continent harbouring view is Symzonia (1820). Written un- an Antarctic expedition by ancient thrilling and dangerous stage on which lost civilizations that put the rest of der the pseudonym “Adam Seaborn,” Horror aliens with a warning to “men of sci- idealized masculine character traits the world to shame. Prominent ex- the novel was published amid John While the “underside” of the world Pym of Nantucket (1838) are likewise ence” to cease their “contemplated in- of the period – pluckiness, hardiness, amples include Cooper’s The Monikins Cleves Symmes’ promotion of the (in Western cartography) has posi- nautical horrors, in which the series vasion of the antarctic – with its vast love of adventure – can be acted out. (1835) and Canadian James De Mille’s “hollow earth” theory and is set in an tive connotations of opposition, ex- of relatively realistic shipboard disas- fossil-hunt and its wholesale boring With the closing of the Antarc- A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper inhabited world within the Earth ac- perimentation and alternative modes ters suffered by each protagonist are and melting of the ice-cap.” tic “Heroic Era” of exploration on Cylinder (1888), both utopian satires in cessed via an Antarctic “hole.” of living, it equally evokes the nega- nothing compared to a final terrifying The Antarctic, in all of these hor- foot and dog-sledge, and the advent which a group of northeners encoun- While the utopian tradition in tive mythology of hell. Thus, running but sublime enounter with the polar ror stories, is not a passive environ- of mechanical transport, particularly ters an Antarctic civilization which Antarctic fiction reached its peak in alongside the utopian tradition in region, in the form of a maelstrom (in ment but an active icescape which re- the airplane, these sea- and land-based upturns the mores and assumptions the late nineteenth century, before Antarctic literature is a far darker vein “ms”) or a cataract (in Pym). In both acts, in horrendous and unpredictable tales tranformed into air adventures, land exploration of the continent had in which Antarctica is metaphorical- cases, it is as if the Earth itself is open- ways, to unthinking human interfer- epitomized by W.E. Johns’ Biggles begun, its legacy continued into the ly as well as literally an underworld. ing up to swallow the sailors into its ence. These tales can be seen, then, as Breaks the Silence (1949). At the same, post-“heroic” period. The 1930s, in The far south becomes a weird, hell- depths. unexpected precursors to the contem- a darker adult counterpart to these which the United States became in- ish region that produces monsters A more literal swallowing is threat- porary ecological dystopias, ecothrill- boys’ adventure tales grew up in the volved in Antarctic exploration after and lures unsuspecting sailors and ened in Conrad’s short story “Falk” ers and “cli-fi” novels in which unsta- form of Antarctic action thrillers, a long hiatus, saw a burst of interest explorers to unspeakable fates. This (1903) in which the crew of a ship ble ice sheets devastate the world with such as bestselling British novelist in the region from pulp science fiction Gothic Antarctica acts as the world’s adrift in Antarctic waters succumb to their melting or collapse. Hammond Innes’s The White South writers. I. R. Nathanson’s utopian subconscious, harbouring humanity’s the temptation of cannibalism. More (1949) and Australian journalist David short story “The Antarctic Transfor- deepest fears. characteristic of twentieth-century Adventure Burke’s Monday at McMurdo (1967). mation” (1931), published in Amazing Perhaps the most influential piece Antarctic horror, however, is Camp- While the protagonists of Antarctic Stories, is an early fictional use of ter- of Antarctic literature in any language, bell’s influential “Who Goes There?” horror stories are beset by disturb- raforming. Through the release of gey- Coleridge’s ballad “The Rime of the (adapted several times for film as ing creatures and phenomena that sers, the polar ice is quickly replaced Ancient Mariner” (1798), was heavily The Thing), published in the pulp leave them anxious and haunted, for by lush green countryside, allowing influenced by the conventions of the magazine Astounding Science-Fiction. the hearty young men and boys who the construction of highways and in- late eighteenth-century Gothic. The Consumption is still a key fear: in a venture south in another group of dustries, with large mineral resources mariner and his shipmates perceive claustrophobic Antarctic station built narratives, the continent’s threats awaiting exploitation. the Antarctic as a terrifying (as well (like those of the U.S. expeditions led merely provide the opportunity for Later twentieth-century utopias, as a beautiful) region, where the ice by Richard E. Byrd) beneath the ice, excitement and derring-do. The im- such as Robinson’s Antarctica, unsur- “cracked and growled, and roared a shape-shifting, body-snatching alien perial adventure genre that sprang prisingly tend to be more circumspect and howled” as if it were a living crea- terrorizes a scientific station, attack- up in the later nineteenth century about the inhabitation of the conti- ture. After the old sailor’s motiveless ing, absorbing and impersonating the included its fair share of Antarctic nent, and more conscious of its eco- shooting of an actual living creature, personnel one by one. The tale can be tales, some of them featuring walrus- logical value (both literal and symbol- a friendly albatross, the ship is ac- read as (among other things) a reac- es and polar bears. Examples include ic). As a character in Robinson’s novel companied up into the tropics by tion to the unthinking utopian opti- William Kingston’s At the South Pole points out, the 1959 Antarctic Treaty a vengeful polar spirit, and its crew mism that characterized contempora- (1870), Gordon Stables’s In the Great itself, with its calls for international suffer all kinds of awful supernatural neous stories such as “The Antarctic White Land (1903), Charles Clarke’s cooperation, demilitarization and punishments. Poe’s two Antarctic Transformation.” It is scientific An Antarctic Queen (1902) and G. War- suspension of territorial claims, can stories, “ms Found in a Bottle” (1833) hubris which motivates the men to ren Payne’s Three Boys in the Antarctic be read as a utopian document. Even and The Narrative of Arthur Gordon allow the alien, discovered buried in (1912). A late example – The Mystery of

the production of comparatively re- centuries-old gold on an Antarctic nity to whatever affliction (nuclear Time alistic novels about the experiences island, only to be separated from the war, global epidemic) devastates the Paradoxically, just as powerful as the of scientists and station personnel, world they know forever when the rest of the world makes it a suitable idea that Antarctica changes those often written by people who had ac- ship awaiting them is forced offshore. location for humanity to see its end, or who go there is the sense that, in tually spent time in the region. New One genre obssessed with time alternatively to make a new beginning. Antarctica, things do not change. Zealander Graham Billing’s Forbush is the lost-race romance, in which Climate change, however, turns this Historic huts, old biscuits, rubbish and the Penguins (1965), for example, the protagonists discover an isolat- scenario on its head, for the Antarc- tips, and explorers’ dead bodies are all tells the story of a penguin biologist ed people seemingly “left behind” by tic, with its melting ice shelves, then preserved by the extreme cold. This, who winters alone in Shackleton’s history. The still largely unknown itself becomes the source of future along with the unfamiliar diurnal hut at Cape Royds, gradually chang- Antarctica, with its remoteness and devastation. rhythms of high latitudes, gives the ing his philosophical outlook as a connotations of “frozen time,” was sense that time progresses differently result. More recently, it has been fe- an effective setting for such stories, * in Antarctica; historical events seem male characters dominating transfor- as long as the reader’s disbelief could Antarctic fiction, then, coheres closer, even present. mation narratives: examples include be suspended sufficiently to accept around certain thematic preoccupa- Nikki Gemmell’s Shiver (1997), Ros- a tropical or temperate land hidden tions and returns repeatedly to par- ie Thomas’s Sun at Midnight (2004), behind icy barriers. Descendants of ticular narrative arcs. Here I have Lucy Jane Bledsoe’s The Big Bang ancient Greeks and Romans populate surveyed just a few of the many kinds Symphony (2010), and Maria Semple’s Antarctica in Eugene Bisbee’s Trea- of stories that the South Polar region bestseller, Where’d You Go, Bernadette? sure of the Ice (1898), Charles Stilson’s has inspired. By examining these tales While the later twentieth centu- ney of self-discovery occurs in much (2012) —with the last adapted for film Polaris of the Snows (1915) and Charles we can better understand our atti- ry saw new threats enter the genre’s travel writing, in Antarctic stories it in 2019. “Antarctica makes a different Dake’s A Strange Discovery (1899), and tudes towards the “continent for sci- vocabulary – greedy corporations, se- is the experience of the place, rather dimension altogether ... ” observes a Europeans living in sixteenth-century ence.” There is, after all, no one solid cret nuclear testing, Antarctic Treaty than the journey, that transforms. The scientist in Thomas’s novel: “Always, manner confront a group of American unchanging meaning that Antarctica violations – some of the ingredients seminal text in this tradition is Coo- for ever, you see everything in your civil-war soldiers whose ship is blown holds under its layers of narrative: its of the Antarctic action novel show a per’s The Sea Lions (1849), a morality life through its prism.” In these and off-course in Edward Bouvé’s Centu- significance for humans is embedded remarkable consistency. Where out- tale in which two identical vessels, other novels, an Antarctic journey is ries Apart (1894). Most often, how- in the evolving stories we tell about it.• sized walruses attack the marooned both called The Sea Lion, journey to a an escape from a unsatisfactory life ever, Antarctic lost-race romances protagonists of Kingston’s At the secret sealing ground on an Antarctic situation and the catalyst for positive manifest the racist, post-Darwinian South Pole, the hero of Matthew Reil- island. One ship is captained by the personal change, often through a new Stories in which characters are anxieties that typify the genre, with ly’s Ice Station (1998) fights off giant protagonist Roswell Gardiner, its ri- relationship or the healing of a past “frozen in time” are common in a contemporary expedition encoun- mutant elephant seals. Despite nods val by his antagonist, the greedy and trauma. Antarctic literature. An early exam- tering a more “primitive” civilization to the political and economic forces exploitative Jason Daggett. When the Antarctic transformation can ple of cryonic fiction, W. Clark Rus- in the far south. A prominent exam- at play in contemporary Antarcti- two ships are forced to winter-over, be both physical and psychological: sell’s The Frozen Pirate (1887), has a ple is Edgar Rice Burrough’s Caspak ca, and a growing number of female Daggett and some of his crew suc- Campbell’s scientists are literally nineteenth-century sailor encounter series, beginning with The Land that protagonists, the action-adventure cumb to the elements, while Gardiner transformed into alien beings; Thom- a frozen ship inside an Antarctic ice- Time Forgot (1918), set on an uncharted genre remains primarily interested not only wins material wealth in the as’s protagonist similarly changes berg, in which he finds and acciden- continent in high southern latitudes. in the continent as a remote, hostile form of seal skins, but also undergoes physical shape during her months in tally defrosts an eigthteenth-century This obsession with the past in and risky environment where men can a spiritual epiphany brought on by the Antarctica (she discovers that she pirate. Around the same time, Mark Antarctic fiction is matched by a prove their physical prowess. Antarctic environment, which allows is pregnant), but also gains a new Twain wrote two (unpublished and preoccupation with the future. The him to marry the object of his desires, self-assurance and sense of identity in unfinished) short stories in which the continent is frequently a last refuge Personal Transformation the devout niece of the ship’s owner. the process. Antarctica, after all, is a protagonists are effectively cut off in post-apocalyptic novels, such as One of the strongest impulses in writ- This sense that the far south is place of transformation in a very liter- from everyday time when they venture John Calvin Batchelor’s The Birth of ing about Antarctica is the desire to a character-transforming place inal sense: doubling in size from winter into the Antarctic regions: in the first, the People’s Republic of Antarctica (1983) show the journey south as a transform- filtrates many Antarctic narratives to summer, constantly moving, crack- a giant circular current traps ships in and Kevin Brockmeier’s The Brief His- ing one. This Antarctica is a state of both fictional and non-fictional, but ing, melting and refreezing, it is itself its still centre, leaving them floating tory of the Dead (2006). In these texts, mind, a space of inner as much as out- becomes particularly evident in the a kind of shape-shifter. there for many decades; in the other, Antarctica’s spatial isolation is again er exploration. While the metaphor of later twentieth century, when increas- a crew of sailors find a storehouse of key: the continent’s relative immu- the physical journey parallelling a jour- ing accessibility to the region allowed

On the coast of Punta Arenas, on the shore of the Strait of Magellan, r. canales there are several murals illustrating the Dr. Kirk Johnson history of this region. Director of the Smithsonian’s Here we see Dr. Kirk Johnson in front of one National Museum of Natural History that shows the port of Punta Arenas with an By Reiner Canales interpretation of Piloto (small-boat captain) Luis Pardo and the cutter Yelcho. These two were principal players Kirk Johnson is an American geologist in the 1916 rescue of the crew of the vessel and paleontologist. He received his PhD Endurance, where the in geology and paleobotany from Yale shipwrecked survivors had taken refuge University. Between 1991 and 2012 he on Elephant Island, worked for the Denver Museum of Nature Antarctica. and Science, where he became vice president of the Collections and Research Division. First, what is the documentary you were making about? fact, part of the show will be set in Chubut province in In 2012 he was selected to direct the ——Kirk Johnson (KJ): It’s called “Polar Extremes” and it’s Argentina where there is a fossil site called Laguna del Smithsonian National Museum of Natural about the Arctic and the Antarctic and it’s climate, the Uco. And that has a number of warm climate species History (Washington, D. C., United States). climate history of the poles. Most people have not visited that today live only in Australia, including things like Johnson has received public acclaim either pole, North Pole, South Pole or the polar regions, Eucalyptus. So the oldest eucalyptus in the world is from as a science presenter. He has written so they’re all confused. They have a vision of Antarctica Patagonia, not from Australia, but it’s the national tree several books, including “Cruisin ‘The Fossil or the Arctic, but it’s one not based on experience. Even of Australia. That makes the Australians very unhappy Coastline: The Travels of an Artist and a the people that have visited the poles are surprised to (laugher). Scientist Along the Shores of The Prehistoric learn that the polar regions have a warm climate history. Antarctica must’ve been warm enough for not just Pacific” (2018), “Digging Snowmastodon: So fossil tree trunks in Antarctica, fossil forests in the temperate plants, like Nothofagus, but also some tropical Discovering an Ice Age World in the Colorado Arctic. And that the story of the warm Arctic, the warm plants to go across. The climate was actually warm enough Rockies” (2012),“Cruisin ‘The Fossil Freeway: Antarctic, is an important story to talk about when it that there was no only no ice, but it was actually subtrop- An Epoch Tale of a Scientist and an Artist comes to understanding of modern climate change and ical at times. And so there’s an understanding of when on the Ultimate 5,000 Mile Paleo Road Trip” the implications of a warming world because the Arctic those times were and that has a lot of significance for (2007), and “Prehistoric Journey: A History of regions are warming so rapidly that to realize that they understanding how the Earth got to be the way it is today. Life on Earth” (2006). once were ice free is very interesting. It’s also critical for understanding what will happen if Kirk has also been the presentation host on That’s the nature of the documentary and we visit we continue to warm the climate. Most people now are several PBS Nova television series, such as both the north and the south. most concerned the immediate impact of climate change. “Making North America.” This line of work If the West Antarctic ice sheet melts, you get dramatic brought him to Punta Arenas and Antarctica, For the Americans, how far is the Arctic for the people sea level rise. If that, sea level rise will be a global phe- where together with the director of inach, going there? nomenon. This is one of the big questions. Antarctica is the paleobiologist Dr. Marcelo Leppe, he ——KJ: The United States is an Arctic nation because of very important because of that feature primarily as the became involved in learning more about the the state of Alaska, but most Americans have never been source of rapid sea level rise. ancient connections between South America You’re the to Alaska. and the White Continent. This included Alaska, all of it, it’s very much like Patagonia. And You are the director of a museum. What is the role of a a new appreciation for the importance of then the very far north, it’s like parts of Antarctica. Most museum in the system of science communication? these connections in the understanding of gateway to Americans have no concept of the Arctic region at all. ——KJ: There’s two things. One is that science commu- past and present climate conditions, which Even in Canada, which is a huge Arctic region, most of nication right now in the United States is not very good will become part of the production of the the people live right next to the United States border. So because there are very few classes taught in school. Most new series “Polar Extremes.” a knowledge if you were to ask an American or a Canadian, do you live people in their formal education don’t learn much. Sci- in a polar nation? They would say, no, no, it’s somewhere ence is perceived as difficult or hard. If people opt out of else. For them, even the idea of a glacier... some people a science education initially, they become adults and have base that have seen glaciers, but very few. They’re not familiar with forgotten much of what they learned there. that. And of course they’re really not familiar with the Informal science education and museum context paleontology and the story of the past. serves two major reasons. One is to inspire kids to be has a lot interested in science and facts and understanding. The What is the importance of Antarctica for the understand- other one is to help adults understand as well. We know ing of past and actual climates? from lots of surveys that most Americans get most of of public ——KJ: It is so cold now that it’s hard to imagine it not their science education from informal methods. being cold. And the fossil records are really important there because once you realize that it was warm, and in h. díaz interest”

h. díaz In the United States, as most Americans either go on a AND this is what the preservation of collections is going tourist ship or they go to McMurdo Station by a military to get out of it and make it a three part argument. flight from Christchurch. Most Americans don’t realize Antarctica has big insights for the globe and this is it’s possible to go to Antarctica by plane from Punta the most accessible point, this and Ushuaia I guess, the Arenas. most accessible point to Antarctica from anywhere in the So there’s this perception (that’s pretty real), that it’s world. You’re the gateway to a knowledge base that has a very difficult to get there. Usually only wealthy people lot of public interest. go there when they’re more than 65 years old because For instance, there is a new museum in Panama City. for their whole life they wanted to go to Antarctica. And It’s a biomuseum about the isthmus of Panama and it’s when you go to Antarctica, it’s like going to a different at the isthmus, the mouth on the Pacific side. It was planet. It’s the most different place on planet Earth from designed by Frank Gehry, the famous architect. INACH director Dr. Marcelo Leppe (second from left), and Dr. Kirk anywhere else on Earth. So much knowledge and insight Not so many people are going to that museum be- Johnson, in a Zodiac inflatable in Antarctica, on their way to the Chilean scientific ship Karpuj, in which they sailed to observe the can be gained by going there. cause it’s purely exhibit museum. It gets a small amount site of important paleontological findings that help explain the ancient linkage between South America and Antarctica millions of I never really thought about the fact that Punta of tourists, but there’s no science behind it. There are no years ago. Arenas was before the Panama Canal like the main place collections behind it. What makes a museum credible, people stopped. And then it could now be that kind of like a Natural Science Museum, is that it’s based on place for Antarctica. So I think it’s really important. science, which means there should be scientists. Because We’ve done a lot of work studying the importance of science is always making new knowledge. In the United Eureka! Nothofagus tree fossils discovered at Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica. museums. And one of the tricks about museums is you States there are many things called “science centers,” very have to build a museum where people will visit the muse- popular places to go. They’re basically museums about um. So if you build a museum in a very remote location, science, but they’re only displays. There are no scientists no people go there. Museums are for visitors. There’s no and they’re not good at keeping up on the new knowl- point to make a museum unless you have visitors. edge. Museums? Science opens itself for verification. And that’s the But this is an interesting place because you’re the So one thing this place could be good at, it’s like the ——KJ: Yeah, museums. Museums, Internet, various argument we make: no one knows truth, but science destination and the museum can become part of the news from Antarctica, the new scientific news, convening media, things like that. Science television is one of them. attempts to know truth, and we put our information out, destination. People come to Patagonia because they like conventions, keep it churning as a place of knowledge And that’s what the show is, Nova on pbs, a science show we test it, we repeatedly test it, we show the results. We hiking or mountains or they want to go to Antarctica or creation. that has been playing for 40 years. It’s a widely respected test the results. That’s very important for the future. they’re interested in the nature, those sorts of things. So science show. In any single viewing we’ll see a couple of there is enough of an audience here to build something. In Antarctica is very hard to do science without interna- million viewers. And you can admit if you are wrong. In addition, we did another big museum survey. A tional collaboration. It’s very expensive; you just have all The museum context it’s a different thing. You get ——KJ: Of course. Yeah, exactly. It doesn’t mean that all museum is more than just exhibits for the public. It’s also kinds of difficulties. What do you think of international another audience, repeated visitors. A museum exhibit scientists are good scientists, or honest scientists. But it the permanent preservation of objects in collections. And collaboration as a scientist, as a communicator and as the lasts many years; you get many million visitors a year that does mean that in general science it is a self correcting, it turns out that there are not many modern museums in director of a museum? way. Since they’re both meant to trigger interest, trigger positive, forward facing tool for understanding the planet the global south. ——KJ: It’s extremely important. We are all citizens of curiosity, have people dig a little bit more, be a little bit that we live on. A new South American museum, a modern museum different countries, but we are citizens of the planet and more informed, maybe have some more insights. Because It’s really important to communicate that in ways that would not only attract the public, but also serve as a base a lot of processes happen where they happen: ice caps are at the end of the day, we’re a democracy. People vote and are interesting to people. We realized that we have to for science and scientific collections. And that’s a virtu- in Antarctica, the tropical rain forests are in Brazil and if they don’t understand the ramifications of their voting, be attractive to the audience while being also scientific. ous cycle of collections, research, and public. Because you have specialists around the world who are interested it’s a problem. You have this challenge of how do you make complicated when the public visits, it’s not just a tourist site. It’s a site in these things. scientific matter interesting to the general public. And where real experts, real scientists are basing their expedi- I always find that science is the most stable form There is a current discussion about “post truth” and the that’s why I like television because we use a number of tions and the information comes back. It’s interpreted in of diplomacy. We the scientists don’t care about the construction of reality through the social media net- techniques in television that are fun to watch. the museum. So it can be a place where conferences are politics. I’m a paleobotanist, Marcelo (Leppe, director of works. In this show, I’ll be in absurd situations. I’ll be on an held. This is a major place for scientists going to Antarcti- inach) is a paleobotanist, and we know all the paleobot- ——KJ: Yep. iceberg or I’ll be on top of a mountain or I’ll rappel down ca, they stop here and base, so they can come through. I anists in the world. We care most about our colleagues. a cliff. I’ll be doing things like what is that guy doing? By see a museum as those three things: collections, research So even in times like the Cold War, there was Ameri- So for you, what is the importance of science, of scientific the action I’m doing, I catch your attention and by the and audience. How many people live in Punta Arenas? can-Russian science collaboration because the scientists knowledge in this context? words, I say, I communicate what the science is and for were interested in the science, not the politics. ——KJ: It’s absolutely critical because post truth has been whatever reason it seems to work right. 130,000 people. It’s incredibly important in this 21st century that we around for a long time. It’s called propaganda. People in ——KJ: It’s a nice sized city, but it’s small to support a large act like a global community, not as lots of little countries. power bend the truth for their own benefits and social What would be the main challenges for a museum dedi- museum by itself. A local population would not make the Our challenges are global challenges, whether it’s invasive media has made it much more easy to do that because cated to Antarctica? museum successful. So one of the questions to ask is what species or epidemics or research utilization or climate they can precisely understand who they’re communi- ——KJ: This is a really interesting opportunity. I was think- does success look like for this museum? It’s going to be a change. These are all global issues. They’re not country cating with and then make a message that’s just slightly ing a lot about this. I’m very excited to hear about this certain number of tourists visiting the museum but also based issues. They have the scientific interaction as one wrong. They can nudge it, the opinion they want out new possibility for a museum, because Antarctica is very strengthening the argument for the museum by saying of the core collaboration issues, critical for understanding here. It’s subtler than the earlier form of propaganda. It’s hard to get to. And I was amazed that we could go there AND this is what the scientist are going to get out of it the solutions to the 21st century. • very effective. In the United States and in Europe right and back in 48 hours. That blew my mind. I’ve been there now we’re seeing tremendous polarization of opinions. twice before and each time I took a ship from Ushuaia.

gateways have a bigger role to play, contributing to the

Gabriela Roldán h. díaz Gateway Antarctica, University host country’s reputation as an Antarctic specialist . of Canterbury, New Zealand The Antarctic gateways concentrate decision-making authorities in Antarctic matters, knowledge (i.e. science, By Reiner Canales education and training), capacity (i.e. logistics and operations), business and services for the international polar community. Also, these cities are hubs that enable Gabriela Roldán is an Argentine-born New diplomatic interactions and cultural exchanges between Zealand researcher in social sciences, host and visitors, and provide a platform for services currently working at Gateway Antarctica, to maritime and aerial safety in Antarctica. One of the at the University of Canterbury. Gabriela least understood aspects of the Antarctic gateways is the was awarded the 2018 Council of Managers connection that the local community establishes with of National Antarctic Programs (comnap) Antarctica, people’s responsibility and role in Antarctic Fellowship to undertake the project environmental stewardship. Sometimes the informa- called “Inviting Antarctica to your home: tion on gateway cities focuses more on their position as an evaluation of public engagement with strongholds for the country’s Antarctic territorial claims, Antarctic science, policy, and technology,” to Why did you choose Punta Arenas and the inach to carry but there is clearly more than that. study the nature of citizen attitudes towards out your project? Antarctica in residents of Punta Arenas, Chile. ——GR: Punta Arenas has a long-standing tradition of According to your point of view, what distinguishes Pun- Gabriela worked at the INACH headquarters in connecting the Antarctic Peninsula to the world. Since ta Arenas from other Antarctic gateways? Punta Arenas for three months to collect data the late 19th century, there is a polar legacy that inspires a ——GR: Punta Arenas is the most active Antarctic gateway associated with her project, which will then social imaginary about the South and that gives a cultural in South America. The advantageous geographic proxim- be organized and presented to comnap, to meaning to Antarctica. Punta Arenas’ Antarctic gateway ity to the South Shetland Is, combined with the transport serve as a reference point for other National city status strengthened when Chile’s National Antarctic infrastructure developed and the aviation capabilities of Antarctic Programs. Program (inach) moved here in the 2000s. In addition, the Chilean National Antarctic Program allows access there are multiple activities carried out from this city that to Antarctica year-round (weather permitting). This is have an Antarctic connection, from logistic operations unusual in other gateway cities since their distances to Above: The city of to transport and education opportunities. Hence, Punta Antarctica, or transport capabilities, are limited to the Punta Arenas is getting What is the goal of your comnap project? ready to celebrate the Arenas was the ideal city for a case study on public en- warmer months of the year. 500th anniversary of ——Gabriela Roldán (GR): The research I am undertak- the discovery of the gagement with Antarctic science, policy and technology. A point of distinction in Punta Arena is also its ing as a comnap Fellow aims to understand how people Strait of Magellan, as Working in collaboration with inach was necessary people. Magalla´nicos have a strong connection with well as 200 years of engage with Antarctic science, policy and technology in a Antarctic exploration. In to carry out this research. For over a decade, inach has the environment. There is a proud legacy from earlier the photo is Gabriela city with established Antarctic links, like Punta Arenas. Roldán with the city in been actively involved in developing educational and out- migrants to this land of embracing the harsh living con- According to the Scientific Committee for Antarctic To create public the background, on the reach programs to create public awareness of Antarctica. ditions of these cold latitudes that translates into a stoic shores of the famous Research (scar), one of the priorities for the next 20 Strait. inach’s concerted efforts are significant contributions to but romantic relationship with the region. The social years is the need to communicate to the public the global awareness the international Antarctic community with regards to imaginary with the South is present in the culture and in importance of Antarctica and the rapid changes that it is Below: The researcher education and outreach resources. every-day life. You just have to look at public art and the from the University of facing. To create public awareness and influence people’s Canterbury (NZ) worked and influence Moreover, the comnap Fellowship requires the inter- buildings with Antarctic history dotted around the town, for three months at behaviors towards this pressing, global environmental national collaboration of at least two National Antarctic or pay attention to the name of media outlets and hotels the headquarters of issue, we need to understand how people connect with the Chilean Antarctic Programs, a home country and a host country. I am very to connect you with Antarctica. Institute, in Punta Antarctica, what their main interests are in the Polar people’s behaviors Arenas. grateful to Antarctica New Zealand, my home program, Regions, how Antarctic education programs impact the to support my application, and to inach, the host pro- population, and how do all these factors help create an towards this gram, for having me in Chile. engaged community which can influence policy-making h. díaz towards stronger environmental protection. For such pressing, global What is meant by “gateway” to Antarctica? understanding, we need to engage in research from the ——GR: I am glad you asked! Since the 1980s, we have social sciences’ perspectives. talked about Antarctic gateways but in my opinion, we do This is the first comnap Fellowship awarded to a environmental not fully understand what this concept means and what is social sciences’ proposal, and I am very honored to be the role of these places. leading it. This research focus is connected with my issue, we need to There are five cities recognized internationally as the academic interests on Antarctic gateway cities and their gateways to Antarctica. These are Cape Town (South Antarctic identities. Africa), Christchurch (New Zealand), Hobart (Australia), One of the expected outcomes of this project is the understand how Punta Arenas (Chile) and Ushuaia (Argentina). creation of a tool to evaluate the impact of Antarctic ed- Most commonly, we think of these cities as having ucation and outreach activities on the public, and which people connect a role in facilitating the logistics for travel of people and could be further employed by other National Antarctic goods to and from Antarctica. However, the Antarctic Programs associated to comnap. with Antarctica”

What evolution have had the gateways to Antarctica? h. díaz ——GR: The studies I have done at the Antarctic gateways Dr. César Cárdenas reveal many changes. To me, the most important evo- Researcher, Chilean Antarctic lution has been on thinking beyond these cities’ roles as Institute (INACH) launching platforms, to being custodians of Antarctica. By Harry Díaz Some countries have engaged different levels of government, from municipal to national, in working together to develop strategies and policies that support the role of In mid-October, the 37th meeting of the the city as the link to Antarctica. Many regional policies Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic see the Antarctic connection as a regenerator of the Marine Living Resources (ccamlr) took economy in the regions. place in the city of Hobart, Australia. At that However, some cities like Christchurch have in- meeting, Chile and Argentina presented a corporated perspectives that go beyond the every-day bi-national proposal for the creation of a new activities, but reflect on ambitions to foster sustainability Marine Protected Area (mpa) in Antarctica in the future generations. For example, Christchurch’s in the area called Domain 1 (west of the Antarctic Gateway Strategy incorporates linkages to Antarctic Peninsula and south of the Scotia Maori culture regarding connection and custodianship Arc. The proposal received the support of the of the environment that are aligned with the spirit of the on the ground, you can see dolphins close to the shores greater part of the member countries at the One of the most Antarctic Treaty. during your walk to work, and the winter sunrises and distinguished places convention, but ultimately failed to achieve Perhaps, for people, the most visible changes at the sunsets are spectacular! from the Antarctic the consensus of all the members as need for history of this city is Antarctic gateways have been the improvements and ma- the Municipal Theater. its creation. Here, in 1916, Ernest jor developments in transport infrastructure and logistics, What have you discovered of Punta Arenas after these Shackleton gave several since these not only facilitate connections from the cities months living here? lectures before and Dr. César Cárdenas, researcher for the Chilean after the rescue of the to Antarctica but also to the rest of the world. Overtime, ——GR: From the perspective of an Antarctic researcher, shipwrecked men on Antarctic Institute (INACH) and and Chile’s Elephant Island. The the polar connection has benefited the city as a whole and Punta Arenas has an untapped wealth of knowledge and rescue was largely the representative to the Scientific Committee of connectivity is key for a gateway city to stay relevant. expertise that the international polar community has work of boat captain CCAMLR indicated that what was presented at Luis Pardo and the I understand connectivity going beyond the trans- yet to notice. There are scientists, maritime and aerial cutter Yelcho. the last meeting is what had been worked out port capability of the city; it also encompasses modern experts, managers of logistic capabilities, environmen- during more than a year among researchers communication, the transfer of knowledge on polar tal and legal experts, educators, communicators and from both countries, and that they would matters, the “know-how” of systems and networks that artists with Antarctic understanding that is hard to find continue working so that the proposal apply in Antarctica, the relationship between culture and concentrated in one place. Conversely, many of these would come to fruition. Cárdenas is a marine traditions, etc. experts seem to be working in disconnection with each biologist and recently was appointed as other, which weakens the profile of Punta Arenas as an convener of the Working Group on Ecosystem How was your stay in Punta Arenas? Antarctic gateway. Monitoring and Management of ccamlr ——GR: Personally and professionally, my stay in Punta starting in 2019 and serving this position for Arenas could not have been better. inach’s authorities Are there any shortfalls that are common to all Antarctic two years. and staff have welcomed me warmly and considered me gateways, in terms of Antarctic development? as part of the team from day one. inach not only offers ——GR: It is difficult to compare all five Antarctic gate- a comfortable working space but great camaraderie too; ways because they are different in size, urban develop- they are great hosts! The local community also embraced ment, geographic location, governance, etc. I think one my visit with interest. I was invited to lecture at the Uni- of the common shortfalls of all gateways is that the local The Antarctic versity of Magallanes’ Antarctic courses, I had produc- community assumes that the Antarctic activity happens What is involved in the creation of an mpa? tive discussions over my academic interests with other only during the summer months and the rest of the year ——César Cárdenas (CC): This proposal, unlike that Antarctic researchers, and the local media promoted my they forget about Antarctica. As you know, there are Peninsula is one presented in 2017, comprises three type of areas: general research frequently. multiple activities happening throughout the year at the protection areas, areas for scientific research on krill, and I was pleasantly surprised with the number of events Antarctic gateways that should be acknowledged more of the parts of fisheries special protection areas. with an Antarctic connection that happened here over because without preparation and planning there could The general protection areas are those within Do- the winter months! Punta Arenas has a vibrant commu- not be an Antarctic season, whether this is for scientific main 1 in which no commercial fishing of any type would nity and I would like to take this opportunity to thank research, tourism, commercial fishing, infrastructure the planet that be permitted. Additionally, new areas would be designat- all the people that have participated in my research maintenance, search and rescue, or even diplomatic visits. ed for research on krill, with the objective of conducting through interviews, focus groups and surveys. I am most is being most research that would lead to an understanding of krill grateful for your time and for sharing your opinions with What are the next steps of your project? behavior and the potential effects of fisheries on this me.Your contributions will assist with the understanding ——GR: The next steps are to process all the data collected resource and the organisms that depend upon it. In these of Antarctica from this part of the world. in Punta Arenas and prepare to present results at the affected by areas catches of krill would be permitted for scientific If that was not enough for a great experience, the 2020 scar-comnap Open Science Conference in Hobart, purposes accord to a predetermined catch limit, to study scenery is breath taking! You wake up to fresh snow Australia. • climate change” h. díaz the effects of these activities on the ecosystem and, at the

How do we connect the next krill census and the next The Marine Protected Area is made up of three zones: presentation of the proposal? ——CC: When it comes time to make the new presen- 1. The General Protection Zone (gpz), designed for tation of the proposal we should have some degree of protection of spaces that represents the different hab- information about the krill census, but it would be very itats and bio-regions. In this zone, research-related preliminary, given the large volume of data that is going captures are permitted within certain limits. to be generated. The process involving joint work between Chile and 2. The Krill Fishery Research Zone (kfrz), which is Argentina began in the year 2012, with the first work- intended to contribute to protection that is represen- shops covering Domain 1. Dr. Marcelo Leppe, the inach tative and specific to benthic protection objectives, director, added that the protection of the Antarctic envi- and to serve as a scientific reference area. Members of ronments and most importantly the surrounding waters the Commission (ccamlr)may undertake krill capture is one of humanity’s highest priority tasks. “The White within certain limits. same time, compare them to reference area where there At what stage is the bi-national proposal? Continent and particularly this sector make up one of the would be no extractive activity. ——CC: One of the things that is being refined is the way places that is seeing the most rapid effects of global cli- 3. The Special Fishery Management Zone (sfmz), which Finally, there would be special areas for fisheries man- fisheries are is managed in this region, through an inter- mate change. Chile and Argentina have made a high level is to provide protection that is representative of agement, which would attempt to not only mitigate the active or feedback management system. However, in this diplomatic and scientific effort that has made possible specific benthic objectives, and for the mitigation of potential impacts of fishing, but also provide protection matter it is important to emphasize that many decisions the creation of this proposal for Marine Protected Areas potential fisheries impacts. Members of the Com- for certain specific, representative benthic objectives. do not depend on the proposal itself, but rather are part to the ccamlr.” mission (ccamlr) may undertake krill capture within In the latter case, krill could be captured, according to of one of the major current discussions within the ccam- The head of inach noted that Chile, Argentina, and certain limits determined by the Commission.• the conservation limits adopted by the Commission, to lr, which has been discussed in recent years. Decisions other nations that have been added to this initiative are a depth limit of 250 meters. It is important to emphasize should be made by the Commission in the next year committed to move ahead to refine all the scientific that currently the krill fishery is already regulated by the about how to make the management of the krill fishery aspects that will reinforce the final presentation. Commission under an ecosystem approach, where there somewhat interactive. are annual catch limits divided by subareas. In the year 2019 there will be a series of workshops, and the annual meetings of the scientific committee will Why create an mpa? discuss areas which will provide new tools which should Antarctic krill ——CC: In the year 2012 both Chile and Argentina saw the be incorporated into the proposal for the next year. (Euphausia superba), a key species for need for this work. There was already a previous agree- Undoubtedly, these discussions and decisions to be taken the Southern Ocean ment by the Commission to establish a network of mpas. by the Commission will be key elements for improving ecosystem. From that year onward both countries began to work in the present proposal. In this way we believe that the this mpa and in some way create leadership, and establish issue of areas of research into krill could be a key tool an additional protection regime in the Peninsula area. for informing the Commission on how best to improve Today we recognize that the Antarctic Peninsula is fisheries management. one of the parts of the planet that is being most affected by climate change. We can see increases in precipitation, How is this proposal seen by the other members? higher water temperatures, melting ice —in other words, ——CC: The great majority of the commission member an area that is now changing and will continue to change, supports the proposal and recognizes the work that has and for that reason will affect the marine resources and been done. At the same time, they see that it is based ecosystem in general. on the best available science and is noteworthy for the We must not forget that the Antarctic Peninsula seriousness and transparency that have characterized its is a place with considerable human activity, not only in development. We should say that the great majority of fisheries but also through the large number of scientific the members are open to this and many of them are also installations, as well as tourism that has increased in collaborating on the proposal through its team of experts.

recent years. ruiz p.

50 | advances in chilean antarctic science | n5 instituto antártico chileno | 51 ilAiA | chilean antarctic science program 2019-2020

Chilean Antarctic Science Program cHilEA� 2019-2020 a�tAяCtic sCiE�ce

pRОgrAМ he Chilean Antarctic Science laboration. In this respect, we see that Here are some points that illustrate this Program (procien) for 2019- more than 22 countries are affiliated significant degree of growth: 2020 anticipates 112 research with procien. These include Argenti- Tprojects. These include primarily na, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the initiatives selected by the Chil- Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, 106 researchers leading these projects. 2OI9—202O ean Antarctic Institute (inach) and France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mex- the National Commission for Sci- ico, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, entific and Technological Research the Republic of Korea, Russia, South 28 (conicyt), through several competi- Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Chilean institutions, including inach, are involved. tive financing sources. The program and the United States. also contains institutional projects for We are also tearing down gender inach and several involving interna- stereotypes, as we see that Chilean 330 scientists now make up the procien academic tional cooperation efforts. Antarctic science enjoys significant community, with the addition of Principal Given the large body of research contributions by a number of wom- Investigators (pi’s) and the Co-Investigators. involved, the participation of coop- en. Of the total projects, 52 are led by erative international efforts, and the women as principal researchers (pi’s) The average age of pi’s is number of scientists taking part, this (46.4% of the projects). This figure promises to be the season offering the amply demonstrates the growing in- 40 years greatest level of support for Antarctic terest and quality of Antarctic science science in national history, led by women in the country.• This effort coincides with the 73.2% of the projects on on-site. 26.8% are laboratory 25th anniversary of the existence of or offsite work. inach’s national Antarctic science and technology research projects inach finances competition, which invites qualified persons to present their proposals for 62.5% investigation of Antarctic topics. of these initiatives, with two competitions; Since 2013, the addition of multi- conicyt sponsors ple national funding sources and other factors has resulted in a 77 percent 34.8%, through six programs. growth in procien-related projects. For the year 2019 we are celebrating a record of 112 such projects. 2.7% inach is encouraging greater link- have other sources of funding, including the Australian ing and strengthening of global net- Council for International Development (acfid), and works. 37% of these projects reflect the Centro de Estudios Cientı´ficos (cecs). the involvement of international col- r. quinán

instituto antártico chileno | 53 ilAiA | chilean antarctic science program 2019-2020 ilAiA | chilean antarctic science program 2019-2020

I. The State of the Antarctic Ecosystem w. jouanneau w.

iological diversity is under- Through research being carried h. díaz

stood to be the variety of life out in this area, it has been possible i. garrido forms, including various levels to: 1) evaluate the contribution of Bof organization, such as species, their environmental changes in evolution- genes, populations, and communities. ary processes in both marine and ter- Collectively, the interaction of these restrial ecosystems in Antarctic and varieties at different levels determines sub-Antarctic regions; 2) understand the functioning of ecosystems and the spatial-temporal factors that de- supports the planet’s biosphere. termine the distribution of species This line of work is closely asso- and populations; and 3) quantify the ciated with the Scientific Committee degree of sensitivity and risk for spe- on Antarctic Research (scar) Antarc- cies, populations and ecosystems to tic Ecosystem (anteco) program. Its environmental changes, such as cli- The project “Comparative phylogeography of macro sub-Antarctic and Antarctic Dr. Elie Poulin (University of Chile) is a leading Antarctic ecologist Fisheries in the waters off the Antarctic Peninsula have increased considerably in the last ten to twenty years. New impacts, algae: studying the impact of historical events on endemism and genetic diversity who is studying speciation patterns and processes on several related to climate change, have already been detected in krill-dependent food chains. There is convincing evidence that objective is to understand current di- mate change, pollution, and fishery in the Southern Ocean,” by Marie-Laure Guillemin, is funded by INACH. This geographic and temporal scales. He has been the trainer for scavenging seabirds populations are increasing due to growing interaction with fisheries (i.e., feeding on discarded fish versity patterns in order to differenti- activities. • research focuses on six commonly found species of red macro-algae (seaweed) several polar researchers and is currently working two PROCIEN and offal) in other parts of the world, but almost nothing is known about the interaction of the scavenging seabirds with of great ecological importance, which have wide geographical distribution, projects. One, which is funded by CONICYT through its Antarctic fisheries south of latitude 60º S. Dr. Lucas Krüger’s research hopes to: (1) compare year-round coastal-inland habitat use, ate these from process impacts from to test these scenarios in the Antarctic Peninsula. Four species (Curdieara Rings program, is called “Genomics insight into the past and and pelagic habitat use, of Southern Giant Petrels (Macronectes giganteus); (2) quantify year-round overlap of Southern covitzae, Gigartina skottsbergii, Iridaea cordata and Palmaria decipiens) inhabit present of Antarctic Biodiversity: a tool to assess the fate of a Giant Petrels with fisheries activities (trawlers and long-liners); (3) model fisheries efforts and distribution in response to past conditions, and to understand shallow intertidal pools and two of them (Georgiella confluens and Plocamium unique ecosystem in a changing world (GAB).” fish stocks and oceanographic factors; (4) project fisheries distribution and efforts into past conditions in order to test if and develop future scenarios based cartilagineum) are exclusive to the shallow sub-tidal area and grow as understory population dynamics of the Southern Giant Petrels are more or less dependent on fisheries activities during the breeding or of large brown seaweed. All these species are considered ecosystemic engineers non-breeding seasons; (5) project Southern Giant Petrel distribution and population into future scenarios of fishing activities on a multidisciplinary approach. (species that generate habitat and food to other organisms), so changes in their and climate change. This project also will provide data for two students for developing their theses and their specialized abundance and distribution have a profound impact on the ecosystem. studies of marine top-predators, fisheries management under climate change scenarios, and proposals and evaluations of Marine Protected Areas in Antarctica.

CODE TITLE PI INSTITUTION YEARS CODE TITLE PI INSTITUTION YEARS

AN_01-17 Genomics insight into the past and present of Antarctic Biodiversity: a tool to assess the Elie Poulin 2017-2021 RT_34-17 Dynamics of sponge-associated microbial photosynthetic eukaryotes during seasonal Nicole Trefault 2018-2021 fate of a unique ecosystem in a changing world (GAB) UCHILE transitions in Antarctica UMAYOR

FR_01-15 Diversification of the spiny plunderfish Harpagifer in the Southern Ocean Elie Poulin UCHILE 2015-2018 RT_08-18 A matter of size: Coupling early life history traits of Antarctic fishes and Mauricio Landaeta 2019-2021 environmental forcing in a warming ocean UV Paleogeographic patterns v/s climate change in South America and the Antarctic FR_04-15 Peninsula during the latest Cretaceous: a possible explanation for the origin of the Marcelo Leppe INACH 2015-2019 RT_68-18 Trophic interactions and spatial overlap between krill Euphasia superba and Edwin Niklitschek ULOSLAGOS 2019-2021 Austral biota? mackerel icefish Champsocephalus gunnari, in the South Orkney Islands

Deciphering the impact of historical events on regional endemism and genetic diversity FR_04-16 Phylogeography, population genetic structure and connectivity of the Subantarctic crab Karin Gerard 2016-2020 RG_15-16 Marie-Laure Guillemin UACH 2016-2019 Halicarcinus planatus, the first alien marine invertebrate discovered in Antarctica UMAG in the Southern Ocean: comparative phylogeography of macroalgae

Phylogeography and diversification in species of genus Macvicaria (Digenea: RG_20-16 Trophic characterization of epibenthic fishes from the Western Antarctic Peninsula Luis Pardo UACH 2016-2019 FI_02-16 Opecoelidae) in Harpagiferidae (Perciformes: Notothenioidei) from the Antarctic and Isabel Valdivia CEQUA 2016-2018 sub Antarctic Zone RG_18-17 Biogeography of Laevilitorina caliginosa Gould 1849, across the Drake Passage Claudio González IEB 2018-2020 Present and future role of Salpa thompsoni and Euphausia superba in the pelagic FP_03-18 Juan Höfer UACH 2018-2020 RG_01-18 Assessment of new technology-critical elements on fauna from the Antarctic Peninsula José Celis 2019-2020 carbon fluxes of the Western Antarctic Peninsula area UDEC Unraveling the DNA of coralline algae: from molecular diversity to divergence time FP_06-18 Martha Calderón UMAG 2018-2020 RG_21-18 Functional Potential of Rhizosphere and Soil Microbial Communities in an Extreme Eduardo Castro 2019-2020 in the Magellanic sub-Antarctic and Antarctic regions Environment UNAB The influence of penguin colonies on the development of tundra communities in the FR_04-18 Angélica Casanova 2018-2021 RG_50-18 Historical biogeography of octopuses from Southern Ocean María Cecilia Pardo 2019-2020 Antarctic Peninsula UCT UCHILE Phylogeography of the Antarctic freshwater copepod Boeckella poppei: Glacial FI_01-18 Unravelling the dynamics between fisheries and a scavenging seabird species off Lucas Krüger 2018-2020 DT_04-16 Claudia Maturana UCHILE 2016-2018 Antarctic waters: a management perspective INACH refugia or Postglacial Recolonization? Local adaptation associated to diversification of the genus Harpagifer (Perciformes: FP_02-19 Connecting the zooplankton microbiome with ecosystem processes in the Southern Mireia Mestre 2019-2021 DG_03-16 Javier Naretto UCHILE 2016-2018 Ocean UDEC Notothenioidei) in the Southern Ocean Comparative Phylogeography in Eudyptes penguins: genomic and behavioural RT_02-15 DNA barcoding as tool to described the Antarctic parasite biodiversity in marine Leyla Cárdenas 2016-2019 DG_11-17 María José Frugone UCHILE 2018-2020 invertebrates species. UACH diversity across the Southern Ocean Study of the functional potential of microorganisms associated to Antarctic sponges: RT_14-15 Characterization of methane cycling in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic lakes Ma. Soledad Astorga 2015-2019 DG_12-17 Mario Moreno 2018-2020 UMAG assessing the particular signature for this ecosystem UMAYOR Networks between parasites and fish hosts in the Antarctic and subantarctic zones of RT_32-16 Gabriela Muñoz UV 2016-2020 MG_06-17 Diversity and genetic structure of bivalves of Kidderia genus from Subantarctic and Daniela Levicoy 2018-2019 southern Chile: Composition structure, biodiversity, connectance and link density Antarctic regions UACH Disentangling the complexity of the Antarctic marine benthic food webs through RT_45-16 Roger Sepúlveda Ecogestión 2016-2020 MG_07-17 Molecular divergence in species of macroalgae co-distributed along the Magallanic Paula Ocaranza 2018-2019 multivariate approaches region and Antarctic Peninsula. UMAG Ecology of avian influenza virus in Antarctica: the role of migratory birds in the RT_46-16 Rafael Medina PUC 2016-2020 MG_14-18 Structure and dynamics of Parochlus steinenii (Diptera: Chironomidae) populations Carolina Pérez 2018-2019 introductions of influenza in the penguin population of South Shetland Islands, Antarctic UMAG

II. Antarctic Thresholds: Ecosystem Resilience and Adaptation

he Southern Ocean and the agreed on the importance of deter- This has been done in recent projects Climate change in Maritime Antarctica has Antarctic continent are not mining how Antarctic organisms within this program, that assess the accelerated ice melting and glacier retreat, leading to a temporal gradient in landscape and new immune from the negative have adapted to the particularly diffi- impacts of environmental stress, such soil formation. The influence of freezing-thawing cycles in Antarctic soils on carbon sequestration, Teffects of anthropogenic activities, cult current conditions of this region, as the effects of temperature increase temperature-sensitivity on soil organic matter particularly in the Antarctic Peninsu- and how they will respond to future in the diversity of microorganisms, decomposition and priming effect (acceleration of native soil organic matter decomposition by fresh la. The increase in atmospheric tem- environmental changes. Likewise, it the abundance of photosynthetic carbon input) along soil development by glacier perature and in Antarctic waters, as also expects to identify which species microorganisms in snow, and the re- retreat have been never evaluated. Dr. Francisco Matus’s project hypothesized that gradual soil well as ocean acidification, are already will have better capacities for facing sponse to stressors in seaweed, moss- organic matter stabilization in the presence of incipient clay formation, modulates the quantity becoming a reality in this polar region. future environmental changes and es, terrestrial plants, invertebrates, and quality of organic carbon at relatively short Thus we see the importance of eval- how they may respond to the signif- and pinniped mammals. time scales along temporal gradients of soil formed by glacier retreat in Maritime Antarctic, at King uating how these phenomena affect icant environmental variability that is This line of research work has George Island. the aquatic and terrestrial organisms already observed in some areas of the produced scientific publications that of the White Continent. This evalu- Antarctic Peninsula. The set of these report a decrease in the anti-freeze ation must be done comprehensively evaluations, from the individual to the capabilities of the vascular plants to fully appreciate its consequences ecosystem level, will allow the devel- Colobanthus quitensis and Deschampsia at the level of the entire biota of this opment of a broad ecological debate antarctica, likely due to the increase sensitive ecosystem. on the environmental state of Antarc- in ambient temperatures. Similarly, For these reasons, it is crucial to tica and its biosphere, particularly in a contrasting response to acute ther- understand the entire functioning the Antarctic Peninsula, with respect mal stress in Antarctic fish has been of biological systems, to determine to global changes. verified. In some cases, a minimal

thresholds, infer resilience capacities, This line of research attempts to response to this stress has been re- h. díaz and predict the effects on ecosystem answer such questions that focus on ported, while in other cases there is a functions that global climate change characterizing and quantifying the response despite the absence of Heat will have on all Antarctic ecosystems. effects of warming, ranging from the Shock Proteins (hsp). •

Within the framework of scar’s individual impacts, through effects r. quinán antera program, scientists have on populations, to the ecosystem.

CODE TITLE PI INSTITUTION YEARS

FD_01-15 Research Center: High Latitude Marine Ecosystems Dynamic Humberto González UACH 2015-2020

FP_02-14 Effect of warming and increased CO2 concentration on thermal acclimation of leaf Carolina Sanhueza 2014-2017 respiration of Antarctic plants UDEC

FI_01-15 Assessing the utility of Antarctic sponges for studying global climate change: César Cárdenas 2015-2018 individual to community level responses INACH

FR_03-16 Ecophysiology of Antarctic snow algae: adaptation mechanisms to a changing polar Iván Gómez 2016-2019 environment UACH Dr. Arturo Borzutzky (from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is researching vitamin D deficiency in Antarctica. Several studies show that vitamin D deficiency in the general population FI_01-16 Stress tolerance of early life cycle stages of Antarctic-Subantarctic disjunct seaweeds: Nelso Navarro 2016-2018 reproduction phase related physiological and molecular responses UMAG is prevalent in Chile, but the percentages of those adversely affected increases from north to south, with alarming rates in the Magallanes region: only 3% of the population have normal Vitamin FP_01-17 Climatic and environmental drivers affecting diversity and activity of nitrifying M Estrella Alcamán 2017-2019 D levels and half of the residents of the region may have a severe communities in the Antarctic coastal ecosystem UDEC deficiency. Borzutzky and his team speculated on what would happen in the Antarctic, where the population is exposed to lower solar radiation. This project included a study of various levels of FP_01-18 From low to high latitudes: thermal adaptations of seals in a changing world Alicia Guerrero UV 2018-2020 Vitamin D supplements for the population of the Frei Base and Villa Las Estrellas on King George Island. From these subjects several The Research Center: Dynamics of High Latitude Marine Ecosystems is known blood samples were taken to assess the impact of the intervention. as IDEAL, (from the Spanish “Centro de Investigación Dinámica de Ecosistemas FP_02-18 Symbotic interactions between soil micro-organisms and vascular plants in extreme Florence Gutzwiller UNAB 2018-2020 Preliminary results show that most of the Antarctic inhabitants who Marinos de Altas Latitudes.”) It is financed by the Chilean National Commission environments: facing climate change have been in Antarctica for several months and particularly those for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICYT), through the Fund for who spend the winter there, have a Vitamin D deficiency. This is Research Centers in High-Priority Areas (FONDAP). It is managed by the Austral no surprise. International studies at the Antarctic bases of other University of Chile (UACh), along with its associate institutions, the University Testing the historical permeability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and countries show similar results. Deficient levels of Vitamin D seen in of Concepcion (UdeC), and the Center for Quaternary, Fuegian-Patagonian, and FP_04-18 the role of ecological interactions in the evolution of the Antarctic diversity: Using Carlos Muñoz UCSC 2018-2020 this study correlate to markers of bone turnover: if someone has Antarctic Studies (CEQUA) in Punta Arenas. The financing for logistics for Antarctic host-parasite systems as biological models low levels of Vitamin D, their bone mass may be losing calcium. The research is provided by INACH. IDEAL’s main goal is to study and document the next stages include analyzing the bulk of the data obtained to see impacts of environmental stressors caused by global change, on the productivity how these Vitamin D levels and other biomarkers behave throughout of the marine ecosystems in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions, and the Role of the foliar endophytes on the photoprotection of the Antarctic vascular implications for the biological communities that depend on them. FP_05-18 flora: effects on the ecophysiological performance and the phenotypic plasticity of Ian Acuña UTALCA 2018-2020 the year and how they respond to various degrees of vitamin Colobanthus quitensis and Deschampsia antarctica supplementation. The results may help define an effective strategy for Vitamin D supplementation for the Chilean Antarctic population.

CODE TITLE PI INSTITUTION YEARS III. Antarctic Climate Change FR_03-18 Genomic, physiological and ecological approaches to examine Antarctic and Sub- Andrés Mansilla 2018-2021 Antarctic macroalgal responses to climate change and glacial retreat UMAG he increasingly probable

FR_01-19 Dynamics and functions of sponge microbiomes under the strong seasonal variability of Nicole Trefault 2019-2022 trueba f. the Antarctic environment UMAYOR threat of a global climate crisis urgently challenges both FP_04-19 Adaptive history of speciation in the notothenid fish Harpagifer in the Southern Nicolás Segovia Thumanity’s ability to understand 2019-2021 Ocean IEB key aspects of recent environmental changes and its capacity to take ac- PC_01-15 A multi-disciplinary approach to understand the impact of ice loss and deglaciation on Antonio Brante UCSC 2015-2018 Antarctic coastal benthic ecosystems tion. Thus, there is a growing need for evaluation of changing trends and AG_01-17 Impacts on the microbiane diversity in polar ecosystems due to environmental change Marcelo González INACH 2017-2019 estimation -under different scenarios- of potential impacts, to support deci- RT_28-15 Effects of Antarctic environment on vitamin D status and health risk biomarkers of Arturo Borzutzky 2016-2019 its inhabitants PUC sion-making and adoption of global agreements. Global change impacts in the Western Antarctic Peninsula: Role of environmental Antarctica’s territorial domain RT_08-16 variability and food availability on Laternula elliptica to ocean acidification and Marco Lardies UAI 2016-2020 warming and surrounding regions of the planet are linked through teleconnections. RT_09-16 Biochemical and molecular responses disclose mechanisms of Antarctic macroalgae to Claudio Sáez 2017-2020 thrive under Climate Change UPLA Interactions, verified in recent decades, include remarkable changes in RT_13-16 Effect of warming on leaf hydraulic properties of Antarctic plants Patricia Sáez UDEC 2016-2020 air and ocean temperatures, shifting patterns of atmospheric circulation,

RT_27-16 Ecophysiology of Antarctic and Atacama desert lichens: freezing and deep dehydration Angélica Casanova 2017-2020 the variability of sea ice extension, mechanism under natural conditions and under passive warming experiments UCT Gaining better understanding of changes in major climate parameters (such reduced thickness and loss of several as reflectivity/albedo) is essential in the Antarctic Peninsula (AP), a region strongly affected by global warming. Although a current slowing of the warming ice shelves, among other phenomena. RT_48-16 Dipterans in sub-Antarctic and Antarctic regions: are they ready for the changes? Tamara Contador UMAG 2016-2020 trend has been observed due to natural variability, the Peninsula region has In this context, the procien, been considered one of the most rapidly warming areas on the planet, and this is leading to significant changes in the reflectivity/albedo. The project of Dr. includes a set of projects under the Alessandro Damiani (USACH) intends to characterize the albedo reduction due RT_02-17 The evolution of nitrogen cycling in chronosequences under climate change: evidence Cecilia Pérez 2018-2021 from the maritime Antarctica IEB to the presence of light-absorbing impurities (LAI) in coastal snow packs in the Climate Change in Antarctica (cca) Peninsula (from latitude 62º S to latitude 67º S). research line, that focus on answering RT_14-17 Gustavo Zúñiga 2018-2021 Adaptive responses of Antarctic mosses to climate change USACH questions associated with the study of climatic variability in different time RT_23-17 Effect of freezing-thawing cycles on soil carbon sequestration along soil development Francisco Matus 2018-2021 gradients formed by glacier retreat in the Maritime Antarctic, King George Island. UFRO and spatial scales, considering characterization of processes and cryosphere RT_27-17 Impacts of Climate Change and coastal ice retreat on Antarctic seaweed communities Silvia Murcia 2018-2021 variability and interactions with asso- over deglaciation and latitudinal gradients UMAG ciated land, atmosphere, and ocean tic Peninsula to a broad range of cli- scales, Moreno et al. (2018) interpret geosystems. matic and oceanic conditions; and iii) a Patagonian lake sediment core to RT_18-18 Nocturnal in situ warming: Filling the gaps to unravel plant responses to regional León Bravo UFRO 2019-2021 warming of Antarctic Peninsula procien’s projects under this the scar srp “Solid Earth Response describe Southern Westerly Winds research framework, align with and and influence on Cryospheric Evolu- (sww) variability of southern climate RG_09-17 Sebastián Fuentes 2018-2020 The rare biosphere’s ecosystem services in the ever-changing Antarctic environments PUC contribute to the goals of several tion (serce)” that has an overarching since ~10 ka, suggesting that coherent Scientific Research Programs (srps) objective to provide advanced under- climatic shifts in these regions have Effect of warming on rhizospheric microorganism from Antarctic vascular plants and DG_07-16 its relationship with plant ecophysiological performance on Deschampsia antarctica Paulina Pradel UFRO 2016-2018 implemented by the Scientific Com- standing of the interactions between driven climate change in vast sec- and Colobanthus quitensis mittee on Antarctic Research (scar). the solid earth and the cryosphere to tors of the Southern Hemisphere at These are: i) the scar srp “Antarctic better constrain ice mass balance, ice centennial and millennial timescales. DG_10-17 Temperature acclimation capacity and cold-adaptation mechanisms in Thalassiosirales Mariela Guajardo 2018-2020 Antarctic members UMAYOR Climate Change in the 21st century dynamics, and sea level change in a Closer to the present, the use of new (AntClim21),” designed to deliver im- warming world. isotopic records collected from snow Evaluation of the potential of subantarctic crab Halicarcinus planatus proved regional predictions of key el- The contribution of recent lit- and firn cores in the northern extent DG_14-17 (Hymenosomatidae) to become the first marine invader in Antarctica: physiological Zambra López UCHILE 2018-2020 and dispersive capacity. ements of the Antarctic atmosphere, erature related to this research area of the Antarctic Peninsula (Fernan- ocean, and cryosphere for the next highlights a number of very interest- doy et al., 2018), describe changes and DG_10-18 Characterization of germin-like proteins in Colobanthus quitensis and its relation Olman Gómez 2018-2020 with calcium oxalate crystals degradation facing a CO2 diffusion limitation UFRO 20 to 200 years and to understand re- ing findings. Cárdenas et al. (2018), a discernible effect of sea ice cover on sponses of the physical and biological provide a survey and experimen- local temperatures, and the expres-

DG_18-18 Flower or tolerate: A molecular approach to the trade-off between resources allocation Carolina Galleguillos 2018-2020 systems to natural and anthropogenic tal testing in South Bay, a western sion of climatic modes, especially the of flower production and tolerance to water stress in Colobanthus quitensis UTALCA forcing factors; ii) the scar srp “Past Antarctic Peninsula site at 64.8° S Southern Annular Mode (sam), when Antarctic Ice Sheet dynamics (pais),” latitude, where intra-year variability these are analyzed in conjunction with aiming to improve understanding of of seawater temperature indicates existing meteorological and oceanic the sensitivity of ice sheets in East the importance of local settings vari- datasets. • and West Antarctica and the Antarc- ability. On other spatial and temporal

58 | advances in chilean antarctic science | n5 instituto antártico chileno | 59 50ºO e 70ºS ilAiA ilAiA cl | chilean antarctic science program 2019-2020 | chilean antarcticir science program 2019-2020 C c ti rc ta n A CODE TITLE PI INSTITUTION YEARS 60ºO rei t IV. Astronomy and Earth Sciences iins t FR_01-17 Southern Hemisphere climate system response to stratospheric ozone depletion Alessandro Damiani 2017-2020 USACH rat t eell ea ntarctica and the surrounding of the ice mass, ice dynamics, and sea 70ºO Exploring the spatial and temporal extension of modified Circumpolar Deep Water 80ºS oceans have been and contin- level changes in a warming world. FI_01-17 Intrusions into a coastal Antarctic embayment: a combination of ocean modeling and Ma. Andrea Piñones 2017-2019 Tte. Carvaal t UACH Antarctic observations eninsula ue to be key elements of our Data published in the science jour- Ronne-ilchner Aplanet’s natural history. They provide nal Nature analyzed the Antarctic ice Ice hel FR_01-18 The hydrology of ice shelves: processes and implications for dynamics Shelley MacDonell CEAZA 2018-2021 80ºO us with important information about sheet mass balance from 1992 to 2017.

ellinshausen Atmospheric radiation measurements on King George Island (Southern Ocean / the formation of the Earth and about This ice layer is an important indica- FR_02-19 Raúl Cordero USACH 2019-2022 ea 90ºS Antarctic Peninsula) 90ºO Union Glacier the evolution and changes in the tor of climate change and drives rising Suglacial Lake CECs Antarctic environment, and the biota sea levels. In this work the researchers RT_50-16 Calving and mass balance studied by remote sensing, in-situ methods and modeling at Gino Casassa 2017-2020 King George Island (CAMB-KGI) UMAG that depend upon it. observed the ice sheet’s changing vol- Since the Antarctic summer of 2014, the Chilean Center for Scientific Studies For this reason, projects in this ume, along with ice flow characteris- RT_09-18 Trophic and Functional Ecology in Antarctic Ecosystems José Pulgar UNAB 2019-2021 (CECs, for the Spanish acronym) has conducted four long-distance expeditions to the central plateau of West Antarctica for the purpose of studying the stability line of research focus on the study tics and gravitational attraction, using of the icecap and the subglacial hydrology. These ventures have been carried and understanding of interactions surface mass balance models to show RG_07-16 Surface temperature anomalies over the Antarctic region: the role of ENSO in the last Cristian Mattar UCHILE 2016-2019 out using convoys pulled by tractors, with an integrated mobile scientific decades research vehicle designed by the CECs, which includes work space and scientific between the terrestrial Earth and its that the sheet has lost billions of tons equipment installations, a storage compartment, six beds, and a bathroom. These excursions have provided opportunities for glaciology studies all along the cryosphere. These projects search for of ice between 1992 and 2017. This RG_10-18 Photoprotective responses in Antarctica marine macroalgae due to climate change Paula Celis 2019-2020 stress conditions UPLA hundreds of kilometers of the glacial valleys near the Ellsworth Mountains and the knowledge about the processes that corresponds to an increase in mean Antarctic Plateau. The work includes measurements using radar, GPS, seismic and meteorological instruments, along with the taking of ice cores and mass balance occur within and at the interfaces of sea level of 7.6mm, ± 3.9 mm. At the measurements. Among the results from this was the discovery of a subglacial lake (named “Lake CECs”), which offers excellent opportunities for a long-range the planet’s terrestrial, oceanic, cryo- same time, significant variations were multidisciplinary research effort. spheric, and atmospheric systems. observed in East Antarctica, which This effort also integrates projects may have increased its glacial mass in the disciplines of space physics and over the period 1992-2017 by 5 ± 46 f. trueba f. astronomical observation. In general, billion tons per year (this figure due to these contribute to clarifying many variations in and among the estimates outstanding questions and providing of various models). scientific knowledge with multiple In the area of geology, one of the applications that contribute to many projects to be undertaken in these of the initiatives of the Scientific Re- studies will look for improved un- search Programs (srp) and other Ac- derstanding of the paleo-geographic tion Groups of the Scientific Com- processes of the lower portion of mittee on Antarctic Research (scar). the Heritage Group in the Ellsworth This research program hopes to Mountains of West Antarctica, and advance scientific knowledge of the at the same time will look into impli- Antarctica and its surrounding seas are covered by snow and ice, whose high reflectivity, or “albedo” gives the continent its unique white color but also plays interactions between the solid earth cations for reconstructions of the an- Global warming has resulted in a key role in the global energy balance. Changes in Antarctic albedo can affect and the cryosphere and thus achieve r. quinán cient supercontinent of Gondwana. • significant worldwide loss of ice mass the climate on the entire planet. Dr. Raúl Cordero (USACH) is studying this for glaciers, ice caps, and ice sheets phenomenon and the consequences already evident in southern Chile. better understanding of the balance in recent decades. The Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent sub-Antarctic islands are particularly sensitive to CODE TITLE PI INSTITUTION YEARS climate changes due to their location CE_01-17 Andrés Rivera within the southern westerly belt, Glaciology of the subglacial lake CECs CECs 2017-2019 which is affected by mid-latitude atmospheric and oceanic changes. FR_03-15 Reflectivity of Antarctica Raúl Cordero USACH 2015-2019 A major component of ice mass loss in Antarctica is by calving into the FR_01-16 Characterization of low clouds over the Antarctic Peninsula and the West Antarctic Penny Rowe USACH 2016-2019 ocean. Dr. Gino Casassa’s project Ice Sheet (WAIS) intends to study areal changes, ice Equilibrium and non-equilibrium processes in space plasmas and the solar-wind- volume changes, calving, and mass FR_02-16 Marina Stepanova 2016-2020 magnetosphere-ionosphere interactions USACH balance at Arktowski Ice Field on King George Island (KGI) by means of RT_32-15 Ground-based measurements of the radiance distribution in the Antarctic Peninsula Raúl Cordero 2015-2019 TerraSAR-X satellite imagery analyses USACH and ground measurements. The data RT_05-18 Temporal dynamics of nitrous oxide and methane in an embayment of the West Laura Farías 2019-2021 obtained will permit calculation of Antarctic Peninsula (WAP): from daily to inter-annual variability UDEC the mass balance at KGI and assess the relevance of calving processes. RT_44-18 Paleogeography of the lower Heritage Group, Ellsworth Mountains, Western Fernando Poblete 2019-2021 Surface mass balance simulations at Antarctica: Implications for Gondwanaland reconstructions UOH KGI driven by downscaled reanalysis data will be performed along with RT_56-18 Time constrains for Quaternary volcanism and tectonics in the Brandsfield and Larsen Luis Lara 2019-2021 those based on the Advanced rifts, Antarctica SERNAGEOMIN Research Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF model). The RT_70-18 Light-absorbing impurities on coastal snowpacks in the Antarctic Peninsula Alessandro Damiani USACH 2019-2021 ground-based and remote sensing data will allow calibration of the RG_10-16 Geochronology and isotope characterization of Jurassic igneous rocks of the Antarctic Mauricio Calderón 2016-2019 mass balance model for present- Peninsula UNAB day conditions and projected future changes based on Representative RG_16-16 The Australia-Antarctica divorce: a natural laboratory for quantifying key controls Andrés Tassara UDEC 2016-2019 Concentration Pathways (RCPs) on plate motions adopted by the IPCC. MG_12-18 Summer phytoplankton growth at Maxwell Bay, Antarctica: a modelling approach Vania Carrera UDEC 2018-2019

V. Biotechnology h. díaz

his area of research considers fungi may also have applications for

the physiological, metabolic controlling pests that affect wheat trueba f. Mercury is a metal that is found and molecular characteristics production. naturally in the environment, and occurs in a variety of ways. For Tof Antarctic organisms, in efforts to A biotechnological trend already example, this heavy metal can reach use these or their derivatives (bio- observed in several projects is the bio- the earth’s surface from volcanic action. The problem with this element, molecules) for the creation or modi- synthesis of nano-particles by bacte- for the environment and the health fication of products, applications, or ria. These represent an alternative for of living beings, is the neurotoxin called “methyl mercury.” Dr. Céline processes for specific uses. These may producing nano-structures with new Lavergne (PUCV) has visited the White Continent as a part of the include proposed innovative solutions properties, which could be used in so- 55th Antarctic Scientific Expedition for problems such as drought, energy lar panels for the production of “green (ASE 55). Her project (a postdoctoral FONDECYT effort) is titled “Role optimization, or the battles against energy.” One project started in 2019 of methanogenic archaea in the biogeochemical cycle of mercury multi-resistant bacteria, or cancer. In that is working in this direction in- for sequencing in the analysis of the Nanobiotechnology, the in natural and anthropic anaerobic some cases, deciphering the dna in volves the generation of biological fuel bacterial composition of Antarctic study of the interaction ecosystems” and it involves the study of bodies of water in the Antarctic these organisms, using mass sequenc- cells for producing electricity through soil. of nanomaterials with biological Peninsula to determine their levels of ing tools, is a key factor in achieving renewable, sustainable means. Finally, it is believed that Antarc- systems, represents mercury accumulation. an underexplored these solutions. Conducting mo- These discoveries may make tic science may also affect key activ- opportunity to CODE TITLE PI INSTITUTION YEARS lecular-level studies in Antarctica Antarctica a place where similar ities in the Chilean economy, such generate fundamental knowledge, but Assessing the role of rhizosphere’s bacterial communities in the physiological particularly to develop FP_01-15 Jorge Gallardo 2015-2018 is consistent with Chilean national solutions can be found. These might as the wine industry. The project performance of Colobanthus quitensis under salt stress UBIOBIO new technologies guidelines that endeavor to respond include combating global warming “Unveiling the unexplored diversity based on Antarctic RG_47-16 Unveiling the potential polyethylene terephthalate (PET) degradation activity of César Ramírez 2016-2019 to specific needs through applied re- effects by optimizing water use and of Antarctic yeasts and their poten- microorganisms Antarctic cutinases via protein engineering PUC that are capable search. developing crops that are more resis- tial in the Chilean wine industry,” of synthesizing Cu RT_02-16 Antarctic plant-associated bacteria and their contribution to mitigate the frost damage Milko Jorquera UFRO 2016-2020 In recent decades, the White Con- tant to the new climate conditions, or led by Cristina Ubeda of the Auton- or Cd-fluorescent in avocado plantlets nanoparticles (quantum tinent has become a focus of interest decarbonization through increased omous University (Chile), will try to dots). The project of RT_23-16 Antarctic thraustochytrids as source of docosahexaenoic acid, bioactive compounds, Carolina Shene UFRO 2016-2020 Dr. José Pérez (UNAB) and genetic data: isolation and molecular characterization for researchers who are interested reliance on solar energy. solve problems associated with low is based on innovative Low temperature biosynthesis of stress-tolerant fluorescent nanoparticles by results obtained in his not only in studying the adaptations Other projects of this course of temperatures in the fermentation RT_25-16 extremophile Antarctic bacteria: mechanism of synthesis, environmental significance José Pérez UNAB 2017-2020 now-completed INACH and application in solar cells of organisms to extreme Antarctic study consider antimicrobials and, of white wines, using yeasts from grant. This project conditions, but also in possible useful particularly, antibiotics, which have Antarctica, which may also improve demonstrates: i) some Phylogenetic diversity of microorganisms involved in iron cycle of Antarctic psychotropic Antarctic RT_31-16 environments: isolation of iron-oxidizing acidophiles with potential biotechnological Gloria Levicán USACH 2017-2020 applications. The generation of pat- been a central feature of modern med- the taste and flavor characteristics of bacteria biosynthesize application Cd SQDs at low ents helps protect the research done icine for the last eight decades, being the wine. The wines produced with temperature, and ii) RT_51-16 Screening and characterization of antimicrobial compounds and antibiotic resistance Andrés Marcoleta 2016-2020 determinants among Antarctic soil bacteria UCHILE with public or private funds, without essential for improved health around these yeasts will be analyzed to deter- bacteria can synthesize Cu2S quantum dots. Role of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) emitted by Antarctic bacteria in the The photo shows two DT_05-16 Carla Gallardo 2016-2018 jeopardizing the sharing of the re- the world. Over the past 60 years, mil- mine their aromatic composition by biosynthesis of CdS quantum dot (QDs) UFRO researchers from this sulting scientific knowledge. On the lions of metric tons of antibiotics have gas chromatography combined with project obtaining soil FP_02-17 Photosensitization of solar cells by using a redox protein (azurin) from extremophiles Carolina Quezada UNAB 2017-2019 contrary, this information becomes been produced and distributed world- mass spectrometry, resistance to oxi- samples in the Union glacier sector. RT_06-17 Screening of secondary metabolite producing fungi from Antarctic and their Paola Durán 2018-2021 open and freely accessible after it is wide, although the often irrational dation, antioxidant capacity and total antagonistic effect against Gaeumannonyces graminis as model soil borne pathogen UFRO generated. use of antibiotics has resulted in the phenols. In addition, sensory analysis RT_42-17 Isolation and characterization of lactic acid bacteria from Antarctica with Javier Ferrer UDEC 2018-2021 An example of this is the discovery evolution of strains of drug-resistant will be performed to determine if the technological and bacteriotherapy applications of “Antartina,” a new anti-cancer mol- bacteria. differences between the wines are FP_07-18 MEMARC: Role of methanogenic Archaea in the biogeochemical cycle of mercury in Céline Lavergne 2018-2019 natural and anthropic anaerobic ecosystems PUCV ecule extracted from the Deschampsia A recent project entitled “Isola- perceptible by a trained tasting panel. FR_02-18 Assessing the ecophysiological and molecular basis of the functional symbiosis: Marco Molina 2018-2021 antarctica plant that has proven effec- tion and characterization of antimi- In this way, Antarctic science is extremophile fungal-endophytes improve the yield and drought tolerance in crops UTALCA tive against neoplastic cells in cultures crobial compounds and determinants being made accessible to the citizens FI_02-18 Auto-inducer molecules as regulators of growing in Antarctic vascular plant as useful Claudia Rabert UAUTÓNOMA 2018-2021 representing colorectal cancer. It is of resistance to antibiotics present in of Chile, and for the scientific and tool for increase vegetable response to nutrient limitation hoped that these and other molecules Antarctic soil bacteria,” was led by technological development of the RG_02-18 Metagenomic approach to microbial diversity and metabolic potential of Antarctic Marcelo Baeza 2019-2020 terrestrial habitats UCHILE discovered in the future may be used Andrés Marcoleta, a researcher from country, supporting key economic RG_24-18 Revealing the unexplored diversity of Antarctic yeast and their potential in Chilean Cristina Ubeda 2019-2020 in the fight against cancer. the University of Chile. This involved activities such as agriculture and re- wine industry UAUTÓNOMA On the other hand, bacteria from the identification and characteriza- newable energies. • RT_12-18 Isolation and characterization of extremophilic microorganisms from Antarctica with Iván Nancucheo USS 2019-2021 this same plant have been isolated and tion of new antimicrobial compounds application in microbial fuel cells at low temperatures found to help in optimizing the plant’s and determinants of drug resistance RT_33-18 Interdisciplinary network for study of Antarctic fungal bioactive compounds for Cristian Paz 2019-2021 control of cancer cells, pathogenic yeasts and bacterial strains to human health UFRO growth. What is more, these micro- among the Antarctic soil bacteria DG_07-18 Antarctic monooxygenases with cofactor promiscuity: recombinant expression and Andrea Chánique 2018-2020 organisms may improve the capacities samples using both crop-dependent whole-cell biocatalysis for potential biotechnological applications PUC

of intensive crop planting to resist and crop-independent approaches Structural and functional characterization and protein engineering of Antarctic DG_11-18 enzymes as potential biocatalysts of the degradation of polyethylene terephthalate Paula Blázquez PUC 2018-2020 salt stress. Improved plant moisture (metagenomic sequencing). In this (PET) management capacities may also re- Antarctic season a new miniaturized DT_20-18 Biological crusts of Antarctic soil: effects on the ecophysiological performance of Andrea Barrera 2018-2020 sult from these bacteria. Antarctic technology such as minion, was used Colobanthus quitensis and the molecular mechanisms involved UTALCA

VI. Human Footprints in Antarctica r. quinán

ntarctica is a continent that fect and adapt to Antarctic environ- with the presence of tantalum in fish remained isolated for mil- ments? How will regulatory mecha- and invertebrate samples along a gra- lions of years, yet it offers nisms evolve to deal with the growing dient ranging from northern Chile to Akey insights into life forms that in- pace of Antarctic tourism? How will Fildes Bay, in Antarctica. Low levels habit systems exposed to high levels external pressures and changes in geo- of cops have been discovered in the of complex environmental variability. political conditions affect governance blood of penguins in Antarctica. Like- Although the fragility of the Antarc- and Antarctic science? wise, the transport or retention of tic ecosystem facing the impact of cli- procien is currently undertaking trace metals (such as copper and lead) mate change is acknowledged, there timely projects. One is related to the in Ardley Island (Antarctica) soils has is also concern about anthropogenic presence of pops in fauna and their in- been established. Here, the penguins influences related to the introduction fluence on the “biological bomb” and are acting as biovectors by trans- of xenobiotics, Persistent Organic the Antarctic trophic web. Another porting and depositing copper in the Compounds (pops), and other harmful deals with the presence and biomagni- Antarctic soils through their feces. In chemical compounds that Antarctica fication of chemical elements such as the case of lead, it is retained in their may receive as a result of tourism and tantalum (a mineral widely used in the bones, feathers, or eggs. Finally, the logistics activities taking place in the construction of electrical capacitors, presence in bacteria of the intl1 gene region. As a result, all these activities which in turn is used in the technolog- has been detected, considered to be must be closely monitored and regu- ical industry for cell phones, comput- an indicator of contamination and the lated under the aegis of the Antarctic ers and other electronic devices). And presence of resistance to antibiotics. Treaty System and the Madrid Pro- finally, another procien study looks These studies are providing im- tocol. into the presence of the intl1 gene in portant information to increase our The protection of the Antarctic Antarctic bacteria. knowledge about the state of the environment is a priority issue under In regards to the most relevant re- Antarctic environment, providing a

the Antarctic Treaty System, especial- sults obtained by procien researchers baseline covering pops as well as chemi- h. díaz ly in meetings of the Committee for in the area of pollution, the study of cals such as tantalum and trace metals. • the Protection of the Environment, the presence of pops in samples of as well as in the conferences of the Antarctic krill collected along the Scientific Committee for Antarc- sea of Bellingshausen, Weddell, and tic Science Research (scar) and the Scotia Sea is noteworthy. These com- Convention for the Conservation of pounds enter the Antarctic ecosys- Marine Antarctic Marine Living Re- tem through atmospheric transport sources (ccamlr). Some key questions and through phytoplankton, and are in this area include: what will be the passed on to other levels of the food consequences of anthropogenic im- chain. pacts on the Antarctic ecosystem? Biomagnification has also been How will humans and pathogens af- uncovered in the food chain, along

CODE TITLE PI INSTITUTION YEARS

FP_02-15 Anthropogenic pressure over the Antarctic microbial world: Stability of soil Sebastián Fuentes 2015-2018 communities facing hydrocarbon pollution disturbance PUC

FP_01-19 Where there are humans there is contamination: Early detection of anthropic effects on Lisette Zenteno 2019-2021 marine sentinel species of the Antarctic Peninsula UCSC

RT_09-15 Environmental levels of xenobiotics in the Shetlands southern islands, Antarctica Mónica Montory UDEC 2015-2019

RT_12-17 Biological pump influence on the persistent organic pollutants biogeochemistry in Cristóbal Galbán 2018-2021 pristine environments UNAB

MT_13-17 Class 1 integron and antibiotic resistance gene cassettes: Markers of anthropic activity Nicole Cid 2018-2019 in Peninsula Fildes, Antarctica? UDEC Dr. Mónica Montory (UDEC) is evaluating the environmental levels of xenobiotics in abiotic matrices, including soil, water, snow, and air, in the South Shetlands.

64 | advances in chilean antarctic science | n5 instituto antártico chileno | 65 f. trueba 66 A address a number of important issues. address anumberofimportantissues. humanities andthesocialsciences permanent humansettlement,the lacking an indigenous population or manifestations. nization, anditsmanydiversecultural ation ofknowledge,itspoliticalorga andHumanities Sciences VII. Social ilAiA through itssymbolicworld:thegener landscapes, butitalsocommunicates FP_03-19 MT_01-18 IN_01-17 CODE | In Antarctica, the only continent In Antarctica,theonlycontinent | advances inchilean antarctic science treme, pristine,andunique is expressedthroughitsex ntarctica is a continent that chilean antarcticscienceprogram2019-2020 TITLE cultural figuresofthefutureChileanAntarctic.1940-2018 No man’sland,everyone’sland.Natureandnationalismintheconstructionof Base Health OptimizationinAntarctica:Careandself-careJulioEscuderoScientific Antarctic CitiesandtheGlobalCommons:RethinkingGateways - - - what conditions?Howdopeoplebe be abletovisitAntarcticaandunder we governthisregion?Whoshould interactions withtheregion?Howdo how aretheseaffectingourcurrent with such a short human history, and we create to feel at home in a place What sortsofstoriesandimagescan economic transitiontowards becoming custodialcities? organizations. The project’s central researchquestionisthis:How canthe Antarctic gateway citiesbestbringabout acultural, political, and Commons Project:RethinkingtheGateways,” financed by the Australian Research Council, withthecollaborationofINACH and other and humanitiesforthecomingyears. ofChileanresearchersinthe One exampleofthisistheparticipation “Antarctic CitiesandGlobal withanextensive polartradition,Chile isacountry which iswhy itisactively promotingthedevelopment ofresearchinthesocialsciences future interactionswiththisregion?• the manychallengeswefaceinour environment? Howcanweconfront have insuchanisolatedandhostile

| n5 - Fulvio Rossetti Florencia Vergara / ElíasBarticevic Juan FranciscoSalazar PI WSU-INACH INSTITUTION UCHILE PUC 2019-2021 2018-2019 2017-2019 YEARS

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ilAiA | antarctic science publications ilAiA | antarctic science publications

Line I The State of the Antarctic Ecosystem Line I The State of the Antarctic Ecosystem

TITLE AUTHORS JOURNAL JIF DOI TITLE AUTHORS JOURNAL JIF DOI Ellis, L. T.; Afonina, O. M.; Andriamiarisoa, R. L.; Asthana, Diet and food consumption of the Sallaberry-Pincheira, Pauline; Galvez, Patricio; Molina- G.; Bharti, R.; Aymerich, P.; Bambe, B.; Boiko, M.; Brugues, Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus Burgos, Blanca E.; Fernandoy, Francisco; Melendez, POLAR BIOLOGY M.; Ruiz, E.; Saez, L.; Cano, M. J.; Ros, R.; Cihal, L.; Deme, 1,954 10.1007/s00300-018-2360-z eleginoides) in South Pacific Antarctic Roberto; Klarian, Sebastian A. J.; Csiky, J.; Dihoru, G.; Drevojan, P.; Ezer, T.; Fedosov, V. waters E.; Ignatova, E. A.; Seregin, A. P.; Garcia, C. A.; Martins, A.; Sergio, C.; Sim-Sim, M.; Rodrigues, A. S. B.; Gradstein, S. R.; Reeb, C.; Irmah, A.; Suleiman, M.; Koponen, T.; Kucera, New national and regional bryophyte JOURNAL OF BRYOLOGY 10.1080/03736687.2018.1487687 Molecular-assisted revision of red records, 56 J.; Lebouvier, M.; LiQun, Y.; Long, D. G.; Maksimov, A. I.; 1,079 Dubrasquet, Helene; Reyes, Janette; Sanchez, Ramona macroalgal diversity and distribution CRYPTOGAMIE ALGOLOGIE 10.7872/crya/v39.iss4.2018.409 Maksimova, T. A.; Munoz, J.; Nobis, M.; Nowak, A.; Ochyra, along the Western Antarctic Peninsula Pinochet; Valdivia, Nelson; Guillemin, Marie-Laure 1,114 R.; O’Leary, S. V.; Osorio, F.; Pisarenko, O. Yu.; Plasek, V.; and South Shetland Islands Skoupa, Z.; Schaefer-Verwimp, A.; Schnyder, N.; Shevock, J. R.; Stefanut, S.; Sulayman, M.; Sun, B. -Y.; Park, S. J.; Tubanova, D. Ya.; Vana, J.; Wolski, G. J.; Yao, K. -Y.; Yoon, Y-J; Johansson, Hakan; Ellstrom, Patrik; Artursson, Karin; Berg, Yucel, E. Charlotte; Bonnedahl, Jonas; Hansson, Ingrid; Hernandez, Characterization of Campylobacter spp. Jorge; Lopez-Martin, Juana; Medina-Vogel, Gonzalo; PLOS ONE isolated from wild birds in the Antarctic Moreno, Lucile; Olsen, Bjorn; Engvall, Eva Olsson; Skarin, 2,766 10.1371/journal.pone.0206502 Ramos, Barbara; Gonzalez-Acuna, Daniel; Loyola, David E.; and Sub-Antarctic Hanna; Troell, Karin; Waldenstrom, Jonas; Agren, Joakim; Landscape genomics: natural selection Johnson, Warren E.; Parker, Patricia G.; Massaro, Melanie; BMC GENOMICS Gonzalez-Acuna, Daniel drives the evolution of mitogenome in Dantas, Gisele P. M.; Miranda, Marcelo D.; Vianna, Juliana 3,73 10.1186/s12864-017-4424-9 penguins A. Analysis of bacterial communities of King Chua, C. Y.; Yong, S. T.; Gonzalez, M. A.; Lavin, P.; Cheah, Y. CURRENT SCIENCE George and Deception Islands, Antarctica K.; Tan, G. Y. A.; Wong, C. M. V. L. 0,883 10.18520/cs/v115/i9/1701-1705 Albertson, G. R.; Friedlaender, A. S.; Steel, D. J.; Aguayo- using high-throughput sequencing Temporal stability anWd mixed-stock Lobo, A.; Bonatto, S. L.; Caballero, S.; Constantine, R.; Cypriano-Souza, A. L.; Engel, M. H.; Garrigue, C.; Florez- analyses of humpback whales (Megaptera POLAR BIOLOGY 10.1007/s00300-017-2193-1 novaeangliae) in the nearshore waters of Gonzalez, L.; Johnston, D. W.; Nowacek, D. P.; Olavarria, C.; 1,954 Genome sequences of two cold-adapted Teoh, C. P.; Wong, C. M. V. L.; Lee, D. J. H.; Gonzalez, M. A.; the Western Antarctic Peninsula Poole, M. M.; Read, A. J.; Robbins, J.; Sremba, A. L.; Baker, CURRENT SCIENCE Cryobacterium spp. SO1 and SO2 from Najimudin, N.; Lee, P. C.; Cheah, Y. K. 0,883 10.18520/cs/v115/i9/1706-1708 C. S. Fildes Peninsula, Antarctica

Migratory interchange of humpback Steel, D.; Anderson, M.; Garrigue, C.; Olavarria, C.; Frugone, M. J.; Lowther, A.; Noll, D.; Ramos, B.; Pistorius, P.; whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) Caballero, S.; Childerhouse, S.; Clapham, P.; Constantine, Contrasting phylogeographic pattern Dantas, G. P. M.; Petry, M. V.; Bonadonna, F.; Steinfurth, A.; SCIENTIFIC REPORTS among breeding grounds of Oceania and R.; Dawson, S.; Donoghue, M.; Florez-Gonzalez, L.; Gibbs, POLAR BIOLOGY 1,954 10.1007/s00300-017-2226-9 among Eudyptes penguins around the Polanowski, A.; Raya Rey, A.; Lois, N. A.; Puetz, K.; Trathan, 4,122 10.1038/s41598-018-35975-3 connections to Antarctic feeding areas N.; Hauser, N.; Oremus, M.; Paton, D.; Poole, M. M.; Southern Ocean P.; Wienecke, B.; Poulin, E.; Vianna, J. A. based on genotype matching Robbins, J.; Slooten, L.; Thiele, D.; Ward, J.; Baker, C. S.

Spatial and temporal dynamics of the Comparative phylogeography of six red Antarctic krill fishery in fishing hotspots Santa Cruz, Francisco; Ernst, Billy; Arata, Javier A.; Parada, Guillemin, Marie-Laure; Dubrasquet, Helene; Reyes, FISHERIES RESEARCH 1,874 10.1016/j.fishres.2018.07.020 algae along the Antarctic Peninsula: POLAR BIOLOGY 1,954 10.1007/s00300-017-2244-7 in the Bransfield Strait and South Carolina extreme genetic depletion linked to Janette; Valero, Myriam Shetland Islands historical bottlenecks and recent expansion

Koc, Justyna; Androsiuk, Piotr; Chwedorzewska, Genetic structure and demographic Range-wide pattern of genetic variation Katarzyna Joanna; Cuba-Diaz, Marely; Gorecki, Ryszard; POLAR BIOLOGY 1,954 10.1007/s00300-018-2383-5 inference of the regular sea urchin Diaz, Angie; Gerard, Karin; Gonzalez-Wevar, Claudio; in Colobanthus quitensis Gielwanowska, Irena Sterechinus neumayeri (Meissner, Maturana, Claudia; Ferai, Jean-Pierre; David, Bruno; PLOS ONE 2,766 10.1371/journal.pone.0197611 1900) in the Southern Ocean: The role of Saucede, Thomas; Poulin, Elie the last glaciation Espejo, Winfred; Padilha, Janeide de A.; Kidd, Karen A.; Trophic transfer of cadmium in marine MARINE POLLUTION Dorneles, Paulo R.; Barra, Ricardo; Malm, Olaf; Chiang, food webs from Western Chilean BULLETIN 3,241 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.10.022 Patagonia and Antarctica Gustavo; Celis, Jose E. High similarity in the microbiota of cold- Cardenas, Cesar A.; Gonzalez-Aravena, Marcelo; Font, water sponges of the Genus Mycale from Alejandro; Hestetun, Jon T.; Hajdu, Eduardo; Trefault, Nicole; PEERJ 2,118 10.7717/peerj.4935 two different geographical areas Malmbergg, Maja; Bongcarn-Rudloff, Erik

Mura-Jornet, Isidora; Pimentel, Carolina; Dantas, Gisele P. Chinstrap penguin population genetic M.; Petry, Maria Virginia; Gonzalez-Acuna, Daniel; Barbosa, BMC EVOLUTIONARY structure: one or more populations along Andres; Lowther, Andrew D.; Kovacs, Kit M.; Poulin, Elie; BIOLOGY 3,027 10.1186/s12862-018-1207-0 the Southern Ocean? Vianna, Juliana A.

Fraser, Ceridwen, I; Morrison, Adele K.; Hogg, Andrew Antarctica’s ecological isolation will be McC; Macaya, Erasmo C.; van Sebille, Erik; Ryan, Peter G.; NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE broken by storm-driven dispersal and Padovan, Amanda; Jack, Cameron; Valdivia, Nelson; Waters, 19,181 10.1038/s41558-018-0209-7 warming Jonathan M.

Contributions to the bryological Henriques, Diego Knop; Costa Silva, Barbara Guedes; knowledge of ASPA 125, Fildes Zuniga, Gustavo Emilio; Aguiar Saraiva Camara, Paulo BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2,357 10.1186/s40659-018-0178-3 Peninsula, King George Island Eduardo

Predicting the cover and richness of Kotta, Jonne; Valdivia, Nelson; Kutser, Tiit; Toming, Kaire; ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION intertidal macroalgae in remote areas: a Ratsep, Merli; Orav-Kotta, Helen 2,34 10.1002/ece3.4463 case study in the Antarctic Peninsula

Intra-population variability of the Kruger, Lucas; Paiva, Vitor H.; Finger, Julia V. G.; Petersen, non-breeding distribution of southern ANTARCTIC SCIENCE 10.1017/S0954102018000238 giant petrels Macronectes giganteus is Elisa; Xavier, Jose C.; Petry, Maria, V; Ramos, Jaime A. 1,394 mediated by individual body size

Genetic Structure and Gene Flow of Moss Sanionia uncinata (Hedw.) Loeske in Hebel, Ingrid; Ruedinger, Maria Carmen Dacasa; Jana, FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY 10.3389/fevo.2018.00152 Maritime Antarctica and Southern- Ricardo A.; Bastias, Joaquin AND EVOLUTION 2,686 Patagonia p. ruiz p.

Line II Antarctic Thresholds: Ecosystem Resilience and Adaptation Line III Antarctic Climate Change

TITLE AUTHORS JOURNAL JIF DOI TITLE AUTHORS JOURNAL JIF DOI

Krishnan, Abiramy; Convey, Peter; Gonzalez, Marcelo; Effects of temperature on extracellular POLAR BIOLOGY The importance of local settings: within- Smykla, Jerzy; Alias, Siti Aisyah 1,954 10.1007/s00300-017-2215-z Cardenas, Cesar A.; Gonzalez-Aravena, Marcelo; hydrolase enzymes from soil microfungi year variability in seawater temperature PEERJ 10.7717/peerj.4289 at South Bay, Western Antarctic Santibanez, Pamela A. 2,118 Peninsula Cavieres, Lohengrin A.; Vivas, Mercedes; Mihoc, Maritza A. The importance of facilitative interactions JOURNAL OF VEGETATION K.; Osses, Diana A.; Ortiz-Gutierrez, Jose M.; Saez, Patricia on the performance of Colobanthus SCIENCE 2,658 10.1111/jvs.12616 quitensis in an Antarctic tundra L.; Bravo, Leon A. Onset and Evolution of Southern Annular Moreno, P. I.; Vilanova, I.; Villa-Martinez, R.; Dunbar, R. B.; Mode-Like Changes at Centennial Mucciarone, D. A.; Kaplan, M. R.; Garreaud, R. D.; Rojas, SCIENTIFIC REPORTS 4,122 10.1038/s41598-018-21836-6 Timescale M.; Moy, C. M.; De Pol-Holz, R.; Lambert, F. HSP70 from the Antarctic sea urchin Gonzalez-Aravena, Marcelo; Calfio, Camila; Mercado, Luis; 10.1186/s40659-018- Sterechinus neumayeri: molecular Morales-Lange, Byron; Bethke, Jorn; De Lorgeril, Julien; BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2,357 characterization and expression in Cardenas, Cesar A. 0156-9 New insights into the use of stable Fernandoy, Francisco; Tetzner, Dieter; Meyer, Hanno; response to heat stress water isotopes at the northern Antarctic Gacitua, Guisella; Hoffmann, Kirstin; Falk, Ulrike; Lambert, CRYOSPHERE 4,524 10.5194/tc-12-1069-2018 Peninsula as a tool for regional climate Fabrice; MacDonell, Shelley studies Competition between native Antarctic Cavieres, Lohengrin A.; Karen Sanhueza, Ana; Torres- vascular plants and invasive Poa annua BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS 10.1007/s10530-017- Mellado, Gustavo; Casanova-Katny, Angelica 3,054 changes with temperature and soil 1650-7 Variable dispersal histories across the Majda, Aneta; Majewski, Wojciech; Mamos, Tomasz; MARINE MICROPALEONTOLOGY 10.1016/j. nitrogen availability Drake Passage: The case of coastal benthic Grabowski, Michal; Angelica Godoi, Maria; Pawlowski, Jan 1,874 marmicro.2018.02.004 Foraminifera

Kim, Dockyu; Park, Ha Ju; Kim, Jung Ho; Youn, Ui Joung; Passive warming effect on soil microbial JOURNAL OF BASIC Yang, Yung Hun; Casanova-Katny, Angelica; Munoz Vargas, community and humic substance MICROBIOLOGY 1,58 10.1002/jobm.201700470 Prokaryotes in the WAIS Divide ice Santibanez, Pamela A.; Maselli, Olivia J.; Greenwood, Mark Cristina; Venegas, Erick Zagal; Park, Hyun; Hong, Soon Gyu degradation in maritime Antarctic region core reflect source and transport changes C.; Grieman, Mackenzie M.; Saltzman, Eric S.; McConnell, GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 8,997 10.1111/gcb.14042 between Last Glacial Maximum and the Joseph R.; Priscu, John C. early Holocene Saez, Patricia L.; Cavieres, Lohengrin A.; Galmes, Jeroni; In situ warming in the Antarctic: effects Gil-Pelegrin, Eustaquio; Javier Peguero-Pina, Jose; Sancho- Knapik, Domingo; Vivas, Mercedes; Sanhueza, Carolina; NEW PHYTOLOGIST on growth and photosynthesis in Antarctic 7,433 10.1111/nph.15124 Revealing recent calving activity of a COLD REGIONS SCIENCE AND Ramirez, Constanza F.; Rivera, Betsy K.; Corcuera, Luis J.; Podgorski, Julian; Petlicki, Michal; Kinnard, Christophe 10.1016/j. vascular plants tidewater glacier with terrestrial LiDAR TECHNOLOGY 1,925 coldregions.2018.03.003 Bravo, Leon A. reflection intensity

Antarctic yeasts: analysis of their Is there an active hydrothermal flux Rodrigo, Cristian; Blamey, Jenny M.; Huhn, Oliver; Provost, Villarreal, Pablo; Carrasco, Mario; Barahona, Salvador; ANDEAN GEOLOGY freeze-thaw tolerance and production BMC MICROBIOLOGY 10.1186/s12866-018- from the Orca seamount in the Bransfield Christine 1,306 10.5027/andgeoV45n3-3086 of antifreeze proteins, fatty acids and Alcaino, Jennifer; Cifuentes, Victor; Baeza, Marcelo 2,829 1214-8 Strait, Antarctica? ergosterol

Past ice stream and ice sheet changes on the Fernandez, R.; Gulick, S.; Domack, E.; Montelli, A.; Leventer, 10.1016/j. Hormonal and physiological changes continental shelf off the Sabrina Coast, GEOMORPHOLOGY 3,308 Ramos, Patricio; Rivas, Natali; Pollmann, Stephan; Casati, A.; Shevenell, A.; Frederick, B. geomorph.2018.05.020 driven by fungal endophytes increase FUNGAL ECOLOGY 10.1016/j. East Antarctica Antarctic plant performance under UV-B Paula; Molina-Montenegro, Marco A. 3,736 funeco.2018.05.006 radiation The changes in maximal oxygen uptake (VoO(2MAX)) induced by physical Moraes, Michele M.; Mendes, Thiago T.; Martins, Ygor A. T.; INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF Evolution in chronic cold: varied loss exertion during an Antarctic expedition Espinosa, Cristian N.; Maluf, Chams B.; Soares, Danusa D.; 10.1080/22423982. Bilyk, Kevin T.; Vargas-Chacoff, Luis; Cheng, C. -H. Christina BMC EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY 10.1186/s12862-018- CIRCUMPOLAR HEALTH 1,055 o cellular response to heat in Antarctic 3,027 1254-6 depend on the initial VoO(2MAX) of the Wanner, Samuel P.; Arantes, Rosa M. E. 2018.1521244 notothenioid fish individuals: a case study of the Brazilian expedition

Antarctic rhizobacteria improve salt Gallardo-Cerda, Jorge; Levihuan, Juana; Lavin, Paris; Oses, tolerance and physiological performance of Romulo; Atala, Cristian; Torres-Diaz, Cristian; Cuba-Diaz, POLAR BIOLOGY 1,954 10.1007/s00300-018-2336-z the Antarctic vascular plants Marely; Barrera, Andrea; Molina-Montenegro, Marco A.

Detection of peroxiredoxin-like protein in Antarctic sea urchin (Sterechinus Morales-Lange, Byron; Gonzalez-Aravena, Marcelo; Font, POLAR BIOLOGY neumayeri) under heat stress and induced Alejandro; Guzman, Fanny; Mercado, Luis 1,954 10.1007/s00300-018-2346-x with pathogen-associated molecular pattern from Vibrio anguillarum

Warmer Temperatures Affect the in Sierra-Almeida, Angela; Cavieres, Lohengrin A.; Bravo, FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE situ Freezing Resistance of the Antarctic Leon A. 3,678 10.3389/fpls.2018.01456 Vascular Plants

Copper stress induces antioxidant Contreras, Rodrigo A.; Pizarro, Marisol; Kohler, Hans; Saez, responses and accumulation of sugars and BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH 10.1186/s40659-018- phytochelatins in Antarctic Colobanthus Claudio A.; Zuniga, Gustavo E. 2,357 0197-0 quitensis (Kunth) Bartl

Waterman, Melinda J.; Bramley-Alves, Jessica; Miller, Photoprotection enhanced by red cell wall BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH 10.1186/s40659-018- pigments in three East Antarctic mosses Rebecca E.; Keller, Paul A.; Robinson, Sharon A. 2,357 0196-1

Mesophyll conductance to CO2 is the most Saez, Patricia L.; Galmes, Jeroni; Ramirez, Constanza F.; significant limitation to photosynthesis Poblete, Leticia; Rivera, Betsy K.; Cavieres, Lohengrin A.; ENVIRONMENTAL AND 10.1016/j. at different temperatures and water Jose Clemente-Moreno, Maria; Flexas, Jaume; Bravo, Leon EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 3,666 envexpbot.2018.09.008 availabilities in Antarctic vascular species A.

Line IV Astronomy and Earth Sciences Line V Biotechnology

TITLE AUTHORS JOURNAL JIF DOI TITLE AUTHORS JOURNAL JIF DOI

Photometric Solutions of Three Eclipsing Liu, N.; Fu, J. N.; Zong, W.; Wang, L. Z.; Uddin, S. A.; Zhang, Salgado, Francisco; Albornoz, Laura; Cortez, Carmen; Binary Stars Observed from Dome A, X. B.; Zhang, Y. P.; Cang, T. Q.; Li, G.; Yang, Y.; Yang, G. C.; ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL 4,15 10.3847/1538-3881/aab266 Secondary Metabolite Profiling of Species Stashenko, Elena; Urrea-Vallejo, Kelly; Nagles, Edgar; Antarctica Mould, J.; Morrell, N. of the Genus Usnea by UHPLC-ESI-OT- Galicia-Virviescas, Cesar; Cornejo, Alberto; Ardiles, MOLECULES 3,098 10.3390/molecules23010054 MS-MS Alejandro; Simirgiotis, Mario; Garcia-Beltran, Olimpo; Areche, Carlos Effect of Atmospheric Corrosion on the Martinez, Carola; Briones, Francisco; Villarroel, Maria; Vera, MATERIALS Mechanical Properties of SAE 1020 Rosa 2,972 10.3390/ma11040591 Melissa Munoz-Villagran, Claudia; Mendez, Katterinne N.; Structural Steel Comparative genomic analysis of a new Cornejo, Fabian; Figueroa, Maximiliano; Undabarrena, tellurite-resistant Psychrobacter strain Agustina; Hugo Morales, Eduardo; Arenas-Salinas, PEERJ 2,118 10.7717/peerj.4402 Foehn Event Triggered by an isolated from the Antarctic Peninsula Mauricio; Alejandro Arenas, Felipe; Castro-Nallar, Eduardo; JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL Atmospheric River Underlies Record- Bozkurt, D.; Rondanelli, R.; Marin, J. C.; Garreaud, R. 10.1002/2017JD027796 Christian Vasquez, Claudio Setting Temperature Along Continental RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES 3,38 Antarctica Arsenic and Cadmium Bioremediation Glatstein, Daniel A.; Bruna, Nicolas; Gallardo-Benavente, JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL by Antarctic Bacteria Capable of Carla; Bravo, Denisse; Carro Perez, Magali E.; Francisca, 10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943- Shepherd, Andrew; Ivins, Erik; Rignot, Eric; Smith, Ben; ENGINEERING 1,396 Biosynthesizing CdS Fluorescent Franco M.; Perez-Donoso, Jose M. 7870.0001293 van den Broeke, Michiel; Velicogna, Isabella; Whitehouse, Nanoparticles Pippa; Briggs, Kate; Joughin, Ian; Krinner, Gerhard; Nowicki, Sophie; Payne, Tony; Scambos, Ted; Schlegel, Nicole; A comparative analysis of tellurite Valdivia-Gonzalez, M. A.; Diaz-Vasquez, W. A.; Ruiz-Leon, D.; Geruo, A.; Agosta, Cecile; Ahlstrom, Andreas; Babonis, detoxification by members of the genus Becerra, A. A.; Aguayo, D. R.; Perez-Donoso, J. M.; Vasquez, ARCHIVES OF MICROBIOLOGY 1,607 10.1007/s00203-017-1438-2 Greg; Barletta, Valentina; Blazquez, Alejandro; Bonin, Shewanella C. C. Jennifer; Csatho, Beata; Cullather, Richard; Felikson, Denis; Fettweis, Xavier; Forsberg, Rene; Gallee, Hubert; Phenotypic and genotypic characterization Gardner, Alex; Gilbert, Lin; Groh, Andreas; Gunter, Brian; of a novel multi-antibiotic-resistant, Higuera-Llanten, Sebastian; Vasquez-Ponce, Felipe; Nunez- Hanna, Edward; Harig, Christopher; Helm, Veit; Horvath, alginate hyperproducing strain of Gallegos, Matias; Soledad Pavlov, Maria; Marshall, Sergio; POLAR BIOLOGY 1,954 10.1007/s00300-017-2206-0 Alexander; Horwath, Martin; Khan, Shfaqat; Kjeldsen, Pseudomonas mandelii isolated in Olivares-Pacheco, Jorge Kristian K.; Konrad, Hannes; Langen, Peter; Lecavalier, Mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet NATURE 10.1038/s41586-018-0179-y Antarctica from 1992 to 2017 Benoit; Loomis, Bryant; Luthcke, Scott; McMillan, Malcolm; 41,577 Melini, Daniele; Mernild, Sebastian; Mohajerani, Yara; Lee, Gillian Li Yin; Ahmad, Siti Aqlima; Yasid, Nur Adeela; Moore, Philip; Mouginot, Jeremie; Moyano, Gorka; Muir, Zulkharnain, Azham; Convey, Peter; Johari, Wan Lutfi Wan; Biodegradation of phenol by cold-adapted POLAR BIOLOGY 10.1007/s00300-017-2216-y Alan; Nagler, Thomas; Nield, Grace; Nilsson, Johan; Noel, bacteria from Antarctic soils Alias, Siti Aisyah; Gonzalez-Rocha, Gerardo; Shukor, Mohd 1,954 Brice; Otosaka, Ines; Pattle, Mark E.; Peltier, W. Richard; Yunus Pie, Nadege; Rietbroek, Roelof; Rott, Helmut; Sandberg- Sorensen, Louise; Sasgen, Ingo; Save, Himanshu; Scheuchl, & IT;Streptomyces luridus & IT; So3.2 Lamina, Claudio; Braga, Douglas; Castro, Rui; Guimaraes, Bernd; Schrama, Ernst; Schroeder, Ludwig; Seo, Ki-Weon; from Antarctic soil as a novel producer Carolina; de Castilho, Livia V. A.; Freire, Denise M. G.; PLOS ONE 10.1371/journal. Simonsen, Sebastian; Slater, Tom; Spada, Giorgio; 2,766 of compounds with bioemulsification Barrientos, Leticia pone.0196054 Sutterley, Tyler; Talpe, Matthieu; Tarasov, Lev; van de Berg, potential Willem Jan; van der Wal, Wouter; van Wessem, Melchior; Vishwakarma, Bramha Dutt; Wiese, David; Wouters, Bert Draft genome sequences of bacteria Cid, Fernanda P.; Maruyama, Fumito; Murase, Kazunori; isolated from the Deschampsia Graether, Steffen P.; Larama, Giovanni; Bravo, Leon A.; EXTREMOPHILES 2 10.1007/s00792-018-1015-x Romanin, Marco; Crippa, Gaia; Ye, Facheng; Brand, Uwe; antarctica phyllosphere Jorquera, Milko A. A Sampling Strategy for Recent and RIVISTA ITALIANA DI Bitner, Maria Aleksandra; Gaspard, Daniele; Haussermann, Fossil Brachiopods: Selecting the Optimal PALEONTOLOGIA E STRATIGRAFIA 0,978 Shell Segment for Geochemical Analyses Verena; Laudien, Juergen Malvicini, Mariana; Gutierrez-Moraga, Ana; Rodriguez, A Tricin Derivative from Deschampsia Marcelo M.; Gomez-Bustillo, Sofia; Salazar, Lorena; Sunkel, antarctica Desv. Inhibits Colorectal Carlos; Nozal, Leonor; Salgado, Antonio; Hidalgo, Manuel; MOLECULAR CANCER 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT- Provenance, transport and diagenesis Carcinoma Growth and Liver Metastasis Lopez-Casas, Pedro P.; Luis Novella, Jose; Jose Vaquero, THERAPEUTICS 5,365 Hernandez, Ana C.; Bastias, Joaquin; Matus, Daniela; 17-0193 of sediment in polar areas: a case study POLAR RESEARCH 10.1080/17518369. through the Induction of a Specific Juan; Alvarez-Builla, Julio; Mora, Adda; Gidekel, Manuel; Mahaney, William C. 1,5 in Profound Lake, King George Island, 2018.1490619 Immune Response Mazzolini, Guillermo Antarctica WORLD JOURNAL OF Teleconnection stationarity, variability Datwyler, Christoph; Neukom, Raphael; Abram, Nerilie J.; Agarolytic culturable bacteria associated Sanchez Hinojosa, Veronica; Asenjo, Joel; Leiva, Sergio MICROBIOLOGY & 2,1 10.1007/s11274-018-2456-1 and trends of the Southern Annular Mode Gallant, Ailie J. E.; Grosjean, Martin; Jacques-Coper, Martin; CLIMATE DYNAMICS 3,774 10.1007/s00382-017-4015-0 with three antarctic subtidal macroalgae BIOTECHNOLOGY (SAM) during the last millennium Karoly, David J.; Villalba, Ricardo Amycolatopsis antarctica sp nov., INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF Remote sensing of albedo-reducing snow ISPRS JOURNAL OF isolated from the surface of an Antarctic Wang, Jian; Leiva, Sergio; Huang, Jiao; Huang, Ying SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY 1,932 10.1099/ijsem.0.002844 10.1016/j.isprsjprs. brown macroalga MICROBIOLOGY algae and impurities in the Maritime Huovinen, Pirjo; Ramirez, Jaime; Gomez, Ivan PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND 5,994 2018.10.015 Antarctica REMOTE SENSING Relevance of Local Flexibility Near the Contextualizing the 1997 warm event Active Site for Enzymatic Catalysis: Saavedra, Juan M.; Azocar, Mauricio A.; Rodriguez, Vida; 10.1080/17518369. Biochemical Characterization and Ramirez-Sarmiento, Cesar A.; Andrews, Barbara A.; Asenjo, BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL 3,507 10.1002/biot.201700669 observed at Patriot Hills in the interior of Carrasco, Jorge F. POLAR RESEARCH 1,5 2018.1547041 West Antarctica Engineering of Cellulase Cel5A From Juan A.; Parra, Loreto P. Bacillus agaradherans

Cold-active pectinolytic activity produced Poveda, Gabriela; Gil-Duran, Carlos; Vaca, Inmaculada; BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH by filamentous fungi associated with Levican, Gloria; Chavez, Renato 2,357 10.1186/s40659-018-0177-4 Antarctic marine sponges

ANTONIE VAN LEEUWENHOEK Phylogeny and bioactivity of epiphytic Alvarado, Pamela; Huang, Ying; Wang, Jian; Garrido, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF Gram-positive bacteria isolated from Ignacio; Leiva, Sergio GENERAL AND MOLECULAR 1,588 10.1007/s10482-018-1044-6 three co-occurring antarctic macroalgae MICROBIOLOGY

Heterologous expression, purification and Gil-Duran, Carlos; Ravanal, Maria-Cristina; Ubilla, Pamela; characterization of a highly thermolabile FUNGAL BIOLOGY 10.1016/j. endoxylanase from the Antarctic fungus Vaca, Inmaculada; Chavez, Renato 2,571 funbio.2018.05.002 Cladosporium sp.

Phylogenetic MLSA and phenotypic analysis identification of three probable Vasquez-Ponce, Felipe; Higuera-Llanten, Sebastian; Pavlov, BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF novel Pseudomonas species isolated on Maria S.; Marshall, Sergio H.; Olivares-Pacheco, Jorge MICROBIOLOGY 1,81 10.1016/j.bjm.2018.02.005 King George Island, South Shetland, Antarctica

Investigating the potential use of an Baricz, Andreea; Teban, Adele; Chiriac, Cecilia Maria; 10.1038/s41598-018- Antarctic variant of Janthinobacterium Szekeres, Edina; Farkas, Anca; Nica, Maria; Dascalu, SCIENTIFIC REPORTS 4,122 lividum for tackling antimicrobial Amalie; Oprisan, Corina; Lavin, Paris; Coman, Cristian 33691-6 resistance in a One Health approach

A thermophilic microorganism from Flores, Patricio A. M.; Correa-Llanten, Daniela N.; Blamey, Deception Island, Antarctica with a BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH 10.1186/s40659-018-0206-3 thermostable glutamate dehydrogenase Jenny M. 2,357 activity

72 | advances in chilean antarctic science | n5 instituto antártico chileno | 73 ilAiA | antarctic science publications

Line VI Human Footprints in Antarctica TITLE AUTHORS JOURNAL JIF DOI SOUTHERN Persistent organic pollutants in krill from Galban-Malagon, Cristobal J.; Hernan, Gema; Abad, SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL 10.1016/j. the Bellingshausen, South Scotia, and Esteban; Dachs, Jordi ENVIRONMENT 4,61 scitotenv.2017.08.108 Weddell Seas LIGHTS 2 Assessment of persistent organic pollutants and their relationship with Jara, Solange; Celis, Jose E.; Araneda, Alberto; Gonzalez, AUSTRAL JOURNAL OF immunoglobulins in blood of penguin Margarita; Espejo, Winfred; Barra, Ricardo VETERINARY SCIENCES 0,206 colonies from Antarctica 1

Espejo, Winfred; Kitamura, Daiki; Kidd, Karen A.; Celis, Jose ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & Biomagnification of Tantalum through E.; Kashiwada, Shosaku; Galban-Malagon, Cristobal; Barra, TECHNOLOGY LETTERS 5,869 10.1021/acs.estlett.8b00051 Diverse Aquatic Food Webs Ricardo; Chiang, Gustavo

E. PINEDO 3 Mercury Exposure in Humboldt ARCHIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL (Spheniscus humboldti) and Chinstrap Alvarez-Varas, Rocio; Morales-Moraga, David; Gonzalez- CONTAMINATION AND (Pygoscelis antarcticus) Penguins Acuna, Daniel; Klarian, Sebastian A.; Vianna, Juliana A. 2,421 10.1007/s00244-018-0529-7 Throughout the Chilean Coast and TOXICOLOGY Antarctica G. MANUILO

Influence of Pygoscelis Penguin Colonies Perfetti-Bolano, Alessandra; Moreno, Lucila; Urrutia, on Cu and Pb Concentrations in Soils WATER AIR AND SOIL POLLUTION 10.1007/s11270-018-4042-4 photographer’s working on the Ardley Peninsula, Maritime Roberto; Araneda, Alberto; Barra, Ricardo 1,769 Antarctica days in Antarctica are unpredictable. AYou never know if there will Facing the climate change conundrum Gladkova, Ekaterina; Blanco-Wells, Gustavo; Nahuelhual, at the South Pole: actors’ perspectives on POLAR RESEARCH 10.1080/17518369. be good light or if you will the implications of global warming for Laura 1,5 2018.1468195 Chilean Antarctic governance have enough time to take the image you are hoping for. The heavy equipment (cameras, lenses, batteries, tripods) will F. TRUEBA F. travel with you on airplanes, vessels, boats, motorcycles or 4 on long hikes along volcanic islands, bays, extensive plains of ice, always with the glacial wind hitting your face. Your companions will be the uncertain light, the cold in your hands, and a miracle always

about to happen. TRUEBA F.

1 HARRY DÍAZ (Chile). Journalist and photographer for the 5 INACH Communications and Education Department.

2 SERGIO IZQUIERDO (Guatemala). Professional photographer. Currently working for National Geographic-Latin America.

3 RENÉ QUINÁN (Chile). Designer and photographer for the INACH Communications and Education Department.

4 PABLO RUIZ (Chile). In charge of Design and Crossmedia for the INACH Communications and Education Department.

5 FELIPE TRUEBA (Spain). Professional photographer. Previously worked for the EFE press agency. Currently working for the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA). R. QUINÁN

74 | advances in chilean antarctic science | n5 Teleconnections South America-Antarctica Deschampsia antarctica vs Cancer Polar ction in English Interview Kirk Johnson (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History) Proposal for a new Marine Protected Area Science Program 2019-2020

ADv cE i CHiL A T rcTiC Ci E cE n5–2019 Sixty years of issn 0719-5036 the Antarctic Treaty