The Antarctic Sun, January 20, 2002
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www.polar.org/antsun The January 20, 2002 PublishedAntarctic during the austral summer at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, Sun for the United States Antarctic Program New dome in the neighborhood The Ice cools as world warms By Kristan Hutchison Sun staff Despite the recent streak of unusual- ly warm weather around McMurdo Station, the overall trend in Antarctica continues to be cold and colder. While the rest of the world seems to be warming, scientists doing Long- Term Ecological Research (LTER) in the Dry Valleys near McMurdo Sound found at least some parts of the icy con- tinent were still chilling in the “We don’t 1990s. The tem- perature drop sets know why off a chain of reactions in the this part of Photo by Lucia Simion/Special to The Antarctic Sun Dry Valleys, lead- French and Italian workers construct one of two new buildings at Dome C, a new station being ing to the kind of the Antarctic built on the high plateau. It is only the third permanent research station on the polar plateau, mass devastation is cooling.” joining the U.S. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and Russia’s Vostok Station. The site was of invertebrate Andrew Fountain, chosen to do research complimentary to that done at the South Pole. Read a full story on the populations that glacialogist new station on page 7. would have ani- mal lovers crying if the microscopic worms were large and fluffy. Heat wave melts ice, floods valleys "This is a fairly rapid response to these changes," said Peter Doran, a By Melanie Conner in the summer, but it doesn't usually stay in LTER hydrometeorologist from the Sun staff the 40s for a long time," said Jim Frodge, University of Illinois, and lead author of Antarctica is too warm this summer. meteorology manager at McMurdo Station. a paper the LTER group published Jan. Too warm for smooth roads and tranquil Meanwhile, resident-workers at 13 in Nature online. traveling, that is. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station are The LTER group’s findings triggered Recent record-breaking summer weath- experiencing a similar heat wave this a lot of other headlines, with stories on er pleases the soul, throws scientists a curve month. Last week, the temperatures CNN, the BBC, USA Today, the ball and nearly cripples station transporta- climbed to plus 5.4F (-14.8C). Washington Post and other media. tion at McMurdo station. "The last time it was above 0F was in "It's caused a lot of interesting dis- On Dec. 30, 2001, the temperature at January 1985," said John Gallagher of the cussion back in the states," said Berry McMurdo reached 51F(10.5C), an all-time South Pole meteorology department. "It's Lyons, project manager for the 28- high for the station. The previous record quite rare to be on the plus side of zero member LTER group. was 49F(9.4C) during the mid-70s. The here." The discussion comes as the general warm streak did not end there. In the first In November, five daily high tempera- public tries to make sense of what seem week of January the temperature reached ture records were broken at the Pole and the like contradictory weather reports. The 50F (10C). LTER produced 14 years of weather "It often reaches temperatures in the 40s See Heat on page 11 See Cold on page 9 INSIDE Quote of the Week Weather hampers Keeping it clean Pole construction at the Pole “The water you’re drinking is 1,000 years old.” Page 12 Page 4 - South Pole official to a distinguished visitor 2 • The Antarctic Sun January 20, 2002 Ross Island Chronicles By Chico Icebergs, icebergs and more icebergs. Cold, hard facts Science galore Number of McMurdo based science There’s not much to see here I guess. It’s my first time down here. I projects: 78 but water and ice. suppose we won’t be seeing anything out Number of science projects at South of the ordinary way down here. Pole Station: 28 Number of projects at Palmer and on research vessels: 25 Number of projects relating to the cosmos: 35; 20 at South Pole Most studied subjects: Biology and Medicine, 38; 22 McMurdo-based, 16 Palmer-based Hey grab your University with the most projects: binoculars, there’s University of Washington; 8 something out there!!! Longest on-going project: The South Pole Observatory, established in 1957. Scientist with the longest on-going project: Art Devries, fish antifreeze research at McMurdo Station, 40 ye a r s Source for facts: Robbie Score and NSF Under the sea answers on page 6 The Antarctic Sun is funded by the National Science Foundation as part of the United Across States Antarctic Program. Its 1) Grows on crystals primary audience is U.S. 4) The deepest creatures Antarctic Program participants, 8) A wimp or one without a spine their families, and their friends. 10) Extracts specimens from the sea NSF reviews and approves 11) Longer than a platform material before publication, but opinions and 14) Something fishy here conclusions expressed in the Sun are not 16) Huge pack hunters necessarily those of the Foundation. 17) Sky scene plus ocean creature Us e : Reproduction and distribution are 18) Less than 1km from the surface encouraged with acknowledgment of source Down and author. 2) Not only for the car Senior Editor: Kristan Hutchison 3) Single-celled monsters Editors: Melanie Conner 5) Larvae nutrition Mark Sabbatini 6) Cities of microscopic unknowns live Copy Editor: Lynn Hamann here Pu b l i s h e r : Valerie Carroll, 7) Shrimp-like creatures Communications manager,R P S C 9) Evolved, cold-water mollusks Contributions are welcome. Co n t a c t 10) Produces ice-binding molecules the Sun at An t S u n @ p o l a r .org. In McMurdo, 11) Has large spines on each gill-cover visit our office in Building 155 or dial 2407. 12) A Hollywood hit from the depths Web address: ww w. p o l a r. o r g / a n t s u n 13) Associated with the ocean bottom 15) Human contribution to ecosystem January 20, 2002 The Antarctic Sun • 3 Rock collectors look back in time By Kristan Hutchison Sun staff Somewhere in the rock record of Antarctica, John Isbell expects to find clues related to what caused, or didn't cause, ancient changes in sea level. That could force other scientists to rethink how coal deposits in the Appalachian mountains and other areas of the northern hemisphere formed during the Carboniferous and Permian ages, 360 to 270 million years ago. "Geologically, the environments and continents around the world are inter- linked," said Isbell, a University of Wisconsin sedimentologist working in Victoria Land on a National Science Foundation grant with Rosemary Askin and Anne Grunow of Ohio State University. "What happened here in Antarctica constrains interpretations of what went on elsewhere." During the late Paleozoic age the world was even more interrelated than it is today. All the continents were connected in a sin- Photo from John Isbell/Special to The Antarctic Sun Keri Wolfe looks for rocks from the Permian age on Maya Mountain in the Dry Valleys. gle land mass, called Pangea. What would Wolfe works with John Isbell and they will use the samples to help unravel what happened eventually become Antarctica was situat- during a transition from glaciated to green more than 270 million years ago. ed in the south polar portion of the Pangea supercontinent, but it looked much differ- annual rings, wider than found in trees in partially. The time period in which the ent. the midwest," Askin said. "They must seas rose and fell, 360 to 270 million years Within that period of time, the have grown like crazy in the polar sum- ago, doesn't match when glaciation Antarctic region went from being covered mer." occurred on Antarctica and elsewhere in by an ice sheet to only having glaciers in As mindboggling as it is to think there southern Pangea, from about 310 to 275 the high country. Glaciers lined the edge were forests in Antarctica, that wasn't million years ago. of a huge lake, stretching from possibly unusual. Through all of geological history, "The Antarctic glaciation could where Ross Island now sits to South major parts of the Earth have been buried explain the tail end of the sea level’s rise, America, Isbell said. It was a dynamic under ice during only four intervals of but not the first 50 million years," Isbell environment, with submarine slumps and time, said Askin said. said. "Right now there is no good explana- slides along the lake bottom and icebergs "Much of geological time was green- tion for the sea level changes during that floating on the surface. The lake was grad- house conditions when, at least since land 50 million year interval." ually filled by large deltas and braided plants evolved, there were forests growing Isbell has also found signs that indicate rivers. near the Pole and animals scurrying that the final late Paleozoic Antarctic "There's evidence that it was cold, around," Askin said. meltdown occurred rapidly, in geological potentially still having glaciers in the Though nobody knows what the tem- terms, over a period of 2 million to 3 mil- upland for a relatively long time after the perature was in Antarctica then, Isbell said lion years. If all this is true, the science lake filled," Isbell said. "However, the that the petrified trees suggest the sum- community may need to look further for lake may have been re-established several mers were frost-free, because the tree the cause of the rapidly changing sea lev- times for short intervals of time due to wood had little or no frost damage.