Antarctic Animals '

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Antarctic Animals ' 0 0 LL Antarctic animals ‘ I The weather conditions in the Antarctic are very inhospitable, as it is the coldest place on Earth! For this reason, very few terrestrial (land) animals are able to survive in the Antarctic. However, many marine (sea) animals and bird species thrive here. Terrestrial animals Wingless midges Believe it or not, the only terrestrial animals that live in the Antarctic are invertebrates (animals without backbones). The largest is the wingless midge, which can grow to a maximum of 13 mm in length. Most of the other invertebrate animals that live here are so small that they can only be seen under a microscope! Marine animals Emperor penguins A huge variety of marine animals can be found in the Antarctic. Several different species of whale including humpback, blue and sperm whales all live here, along with orca (killer whales). Various species of seal also live here including Weddell, crabeater and leopard seals. The penguin is a marine bird that is completely unique to the Southern Hemisphere. Many species of penguin have adapted to survive in the Antarctic. Adelie, emperor, chinstrap and gentoo penguins all breed here. Birds Some birds, such as snow petrels, are able to withstand the Antarctic weather throughout the year. Snow petrels breed in the Antarctic and have been seen as far south as the South Pole. Other birds, such as the Arctic skuas and Arctic tern, migrate to the Antarctic from the Arctic. They do this to avoid the Arctic winter and in effect have two summers—one in the Arctic and one in the Antarctic. Snow petrel 4 Did you know? Penguins can live in the sea for several months at a time. Their bodies and wings have adapted to make them excellent divers and swimmers. I• Copyright © 2015 Cornerstones Education Limited I COfles: _________ Antarctic weather Many people know that the Antarctic is the coldest place on Earth. But it may come as a surprise that it is also the windiest, and that the world’s largest desert can be found here! Both the weather and climate are incredibly harsh, but just how cold is the Antarctic and why is it classed as a desert? c) 4 Temperatures and precipitation Antarctica is actually a continent, larger in size than d!!• : the whole of Europe. The weather can vary significantly across different areas. The table below shows the , average daily temperature and monthly precipitation for the Vostok Station, based in the Antarctic. Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Average temperature (°C) 32 1 44 3 57 9 64 7 65 6 65 2 66 9 67 6 66 57 1 43 3 32 1 Average precipItation (mm) 0 1 0 0 7 0 5 0 4 0 5 0 6 0 7 0 3 0 2 0 1 0 The lowest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica is -89.2°C but temperatures are often warmer near the coast. It sometimes rains in these warmer areas but most precipitation in the Antarctic falls as snow. The continent is the driest on Earth and South is classed as a desert because there is so little precipitation here. Pole Vosto k Can plants survive the weather conditions? Station Very few plant species can survive the inhospitable conditions of the Antarctic. Antarctic hair grass and Antarctic peariwort are the only two species of flowering plants that are hardy enough to withstand the brutal climate. Mosses have also adapted to survive here. Did you know? Millions of years ago, the climate in the Antarctic was a lot warmer than it is today. In fact, conifer trees once grew there. - Copyright 2015 Cornerstones Education Limited a a a the i I o,(’ a a 0 a LL. a a Antarctic people a a a F a a a No human has ever lived in the Antarctic permanently. In fact, it wasn’t until the late a a a a a 1700s that humans began to discover this hostile and mysterious region. Despite S a a a a a having no permanent residents, the Antarctic has fascinated humans since it was a a a S a first discovered and continues to intrigue people today. a a a a Discovery and exploration of the Antarctic a a a A British explorer, Captain James Cook, was one of the first a a explorers to visit the Antarctic region. In 1772, his voyage took him * a to the Antarctic Circle but he and his crew were forced to turn back a a because of the severe weather. Later, in 1819, the British explorer, a a Wiliam discovered some Antarctic islands. Explorers a Smith, a a continued to visit the area and a race to reach the South Pole (the a a most southerly point on Earth) followed in 1911. The race was won a a by a Norwegian explorer called Roald Amundsen. a a 1 “I a VIIti t1r II a ‘ Iii•\ a Today’s population ‘‘ !7 1,, ,, a : : Today, approximately 4,000 scientists and researchers reside in the Antarctic over the course : of a year. They analyse and monitor the unique conditions here. There are over sixty research bases for the scientists to stay in, with most staying during the summer months (November to April). Scientists can ‘live’ here for a couple of months or up to a couple of years. The Antarctic has also become a popular tourist destination, but tourism is very carefully managed in this area to help protect the local environment and wildlife. * a * a * a a a * * a a a a * a a a a Did you know? a a a Argentina sent a pregnant a a woman to the Antarctic in * a a 1978. She gave birth to a a a baby boy, who became the a a first ever person to be born a a on the continentj * a a e a a a a a a • Copyright © 2015 Cornerstones Education Limited a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a as _ ,Eth Arctic animals The Arctic is home to an amazing variety of animals. Terrestrial (land) animals, marine (sea) animals and birds have all adapted to live in this harsh environment and survive the extreme weather conditions. Terrestrial animals Polar bear Many terrestrial mammals, including polar bears, Arctic wolves, Arctic foxes and Arctic hares, are unique to the Arctic region and can only be found in S the Northern Hemisphere. During the coldest winter months, they migrate to the lands that surround the Arctic. 1!. Marine animals A diverse range of marine mammals also live in, or migrate to, the Arctic. These include orca (killer whales), beluga whales and blue whales. Walruses are exclusive to this region and so are some species of seal. Birds Up to 200 different species of bird are able to survive in the Arctic. Many birds, such as the Arctic tern, barnacle goose and Bewick’s swan live in the Arctic during the warmer summer months. However, a few species of bird - including the snowy owl - have adapted to live in the Arctic all year round. Snowy owl V Did you know? Arctic foxes and Arctic hares both have white coats in winter and brown or grey coats in summer. This helps An Arctic ‘V to camouflage them against their surroundings, depending on the summer season. Copyright © 2015 Cornerstones Education Limited trt Arctic weather The Arctic is one of the coldest places on Earth. It is also one of the driest, with very little precipitation over the course of a year. In fact, the world’s second largest desert is in the Arctic! It’s easy to imagine that the land is permanently covered in snow and ice. However, the landscape changes in the summer months, when some of the snow and ice melts. Temperature and precipitation The Arctic is made up of both land and sea, so the weather in different areas can vary significantly. The table below shows the average daily temperature and monthly precipitation for the Arctic Village, Alaska. Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Average temperature (°C) -30.7 -27.9 -18.9 -10 3.5 12.5 14.3 9.5 0.2 -11.7 -23.6 -24.7 Average precipitation (mm) 11.2 6.6 10.4 5.8 15.5 35.8 42.7 36.1 35.1 15.2 11,4 10.2 Temperatures can actually reach as low as -68°C in some parts of the Arctic during the freezing winter months. Arctic Village However, temperatures have been known to reach up to 30°C in some parts of the Arctic during the summer months. Alaska Overall, the average temperatures are rising in the Arctic. Can plants survive the weather conditions? Over 1,700 species of plant (including Arctic cotton, purple saxifrage and Arctic poppies) have adapted to survive the freezing conditions of the Arctic. For the majority of the year, the Arctic’s permafrost (layer of frozen soil) remains frozen. However, during the slightly warmer summer months, the permafrost thaws allowing small, shallow-rooted plants Did you know? to grow. Trees struggle to survive in the Arctic because there is so little rainfall and the temperatures are so cold.
Recommended publications
  • Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute” Russian Antarctic Expedition
    FEDERAL SERVICE OF RUSSIA FOR HYDROMETEOROLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING State Institution “Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute” Russian Antarctic Expedition QUARTERLY BULLETIN ʋ2 (51) April - June 2010 STATE OF ANTARCTIC ENVIRONMENT Operational data of Russian Antarctic stations St. Petersburg 2010 FEDERAL SERVICE OF RUSSIA FOR HYDROMETEOROLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING State Institution “Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute” Russian Antarctic Expedition QUARTERLY BULLETIN ʋ2 (51) April - June 2010 STATE OF ANTARCTIC ENVIRONMENT Operational data of Russian Antarctic stations Edited by V.V. Lukin St. Petersburg 2010 Editor-in-Chief - M.O. Krichak (Russian Antarctic Expedition –RAE) Authors and contributors Section 1 M. O. Krichak (RAE), Section 2 Ye. I. Aleksandrov (Department of Meteorology) Section 3 G. Ye. Ryabkov (Department of Long-Range Weather Forecasting) Section 4 A. I. Korotkov (Department of Ice Regime and Forecasting) Section 5 Ye. Ye. Sibir (Department of Meteorology) Section 6 I. V. Moskvin, Yu.G.Turbin (Department of Geophysics) Section 7 V. V. Lukin (RAE) Section 8 B. R. Mavlyudov (RAS IG) Section 9 V. L. Martyanov (RAE) Translated by I.I. Solovieva http://www.aari.aq/, Antarctic Research and Russian Antarctic Expedition, Reports and Glossaries, Quarterly Bulletin. Acknowledgements: Russian Antarctic Expedition is grateful to all AARI staff for participation and help in preparing this Bulletin. For more information about the contents of this publication, please, contact Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute of Roshydromet Russian Antarctic Expedition Bering St., 38, St. Petersburg 199397 Russia Phone: (812) 352 15 41; 337 31 04 Fax: (812) 337 31 86 E-mail: [email protected] CONTENTS PREFACE……………………….…………………………………….………………………….1 1. DATA OF AEROMETEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS AT THE RUSSIAN ANTARCTIC STATIONS…………………………………….…………………………3 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Office of Polar Programs
    DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SURFACE TRAVERSE CAPABILITIES IN ANTARCTICA COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION DRAFT (15 January 2004) FINAL (30 August 2004) National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Boulevard Arlington, Virginia 22230 DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SURFACE TRAVERSE CAPABILITIES IN ANTARCTICA FINAL COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................1-1 1.1 Purpose.......................................................................................................................................1-1 1.2 Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation (CEE) Process .......................................................1-1 1.3 Document Organization .............................................................................................................1-2 2.0 BACKGROUND OF SURFACE TRAVERSES IN ANTARCTICA..................................2-1 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................2-1 2.2 Re-supply Traverses...................................................................................................................2-1 2.3 Scientific Traverses and Surface-Based Surveys .......................................................................2-5 3.0 ALTERNATIVES ....................................................................................................................3-1
    [Show full text]
  • Antarctic Peninsula
    Hucke-Gaete, R, Torres, D. & Vallejos, V. 1997c. Entanglement of Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus gazella, by marine debris at Cape Shirreff and San Telmo Islets, Livingston Island, Antarctica: 1998-1997. Serie Científica Instituto Antártico Chileno 47: 123-135. Hucke-Gaete, R., Osman, L.P., Moreno, C.A. & Torres, D. 2004. Examining natural population growth from near extinction: the case of the Antarctic fur seal at the South Shetlands, Antarctica. Polar Biology 27 (5): 304–311 Huckstadt, L., Costa, D. P., McDonald, B. I., Tremblay, Y., Crocker, D. E., Goebel, M. E. & Fedak, M. E. 2006. Habitat Selection and Foraging Behavior of Southern Elephant Seals in the Western Antarctic Peninsula. American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #OS33A-1684. INACH (Instituto Antártico Chileno) 2010. Chilean Antarctic Program of Scientific Research 2009-2010. Chilean Antarctic Institute Research Projects Department. Santiago, Chile. Kawaguchi, S., Nicol, S., Taki, K. & Naganobu, M. 2006. Fishing ground selection in the Antarctic krill fishery: Trends in patterns across years, seasons and nations. CCAMLR Science, 13: 117–141. Krause, D. J., Goebel, M. E., Marshall, G. J., & Abernathy, K. (2015). Novel foraging strategies observed in a growing leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) population at Livingston Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Animal Biotelemetry, 3:24. Krause, D.J., Goebel, M.E., Marshall. G.J. & Abernathy, K. In Press. Summer diving and haul-out behavior of leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) near mesopredator breeding colonies at Livingston Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Marine Mammal Science.Leppe, M., Fernandoy, F., Palma-Heldt, S. & Moisan, P 2004. Flora mesozoica en los depósitos morrénicos de cabo Shirreff, isla Livingston, Shetland del Sur, Península Antártica, in Actas del 10º Congreso Geológico Chileno.
    [Show full text]
  • Seabirds of Human Settlements in Antarctica: a Case Study of the Mirny Station
    CZECH POLAR REPORTS 11 (1): 98-113, 2021 Seabirds of human settlements in Antarctica: A case study of the Mirny Station Sergey Golubev Papanin Institute for Biology of Inland Waters, Russian Academy of Sciences, Borok, Nekouzskii raion, Yaroslavl oblast, 152742, Russia Abstract Antarctica is free of urbanisation, however, 40 year-round and 32 seasonal Antarctic stations operate there. The effects of such human settlements on Antarctic wildlife are insufficiently studied. The main aim of this study was to determine the organization of the bird population of the Mirny Station. The birds were observed on the coast of the Davis Sea in the Mirny (East Antarctica) from January 8, 2012 to January 7, 2013 and from January 9, 2015 to January 9, 2016. The observations were carried out mainly on the Radio and Komsomolsky nunataks (an area of about 0.5 km²). The duration of observations varied from 1 to 8 hours per day. From 1956 to 2016, 13 non-breeding bird species (orders Sphenisciformes, Procellariiformes, Charadriiformes) were recorded in the Mirny. The South polar skuas (Catharacta maccormicki) and Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) form the basis of the bird population. South polar skuas are most frequently recorded at the station. Less common are Brown skuas (Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi) and Adélie penguins. Adélie penguins, Wilson's storm petrels (Oceanites oceanicus), South polar and Brown skuas are seasonal residents, the other species are visitors. Adélie penguins, Emperor (Aptenodytes forsteri), Macaroni (Eudyptes chrysolophus) and Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica), Wilson's storm petrels, South polar and Brown skuas interacted with the station environment, using it for com- fortable behavior, feeding, molting, shelter from bad weather conditions, and possible breeding.
    [Show full text]
  • Antarctic Primer
    Antarctic Primer By Nigel Sitwell, Tom Ritchie & Gary Miller By Nigel Sitwell, Tom Ritchie & Gary Miller Designed by: Olivia Young, Aurora Expeditions October 2018 Cover image © I.Tortosa Morgan Suite 12, Level 2 35 Buckingham Street Surry Hills, Sydney NSW 2010, Australia To anyone who goes to the Antarctic, there is a tremendous appeal, an unparalleled combination of grandeur, beauty, vastness, loneliness, and malevolence —all of which sound terribly melodramatic — but which truly convey the actual feeling of Antarctica. Where else in the world are all of these descriptions really true? —Captain T.L.M. Sunter, ‘The Antarctic Century Newsletter ANTARCTIC PRIMER 2018 | 3 CONTENTS I. CONSERVING ANTARCTICA Guidance for Visitors to the Antarctic Antarctica’s Historic Heritage South Georgia Biosecurity II. THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT Antarctica The Southern Ocean The Continent Climate Atmospheric Phenomena The Ozone Hole Climate Change Sea Ice The Antarctic Ice Cap Icebergs A Short Glossary of Ice Terms III. THE BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT Life in Antarctica Adapting to the Cold The Kingdom of Krill IV. THE WILDLIFE Antarctic Squids Antarctic Fishes Antarctic Birds Antarctic Seals Antarctic Whales 4 AURORA EXPEDITIONS | Pioneering expedition travel to the heart of nature. CONTENTS V. EXPLORERS AND SCIENTISTS The Exploration of Antarctica The Antarctic Treaty VI. PLACES YOU MAY VISIT South Shetland Islands Antarctic Peninsula Weddell Sea South Orkney Islands South Georgia The Falkland Islands South Sandwich Islands The Historic Ross Sea Sector Commonwealth Bay VII. FURTHER READING VIII. WILDLIFE CHECKLISTS ANTARCTIC PRIMER 2018 | 5 Adélie penguins in the Antarctic Peninsula I. CONSERVING ANTARCTICA Antarctica is the largest wilderness area on earth, a place that must be preserved in its present, virtually pristine state.
    [Show full text]
  • The Antarctic Treaty
    The Antarctic Treaty Measures adopted at the Thirty-ninth Consultative Meeting held at Santiago, Chile 23 May – 1 June 2016 Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs by Command of Her Majesty November 2017 Cm 9542 © Crown copyright 2017 This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. This publication is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at Treaty Section, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, King Charles Street, London, SW1A 2AH ISBN 978-1-5286-0126-9 CCS1117441642 11/17 Printed on paper containing 75% recycled fibre content minimum Printed in the UK by the APS Group on behalf of the Controller of Her Majestyʼs Stationery Office MEASURES ADOPTED AT THE THIRTY-NINTH ANTARCTIC TREATY CONSULTATIVE MEETING Santiago, Chile 23 May – 1 June 2016 The Measures1 adopted at the Thirty-ninth Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting are reproduced below from the Final Report of the Meeting. In accordance with Article IX, paragraph 4, of the Antarctic Treaty, the Measures adopted at Consultative Meetings become effective upon approval by all Contracting Parties whose representatives were entitled to participate in the meeting at which they were adopted (i.e. all the Consultative Parties). The full text of the Final Report of the Meeting, including the Decisions and Resolutions adopted at that Meeting and colour copies of the maps found in this command paper, is available on the website of the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat at www.ats.aq/documents.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Factsheet
    Antarctic Factsheet Geographical Statistics May 2005 AREA % of total Antarctica - including ice shelves and islands 13,829,430km2 100.00% (Around 58 times the size of the UK, or 1.4 times the size of the USA) Antarctica - excluding ice shelves and islands 12,272,800km2 88.74% Area ice free 44,890km2 0.32% Ross Ice Shelf 510,680km2 3.69% Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf 439,920km2 3.18% LENGTH Antarctic Peninsula 1,339km Transantarctic Mountains 3,300km Coastline* TOTAL 45,317km 100.00% * Note: coastlines are fractal in nature, so any Ice shelves 18,877km 42.00% measurement of them is dependant upon the scale at which the data is collected. Coastline Rock 5,468km 12.00% lengths here are calculated from the most Ice coastline 20,972km 46.00% detailed information available. HEIGHT Mean height of Antarctica - including ice shelves 1,958m Mean height of Antarctica - excluding ice shelves 2,194m Modal height excluding ice shelves 3,090m Highest Mountains 1. Mt Vinson (Ellsworth Mts.) 4,892m 2. Mt Tyree (Ellsworth Mts.) 4,852m 3. Mt Shinn (Ellsworth Mts.) 4,661m 4. Mt Craddock (Ellsworth Mts.) 4,650m 5. Mt Gardner (Ellsworth Mts.) 4,587m 6. Mt Kirkpatrick (Queen Alexandra Range) 4,528m 7. Mt Elizabeth (Queen Alexandra Range) 4,480m 8. Mt Epperly (Ellsworth Mts) 4,359m 9. Mt Markham (Queen Elizabeth Range) 4,350m 10. Mt Bell (Queen Alexandra Range) 4,303m (In many case these heights are based on survey of variable accuracy) Nunatak on the Antarctic Peninsula 1/4 www.antarctica.ac.uk Antarctic Factsheet Geographical Statistics May 2005 Other Notable Mountains 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Bellingshausen and the Russian Antarctic Expedition, 1819–21 Also by Rip Bulkeley the ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE TREATY and WORLD SECURITY (With H
    Bellingshausen and the Russian Antarctic Expedition, 1819–21 Also by Rip Bulkeley THE ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE TREATY AND WORLD SECURITY (with H. G. Brauch) SPACE WEAPONS: Deterrence or Delusion? (with G. Spinardi) THE SPUTNIKS CRISIS AND EARLY UNITED STATES SPACE POLICY Bellingshausen and the Russian Antarctic Expedition, 1819–21 Rip Bulkeley © Rip Bulkeley 2014 Foreword © Ian R. Stone 2014 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-0-230-36326-7 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Record Low Surface Air Temperature at Vostok Station, Antarctica
    JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 114, D24102, doi:10.1029/2009JD012104, 2009 Record low surface air temperature at Vostok station, Antarctica John Turner,1 Phil Anderson,1 Tom Lachlan-Cope,1 Steve Colwell,1 Tony Phillips,1 Ame´lie Kirchgaessner,1 Gareth J. Marshall,1 John C. King,1 Tom Bracegirdle,1 David G. Vaughan,2 Victor Lagun,3 and Andrew Orr1 Received 20 March 2009; revised 16 July 2009; accepted 11 September 2009; published 16 December 2009. [1] The lowest recorded air temperature at the surface of the Earth was a measurement of À89.2°C made at Vostok station, Antarctica, at 0245 UT on 21 July 1983. Here we present the first detailed analysis of this event using meteorological reanalysis fields, in situ observations and satellite imagery. Surface temperatures at Vostok station in winter are highly variable on daily to interannual timescales as a result of the great sensitivity to intrusions of maritime air masses as Rossby wave activity changes around the continent. The record low temperature was measured following a near-linear cooling of over 30 K over a 10 day period from close to mean July temperatures. The event occurred because of five specific conditions that arose: (1) the temperature at the core of the midtropospheric vortex was at a near-record low value; (2) the center of the vortex moved close to the station; (3) an almost circular flow regime persisted around the station for a week resulting in very little warm air advection from lower latitudes; (4) surface wind speeds were low for the location; and (5) no cloud or diamond dust was reported above the station for a week, promoting the loss of heat to space via the emission of longwave radiation.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum Vitae)
    Anatoly V. MIRONOV (Curriculum Vitae) Address: J.J. Pickle Research Campus, 10100 Burnet Rd., Bldg. 196 (ROC), Austin, TX 78758 Phone: (512) 471-0309 Fax: (512) 471-0348 E-mail: [email protected] EDUCATION: Master Degree in Computer Science, Polytechnic Institute of Yerevan, USSR, 1976 Board Operator, Educational-Training School of the Civil Aviation, Leningrad, USSR, 1986 Mountain Rescuer, Mountain Rescue School, Caucasus, USSR, 1984 WORK EXPERIENCE: 2001-present Research Engineering/Scientist Associate II – Research Scientist Associate III Institute for Geophysics, John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA • Collaborative U.S.-Chinese project that involved the seismic imaging of Taiwan’s continent-collision zone Upgrading Ocean Bottom Seismographs (OBS) for the National Taiwan Ocean University, 2007 • Grounding line forensics: The history of grounding line retreat in the Kamb Ice Stream outlet region Field preparation of the ground based radars (wideband preamplifier design and development, testing, etc.); technical support in the 2006/2007 austral summer field season; radar and GPS data collection; rescue support • HLY0602: Integrated Geophysical and Geologic Investigation of the Crustal Structure of Western Canada Basin, Chukchi Borderland and Mendeleev Ridge, Arctic Ocean Field preparation of the sea ice seismic equipment based on REF TEK-130 High Resolution Seismic Recorders; technical support in the field (July-August 2006); deployment and recovery of the instruments;
    [Show full text]
  • Mcmurdo Station Reactor Site Released for Unrestricted
    antarctic El (MFZ UOFTHE J LJ u ©UT March 1980 National Science Foundation Volume XV—Number 1 p. That condition applied at Camp Century, Greenland, where the Army, ... also intent on developing a cheap, re- liable power source for remote stations, had just installed a portable nuclear - .. reactor. According to the Armys early cost analysis, the electricity generated by the nuclear plant cost about 0.564 cents per kilowatt hour. By the time diesel fuel, then selling at 12 cents a gallon, was transported to McMurdo, its cost had risen to 40 cents a gallon. As a result, each kilowatt hour produced at McMurdos diesel .1 plant cost about 0.975 cents. r 7 Promise of nuclear power -. - - McMurdo Station, it seemed then, US Navy photograph XAM.4234294 was one of the few places in the world Halfway up Observation Hill, the four buildings of the PM-3A nuclear power plant were a where, given the price of diesel fuel McMurdo Station landmark. For a decade, PM-3A supplied McMurdos fresh water and after it had reached Antarctica and given electrical power. In this southward-viewing September 1964 photograph, the station is the existing state of nuclear technology, in the foreground and the Ross Ice Shelf in the background. a nuclear power plant promised to be more economical than a fossil fuel plant. McMurdo Station reactor site Because the promise of nuclear power for remote regions seemed so great in released for unrestricted use the late 1950s, the U.S. Congress also showed considerable interest in devel- oping nuclear reactors for antarctic and The site of the nuclear reactor that The U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Office of Polar Programs National Science Foundation
    Office of Polar Programs National Science Foundation Overview of Activities Michael Van Woert Executive Officer 1 NSF Roles in Polar Science • Chairs the interagency arctic research policy committee [Arctic Research and Policy Act of 1990], which coordinates federal arctic research. • Manages the U.S. Antarctic program on behalf of the U. S. Government and Support State Dept. on AA Treaty (includes meeting ACA requirements) • Supports fundamental polar research and education and associated infrastructure 2 OPP FY07 Budget Request Arctic Science – $52.5 M Antarctic Science – $52.5 M Arctic Logistics – $37.0 M Antarctic Logistics – $228.6 M Safety and Health – $5.9 M Ice Sheets Center (STC) – $4.5 M USCG Polar Icebreaking – $57.0 M Total – $438.1 M 3 Antarctic Sciences Section • Aeronomy and Astrophysics • Biology and Medicine • Geology and Geophysics • Glaciology • Ocean and Climate Systems • Antarctic Artists and Writers 4 Arctic Sciences Section • Arctic Natural Science disciplinary research • Arctic Social Science humans in the Arctic • Arctic System Science interdisciplinary “systems” research • Research Support and Logistics supports field projects in the Arctic 5 Research Solicitations • Arctic Solicitation Nov/Dec Deadline • Antarctic Solicitation June Deadline • Synthesis of Arctic System Science March Deadline • OPP IPY Solicitation May Deadline • Postdoctoral Fellowships in Polar Regions April Deadline 6 Major Study Sites in the Arctic 7 Toolik Field Station 9 Arctic Warming Affects Marine and Terrestrial Environments Decreasing Sea Ice Extent, km2 Warming Soil Temperature, 0C 10 Summit Camp, Greenland 11 Greenland Ice Core Research 12 13 Arctic-Subarctic Ocean Flux Study (ASOF) Measuring and modeling the variability of fluxes between the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean; implementing long-term measurements of critical data for understanding the high-latitude ocean’s steering role in decadal climate variability at mid- lower latitudes.
    [Show full text]