Australian Antarctic Magazine — Issue 28
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AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINE ISSUE 28 2015 AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC ISSUE 2015 MAGAZINE 28 The Australian Antarctic Division, a Division of the Department of the Environment, leads Australia’s Antarctic program and seeks to advance Australia’s Antarctic interests CONTENTS in pursuit of its vision of having ‘Antarctica valued, protected and understood’. It does this by managing Australian government activity in Antarctica, providing transport and SCIENCE logistic support to Australia’s Antarctic research program, The good oil on krill 1 maintaining four permanent Australian research stations, and conducting scientific research programs both on land Acoustic technology provides insights into blue whale behaviour 4 and in the Southern Ocean. Sound science finds Antarctic blue whale hotspots 6 Australia’s Antarctic national interests are to: Measuring clouds from every angle 7 • Preserve our sovereignty over the Australian Antarctic Future ocean success 8 Territory, including our sovereign rights over the adjacent offshore areas. Totten Glacier melt-down 10 • Take advantage of the special opportunities Antarctica Hidden oceanic gateway beneath Totten Glacier 12 offers for scientific research. What lies beneath 13 • Protect the Antarctic environment, having regard to its Household pollutants detected around Antarctic stations 15 special qualities and effects on our region. • Maintain Antarctica’s freedom from strategic and/or Refining gravity waves in climate models 16 political confrontation. Iconic Macquarie Island cushion plant dying out 18 • Be informed about and able to influence developments Rare sub-glacial eruption at Casey 19 in a region geographically proximate to Australia. Sweating the small stuff 20 • Derive any reasonable economic benefits from living and non-living resources of the Antarctic (excluding deriving Changing Antarctica 22 such benefits from mining and oil drilling). Fulbright scholar to advance whale ageing technique 23 Australian Antarctic Magazine seeks to inform the Australian HISTORY and international Antarctic community about the activities Antarcticans and the war 24 of the Australian Antarctic program. Opinions expressed in Australian Antarctic Magazine do not necessarily represent Antarctica 1 – Volkswagens in Antarctica 26 the position of the Australian Government. ARTS Australian Antarctic Magazine is produced twice a year (June and December). All text and images published Living data: how art helps us all understand climate change 28 in the magazine are copyright of the Commonwealth OPERATIONS of Australia, unless otherwise stated. Editorial enquiries, including requests to reproduce material, or A busy season on the ‘bacon index’ 30 contributions, should be addressed to: IN BRIEF 31 The Editor Australian Antarctic Magazine FREEZE FRAME 33 Australian Antarctic Division 203 Channel Highway Kingston, 7050 Tasmania, Australia. Australian Antarctic Division Telephone: (03) 6232 3209 (International 61 3 6232 3209) email: [email protected] Facsimile: (03) 6232 3288 (International 61 3 6232 3288) Editor: Wendy Pyper Production: Sally Chambers, Jessica Fitzpatrick. Graphic Design: Paper Monkey Issue 28: June 2015 ISSN 1445-1735 (print version) Australian Antarctic Magazine is printed on Monza satin recycled paper; a 50% post consumer waste and ABOUT THE COVER 50% FSC certified fibre stock. Australian Antarctic Magazine can be viewed online: Casey station mechanical supervisor, Gordon Tait, captured this image of the www.antarctica.gov.au/magazine aurora australis (southern lights) in March this year. The photo is part of a panorama of three images stitched together to show the extent of the aurora over Casey and the amazing colours produced. Gordon used his Nikon D750 with a 20 mm lens, set to 20 seconds exposure, an aperture of f2.2 and ISO 1250. In balmy -12°C temperatures and no wind, Gordon said conditions were perfect for setting up his shots. AAD9614rj SCIENCE ROB KING REBECCA MCWATTERS The good oil on krill New research investigating the oils or ‘lipids’ in Antarctic krill will provide scientists and the krill fishing industry with improved tools for measuring the health of krill populations and their environment. 1 Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) are a Investigator and Australian expert on krill lipids, ‘This information is critical for estimating textbook example of the phrase ‘you are what Dr Patti Virtue, from the Institute for Marine krill production to assist the Commission for you eat’. As these shrimp-like creatures graze and Antarctic Studies, along with scientists from the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living the tiny phytoplankton and zooplankton the Australian Antarctic Division, CSIRO, Griffith Resource (CCAMLR) to set sustainable catch (marine plants and animals) with which they University and the University of Tasmania, have limits and to understand how environmental share the water column and sea ice environment, teamed up with Norwegian krill fishing company change may affect krill populations.’ they assimilate the long-chain, omega-3 fatty Aker Biomarine — a manufacturer of krill oil Over three years, Aker Biomarine will collect acids (see ‘Unravelling the fatty acid chain,’ supplements and other krill products. daily krill samples from the South West Atlantic page 3), produced by these organisms, Using Aker Biomarine’s considerable krill catching fishing grounds, which encompasses waters near into their bodies. capacity, the team will be able to investigate the Antarctic Peninsula, South Orkney Islands These individual fatty acids are incorporated research questions at a scale unprecedented and South Georgia. into lipids in the krills’ bodies, where they in traditional scientific research. The work will Scientific advisor to Aker Biomarine and are important for cell membrane structure enhance the quality control of commercial a former krill researcher at the Australian and function and as an energy reserve for krill products and collect data essential to Antarctic Division, Dr Steve Nicol, said the growth, reproduction and survival over the understanding krill and managing the fishery. Marine Stewardship Council-certified company harsh winter months. ‘Over the past 20 years scientists on research uses a specially designed pumping system Among these fatty acids are those vessels have only been able to collect small that excludes bycatch and delivers krill to the essential to human brain and heart health, krill samples in a limited time, and while we’ve ship alive and in pristine condition. Scientific including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and done some good research, we really only have a samples will be snap frozen in a -80°C freezer docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Fish oil and snapshot of what’s going on in the wild and very onboard the ship. increasingly krill oil supplements supply a little information about what happens in winter,’ growing market for these essential fatty acids. Dr Virtue said. But the quantity and quality of krill oil extracted ‘This means that key questions of the 1. Krill incorporate long-chain, omega 3 fatty acids from a catch — the amount of EPA and DHA and basic biology and ecology of krill remain from the food that they eat into structural and functional lipids in their body. These fatty acids the ratio of the two — varies from season to unanswered — in particular, what is the season, most likely reflecting changes in krills’ include the essential fatty acids human’s need for relationship between seasonal dietary brain and heart health, which are concentrated environment, and particularly diet. changes and krill growth, condition, in krill oil supplements manufactured by Now, an innovative collaboration between maturity, reproduction and the recruitment Aker Biomarine and others. The digestive gland Antarctic scientists and the krill fishing industry of young krill into the adult population? in the krill in this photo is coloured green from the animal’s diet of phytoplankton. aims to better understand the reasons for this variable oil quantity and quality. Project Chief ISSUE 28 2015 AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC MAGAZINE 1 SCIENCE ZHONGNAN JIA AKER BIOMARINE 2 3 ‘This will allow us to look at lipid changes on a Lipid fingerprint Oil change daily, weekly and seasonal basis,’ Dr Nicol said. To understand how and why lipid content and Alongside the signature lipid research, Australian Aker Biomarine will also collect oceanographic composition changes, Dr Virtue, CSIRO’s Dr Peter Antarctic Division krill scientist Dr So Kawaguchi, data (sea surface temperature, currents) Nichols, and Aker BioMarine’s Dr Nils Hoem, will will conduct experiments on live krill in the and bathymetric data (seafloor structure). study ‘signature’ lipids. Like a human fingerprint, Antarctic Division’s krill aquarium, to look at The ship’s acoustic data will be used to analyse these lipids are characteristic of the organisms the effect of dietary changes on lipid content the density and vertical distribution of krill, that produced them — the krills’ food source. and composition, as well as the effects of patterns of daily migration (day/night) and ‘Krill primarily feed on larger phytoplankton — climate change. swarm aggregation behaviour. Scientists will also the diatoms and dinoflagellates — which are both ‘We’ll be able to look at environmental changes, collect phytoplankton samples from onboard microalgae,’ Dr Virtue said. such as temperature and carbon dioxide the fishing vessel, and satellite information on ‘Diatoms tend to be dominated by EPA and levels, on growth, reproductive