Spring 2011 member magazine of the aquarium of the pacific ARCTIC & ANTARCTIC: OUR POLAR REGIONS IN PERIL Focus on Sustainability Scientists estimate sea level could rise by a meter or more by the end of the century, putting California’s coastal environments and infrastructure at risk. A EITSM AQUARIUM COMMUNICATES R IMPACTS OF SEA LEVEL RISE ANDREW Programs include a Science on a Sphere® presentation in the new Ocean Science Center, a partnership with design students, and a four-week Aquatic Academy course in May. F GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE visitors will view a high-tech presentation, and its impact on our coastlines as well TRENDS CONTINUE, expansion of The Rising Sea. This film will be shown on as the future state of coastal resiliency I the ocean and melting of continen- our lead sponsor the National Oceanic and and habitat restoration. The students will tal glaciers will lead to sea level Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) produce mixed media communication rise, which would affect human populations Science on a Sphere®, and is being produced strategies to educate Aquarium visitors and and infrastructure in low-lying coastal with support from NOAA, the Roddenberry other target audiences, including California areas around the world. Collapse of ice Foundation, and the Kenneth T. and Eileen coastal communities, policymakers, and sheets in Greenland and Antarctica could L. Norris Foundation. It will illustrate the change agents. Documentation of the contribute to the rise. A report from the causes and impacts of sea level rise on local, finished work will be published and dissemi- International Organization of Migration and regional, and global scales. nated by the Aquarium and NOAA. the United Nations High Commissioner for The Aquarium will also host an Aquatic Refugees said sea level rise could force the Academy Course on the topic. Scientists, displacement of between 50 to 200 million engineers, designers, and policy- and people by mid-century. And a recent study decision-makers will explore the challenges from the University of Arizona says rising that sea level rise is creating both locally and sea levels could cover up to 9 percent of the globally and ways to respond. Speakers will land area in 180 American cities by 2100. include Aquarium CEO Jerry Schubel; Julie A Scientists estimate sea level could rise by Thomas and Dan Cahan, Scripps Institution EITSM a meter or more by the end of this century. R of Oceanography; Heidrun Mumper- In California, that would mean the flooding ANDREW Drumm, Art Center College of Design’s of San Francisco International Airport, the Designmatters department; and Will Travis, Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and executive director, Bay Conservation and much of the commercial and residential The Aquarium has partnered with NOAA Development Commission. The course will property along the coast, comprising some and the Designmatters department at the be held on Tuesdays, May 3 through 24, in of the most valuable real estate in the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. the Aquarium’s Watershed Classroom. For country. Coastal protective measures can During the spring 2011 term, Designmatters reservations, contact Erin Russell at (562) reduce impacts. students participated in a class called 951-1609. The Aquarium is launching several pro- Project Coastal Crisis. They interacted with To learn more about sea level rise, be sure grams and exhibits on sea level rise and its experts from the Aquarium to learn more to visit the Aquarium’s new Ocean Science impacts. In the new Ocean Science Center, about the issues surrounding sea level rise Center opening in May. 2 | Pacific Currents | Spring 2011 Table of Contents IN THIS ISSUE LETTER FROM THE CEO 4 Animal Updates | Learn about DEAR MEMBERS, 4 the Arctic fox, king crabs, and other new animals at the Aquarium. LOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE is one of the most pressing issues of our 6 Climate Change and the G time. Its effects on our environ- ment and weather patterns are Polar Regions | Climate becoming clearer. The Aquarium is change in the Arctic and Antarctic dedicated to educating visitors about regions negatively affects local climate change—its causes, consequences, flora and fauna as well as human 6 and “cures”—through a wide variety of populations around the world. programs and exhibits. I encourage you to read the feature article on page 6 of this issue of Pacific Currents for more on 23 Science on a Sphere® | The this topic. Aquarium’s new Ocean Science The impacts of climate change on the polar regions are the Center will feature presentations on focus of our new changing exhibit, Arctic & Antarctic: Our Polar urban ocean issues, including the Regions in Peril. It will illustrate some of the ways that climate 23 role of the local port complex. change is affecting these regions and the resulting impacts on human, plant, and animal life. Members have the opportunity to preview the new exhibit on May 23 and 24, and it will open 26 Whale Watch to the public on May 28, 2011. Project | Aquarium staff The new exhibit will invite you to touch sea jellies, see members have identified several feather stars and king crabs, and will introduce Arctic char, whales in the local area and regu- a relative of salmon, in the Aquarium’s first-ever freshwater larly contribute data to a West habitat. Learn more about these new animals on pages four 26 Coast research organization. and five. The charismatic Arctic fox will be featured in an exhibit near Lorikeet Forest and as a program animal for daily shows starting in May. 2 Focus on Sustainability 10 Aquarium Programs & Events The Aquarium’s new Ocean Science Center, featuring a 3 Letter from the CEO 20 Kids Corner Science on a Sphere® (SOS), will also be opening in May. 4 Animal Updates 23 Aquarium News The Aquarium of the Pacific will be the first aquarium in the nation to display this technology that was developed and is 6 Climate Change 27 Conservation Corner being provided through a grant by the National Oceanic and and the Polar Regions Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Images are projected onto a six-foot diameter sphere and on four flat screens. The first two SOS experiences feature sea level rise and coastal PACIFIC CURRENTS is published for members of PHONE NUMBERS (562 area code) flooding as well as the seaports of San Pedro Bay. the Aquarium of the Pacific. If you have comments General Information ........590-3100 I hope you will join us this summer to experience the about this magazine, please send an email to our FAX .......................................951-1629 wonder of the Arctic and Antarctic regions, to gain insight into editorial staff at [email protected]. Membership ......................437-FISH (3474) the impacts of global climate change on these important and OUR MISSION | To instill a sense of wonder, Development ....................951-1605 vulnerable ecosystems, and to learn what you can do to help. respect, and stewardship for the Pacific Ocean, its Pacific Circle ......................951-1664 inhabitants, and ecosystems. Lost & Found .....................951-1733 Private Event Info ............951-1663 Thank you for your support. PACIFIC CURRENTS StaFF | Editor/Writer: Claire Education Programs .......951-1630 Atkinson | Copy Editor: Cecile Fisher | Designer: Gift Store ............................951-1SEA (1732) Sincerely, Andrew Reitsma | Contributing Writers: David Job Hotline .........................951-1674 Bader, Raelene Bautista, and Lindsay Yates Volunteer Hotline.............951-1659 Advanced Ticket Sales ...590-3100, ext. 0 HOURS | Open daily from 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. except (Note: $2 service charge per ticket, up to $10.) Jerry R. Schubel Dec. 25 and during the Grand Prix of Long Beach Group Reservations ........951-1695 MEMBERSHIP OFFICE HOURS CoveR: An iceberg near Palmer Station, 8:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. daily a research site on the Antarctic Peninsula. Photo taken June 13, 2010. ROBIN SOLFISBURG/NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION The Aquarium of the Pacific is a non-profit 501(c)3 institution. To provide exciting and innovative exhibits and educational programs, we rely heavily on the generous donations of individuals, foundations, and corporations. Aquarium Founding Sponsor Spring 2011 | Pacific Currents | 3 Aquarium Updates POLAR REGION ANIMALS ARRIVE Learn about several of the animal species recently added to the Aquarium’s collections for the Arctic & Antarctic: Our Polar Regions in Peril exhibit opening in May. ESHEVYKH D MITRY MITRY D TOCKPHOTO.COM/ S ARCTIC FOX I S PART OF THE ARCTIC & ANTARCTIC summer program- Arctic fox generally remain solitary during midwinter, scavenging ming, Aquarium husbandry staff will give daily presenta- the remains of marine mammals, reindeer, and caribou killed by other A tions with a three-year-old male Arctic fox named Sitka. predators. During the winter many Arctic fox travel out onto the sea During these shows the trainers will discuss the life of this ice to feed on remains of seals killed by polar bears—sometimes species in the wild. Sitka is on loan to the Aquarium from wildlife covering great distances. education organization Wild Wonders. He will be exhibited near While their numbers in some regions are abundant, populations Lorikeet Forest starting May 23. in Alaska rise and fall depending on the abundance of lemmings and Arctic fox are found in the Arctic and alpine tundra regions, from voles, their primary food source in the summer months. In some coastal Alaska and Greenland to Scandinavia and Russia. In Alaska, regions, such as the Pribilof Islands off the Alaskan coast in the the Arctic fox’s habitat includes the state’s treeless coastal areas Bering Sea, Arctic fox populations have had a marked decline. from the Aleutian Islands north to Point Barrow and east to the Climate change poses a threat to the Arctic fox.