Curious Dragonfly Monthly Science Newsletter

The Frozen Story of ANTARCTICA!

CONTINENT OF COLD

Global view of the entire Antarctic region.

Space has often been called the 'final frontier.' But if the same could be said about any- where on Earth, the cold, icy continent of Antarctica would easily claim the title. Antarctica is the last region on the planet to be discovered and/or colo- nized by humans. It is, on average, the coldest, driest,

and windiest of all seven continents, as well as having the highest aver-age elevation. Antarctica is considered a desert, as it's annual precipita-tion is only 8 inches (200mm) along the coast and far less inland.

As of 2016, Antartica is home to roughly 135 permanent residents. How-ever, anywhere from 1,000-5,000 people reside at various research stations scattered across the continent throughout the year. There are 75 research stations positioned across the frozen land, with 7 nations having made claim to the land. 45 of these stations are year-round, while the re-maining 30 are mainlyoperational during thesummer. These stationsare called 'field stations.'

But what can we learnfrom Antarctica's frigidland? And how much dowe really know aboutEarth's 'final frontier?'

FUN FACT! The lowest recorded air temperature

measured by a continuously-occupied station was set on July 21, 1983 at the Vostok

Station in Antarctica, where the temperature plummeted to

-89.2º Celsius (-128.6º

DISCOVERING THE 7TH CONTINENT

Gottlieb von Belinghausen.

It is unclear who in history could claim to be the first to sight what would eventually be known as Antarctica. Myths and maps from ancient times told of a landmass at the bottom of Earth known as Terra Australis. And famous explorers like Francis Drake and Captain James Cook often sailed near or past the Antarctic Circle.

However, the first men known historically to have laid eyes on the landmass of Antarctica were part of an 1820 Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Belingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. Their ships, the Vostok and the Mirny, were Imperial Russian Navy vessels circumnavigating the globe. Upon doing so, they sighted the area of Ant-arctica that would eventually be called the Fimbul Ice Shelf. This shelf, mapped by Norwegian cartographers from 1949-1952, is approximately 120 miles (200km) long and 62 miles (100km) wide.

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What do you imagine the expedition's reaction was upon sighting a new, undiscovered landmass?

Fimbul Ice Shelf.

After its discovery by the Russian expedition, the southernmost continent remained neglected for the remainder of the 19th century, due largely in part to its hostile environment, its lack of easily accessible resources, and its isolation. It wasn't until 1895 that the first expedition group, again a Nor-wegian team, landed on Antarctica.

What they found was a land filled with a variety of lifeforms, including algae, bac-teria, fungi, plants, and protista. They werealso amazed to find certain types of ani-mals, including penguins, mites, and seals. The vegetation of Antarctica is considered 'tundra,' a type of climate-specific plant formations where tree growth is hinderedby low temperatures and a short growing season.

RACE TO THE SOUTH POLE

Roald Amundsen.

In April of 1909, Americans Robert Pearcy and Frederick Cook became the first to achieve the impossible: they reached the North Pole. Upon hearing this news in September 1910, Norweg-ian explorer Roald Amundsen, who had been planning a similar expedition, lost interest and set his sights south. Amundsen, who had been a part of the first expedition to winter in Antarc-tica (in 1908), began to secretly plan a voyage to the South Pole instead.

Amundsen and others at the tent erected at the South Pole (Dec. 14,1911).

He was not the only voyager planning such lofty goals. In October, 1910, Amundsen sent a telegram to British explorer Robert Falcon Scott, who was also preparing an expedition to the South Pole. The telegram read, simply: "Beg leave inform you, proceeding Antarctic. Amundsen." Thus be-gan the race to the South Pole.

Amundsen and Scott's teams both arrived in Antarctica in January, 1911. Scott's camp based themselves out of an area named McMurdo Sound; Amundsen's camp, Framheim, set up around 60 miles (96km) closer to the South Pole, at the Bay of Whales on the Ross Ice Shelf.

The two parties used different methods of travel during their expedtitions. Scott's team left base camp with supplies on the back of Siberian ponies, while Amundsen's party used sled dogs, who were more equipped for the harsh conditions. After an initial tripwas thwarted by weather concerns,Amundsen's team left camp on Octo-ber 20, 1911. Scott's party was alsoslowed by setbacks. Their ponies could not manage the journey, and were killed for food.

On the afternoon of December 14, Amundsen's team became the first toreach the South Pole. Scott's team arrived 33 days later.

The Antarctic Treaty, signed in Wash-ington on December 1, 1959 by thetwelve countries with active scientistsin and around Antarctica, went into force in 1961. It stated that Antarcticais a continent dedicated to peace andresearch. Currently, 30 countries havesigned the treaty, allowing them to send personnel to research stations onthe continent and the surrounding Antarctic Peninsula. There is one perm-anent harbor, and 20 airstrips have been established.

There are good reasons that so much research is done in Antarctica. It has the cleanest air in the world. Atmospheric monitoring provides neutral data sets. Due to its unique geographic situation, Antarctica is the place where polar night lasts the longest. This makes it a successful observation point for astronomy, astrophysics, and related disciplines. Studying the lowest echelons of the food chain in the antarctic region offers insight into the en-vironmental impact on humans. And most importantly, Antarctica has no national borders, leaving the entire continent open for research.

RESEARCH IS EVERYTHING

What do you consider to be the most valuable research done in Antarctica?

Scientists recover climate history by drilling cores in the ice, up to 11,000 feet (3,500m) deep. These ice sheets contain thousands of years of past climate.

India's Bharati Research Station

Since there is no substantial human colonization, Antarctica maintains a near-pristine eco-system that is constantly in flux. That is why many of the smaller stations - some are the size of a shed or shack - are seasonal, as the weather con-ditions offer a narrow window of time for conducting all of their research. Many of the well-established stations who keep their stations open year-round substantially cut back on staff, making winters in Ant-arctica a lonely place for the remaining researchers.

THE CHANGING CLIMATE

Aerial view of ice shelf loss.

One of, if not the, greatest threats toour survival as a species is climatechange. Although the impact of climatechange and the Arctic are discussed often in the media, the effect it is havingin the Antarctica region is comparatively neglected or misreported. The science,however, is there: climate change isalready negatively affecting Antarctica.

The West Antarctic Peninsula is one of thefastest-warming areas on Earth. Over the past 50 years, upper ocean temperaturesto the west of the peninsula have increasedover 1º. Studying this climate change isimmensely important, as it enables sci-entists to accurately predict future climateevents, while providing information topoliticians and policy makers. It has nowbeen established that the Antarctic Circum-polar Current is warming more rapidly thanthe global ocean as a whole.

Many glaciers in the region, as well as ice shelves that formerly fringed the peninsula have either begun to retreat or have disappeared completely. If melted entirely, the Antarctic ice sheet contains sufficient ice to raise the sea levels world-wide by more than 196 feet (60 m). Climate change also affects the wildlife population, leaving them vulnerable to extinction. Thus, climate change in Antarctica will have dramatic effects both globally and locally to some of the world's most beloved species.Antarctic surface temperature

trends from 1957-2006.

A melting iceberg.

ICE SHELF IN DANGER

Map of the Larsen C Ice Shelf.

In a report from earlier thismonth (January 2017), anenormous iceberg comprisingmore than 1,900 square miles(approximately 5,000 squarekilometers) is on the verge ofbreaking off the Larsen C IceShelf in Antarctica, followingthe recent rapid expansion ofa rift in the area. The portionof the ice shelf currently hold-ing the iceberg in place is only12 miles (20km) in length. Once the break inevitably occurs, a chunk of ice island will be afloat in the Southern Ocean that is roughly the size of a small U.S. state.

Once the ice breaks off, the event will represent one of the largest tenbreak-offs ever recorded. Professor Adrian Luckman, a researcher at Swansea University and leader of the United Kingdom's Midas project, stated the break "...will fundamentally change the landscape of the Ant-arctic Peninsula." Luckman continued, saying the event could well lead to the break-up of the whole Larsen C ice shelf. "If it doesn't go in the next few months, I'll be amazed."

Antarctica has lost ice shelves before, but not one so enormous. A loss of Larsen C would not only alter the Earth's map, it could potentially affect sea levels, as the shelf holds back glaciers capable of contributing about 4 inches of global sea level rise over time.

What is about to happen is a historic event. When much of Larsen B ice shelf collapsed in 2002, scientists showed it was something that had not happened in nearly 12,000 years. Even more staggering, it's likely the event was the first of its kind in nearly 100,000 years. Scientists fear the lose of these ice shelves will destabilize inland glaciers, whose melting would significantly con- tribute to rising sea levels.The Larsen C rift,

photographed Nov. 10, 2016.

Curious Dragonfly LLCTrina Terrellwww.curiousdragonfly.com303.903.5319

ENGAGING QUESTIONS!

1. Name other important expeditions. What was the outcome of these events?2. How does Antarctica's lack of international borders benefit global research?3. What weather-related studies could be conducted in Antarctica?4. What are other ways we can minimize our carbon footprint and slow the progression of climate change?

ANTARCTIC WILDLIFEAntarctica has an abundance of animal life, almost all of it being dependent on the sea. These animals tend to be mainly warm-blooded, so their size is used as a survival technique against the cold. Here are just a few examples.

Emperor PenguinsSeven species of penguins are labeled as 'Antarctic.' Of them, Emperor penguins are

one of the most iconic.

Southern Elephant SealsThe largest of all seals, male elephant seals can be over 20 feet (6m) tall and weigh up to

8,800 pounds (4,000kg).

TardigradesAlso known as 'water bear,' tardigrades are microscopic animals capable of surviving

severe environmental conditions.

KrillKrill are a small, semi-transparent

crustacean like a shrimp. Fully grown, they are 2 inches (6cm) in length, and weigh

.04 ounces (1g).