Antarctica

His Majesty’s Visit to Antarctica This is photographic journey of His Majesty Seri Paduka Baginda Yang Di–Pertuan Agong Al–Wathiqu Billah Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin Ibni Al–Marhum Sultan Mahmud Al–Muktafi Billah Shah, Yang DiPertuan Agong XIII of Malaysia to Antarctica. It tells of His Majesty’s personal reflections and impressions through interviews with Prof. Dato’ Dr. Azizan Abu Samah and Tan Sri Dr. Salleh Mohd. Nor. His Majesty expressed admiration for the scientific research being undertaken by Malaysian scientists and their international counterparts on that cold continent and hoped that more Malaysian scientist will commit to undertake research in Antarctica. During the visit to Scott and Shackelton Huts, His Majesty admired and respected the courage and tenacity of the early explorers to that icy continent before the discovery of modern travel and technologies. His Majesty also expressed his admiration of the scientists who had dedicated their careers to research on the icy continent. This book also given a brief description of the Antarctic continent, the highest, driest and coldest continent in the world. It also tells about the Antarctic Treaty System and Malaysia’s involvement in Antarctic research. It concludes with a brief look at the future now that Malaysia has acceded to the Antarctic Treaty System

Scientific evaluation of deterioration of historic huts of Ross Island, Antarctica

There are many challenges facing conservation of the historic huts in Antarctica including non-biological, biological and environmental impacts explains Professor Roberta L. Farrell, Department of Biological Sciences, the University of Waikato. The article presents a discussion of historical huts of Ross Island, Antarctica

Climate Change and invasibility of the Antarctic benthos

Benthic communities living in shallow-shelf habitats in Antarctica (<100-m depth) are archaic in their structure and function. Modern predators, including fast-moving, durophagous (skeleton-crushing) bony fish, sharks, and crabs, are rare or absent; slow-moving invertebrates are the top predators; and epifaunal suspension feeders dominate many soft substratum communities. Cooling temperatures beginning in the late Eocene excluded durophagous predators, ultimately resulting in the endemic living fauna and its unique food-web structure. Although the Southern Ocean is oceanographically isolated, the barriers to biological invasion are primarily physiological rather than geographic. Cold temperatures impose limits to performance that exclude modern predators. Global warming is now removing those physiological barriers, and crabs are reinvading Antarctica. As sea temperatures continue to rise, the invasion of durophagous predators will modernize the shelf benthos and erode the indigenous character of marine life in Antarctica

Phytoplankton of the Olaf Prydz Bay (Indian Ocean, East Antarctica) in February 1969

Paper received 10 December 1979.Qualitative and quantitative composition of phytoplankton of the Olaf Prydz Bay (Indian Ocean, East Antarctica) was determined on the basis of 49 samples collected at 34 sampling stations during the period from the 15th to 24th February 1969. Altogether 59 taxa of algae were identified — among them: 57 taxa of the class Bacillariophyceae, 1 species of the class Chrysophyceae and 1 genus of the class Dinophyceae. Species occurring most frequently and most abundantly in the Olaf Prydz Bay are diatoms: Thalassiothrix antarctica, Chaetoceros criophilus, Nitzschia curta, Rhizosolenia alata. At some stations Chaetoceros dichaeta occurred in great numbers. A decrease in phytoplankton numbers in the areas south of 67 S is associated with the lack of neritic algae among dominant species.Диатомеи преобладали как качественно, так и количественно в фитопланктоне залива Прюдс, сектор Индийского океана, Антарктида. Было определено 59 таксонов водо- рослей, среди которых 57 принадлежит к классу Bacillariophyceae, 1 — к классу Chrysophyceae и 1 — к классу Dinophyceae. В прибрежных местах отбора проб найболее численны были неритические виды: Nitzschia curta и Chaetoceros dichaeta, а также океани- ческий вид Thalassiothrix antarctica. В местах отдаленных от берега (на север от 67° ю.ш.) найболее численными были океанические виды: Rhizosolenia alata, Chaetoceros criophilus. Thalassiothrix antarctica. Rhizosolenia styliformis, Rhizosolenia hebatata f. semispina. Одновре- менное присутствие неритических и океанических видов наблюдалось во всем заливе. Выделено 11 видов, выступающих в большинстве мест. Чаще всего выступали: Thalassiothrix antarctica, Chaetoceros criophilus, Nitzschia curta, Rhizosolenia alata. На севере от 67° ю.ш. наблюдось отсутствие неритических водорослей среди доминирующих видов. Одновре- менно заметно снижалась численность фитопланктона.Okrzemki dominują jakościowo i ilościowo w fitoplanktonie występującym w Zatoce Olafa Prydza leżącej u wybrzeży Antarktydy w sektorze Oceanu Indyjskiego. Zidentyfikowano 59 taksonów glonów, z czego 57 należy do klasy Bacillariophyceae, 1 do klasy Chrysophyceae i 1 do klasy Dinophyceae. Na stanowiskach przybrzeżnych największy udział procentowy miały gatunki nerytyczne Nitzschia curta i Chaetoceros dichaeta oraz gatunek oceaniczny Thalassiothrix antarctica. Na stanowiskach oddalonych od brzegu (na północ od 67°S) największy udział miały gatunki oceaniczne: Rhizosolenia alata, Chaetoceros criophilus, Thalassiothrix antarctica, Rhizosolenia styliformis i Rhizosolenia hebetata f. semispina. Jednoczesne występowanie gatunków nerytycznych i oceanicznych obserwowano w całej Zatoce. Wyróżniono U gatunków występujących na większości stanowisk. Najczęściej występowały: Thalassiothrix antarctica, Chaetoceros criophilus, Nitzschia curta i Rhizosolenia alata. Na północ od 67°S brak jest wśród gatunków dominujących glonów nerytycznych. Jednocześnie zaznacza się spadek liczebności fitoplanktonu

Age and origin of enigmatic megaherbs from the subantarctic islands

Biogeographic relationships in the southern hemisphere have puzzled biologists for the last two centuries. Once joined to form the supercontinent Gondwana, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand and South America are widely separated by the Pacific and Indian oceans. Sir Joseph Hooker was the first to suggest that Antarctica served as a corridor for plant migration not unlike the land-bridges in the northern hemisphere. While the Antarctic flora was largely erased by glaciation during the Pleistocene, at least some of these Antarctic plant communities found refuge on the subantarctic islands. Here we provide support for the hypothesis that giant herbs persisted in the subantactic islands prior to the onset of Pleistocene glaciation, then dispersed northward in response to glacial advance. Our findings provide further evidence that Antarctica has played a pivotal role in shaping southern hemisphere biogeography

Predicting water availability in the Antarctic dry valleys using GIS and remote sensing

Water is one of the most important ingredients for life on Earth. The presence or absence of biologically available water determines whether or not life will exist. In Antarctica most water exists as ice and is not available for sustaining life. It is usually only during December and January that temperatures will rise above zero and melt water becomes available (Kennedy, 1993). For this reason Antarctica is regarded as the driest desert in the world (Peck et al., 2006, McKnight et al., 1999)

Science Secrets under the Ice

Lora Koenig ’99 spent a summer in Antarctica collecting data about Earth’s climate

Birth of a Large Iceberg in Pine Island Bay, Antarctica

This lithograph shows the break-off of a large iceberg from the Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica. This event occurred between November 4th and 12th, 2001, and provides powerful evidence of rapid changes underway in this area of Antarctica. The three images presented were acquired by the vertical-viewing (nadir) camera of the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument aboard NASA's Terra spacecraft. Educational levels: High school, Informal education, General public

Impacts of local human activities on the Antarctic environment

We review the scientific literature, especially from the past decade, on the impacts of human activities on the Antarctic environment. A range of impacts has been identified at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. Chemical contamination and sewage disposal on the continent have been found to be long-lived. Contemporary sewage management practices at many coastal stations are insufficient to prevent local contamination but no introduction of non-indigenous organisms through this route has yet been demonstrated. Human activities, particularly construction and transport, have led to disturbances of flora and fauna. A small number of non-indigenous plant and animal species has become established, mostly on the northern Antarctic Peninsula and southern archipelagos of the Scotia Arc. There is little indication of recovery of overexploited fish stocks, and ramifications of fishing activity oil bycatch species and the ecosystem could also be far-reaching. The Antarctic Treaty System and its instruments, in particular the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and the Environmental Protocol, provide a framework within which management of human activities take place. In the face of the continuing expansion of human activities in Antarctica, a more effective implementation of a wide range of measures is essential, in order to ensure comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment, including its intrinsic, wilderness and scientific values which remains a fundamental principle of the Antarctic Treaty System. These measures include effective environmental impact assessments, long-term monitoring, mitigation measures for non-indigenous species, ecosystem-based management of living resources, and increased regulation of National Antarctic Programmes and tourism activities