Ice, Ice Baby - A Photo Montage

Conquering the White Continent - Part 6

Every day on the ship, we had educational lectures, ranging from penguins, whales, explorers and then there was ice. I mean how can you fill up 45 minutes talking about ice.

In the polar regions ice takes on a variety of forms;

• Permafrost - Permanently frozen ground found in the arctic regions and antarctica peninsula that does not flow. Technically it's not ice but frozen earth

• Ice Sheets - Massive layers of land ice found in Greenland and Antarctica. Accumulated snowfall that has been compressed into ice that very slowly flows. It holds 99% of Earths freshwater ice. Melting causes the global sea levels to rise.

• Ice Shelves - Floating extensions of ice sheets mostly found in Antarctica. Most well-known is the Ross and Larsen ice shelves. Formed when ice sheets flow downward to the coast and floats. Calf into icebergs.

• Sea Ice - Frozen ocean water. Forms when seawater freezes and drifts with wind and currents. It can break apart into ice floes. Less salty than sea water since water molecules are combined with heat, air and gas.

• Glaciers - Rivers of land ice that flow downhill. Formed when snow accumulates, compacts and begins to flow under gravity.

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Effects of climate change:

• Warming air temperatures are thawing the permafrost found on the peninsula which destabilizes the soil releasing CO2 and methane gases. Not as much of an issue compared to the Arctic regions.

• Ice sheets hold 90% of the Earth's ice however the effects are regional. Ice sheets in the west are highly vulnerable since they sit below sea level. The warming oceans are shrinking the underlayer. Ice sheets in the east are a little more stable. The loss of ice sheets is directly raising global sea levels.

• Ice shelves are weakening from both surface melting and basal melting. Increase in calving of giant icebergs dumping more ice into the ocean.

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Effects of climate change on Antarctica flora and fauna

The biggest threat comes from melting sea ice. There has been a dramatic reduction of sea ice since 2o22. The loss is driven by warming oceans. Sea ice is forming later, melting earlier and becoming more fragmented.

• Penguin colonies, especially the emperor penguin are losing their stable breeding platforms. One fifth of the population are failing to breed and chick survival is decreasing. Adelie penguins rely on sea ice for food.

• Sea ice hosts ice algae (diatoms) which live inside and below the ice which is the major food source for krill. As ice melts their habitat disappears

• Reduction of krill, a major food source for whales, penguins and seals, which depend on sea-ice algae which is the base of the food web

• Seals use ice floes as resting and breeding platforms. The decline in ice and krill have led to a dramatic decrease in pup survival rates.

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