Welcome to the Questions/Answers Page
Here is the first set of questions that I received from the students at Murray Middle School on 14 January 2003, with my answers:
1. Do you feel that global warming has had an effect on
the animals in Antarctica, and do you feel that global warming will continue to
be a problem in the near future?
Yes, I do believe that global warming is affecting Antarctic wildlife, but
more so in some areas than others. For example, the Antarctic Peninsula is
farther north than other regions of Antarctica and therefore has slightly milder
temperatures. There, the warming trend has had the greatest impact:
permanent ice shelves are breaking up at an alarming rate each summer, the
average winter temperature has increased by 4-5° C over the past 20 years, and
Adélie penguins have been declining in many areas. Because these penguins
are dependent on sea ice as part of their habitat, (where they find and feed on
krill) a decline in the amount of sea ice in the peninsula is affecting their
populations. So, there has been a steady decline in this species in that
area and, if the warming trend continues over the next 50-100 years, they could
completely abandon the northern peninsular region. However, in the Ross
Sea and other areas of the Antarctic farther to the south, the average
temperatures are cold enough that the global warming has yet not had a
significant impact on the wildlife. I n fact, Adélie penguins are increasing in
east Antarctica (such as here at Casey Station) and have been for the past 20-30
years. It would take much more warming than we have right now, I believe,
to affect the species here. With the current trends in warming, though, it
may be that not far in the future we will start to see more of an impact to
wildlife in the deeper Antarctic.
2. The article that we read told us that penguins are
born feminists and it is difficult to determine by their actions whether they
are male or female. How can you distinguish between a male and a female
penguin?
It is difficult to tell the sex of penguins from their external appearance, but
it can be done if you know what to look for. For the Adélie penguin, you
may be able to determine sex if the male and female are together at the
nest. In that situation, the male is slightly larger, with a larger and
deeper bill, relative to the female. The same is true for many of the
other species of penguins as well. In addition, you can observe their
behavior and sometimes tell sex. Male Adélie penguins arrive first at the
colony in the late spring/early summer (they even return to the same nest site
every year) to rebuild their pebble nest and call for their mate (they keep the
same mate every year for life as well). When the female returns to the
colony, she will go to her old nest site to find her mate and they can recognize
each other by their calls. After the eggs are laid, the male usually takes
the first incubation shift, which can range from 3-10 days or more, while the
female returns to sea to feed and regain energy after producing the eggs.
So, if you are watching all this at a colony, you can determine sex that way
too.
3. We know that it is the summer months in Antarctica now. What are the average temperatures.
Average temperatures in summer and winter vary considerably in Antarctica. In the Antarctic Peninsula, where the climate is milder from its more northern position, the average summer temperature ranges from about 1° C to -4-5° C. The same is true here--most days the temperature ranges from 1° C to -2 or -3° C. Some days it gets REALLY warm at 3-4° C! The south pole is a different matter. Located on top of the polar plateau at the highest latitudes, summer temperatures there average around -30° C. That's pretty cold and I'm glad I don't have to work in those temperatures.
What really makes the difference here is the wind.
If it's a calm day, once adapted to the climate down here, you can work outside
comfortably in short sleeves even though the temperature is right around
freezing. However, if the wind starts to pick up, the stronger it blows
the colder it gets from the wind chill. Once it reaches 20-30 mph, it's
difficult to work outside. So, daytime temperature doesn't really matter
here that much--it's the wind that does it. To see real time temperature
and weather at Casey, go to: http://www-new.aad.gov.au/asset/webcams/weather.asp
4. We know that very few humans live on this continent, but how can humans
interfere with life in Antarctica.
Wherever humans go, there will be an impact of some kind
to the environment. It's trying to minimize that impact as much as
possible that is important. To study wildlife, geology, or the atmosphere
in Antarctica, we have to come here and that causes an impact. Every
research station or field hut in an intrusion and for many years, when people
from the U.S. and other countries first began to establish bases in Antarctica
(especially beginning in the 1950s) there was little concern for the
environment. Now, however, all countries that are active here have signed
the Antarctic Treaty which includes protocols for protecting the
environment. There are very strict protocols today to protect the wildlife
and to minimize disturbances. Most garbage and wastes are now taken out of
Antarctica for disposal in home countries, while others are incinerated or
treated here under special conditions. Much of the old wastes from
previous years are now being cleaned up as well. Overall, our impact on
Antarctica has been minimal compared to those elsewhere in the World. I
hope it stays that way.
5. We are dying to know if you are having fun.
We are having a great time here! We work hard in the field or the lab
each day, six days a week,or even seven. We need to do this because it
took a lot of time and expense to get us here, we have a limited amount of time
to work here, and so we need to maximize our time for the science.
However, we do have free time in the evening to relax, read (there's a small
library here), watch a movie (there's a large video collection here), or just
socialize with some of the other people here (there are about 60 of us on
station). There are lots of other interesting projects going on here as
well, so it's fun to learn about those. In addition, on Sundays we can go
skiing, boating to observe ice bergs in the bay or penguins at their colonies,
hike around the station area, or go out to one of the huts within 15 miles of
the station for an evening away. There's always something to do or
something going on and time is just going too fast while we're here!
These were all great questions and indicate that you've been learning a lot already about Antarctica. I hope my answers help stimulate more questions for next time. Keep up the good work!
Steve Emslie