Before us, the first explorers risked their lives to find out what lay at the bottom of the map. But what might happen to the rest of Antarctica’s ice shelves in the future is still uncertain. Antarctic science represents the pursuit of effective international scientific cooperation whilst also conducting some of the most pressing research on climate change. There are glaciers, mountains, expanses of flat land, rough winds and even rougher seas. We asked several people and groups why they think research in this remote, but special place really matters. A great opportunity to get involved in the EGU, GeoPolicy: IPCC decides on fresh approach for next major report, Artist in Residence – Deep time, deep circulation, deep thinking, Artist in Residence – Nature-based harmony, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. A new study helps solve the puzzle of why the continent’s western glaciers are melting so fast GEOMAG: A New Magnetic Observatory in East Antarctica near Utsteinen. It's called a desert because it hardly ever rains. The reason why we are able to conduct research in Antarctica, regardless of our country of origin, is due to the aspirations of the Antarctic Treaty that was founded exactly 51 years ago today. At the same time, increasing snow fall in warmer air masses could also have a reducing effect on sea level rise, but only in the next few decades. What happens to rain as it falls to the ground? Chile organized its First Chilean Antarctic Expedition in 1947–48. New research reveals that the changes range from sped-up microbial food webs to shifting penguin populations. Thermometers at the Esperanza Base on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula reached 18.3°C (64.9°F)—around the same temperature as Los Angeles that day. As of 2007, 20 different countries operate 37 year-round research … See the copyright page for more information. Hazel tweets @iamhazelgibson. Researchers prepare to launch the Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) experiment, which picked up signals of impossible-seeming particles as it dangled from its balloon over Antarctica. That’s right, the … To fully understand our planet’s climate system, we need to analyse this archive of the paleo-atmosphere, which is sometimes only accessible by ice cores. These bases were the first ever to be constructed on the mainland Antarctica.[10]. And it’s not only because the melting glaciers there will lead to sea level rises around the globe. So why is research in Antarctica still so important? The scientific studies in Antarctica are often ones that cannot usually be conducted elsewhere and help our understanding of global environmental issues including climate change, ozone depletion, sea level rise. The European Geosciences Union (EGU) is the leading organisation for Earth, planetary and space science research in Europe. So a study examined people working in Antarctica as a proxy. Many of the stations are staffed around the year. In 1906, Argentina communicated to the international community the establishment of a permanent base on the South Orkney Islands. The GEOMAG (GEOMAGnetic Observatory) research project aims to conduct long-term observations of Earth’s geomagnetic field at the Princess Elizabeth Antarctic research station. The cavity, which NASA scientists found using ice-penetrating radar in 2019, could have held 14 billion tons of ice. Oceanites has inaugurated a major, long-term Climate Challenge research project that will help distinguish the direct and interactive effects of climate change, fishing, tourism, and national operations in the Antarctic Peninsula, which, in turn, is expected to assist improved environmental management in this vastly warming region. She has a PhD in Geoscience Communication and Cognition from the University of Plymouth in the UK. A number of governments have set up permanent research stations in Antarctica and these bases are widely distributed. The building was constructed from local materials using the dry stone method, with a roof improvised from wood and canvas sheeting. In the last decade, that number jumped to an average of 252 billion tons per year . Two Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites operate in Antarctica. There have been many scientific findings and discoveries of world importance, such as the ozone hole, monitoring ice loss and sea level rise and discoveries of dinosaur fossils. A further base was founded at Hope Bay on February 13, 1945, after a failed attempt to unload stores on February 7, 1944. Our research addresses critical issues including climate change , the human footprint in Antarctica, the conservation of Antarctic and Southern Ocean wildlife and the sustainable management of Southern Ocean fisheries in the face of increasing demands for fish and krill caused by human population growth. All of them have now drifted off to sea on icebergs. In that same year, the United States built McMurdo Station and Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, and the Soviet Union built Mirny Station. She is responsible for the management of the Union's social media presence and the EGU blogs, where she writes regularly for the EGU's official blog, GeoLog. It has fostered scientific research, ... After 2048, Antarctica could be carved up between nations like every other land mass and surrounding ocean, and slowly relieved of its resources. Required fields are marked *, You may use these HTML tags and attributes:
. The Reason Antarctica Is Melting: Shifting Winds, Driven by Global Warming. Secondly, the environment of the Antarctic is so special. The more we warm the planet the more sensitive gets Antarctica to our actions. Since then, the treaty has been re-signed by 54 signatories, continuing the efforts for the future. The reason why we are able to conduct research in Antarctica, regardless of our country of origin, is due to the aspirations of the Antarctic Treaty that was founded exactly 51 years ago today. Would you like to write for GeoLog? Anders Levermann, Professor of Dynamics of the Climate System at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and lead author of a special 2020 paper investigating the ‘Antarctica Factor’. So why is research in Antarctica is so important? Seeking young scientists! BU Research: What happens to the iceberg now? Refer to a diagram of the water cycle. It is also inspirational. Every year groups of biologists, geologists, oceanographers, physicists, astronomers, glaciologists, meteorologists and others head to Antarctica to conduct research. GeoLog is the Union’s official blog, which is edited by the EGU Communications Officer Hazel Gibson and has a number of contributors. As a citizen: our future generations will be severely impacted by the way all components of Antarctica will respond to climate change – from ice to living things – and therefore we need to know their fate to be able to adapt and mitigate appropriately in time as a society. Pretty much everybody on Antarctica lives in cramped … But what happens to all the waste generated by the annual influx of scientists and their support staff? She is also the point of contact for early career scientists (ECS) at the EGU Office. Antarctica plays a central role in the Earth system: the Southern Ocean connects all the oceans in the world; the Antarctic ice surface has unique properties (its cold and highly reflective of incoming solar radiation); and the Antarctic ice sheet is the largest storage of fresh water on Earth – equivalent to almost 60 m of sea level! If we continue to burn oil, gas and coal, the warming will eventually destabilize not only the West Antarctic Ice Sheet but also parts of East Antarctica. [4] Bruce instituted a comprehensive programme of work, involving meteorological readings, trawling for marine samples, botanical excursions, and the collection of biological and geological specimens. In what forms would water exist in Antarctica? Going beyond the Paris climate agreement threatens cities all around the world from New York to Calcutta from Amsterdam to Shanghai. In more recent years, Casey has served as a base for marine biologists to examine changes to polar seafloor communities exposed to different carbon dioxide concentrations. Antarctic: the coldest place on Earth and has a very important anniversary this year. Little happened for the following forty years until the Second World War, when the British launched Operation Tabarin in 1943, to establish a presence on the continent. AS BG CL CR ESSI G GD GM GMPV HS NH NP OS SM SSP SSS ST TS. Antarctica is the scene of much investigation into climate change for a number of reasons: Antarctic ice cover is a regulator of energy absorbed from the sun, ice reflects back the sun's energy causing less warming, changes may have far reaching effects. In the 1980s, Antarctica lost 40 billion tons of ice annually. Overview; Human impacts in Antarctica; State of the Environment; Environment policy & management; … In 1903, Dr William S. Bruce's Scottish National Antarctic Expedition set off to Antarctica, with one of its aims to establish a meteorological station in the area. If you are feeling inspired and want to show off your Antarctica knowledge, why not join the UK Polar Network online at 19.00 GMT on the 1st December 2020 for their very special Antarctica Day quiz! This map shows permanent research stations only. The diagram below shows how warm underwater currents move beneath the glacier, slowly melting it from the bottom up. Every year, thousands of scientists leave their comfy homes and families to live on the ice continent for months on end, sometimes in the depths of winter, all in the name of science. Ella Gilbert, Climate Science Presenter and researcher at University of Reading. During the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration in the late 19th century, the first bases on the continent were established. Antarctic Science Stations - Research Bases in Antarctica. Unlike the drifting ice stations set up in the Arctic, the Research stations of the Antarctic are constructed either on rock or on ice that is (for practical purposes) fixed in place. Research done in Antarctica have given scientists a better idea of climate change, or how the climate and weather change over time. Beginning in late spring east of the Antarctic Peninsula, it circumnavigated the … [3], The major task completed during this time was the construction of a stone building, christened "Omond House". Olaf Eisen, EGU Cryospheric Sciences Division President and Professor of Glaciology at the Alfred Wegener Institute. Since 2008, scientists based at Casey have contributed to research into study of the Law Dome, the bedrock geology and structure of the East Antarctic ice sheet and its glaciological processes. Antarctic science represents the pursuit of effective international scientific cooperation whilst also conducting some of the most pressing research on climate change. On our current warming trajectory of human created climate change, we can expect increasing ice loss from Antarctica in the next few decades and centuries, maybe even millennia. Tim Heitland of the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research in Germany spent 14 months in Antarctica between 2016 and 2018. Your email address will not be published. Casey: the Daintree of Antarctica; Microscopic organisms; Environmental management. Palmer LTER, established on the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) with National Science Foundation funding in 1990, focuses on the ways that changing sea ice extent influences marine ecology and the multilayered food webs of the coastal, nearshore, and continental slope ecosystems. The big ocean currents are also generated there. How might the climate and water cycle influence each other? The fate of Antarctica determines the fate of our coastal cities. Operation provoked a massive expansion in international activity after the war. Ask students to draw a scientific diagram of the water cycle in Antarctica. But Antarctica is also not only a significant in terms of the future, it also holds a unique archive of the past: gas bubbles enclosed in the ice, up to more than one million years old. The South Pole is near the middle of Antarctica. Research in Antarctica is so important to the LGBTQI+ scientific community because Antarctica is a truly international place where real networks, collaborations and friendships can be formed without borders. [1] In addition to these permanent stations, approximately 30 field camps are established each summer to support specific projects. For analogous stations in the Arctic, see, Joint Scientific Polar Station "Union Glacier" (Chile), sfn error: no target: CITEREFRudmose_Brown (, Antarctica and the Arctic: the complete encyclopedia, Volume 1, by David McGonigal, Lynn Woodworth, page 98, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, South African National Antarctic Programme, United States Antarctic Service Expedition, Norwegian–British–Swedish Antarctic Expedition, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition, National Antarctic Scientific Center of Ukraine, "Historia General de las Relaciones Exteriores de la Republica Argentina", "Spirit of Scott 2012: Britain's polar interests lie under a cloud", Halley Research Station will not winter in 2018, "French Polar Team - R1 Russkaya Station / Antarctica", "Belarusian Antarctic Research Vechernyaya Station (WAP BLR-New)", "Current Local Time in Mario Zucchelli Station, Antarctica", COMNAP Antarctic Facilities (Updated February 2014 - Excel File), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Research_stations_in_Antarctica&oldid=1019376971, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with disputed statements from August 2011, Interlanguage link template forcing interwiki links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 23 April 2021, at 00:18. 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