Glacier Dust and Climate Change

There's a lot of great, fascinating research being done in Antarctica, and a recent study on dust in Antarctic ice sheets is no exception. Apparently, Patagonian glaciers operate as on/off switches - when the temperature is at its coldest, the glaciers are largest and give off dust that makes its way to Antarctica. According to Professor David Sugden, "Ice cores from the Antarctic ice sheet act as a
record of global environment. However, the dust levels showed some sudden changes which had us puzzled - until we realised that the Patagonian glaciers were acting as an on/off switch for releasing dust into the atmosphere."

Scientists hope that these results will help us better understand past climate change and predict modern-day climate change. We still have a lot to learn, and Antarctica is an ideal place to study past climate events because the thick ice sheets provide such an excellent record.

Save the whales - fertilize the ocean? Not so fast.

Now that the LOHAFEX iron fertilization project has produced only modest results, proponents have turned to a new argument: iron fertilization will create more food for blue whales. By stimulating the growth of algae, the theory goes, there will be more food for the krill upon which blue whales feed. Not so fast: according to ASOC's own Sian Prior, "The reduction in great whale numbers has not been attributed to lack of food. Rather it is due to over-exploitation of the whales."

So what exactly did happen as a result of the LOHAFEX experiment? Not much. The six tons of iron dumped into the Southern Ocean did not take up very much carbon dioxide. The experiment succeeded in inducing a large algal bloom, but the bloom was quickly devoured by copepods, who themselves were eaten by amphipods. For fertilization to work, it is assumed that the algae, having taken up CO2, will die and sink to the ocean floor. Since more of the bloom was eaten than scientists expected, the end result was that very little CO2 was absorbed and sent to the ocean floor. Scientists aren't quite sure why LOHAFEX failed to live up to expectations; however, they seem determined to continue exploring ocean fertilization. Hence the emergence of the "it's good for the whales" argument. While there can be little doubt that removal of CO2 from the atmosphere would be a good idea, interfering with ecosystems on such a large scale merits extreme caution, not unsupported claims of helping whales.

Antarctica's Popularity Blossoms with Tourists

In a Practical Traveler column for the New York Times, Michelle Higgins explores the safety and environmental concerns associated with the boom in Antarctic tourism. The article reiterates the unfortunate truth that even small, experienced operators with ice-strengthened ships have run into trouble in the Antarctic, and quotes one small-ship operator about how rescue operations may be complicated by the advent of larger ships that hold thousands of passengers. ASOC is mentioned in the article as calling for stricter safety and environmental requirements for tour ships, but as another tour operator notes, enforcement of any regulation would be very difficult due to the remoteness of the continent. Even so, increased oversight of tourist operators is a good idea. If nothing else, consumers would be hopefully be able to choose companies that could prove they were following the regulations. Tourists wishing to sail to Antarctica on 3,000-passenger cruise ships should be aware that in the event of an accident, they might not be able to be rescued. Although the operators of such large vessels claim they take appropriate precautions, as mentioned earlier, even ships with experienced crew members and vessel safety features have gotten into trouble in the Antarctic. It's an unforgiving, unpredictable area and it's dangerous to assume that standard procedures will always work.

New Research on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

Discussions about global warming often focus on the impact of warmer global temperatures on Antarctica, and for good reason - most of the world's ice is in Antarctica, so if the continent warms up and melts, ocean levels will most certainly rise. Which is why this week's news that the entire West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), which contains enough water to raise sea level by five meters or so, could melt over the course of the next thousand years only somewhat comforting. Somewhat because the research revealed that the ice sheet had melted and regenerated many times, meaning that there is a definite precedent for the complete disappearance of the WAIS. Scientists knew that the sheet wasn't always the same size, but didn't necessarily have proof that it could melt entirely. Now they do, and it is certain that such melting would submerge many of the world's major cities.

While the WAIS is important, it's not the only source of sea-level raising ice. Antarctica as a whole is losing ice at the rate of 36 cubic miles per year. Though we may not be around to see the kind of catastrophic rise in sea level that would accompany the complete melting of the WAIS, we need to know the costs of allowing global warming to proceed unchecked.

Antarctic Warming Causing Ecosystem Shifts

Antarctic warming has led to major changes in the weather of West Antarctica, altering the food chain. As reported in the journal Science, scientists examining thirty years of data on phytoplankton concentration have determined that major alterations to the food web have occurred due to warming. Even more troubling, the climate of the West Antarctic peninsula appears to be "undergoing a transition from a cold-dry polar-type climate to a warm-humid sub-Antarctic–type climate," according to the abstract for the Science article. The scientists examined satellite and other data to determine that concentrations of a certain type of phytoplankton had declined substantially along the peninsula, most likely due to stronger winds, increased cloud cover, and mixing of surface waters with deeper ocean water.

When phytoplankton moves, krill (who eat the phytoplankton) have to follow suit. Krill-dependent predators such as penguins then also must go where the krill are. So while there is less plankton in some areas, there is now more in others, particularly the southern regions of the peninsula. Penguin species not dependent on krill, such as Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins, have taken the place of krill-dependent Adelies. It remains to be seen what long-term consequences these shifts will have on penguins and krill, but if phytoplankton populations continue to decline, it could have disastrous consequences for penguins and other krill eaters.

Hooked and Booked

Greenpeace has uncovered unsettling evidence that the Spanish government has been subsidizing a company known to engage in Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Southern Ocean. The company, Vidal Armadores S. A., is blacklisted by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which regulates fishing in the Southern Ocean. Why is a blacklisted ship receiving several million euros from the Spanish government? It is unclear, but unlikely that the Spanish government can claim ignorance. According to Greenpeace, New Zealand inspectors uncovered evidence that a Namibian-flagged ship called the Paloma V was involved in illegal transshipments - the transfer of illegal fish catches from one ship to another - in April 2008. Their evidence implicated several ships in the Vidal fleet in these transshipments.

The Spanish government went ahead and signed an agreement with the Namibian government to allow one of the ships identified by NZ to fish in Namibian waters. They've also assisted Vidal with obtaining other contracts and licenses. One of the fish they are involved with illegally catching is the Patagonia toothfish, which is quickly nearing extinction due to legal and illegal overfishing. Transshipment and other loopholes are widely used by pirate fishers so they can reap enormous profits without getting in trouble.

As Greenpeace says, it's time to hook and book illegal fishers. The Spanish government needs to stop subsidizing and helping Vidal, and start prosecuting those involved in illegal fishing activity. Global fishing stocks are in decline. If all the catch limits and regulations of CCAMLR and other bodies are to be at all effective, countries must enforce existing anti-IUU laws (and probably add new laws and punishments). It's all too easy for people to ignore overfishing, particularly when it's done in the Southern Ocean, far away from any governments who could object or patrol. But the ocean belongs to us all, and damaged ecosystems do not only have local repercussions. When companies such as Vidal flout the law so openly, they indeed need to be hooked and booked, not subsidized.

Time to Replace the U.S. IWC Whaling Commissioner?

Congressman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), the current chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, has written a letter to the acting secretary of the Department of Commerce asking that the current U.S. Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission (IWC), Dr. William Hogarth, be replaced. His main reason is that Dr. Hogarth was involved in closed-door IWC negotiations that will reduce Japan's scientific whaling in the Southern Ocean in return for allowing Japan to conduct whaling in its coastal waters. This deal might result in the reduction of Japan's scientific whaling, but Congressman Rahall points out that it would not be binding, and could pave the way for more commercial whaling. He emphasizes that both public opinion remains opposed to whaling, which makes these rather un-transparent negotiations troubling. Dr. Hogarth is a political appointee.

The closed-door IWC meetings have been a point of contention for many NGOs and others concerned about the apparent plans of some countries to expand or reinvigorate commercial whaling. Congressman Rahall is right that the new Administration, with its commitment to greater transparency in government, should make sure that the U.S. IWC commissioner is as committed to transparency as they are, especially when the survival of vulnerable cetacean populations is at stake.