scholarly journals Summer circumpolar acoustic occurrence and call rates of Ross, Ommatophoca rossii, and leopard, Hydrurga leptonyx, seals in the Southern Ocean

Polar Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 433-450
Author(s):  
Fannie W. Shabangu ◽  
Tracey L. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Call Rate ◽  
Leopard Seal ◽  
Survey Techniques ◽  
Pack Ice ◽  
Hydrurga Leptonyx ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Temporal Overlap

Abstract Two of the Antarctic pack ice seals, Ross, Ommatophoca rossii, and leopard, Hydrurga leptonyx, seals, are extremely difficult to study via traditional visual survey techniques, yet are ideal for an acoustic survey as they are highly vociferous and produce an array of underwater sounds during the austral summer. To determine their acoustic occurrence in the Antarctic pack ice, we use their calls, detected within 680 acoustic recordings made between 1999 and 2009 as part of two multinational programmes. Siren calls of Ross seals were detected mainly in January, and 9.88 calls per minute from low siren calls was the highest call rate for this species. High numbers of Ross seal calls were detected close to the ice edge in areas between 0° and 20° E and 60° and 130° E, suggesting these are important summer habitats. Leopard seal calls were detected mainly in December and January, and December had the highest percentage of calls. Call rate of 11.93 calls per minute from low double trills was the highest call rate for leopard seals. Leopard seal calls were detected throughout the Southern Ocean with more calls detected throughout the pack ice. There was little spatio-temporal overlap in call occurrence of Ross and leopard seals, but both species were more vocally active during the day. Longitude and latitude were the most important predictors of Ross seal occurrence, and month of the year highly predicted leopard seal occurrence. This is the first study to examine the circumpolar acoustic occurrence of Ross and leopard seals in the Southern Ocean pack ice.

scholarly journals CCN measurements at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Research Station during three austral summers

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Herenz ◽  
Heike Wex ◽  
Alexander Mangold ◽  
Quentin Laffineur ◽  
Irina V. Gorodestkaya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Aerosol Particle ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Source Region ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Air Masses ◽  
Potential Source ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Aitken Mode

Abstract. For three austral summer seasons (2013–2016, each from December to February) aerosol particles arriving at the Belgian Antarctic research station Princess Elisabeth (PE), in Dronning Maud Land in East Antarctica were characterized in terms of number concentrations of total aerosol particles (NCN) and cloud condensation nuclei (NCCN), the particle number size distribution (PNSD), the aerosol particle hygroscopicity and the influence of the air mass origin on NCN and NCCN. In general NCN was found to range from 40 to 6700 cm−3 with a median of 333 cm−3, while NCCN was found to cover a range between less than 10 and 1300 cm−3 for supersaturations (SS) between 0.1 and 0.7 %. It is shown that the aerosol is Aitken mode dominated and is characterized by a significant amount of freshly, secondarily formed aerosol particles, with 94 % and 36 % of the aerosol particles are smaller than 90 nm and ≈ 35 nm, respectively. Measurements of the basic meteorological parameters as well as the history of the air masses arriving at the measurement station indicate that the station is influenced by both, continental air masses originating from the Antarctic inland ice sheet (continental events – CE) and marine air masses originating from the Southern Ocean (marine events – ME). CEs came along with rather constant NCN and NCCN values, which we denote to be Antarctic continental background concentrations. MEs however cause large fluctuations in NCN and NCCN caused by scavenging due to precipitation or new particle formation based on marine precursors. The application of Hysplit back trajectories in form of the potential source contribution function (PSCF) analysis indicate, that the region of the Southern Ocean is a potential source of Aitken mode particles. For particles larger than ≈ 110 nm (CCN measured at SS of 0.1 %) the Antarctic ice shelf regions were found to be a potential source region, most likely due to the emission of sea salt aerosol particles, released from snow particles from surface snow layers by sublimation, e.g., during periods of high wind speed, leading to drifting or blowing snow. On the basis of the PNSDs and NCCN, the critical diameter for cloud droplet activation and the aerosol particle hygroscopicity parameter κ were determined to be 110 nm and 1, respectively, for a SS of 0.1 %. The region of the Antarctic inland plateau however was not found to feature a significant source region for CN and CCN measured at the PE station in austral summer.

scholarly journals Albedo of the ice covered Weddell and Bellingshausen Seas

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 479-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. I. Weiss ◽  
J. C. King ◽  
T. A. Lachlan-Cope ◽  
R. S. Ladkin
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Surface Albedo ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
First Year ◽  
Pack Ice ◽  
Bellingshausen Sea ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. This study investigates the surface albedo of the sea ice areas adjacent to the Antarctic Peninsula during the austral summer. Aircraft measurements of the surface albedo, which were conducted in the sea ice areas of the Weddell and Bellingshausen Seas show significant differences between these two regions. The averaged surface albedo varied between 0.13 and 0.81. The ice cover of the Bellingshausen Sea consisted mainly of first year ice and the sea surface showed an averaged sea ice albedo of αi = 0.64 ± 0.2 (± standard deviation). The mean sea ice albedo of the pack ice area in the western Weddell Sea was αi = 0.75 ± 0.05. In the southern Weddell Sea, where new, young sea ice prevailed, a mean albedo value of αi = 0.38 ± 0.08 was observed. Relatively warm open water and thin, newly formed ice had the lowest albedo values, whereas relatively cold and snow covered pack ice had the highest albedo values. All sea ice areas consisted of a mixture of a large range of different sea ice types. An investigation of commonly used parameterizations of albedo as a function of surface temperature in the Weddell and Bellingshausen Sea ice areas showed that the albedo parameterizations do not work well for areas with new, young ice.

Bird and mammal life recorded during the Antarctic drift of SY Aurora, 1915–16

Polar Record ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 26 (159) ◽  
pp. 277-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. D. Shaughnessy
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Killer Whales ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Emperor Penguins ◽  
Sea Birds ◽  
Pack Ice ◽  
Antarctic Expedition ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Blue Whales

AbstractAfter landing the Ross Sea shore party of Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition at Cape Evans, McMurdo Sound, SY Aurora drifted for 313 days between May 1915 and March 1916 in the pack iceof the Ross Sea and Southern Ocean. During the drift A. H. Ninnis maintained observations of the fauna. He was out hunting on the pack ice on at least 86 days to augment the ship's slender provisions, taking 289 penguins, 10 other sea birds and 20 seals. He sighted whales on at least 15 days, including killer whales in July and August and four large whales, possibly blue whales, in November. He also noted birds returning south for the breeding season in spring, progress of moult in emperor penguins, pupping of crabeater and leopard seals, and food items of several seals and seabirds. Most of his report is presented here, edited to improve its readability and remove abbreviations; the text is preceded by a brief summary of the fauna seen and followed by footnotes on some of his observations.

scholarly journals Wind, waves, and surface currents in the Southern Ocean: observations from the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1189-1209
Author(s):  
Marzieh H. Derkani ◽  
Alberto Alberello ◽  
Filippo Nelli ◽  
Luke G. Bennetts ◽  
Katrin G. Hessner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Wind Waves ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Ocean Waves ◽  
Lower Atmosphere ◽  
Surface Currents ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. The Southern Ocean has a profound impact on the Earth's climate system. Its strong winds, intense currents, and fierce waves are critical components of the air–sea interface and contribute to absorbing, storing, and releasing heat, moisture, gases, and momentum. Owing to its remoteness and harsh environment, this region is significantly undersampled, hampering the validation of prediction models and large-scale observations from satellite sensors. Here, an unprecedented data set of simultaneous observations of winds, surface currents, and ocean waves is presented, to address the scarcity of in situ observations in the region – https://doi.org/10.26179/5ed0a30aaf764 (Alberello et al., 2020c) and https://doi.org/10.26179/5e9d038c396f2 (Derkani et al., 2020). Records were acquired underway during the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE), which went around the Southern Ocean from December 2016 to March 2017 (Austral summer). Observations were obtained with the wave and surface current monitoring system WaMoS-II, which scanned the ocean surface around the vessel using marine radars. Measurements were assessed for quality control and compared against available satellite observations. The data set is the most extensive and comprehensive collection of observations of surface processes for the Southern Ocean and is intended to underpin improvements of wave prediction models around Antarctica and research of air–sea interaction processes, including gas exchange and dynamics of sea spray aerosol particles. The data set has further potentials to support theoretical and numerical research on lower atmosphere, air–sea interface, and upper-ocean processes.

scholarly journals Wind, waves, and surface currents in the Southern Ocean: Observations from the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marzieh H. Derkani ◽  
Alberto Alberello ◽  
Filippo Nelli ◽  
Luke G. Bennetts ◽  
Katrin G. Hessner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Wind Waves ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Ocean Waves ◽  
Lower Atmosphere ◽  
Surface Currents ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. The Southern Ocean has a profound impact on the Earth's climate system. Its strong winds, intense currents, and fierce waves are critical components of the air-sea interface and contribute to absorbing, storing, and releasing heat, moisture, gasses, and momentum. Owing to its remoteness and harsh environment, this region is significantly under sampled, hampering the validation of prediction models and large scale observations from satellite sensors. Here, an unprecedented data set of simultaneous observations of winds, surface currents, and ocean waves is presented, to address the scarcity of in situ observations in the region – https://doi.org/10.26179/5ed0a30aaf764 (Alberello et al., 2020c), and https://doi.org/10.26179/5e9d038c396f2 (Derkani et al., 2020). Records were acquired underway during the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE), which went around the Southern Ocean from December 2016 to March 2017 (Austral summer). Observations were obtained with the wave and surface current monitoring system WaMoS-II, which scanned the ocean surface around the vessel using marine radars. Measurements were assessed for quality control and compared against available satellite observations. The data set is the most extensive and comprehensive collection of observations of surface process for the Southern Ocean and has the potential to support further theoretical and numerical research on lower atmosphere, air-sea interface and upper ocean processes.

The status and seasonal occurrence of Leopard Seals, Hydrurga leptonyx, in Tasmanian waters.

1994 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
D. Rounsevell ◽  
D. Pemberton
Keyword(s):  
Age Structure ◽  
Seasonal Occurrence ◽  
Clinal Variation ◽  
Dispersal Pattern ◽  
Marine Fauna ◽  
Pack Ice ◽  
Subantarctic Islands ◽  
Hydrurga Leptonyx ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Antarctic

Seventy nine sightings of Leopard Seals, Hydrurga leptonyx, made over a period of 7 years in Tasmania are reported. They show that the species occurs annually in Tasmanian waters between July and November, probably as a result of northward movement from the Antarctic pack ice zone. Its seasonal occurrence in Tasmanian waters implies that it is a regular member of the marine fauna of the region. This is in contrast to previous reports that the species was a rare vagrant, occasionally stranding along the coastline. Comparisons of the age structure of H. leptonyx in Tasmania with those on subantarctic islands suggests that there is a clinal variation with latitude in the dispersal pattern, as young animals disperse further north than adults.

Mating behaviour in the leopard seal, Hydrurga leptonyx (Mammalia : Phocidae), in captivity

1967 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
BJ Marlow
Keyword(s):  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Leopard Seal ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
The Past ◽  
Marine Predators ◽  
Hydrurga Leptonyx ◽  
In Captivity ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Zoological Park ◽  
Head Neck

Observations are given on courtship, vocalization, and copulation in the leopard seal, Hydrurga leptonyx, in captivity. Copulation was observed on November 30, 1965 and January 29, 1966 by members of the staff of Taronga Zoological Park, Sydney. This act has not previously been recorded in this species and the exact time of mating under natural conditions is unknown. The female was found dead in the enclosure which it shared with the male, and had severe lacerations, which were presumably inflicted by the latter, on the head, neck, and body. These wounds did not seem sufficiently severe to have caused its death and it was not possible to determine the cause of death from post mortem examination. The wounds bore a marked resemblance to injuries described on other seals in the Antarctic and it is suggested that such damage, which has in the past been attributed to other marine predators, may have been inflicted by leopard seals.

scholarly journals CCN measurements at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica research station during three austral summers

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 275-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Herenz ◽  
Heike Wex ◽  
Alexander Mangold ◽  
Quentin Laffineur ◽  
Irina V. Gorodetskaya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Aerosol Particle ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Air Masses ◽  
Potential Source ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Aitken Mode

Abstract. For three austral summer seasons (2013–2016, each from December to February) aerosol particles arriving at the Belgian Antarctic research station Princess Elisabeth (PE) in Dronning Maud Land in East Antarctica were characterized. This included number concentrations of total aerosol particles (NCN) and cloud condensation nuclei (NCCN), the particle number size distribution (PNSD), the aerosol particle hygroscopicity, and the influence of the air mass origin on NCN and NCCN. In general NCN was found to range from 40 to 6700 cm−3, with a median of 333 cm−3, while NCCN was found to cover a range between less than 10 and 1300 cm−3 for supersaturations (SSs) between 0.1 % and 0.7 %. It is shown that the aerosol is dominated by the Aitken mode, being characterized by a significant amount of small, and therefore likely secondarily formed, aerosol particles, with 94 % and 36 % of the aerosol particles smaller than 90 and ≈35 nm, respectively. Measurements of the basic meteorological parameters as well as the history of the air masses arriving at the measurement station indicate that the station is influenced by both marine air masses originating from the Southern Ocean and coastal areas around Antarctica (marine events – MEs) and continental air masses (continental events – CEs). CEs, which were defined as instances when the air masses spent at least 90 % of the time over the Antarctic continent during the last 10 days prior to arrival at the measurements station, occurred during 61 % of the time during which measurements were done. CEs came along with rather constant NCN and NCCN values, which we denote as Antarctic continental background concentrations. MEs, however, cause large fluctuations in NCN and NCCN, with low concentrations likely caused by scavenging due to precipitation and high concentrations likely originating from new particle formation (NPF) based on marine precursors. The application of HYSPLIT back trajectories in form of the potential source contribution function (PSCF) analysis indicate that the region of the Southern Ocean is a potential source of Aitken mode particles. On the basis of PNSDs, together with NCCN measured at an SS of 0.1 %, median values for the critical diameter for cloud droplet activation and the aerosol particle hygroscopicity parameter κ were determined to be 110 nm and 1, respectively. For particles larger than ≈110 nm the Southern Ocean together with parts of the Antarctic ice shelf regions were found to be potential source regions. While the former may contribute sea spray particles directly, the contribution of the latter may be due to the emission of sea salt aerosol particles, released from snow particles from surface snow layers, e.g., during periods of high wind speed, leading to drifting or blowing snow. The region of the Antarctic inland plateau, however, was not found to feature a significant source region for aerosol particles in general or for cloud condensation nuclei measured at the PE station in the austral summer.

The Antarctic paintings of Edward Seago (1910–1974)

Polar Record ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 33 (186) ◽  
pp. 213-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosamunde Codling
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Austral Summer ◽  
Falkland Islands ◽  
Landscape Painting ◽  
South Georgia ◽  
Oil Paintings ◽  
Whaling Industry ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Professional Artist

AbstractThe professional artist Edward Seago (1910–1974) travelled to the Antarctic Peninsula, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia in the 1956/57 austral summer. Although firmly rooted in the English, and in particular the East Anglian, tradition of landscape painting, Seago was able to portray polar landscapes, which he had not previously experienced, with vigour and delight. He went to Antarctica with a firmly established skill in using oils to capture the essence of a landscape, and, despite being on or near the Antarctic Peninsula for only about three days, he produced about 18 oil paintings, predominantly of landscapes and icescapes. In addition, he painted at least a further 17 works of the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, the whaling industry, and icebergs in the Southern Ocean. Seago had an excellent memory and was able to ‘reproduce’ earlier works, an ability that has caused some confusion. Examples of these counterparts are discussed. A catalogue of his known Antarctic works is given.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document