Temporal analysis of water masses and sea ice formation rate west of the Antarctic Peninsula in 2008 estimated from southern elephant seals' SRDL–CTD data

Twelve southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) were tracked for an average of 119 days as they left their breeding or moulting beaches on the island of South Georgia between 1990 and 1994. Females travelled either eastward up to 3000 km away to the open Southern Ocean or to the continental shelf on or near the Antarctic Peninsula. Males either stayed close to South Georgia or used South Georgia as a base for shorter trips. The females all left South Georgia in a directed manner at an average rate of 79.4 km/day over at least the first 15 days. Thereafter travel was interrupted by bouts of slower travel or stationary phases. The latter were localized at sites on the continental shelf or along its edge. Three seals that were tracked over more than one season repeated their outward direction of travel and used some of the same sites in subsequent years. The magnitude of the movements makes most of the Southern Ocean potentially available to elephant seals.

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Foraging insights from whisker isotopic signatures of southern elephant seals around the Antarctic Peninsula

Deep Sea Research Part II Topical Studies in Oceanography ◽

10.1016/j.dsr2.2018.01.006 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 149 ◽

pp. 229-239 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

S. Gallon ◽

M.A. Hindell ◽

M.M.C. Muelbert

Keyword(s):

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Elephant Seals ◽

Isotopic Signatures ◽

Southern Elephant Seals ◽

The Antarctic

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Some Satellite-Tracked Iceberg Drifts in the Antarctic

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/s026030550001702x ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 83-87 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Torgny E. Vinje

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Coastal Areas ◽

Vertical Dimension ◽

Water Masses ◽

Wind Effects ◽

The Antarctic

The drift of eight tabular icebergs is discussed. In spite of large differences in the vertical dimension, the various icebergs seem to react in a similar manner to wind effects in areas covered with sea ice. Measurements indicate that it takes between one and five years for an iceberg to move into the westerlies from the coastal areas between about 50°E. and the Antarctic Peninsula. The drift of the icebergs reflects the integrated current effects in the upper 200-300 m, and may thus also give information about the transport of water masses.

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Southern elephant seal movements and Antarctic sea ice

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s095410200000002x ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 3-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

H. Bornemann ◽

M. Kreyscher ◽

S. Ramdohr ◽

T. Martin ◽

A. Carlini ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

South Shetland Islands ◽

Mirounga Leonina ◽

King George Island ◽

The South ◽

Elephant Seals ◽

Shetland Islands ◽

Pack Ice ◽

The Antarctic

Weaned pups and post-moult female elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) were fitted with satellite transmitters at King George Island (South Shetland Islands) between December 1996 and February 1997. Of the nine adult females tracked for more than two months, three stayed in a localized area between the South Shetland Islands and the South Orkney Islands. The other six females travelled south-west along the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula up to the Bellingshausen Sea. Two of them then moved north-east and hauled out on South Georgia in October. One female was last located north of the South Shetland Islands in March 1998. In total, eight females were again sighted on King George Island and six of the transmitters removed. The tracks of the weaners contrasted with those of the adults. In January, five juveniles left King George Island for the Pacific sector spending about four weeks in the open sea west of the De Gerlache Seamounts. Three of them returned to the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula in June, of which one was last located on the Patagonian Shelf in November 1997. The juveniles avoided sea ice while the adults did not. The latter displayed behavioural differences in using the pack ice habitat during winter. Some females adjusted their movement patterns to the pulsating sea ice fringe in distant foraging areas while others ranged in closed pack ice of up to 100%. The feeding grounds of adult female elephant seals are more closely associated with the pack ice zone than previously assumed. The significance of the midwater fish Pleuragramma antarcticum as a potential food resource is discussed.

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Adult male southern elephant seals from King George Island utilize the Weddell Sea

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s0954102008001557 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 113-121 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

C.A. Tosh ◽

H. Bornemann ◽

S. Ramdohr ◽

M. Schröder ◽

T. Martin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Adult Male ◽

Weddell Sea ◽

Adult Males ◽

King George Island ◽

Elephant Seals ◽

The North ◽

Southern Elephant Seals ◽

Ice Shelf Water ◽

The Antarctic

AbstractAdult male southern elephant seals instrumented in 2000 on King George Island (n = 13), travelled both to the north (n = 2) and to the east (n = 6) of the Antarctic Peninsula. Five males remained within 500 km of the island focusing movements in the Bransfield Strait and around the Antarctic Peninsula. Sea surface temperatures encountered by these animals showed little variation. While animal trajectories appeared unaffected by sea ice cover, areas of shallow depths were frequented. Three males moved as far as 75°S to the east of the Peninsula with maximum distances of more than 1500 km from King George Island. They travelled into the Weddell Sea along the western continental shelf break until they reached the region of the Filchner Trough outflow. Here the sea floor consists of canyons and ridges that support intensive mixing between the warm saline waters of the Weddell Gyre, the very cold outflow waters and ice shelf water at the Antarctic Slope Front. The need for re-instrumentation of adult males from King George Island is highlighted to investigate whether males continue to travel to similar areas and to obtain higher resolution data.

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Thermohaline structure and water masses in the north of Antarctic Peninsula from data collected in situ by southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina)

Ambiente e Agua - An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Science ◽

10.4136/ambi-agua.893 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Marcelo Freitas Santini ◽

Mônica M. C. Muelbert ◽

Ronald Buss De Souza ◽

Ilana E. K. C. Wainer ◽

Mark A. Hindell

Keyword(s):

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Water Masses ◽

Mirounga Leonina ◽

Elephant Seals ◽

Thermohaline Structure ◽

The North ◽

Southern Elephant Seals

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Thermodynamics of slush and snow–ice formation in the Antarctic sea-ice zone

Deep Sea Research Part II Topical Studies in Oceanography ◽

10.1016/j.dsr2.2016.03.008 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 131 ◽

pp. 75-83 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Mathilde Jutras ◽

Martin Vancoppenolle ◽

Antonio Lourenço ◽

Frédéric Vivier ◽

Gauthier Carnat ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Ice Formation ◽

Antarctic Sea Ice ◽

The Antarctic

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Climate change in the western Antarctic Peninsula since 1945: observations and possible causes

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/1998aog27-1-571-575 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 27 ◽

pp. 571-575 ◽

Cited By ~ 115

Author(s):

J. C. King ◽

S. A. Harangozo

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Atmospheric Circulation ◽

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

The West ◽

Sea Ice Extent ◽

The North ◽

Ultimate Cause ◽

Temperature Records ◽

High Level ◽

The Antarctic

Temperature records from slations on the west roast of the Antarctic Peninsula show a very high level of interannual variability and, over the last 50 years, larger warming trends than are seen elsewhere in Antarctica. in this paper we investigate the role of atmospheric circulation variability and sea-ice extent variations in driving these changes. Owing to a lack of independent data, the reliability of Antarctic atmospheric analyses produced in the 1950s and 1960s cannot be readily established, but examination of the available data suggests that there has been an increase in the northerly component of the circulation over the Peninsula since the late 1950s. Few observations of sea-ice extent are available prior to 1973, but the limited data available indicate that the ice edge to the west of the Peninsula lay to the north of recently observed extremes during the very cold conditions prevailing in the late 1950s. The ultimate cause of the atmospheric-circulation changes remains to be determined and may lie outside the Antarctic region.

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Mawson’s views on use of natural resources in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic

Polar Record ◽

10.1017/s0032247421000279 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 57 ◽

Author(s):

Peter D. Shaughnessy ◽

Mark Pharaoh

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Natural Resources ◽

Historical Context ◽

Wildlife Sanctuary ◽

Elephant Seals ◽

Macquarie Island ◽

Antarctic Expedition ◽

Southern Elephant Seals ◽

Meteorological Observations ◽

The Antarctic

Abstract Sir Douglas Mawson is a well-known Antarctic explorer and scientist. Early in his career, he recognised opportunities for commerce in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions. While at Cape Denison, Antarctica, in 1913 on the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE), the Adelie Blizzard magazine was produced. Mawson contributed articles about Antarctic natural resources and their possible use. Later, he advocated Australia be involved in pelagic whaling. He collected seal skins and oil for their commercial value to be assessed by the Hudson’s Bay Company. During the AAE, Mawson visited Macquarie Island where an oiling gang was killing southern elephant seals and royal penguins. Mawson was concerned that they were over-exploited and lobbied successfully to stop the killing. His plans for Macquarie Island included a wildlife sanctuary, with a party to supervise access, send meteorological observations to Australia and New Zealand, and be self-funded by harvesting elephant seals and penguins. Macquarie Island was declared a sanctuary in 1933. Although Mawson has been recognised as an early proponent of conservation, his views on conservation of living natural resources were inconsistent. They should be placed in their historical context: in the early twentieth century, utilisation of living natural resources was viewed more favourably than currently.

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