The thermophilic bryoflora of Deception Island: unique plant communities as a criterion for designating an Antarctic Specially Protected Area

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.I. LEWIS SMITH
Keyword(s):  
Protected Area ◽  
Active Sites ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Deception Island ◽  
Geothermal Activity ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Ecological Importance ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Stable Surfaces ◽  
Annual Summer

Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands is one of the most volcanically active sites south of 60°S. Between 1967 and 1970 three major eruptions devastated large expanses of the landscape and its vegetation. Since 1970 extensive recolonization has occurred on the more stable surfaces. Unheated ground supports several bryophyte and lichen communities typical of much of the Maritime Antarctic, but geothermal habitats possess remarkable associations of bryophytes, many of which are unknown or very rare elsewhere in the Antarctic. Nine geothermal sites and their vegetation are described. Communities associated with more transient sites have disappeared when the geothermal activity ceased. Mosses and liverworts occur to within a few centimetres of the vents where temperatures reach 90–95°C, while temperatures within adjacent moss turf can reach 35–50°C or more and remain consistently between 25 and 45°C. Most of the bryoflora has a Patagonian–Fuegian provenance. It is presumed that, unlike most species, the thermophiles are not pre-adapted to the Antarctic environment, being able to colonize only where the warm and humid conditions prevail. The floristic and ecological importance of these thermophilic communities, and their sensitivity to perturbation by the rapidly increasing annual summer influx of tourists, as well as scientists, has resulted in these unique sites being proposed as components of a new Antarctic Specially Protected Area under the Antarctic Treaty.

Conflicting science requirements impact on rare moss conservation measures

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis R. Pertierra ◽  
Francisco Lara ◽  
Javier Benayas ◽  
Ronald I. Lewis-Smith ◽  
Kevin A. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Deception Island ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
Geothermal Activity ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
The Status ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Specially Protected Areas ◽  
Antarctic Environment

AbstractThe Antarctic Treaty recognizes the outstanding scientific values of the Antarctic environment through the designation of Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs) that have rigorous management plans specific to each site. Deception Island has the largest concentration of rare bryophyte species and communities in Antarctica, while also offering substantial opportunities for research in a range of scientific disciplines due to its volcanic nature. As a result, conflicts between research interests and conservation goals may arise. On the summit ridge of Caliente Hill severe trampling damage to the moss assemblages growing in association with localized geothermal activity was observed. The range of species affected included the entire known population of Schistidium deceptionense, an endemic moss known only from this site, as well as other very rare Antarctic mosses (Ditrichum ditrichoideum, Bryum orbiculatifolium, Bucklandiella subcrispipila, Pohlia wahlenbergii and Dicranella hookeri). A photomapping study was undertaken to characterize further the status of the site and monitor changes within it. Increased awareness, co-ordination of activities and a spatial zoning within the site could help mitigate damage from permitted activities. Nevertheless, prioritization of longer term conservation goals over short-term research interests may ultimately be necessary where local human impact cannot be managed by other means.

Fur seals, whales and tourists: a commercial history of Deception Island, Antarctica

Polar Record ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 210-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Stephen Dibbern
Keyword(s):  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Deception Island ◽  
Commercial Activity ◽  
Early 19Th Century ◽  
Cruise Industry ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Fur Seals ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Fur Seals

ABSTRACTDeception Island in the South Shetland Islands was the site of some of the earliest commercial activity to be carried out in the Antarctic with the early 19th century hunting of Antarctic fur seals. Nearly a century later it was the site of the most extensive anchorage for the reconstructed ships and ocean liners used as non-pelagic whale processing factories. Deception was also the site of what is the only successful land based commercial activity in Antarctic history. The Hektor whaling station operated in Whalers Bay from 1912 until 1931. Most of the remains of the station have now been obliterated by the volcanic activity that occurred in the late 1960s and 1970. By the later part of the twentieth century Deception Island had become a regular stop for the growing Antarctic tourist cruise industry. No other place in Antarctica has been so thoroughly identified with commercial activity.

Potential for bioremediation of hydrocarbon polluted soils in the Maritime Antarctic

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.P. Luz ◽  
E.M.P. Ciapina ◽  
R.C. Gamba ◽  
M.S. Lauretto ◽  
E.W.C. Farias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Petroleum Hydrocarbons ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Polluted Soils ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Soil Microcosms ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic

Human activity in the Antarctic requires the use of petroleum hydrocarbons as the main energy source for a variety of operations. In the current study, in situ soil microcosms were constructed in the proximity of the Brazilian Antarctic Station Comandante Ferraz, King George Island, South Shetland Islands, to analyse the effect of oil amendment on the indigenous bacterial community in contaminated and uncontaminated sites to assess the potential for bioremediation. Microcosms were sampled for heterotrophic and hydrocarbon-degrader bacterial counts, pH, temperature, moisture, nutrient levels and petroleum hydrocarbons. Total organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus contents were generally low in the Antarctic cryosols. According to statistical analysis based on Colony Forming Unit numbers, significant bacterial populations were present in all microcosms, with larger numbers observed in oil amended than in non-amended soils. Aliphatic and aromatic fractions of diesel fuel were detected in the soil microcosms, and significant quantities were removed during the experiment. These results strongly suggest that the cold-adapted bacterial community present in soils around the Brazilian Antarctic station has the potential to adapt and utilize the oil as a carbon source. This knowledge can contribute both to bioremediation technology and the goals of the the Antarctic Treaty which prohibits the introduction of foreign organisms into the region.

Environmental management on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Polar Record ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 27 (163) ◽  
pp. 313-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin M. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
King George Island ◽  
Multiple Use ◽  
Environmentally Sensitive Areas ◽  
Environmental Information System ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Management Approaches ◽  
The Antarctic

AbstractThis paper proposes management responses to problems perceived in an earlier paper on King George Island (Polar Record 27(162): 193–204, 1991). Available management instruments and barriers to solutions are reviewed, and new management approaches and tools postulated. The category of Antarctic Protected Area (APA) is proposed for areas needing special protection, with sub-designations of Natural, Scientific and Historic Reserves. Multiple-use Planning Areas (MPAs) are endorsed for areas of high use needing local and regional planning, including station environs, but with sub-designations Environmentally Sensitive Areas, Scientific Research Sites and Facilities Areas. Both APAs and MPAs will require management plans: APAs will be accessible only by entry permit. Also recommended are a scientific and logistic register, scheduled meetings among station commanders, development of an internationally coordinated regional scientific strategy, and an environmental information system. To manage tourism a commercial tourism licence system and tourist levy are recommended, with the industry controlled under management plans developed for APAs and MPAs, plus general Treaty provisions. Workload arising from these revisions would necessitate the Committee on Environmental Protection in the forthcoming Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, with a permanent Treaty secretariat. This framework, requiring a multinational approach to management more sophisticated than has so far been achieved under the Antarctic Treaty, would improve and coordinate management throughout Antarctica.

scholarly journals DecTephra: A new database of Deception Island’s tephra record (Antarctica

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joaquin Hopfenblatt ◽  
Adelina Geyer ◽  
Meritxell Aulinas ◽  
Antonio Polo Sánchez ◽  
Antonio Álvarez-Valero
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Hazard ◽  
Active Volcano ◽  
Lacustrine Sediment ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Deception Island ◽  
The South ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Tephra Layers ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Eruption Record

<p>Deception Island is the most active volcano in the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica) with more than 20 eruptions in the in the last two centuries, including the 1967, 1969 and 1970 most recent eruptive events, and three episodes of volcanic unrest since 1990 (1992, 1999 and 2014-2015). Since the discovery of Deception island in 1820, the number of scientific bases, touristic activities, and air and vessel traffic in the region, have considerably increased. Only the Antarctic Peninsula region, together with the South Shetland Islands, hosts 25 research stations and 3 summer field camps, which are located inside or within a 150 km radius distance from this active volcano. Nearby, the Palmer Archipelago and the north-western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula are both important tourist destinations exceeding 30,000 visitors per year with a significant increase in vessel traffic during the tourist season. This escalation in the amount of exposed infrastructure and population to a future eruption of Deception Island clearly urges the need to advancing our knowledge of the island’s volcanic and magmatic history and developing improved vulnerability analyses and long-term volcanic hazard assessments. However, past attempts to construct a volcanic hazard map of Deception have always been limited by the lack of a complete eruption record. In this sense, volcanic ash layers found in marine and lacustrine sediment cores, and glaciers outside Deception Island can provide valuable information to: (i) determine the size and explosiveness of past eruptive events; (ii) assess the extent of their related hazards (e.g. ash fall out); (iii) complete the eruption record of the island; and (iv) estimate the island’s eruption recurrence over time.</p><p>In this work, we provide a detailed, and up-to-date, revision of the current knowledge on Deception Island’s tephra record.  For this, we have compiled the DecTephra (<strong>Dec</strong>eption Island <strong>Tephra</strong> Record) database, which seeks recording the most relevant information of all up today known tephra layers with Deception Island as presumed source vent. DecTephra database includes 335 tephra layers (including cryptotephras) found in marine/lacustrine sediment and ice cores. For each tephra layer, we have compiled information regarding: (i) location (e.g. latitude, longitude, region) and characteristics of the sampling site (e.g. length of the sediment or ice core); and (ii) tephra characteristics (e.g. age, chemistry, granulometry). The analysis of the information included in this new database shows that Deception Island’s tephras can be observed at numerous proximal (< 150 km) sampling sites distributed all along the South Shetland Islands but also as far as in the Scotia Sea (> 1,000 km) and the South Pole (> 2,900 km). Also, identified isochronous tephra horizons allow defining periods of higher explosive eruptive activity in the island during the Holocene.</p><p>This research is part of POLARCSIC and PTIVolcan research initiatives. This research was partially funded by the MINECO projects VOLCLIMA (CGL2015-72629-EXP) and VOLGASDEC (PGC2018-095693-B-I00)(AEI/FEDER, UE). A.P.S is grateful for his JAE_Intro scholarship (JAEINT_20_00670).</p>

scholarly journals CO1 Metabarcoding of Marine Water Samples from the 2nd Turkish Antarctic Expedition (TAE2) Highlights the Deficiencies in the Reference Barcoding Databases for the Continent

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasit Bilgin ◽  
Kübra Karaman ◽  
Yağmur Tarhana ◽  
Ceylan Yücel ◽  
Elizabeth Hemond ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
Methodological Issue ◽  
Demersal Fish ◽  
The Other ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Deception Island ◽  
Percent Identity ◽  
The Antarctic

Based on climate projections, the Antarctic Peninsula is one of the regions on the earth expected to be most drastically affected by climate change in the 2nd half of the 21st century. In order to establish baseline levels of marine biodiversity using the environmental DNA approach, we undertook metabarcoding based on the CO1 gene. Samples were collected using 0.22 mM pore-sized Sterivex filters during TAE2 undertaken in 2018, from one site at Deception Island (2 filters), one site at Nansen Island (2 filters), and three sites (one offshore) at Robert Island. A total of 20 taxa were identified (unique hits with BLAST percent identity ≥ 97%) belonging to three kingdoms (Chromista, Plantae, Animalia), nine phyla, 11 classes, 17 orders, 19 families, and 20 genera. Of these, 18 were identified to the species level, one to the genus level, and the other one to the family level. Genetically identified taxa included seven planktonic algae, nine seaweeds, a stalked jellyfish, a nematode, a planktonic copepod, and a demersal fish. In addition, 129 unique OTUs were detected (unique hits with BLAST percent identity < 97%) as unidentified. These results indicate the high levels of undocumented genetic diversity (without CO1 barcode sequences in GenBank) in the Antarctic Peninsula region and adjacent waters, and the need for more work to complete the reference barcode databases for the continent. A dendrogram resulting from cluster analysis (Bray-Curtis similarity measure, group-average linkage) based on the presence/absence data of 20 identified species revealed three well-defined sample (i.e. filter containing DNA fragments of multiple taxa) groups, which almost coincided with their geographical locations. First group included samples (filters) collected from the coast of Deception Island and the second one from the coast of Robert Island, both in the South Shetland Islands, off the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The third group included samples from Nansen Island coast (off the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctic Peninsula) together with the only sample collected offshore, off Robert Island. The significance of this clustering, thus the difference among sampling sites with regard to species composition, was confirmed by Analysis of Similarity (ANOSIM) results (Global R = 0.982, p = 0.001). The highest number of identified taxa (per filter) and unidentified OTUs (per filter) were observed offshore off Robert Island. Considering that all of the other sampling sites were by the coasts of islands, this observation indicates i) the offshore waters might contain more DNA-bearing material than coastal sites, and/or ii) a methodological issue where the high phytoplankton and suspended matter concentrations by the coasts created a bottleneck in terms of capturing actual species diversity at the coasts, due to clogging of filters by phytoplankton and fine suspended particles.

Can the Important Bird Area approach improve the Antarctic Protected Area System?

Polar Record ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane W. Harris ◽  
Eric J. Woehler
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Antarctic Research ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
Site Identification ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Important Bird Area

The selection of sites that comprise the existing network of Antarctic protected areas has been largely ad hoc, driven by national interests rather than concerted efforts to ensure systematic and representative coverage of the Antarctic environment. Consequently there are gaps in coverage of all major ecosystems, in particular areas kept inviolate from human activity, inland lakes, and marine protected areas. Annex V of the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty provides a list of values to be protected within a network of Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs), but provides no quantitative methods for site identification and prioritisation. The Antarctic Important Bird Area (IBA) Inventory is a joint initiative of BirdLife International and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research Group of Experts on Birds (formerly the Bird Biology Subcommittee). The Antarctic IBA Inventory has identified 119 candidate IBAs, 97 of which are not currently protected as ASPAs. The IBA Inventory can improve the Antarctic Protected Area System (PAS) in that it provides a method by which to identify and prioritise sites for their potential inclusion in the Antarctic PAS.

Environmental effects of human activities on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Polar Record ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 27 (162) ◽  
pp. 193-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin M. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Environmental Effects ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
King George Island ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
The Status ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Management Issues

AbstractKing George Island, largest of the South Shetland Islands, is the site of nine scientific stations of different nationalities operating within the Antarctic Treaty System. Following a recent visit by the author to assess environmental and management issues, this article (the first of two) updates the status of developments on the island and outlines problems, real and potential.which have arisen from scientific activities, tourism, vehicles, use of fuels and waste disposal. It is concluded that existing management practices have not been adequate to deal with these problems and new approaches are required.

Blue Ice, Meteorites, Fossil Penguins and Rare Minerals: The Case for Enhanced Protection of Antarctica’s Unique Geoheritage – An International Legal Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-40
Author(s):  
David Leary
Keyword(s):  
Protected Area ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
Draft Code ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Treaty System

Its isolation and extreme climate means Antarctica is one of the world’s richest regions for untouched geoheritage. The potential of mining in Antarctica is often talked of in public discourse as a future threat to Antarctica even though the prohibition on mining is absolute and is likely to stay so indefinitely. As such mining does not pose a realistic threat to Antarctica’s geoheritage. The impacts of scientific research and tourism pose more pressing challenges to Antarctica’s geoheritage. This paper considers emerging debates in the Antarctic Treaty System on the need for further protection of Antarctica’s geoheritage. After considering the concept of geoheritage the paper considers key threats to Antarctic geoheritage. The role of Antarctic Specially Protected Area system in the protection of Antarctica’s geoheritage is then considered as is the draft code of conduct on geosciences field research currently being developed within the Antarctic Treaty System. The final part of the paper then goes on to examine how the Antarctic Treaty system could in part draw on the experience of other international initiatives, including the frameworks associated with the UNESCO Global Geoparks movement in developing an Antarctic System for protection of geoheritage.

Monitoring shipborne visitors in Antarctica: a preliminary field study

Polar Record ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 28 (166) ◽  
pp. 213-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard Stonehouse
Keyword(s):  
Austral Summer ◽  
South Shetland Islands ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Joint Project ◽  
Shetland Islands ◽  
Survey Team ◽  
International Geophysical Year ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Treaty System

ABSTRACTDuring every austral summer since the International Geophysical Year 1957–58 several thousand scientists and support staff have worked in Antarctica. A more recent development is the annual advent of 4000–5000 tourists, who now probably outnumber expedition members in the area covered by the Antarctic Treaty System. Most tourists come by ship, visiting coastal areas of the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Orkney and South Shetland islands that arc readily accessible beween November and March: smaller numbers visit the Ross Dependency and Adelie Land sectors. This article reviews Antarctic Treaty and International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) attitudes to tourism, and outlines a preliminary study of shipborne tourism between late December 1991 and March 1992 on Half Moon Island, South Shetland Islands. Within one month (January) a survey team from the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, recorded 14 visits by six tour ships, bringing more than 2000 tourists. In addition, attitudes and expectations of visitors were studied on five ships. Arising from this study, a programme of visitor monitoring is planned as a joint project between British, Chilean, and Argentine scientific institutions during the next five years. Objectives are to find ways of minimizing both short-term and long-term impacts of tourists and other visitors on breeding birds and other ecological communities, and to provide a factual basis for regulation under the Antarctic Treaty System.

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