Antarctic Wildlife and Oil - Are We Ready?

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 300266
Author(s):  
Valeria Ruoppolo ◽  
Eric Woehler ◽  
Kerri Morgan ◽  
Curt Clumpner
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Fishing Vessels ◽  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
The World ◽  
Contingency Plans ◽  
Fuel Spills ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Critical Constraints ◽  
Remote Part

The increasing rate of vessel incidents in the Southern Ocean (including an ever-increasing number of vessels sinking) has highlighted the potential for substantial fuel spills into the Antarctic environment. The increasing number of tourist and fishing vessels, often without ice strengthened hulls, are penetrating farther into, and staying longer in, Antarctic waters, with a focus for destinations of substantial wildlife concentrations. Based on a questionnaire comprising six questions submitted to 33 national operators in the Antarctic, there is currently little preparation for an oil spill event involving wildlife. This is a recipe for a catastrophic spill event, with the potential for high numbers of oiled wildlife in a remote part of the world where there are major logistical constraints on the provision of equipment and skilled response personnel. We chronicle shipping incidents that have led to oil spills in the Southern Ocean, the existing legislation and contingency plans currently in place by national Antarctic operators, and examine their preparedness and expertise for an oiled wildlife response. It is very clear that national, fishing and tourism operators are manifestly unprepared for an oiled wildlife event in the Southern Ocean. We identify five critical constraints to any response and provide recommendations that address these constraints.

Wildlife and oil in the Antarctic: a recipe for cold disaster

Polar Record ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valeria Ruoppolo ◽  
Eric J. Woehler ◽  
Kerri Morgan ◽  
Curtiss J. Clumpner
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Fishing Vessels ◽  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
The World ◽  
Contingency Plans ◽  
Fuel Spills ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Critical Constraints ◽  
Remote Part

ABSTRACTThe increasing rate of incidents involving vessels in the Southern Ocean (including vessels sinking) has highlighted the potential for substantial fuel spills into the Antarctic environment. An increasing number of tourist and fishing vessels, often without ice strengthened hulls, are penetrating farther into, and staying longer in, Antarctic waters, with a focus for destinations of wildlife concentrations. Based on a survey of national operators in the Antarctic, there is little preparation for an oil spill event that involves Antarctic wildlife. This is a recipe for a catastrophic spill event, with the potential for high numbers of oiled wildlife in a remote part of the world where there are major logistical constraints on the provision of equipment and skilled response personnel. Here we chronicle shipping incidents that have led to oil spills in the Southern Ocean, the current legislation and contingency plans currently in place by national Antarctic operators, and examine their preparedness and expertise for an oiled wildlife event response. It is clear that national, fishing and tourism operators are manifestly unprepared for an oiled wildlife event in the Southern Ocean. We identify five critical constraints to any response and provide recommendations that address these constraints.

Thaddeus Bellingshausen's scientific programme in the Southern Ocean, 1818–21

Polar Record ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 21 (132) ◽  
pp. 215-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morton J. Rubin
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Black Sea ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Scientific Programme ◽  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
The World ◽  
South Pacific Islands ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Equal Consideration

Following Cook's historic circumnavigation (1772–75) of the globe in Antarctic waters and his reports of great numbers of seals on South Georgia, considerable numbers of commercial sealing expeditions had made new discoveries of islands in the vicinity of the Antarctic Peninsula. However, not until 1819 was another government-sponsored exploring and scientific expedition organized to continue the search for the then still-unknown southern continent. This time the expedition was a Russian one, and in command of the two-ship squadron was Thaddeus Bellingshausen, then a lieutenant in the Black Sea Fleet; previously he had sailed around the world in an expedition under Kruzenstern in 1803–06. He also gained much experience in coastal surveying and charting in the Black Sea. The two ships in the squadron were Vostok (985 tonne, 117 men) under Bellingshausen's command, and Mirnyy (884 tonne, 73 men) under Lt Mikhail Lazarev, who had served for several years in the British Navy. Bellingshausen, in the opinion of some, merits equal consideration as a navigator and seaman with Cook (Debenham, 1945, p xi, xiii; Barratt, 1981, p 202). He, himself, had a high admiration for Cook and drew heavily upon Cook's narratives for guidance in sailing the. Southern Ocean. The aim of the expedition, according to a letter by the Minister of Marine to Bellingshausen, was ‘to carry out a voyage of discovery in the high southern latitudes, and to circumnavigate the ice-belt of the southern Polar Circle.’ (Debenham, 1945, p 6). The two ships sailed from Kronshtadt on 14 July 1819f and returned to that port on 5 August 1821 having achieved the aim of the expedition, spending two summer seasons in Antarctic waters and one season exploring the South Pacific islands. They called at Rio de Janeiro on the outward and homeward sailings.

Stratigraphy of Antarctic late Cenozoic pectinid-bearing deposits

1998 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.A. Jonkers
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Antarctic Peninsula ◽  
East Antarctica ◽  
Combined Effects ◽  
Late Cenozoic ◽  
Late Pliocene ◽  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
The Antarctic

Antarctic late Cenozoic pectinid-bearing sedimentary strata are chiefly confined to localities in the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula, in the McMurdo Sound area, and Marine Plain, East Antarctica. Ages of these deposits range from Oligocene to Holocene. Chlamys-like scallops, which are absent from today's Southern Ocean, thrived in Antarctic waters during both glacial and interglacial episodes, but disappeared during the Late Pliocene. Their extinction is believed to result from the combined effects of increased carbonate solubility, habitat loss and limitations in food availability, associated with major cooling.

scholarly journals X.—On the Deep and Shallow-water Marine Fauna of the Kerguelen Region of the Great Southern Ocean

1897 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Murray
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Shallow Water ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Marine Fauna ◽  
Kerguelen Island ◽  
Cape Of Good Hope ◽  
Heard Island ◽  
The World ◽  
The Antarctic

During her famous circumnavigation of the world, H.M.S. Challenger left the Cape of Good Hope on the 17th December 1873, and, proceeding in a south-easterly direction, visited in succession Prince Edward and Marion Islands, the Crozet Islands, Kerguelen Island, and Heard Island. From Heard Island the Expedition sailed southward, and on the 16th February 1874 passed ten miles beyond the Antarctic Circle in longitude 78° 22′ E., the ship being at this time surrounded by a large number of huge tabular icebergs, some of them four miles in length, and all with perpendicular sides rising about 200 feet above the sea-level. From this most southerly point the Challenger took a north-easterly course towards Melbourne in Australia, where she arrived on the 17th March 1874.

scholarly journals Connecting flow–topography interactions, vorticity balance, baroclinic instability and transport in the Southern Ocean: the case of an idealized storm track

Ocean Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 1207-1223
Author(s):  
Julien Jouanno ◽  
Xavier Capet
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Antarctic Circumpolar Current ◽  
Baroclinic Instability ◽  
World Ocean ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Comprehensive Treatment ◽  
Global Circulation Models ◽  
The World ◽  
Circumpolar Current ◽  
The Antarctic

Abstract. The dynamical balance of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and its implications on the functioning of the world ocean are not fully understood and poorly represented in global circulation models. In this study, the sensitivities of an idealized Southern Ocean (SO) storm track are explored with a set of eddy-rich numerical simulations. The classical partition between barotropic and baroclinic modes is sensitive to current–topography interactions in the mesoscale range 10–100 km, as comparisons between simulations with rough or smooth bathymetry reveal. Configurations with a rough bottom have weak barotropic motions, ubiquitous bottom form stress/pressure torque, no wind-driven gyre in the lee of topographic ridges, less efficient baroclinic turbulence and, thus, larger circumpolar transport rates. The difference in circumpolar transport produced by topographic roughness depends on the strength with which (external) thermohaline forcings by the rest of the world ocean constrain the stratification at the northern edge of the SO. The study highlights the need for a more comprehensive treatment of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) interactions with the ocean floor, including realistic fields of bottom form stress and pressure torque. It also sheds some light on the behavior of idealized storm tracks recently modeled: (i) the saturation mechanism, whereby the circumpolar transport does not depend on wind intensity, is a robust and generic attribute of ACC-like circumpolar flows; (ii) the adjustment toward saturation can take place over widely different timescales (from months to years) depending on the possibility (or not) for barotropic Rossby waves to propagate signals of wind change and accelerate/decelerate SO wind-driven gyres. The real SO having both gyres and ACC saturation timescales typical of our “no gyre” simulations may be in an intermediate regime in which mesoscale topography away from major ridges provides partial and localized support for bottom form stress/pressure torque.

scholarly journals Mysterious bio-duck sound attributed to the Antarctic minke whale ( Balaenoptera bonaerensis )

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 20140175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Risch ◽  
Nicholas J. Gales ◽  
Jason Gedamke ◽  
Lars Kindermann ◽  
Douglas P. Nowacek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Conclusive Evidence ◽  
Antarctic Minke Whale ◽  
Minke Whales ◽  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Balaenoptera Bonaerensis ◽  
Acoustic Recording ◽  
The Antarctic

For decades, the bio-duck sound has been recorded in the Southern Ocean, but the animal producing it has remained a mystery. Heard mainly during austral winter in the Southern Ocean, this ubiquitous sound has been recorded in Antarctic waters and contemporaneously off the Australian west coast. Here, we present conclusive evidence that the bio-duck sound is produced by Antarctic minke whales ( Balaenoptera bonaerensis ). We analysed data from multi-sensor acoustic recording tags that included intense bio-duck sounds as well as singular downsweeps that have previously been attributed to this species. This finding allows the interpretation of a wealth of long-term acoustic recordings for this previously acoustically concealed species, which will improve our understanding of the distribution, abundance and behaviour of Antarctic minke whales. This is critical information for a species that inhabits a difficult to access sea-ice environment that is changing rapidly in some regions and has been the subject of contentious lethal sampling efforts and ongoing international legal action.

James Cook's scientific programme in the Southern Ocean, 1772–75

Polar Record ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 21 (130) ◽  
pp. 33-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morton J. Rubin
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
16Th Century ◽  
Scientific Programme ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
James Cook ◽  
The World ◽  
Land Mass ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Factual Data

Until long after all other regions of the world had been explored and populated by man, the high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere remained unknownand inviolate. Although a great southern continent had been postulated by theancient Greeks, and its existence firmly believed in during the 16th century and by some 18th century geographers, no real evidence for its presence had been forthcoming. However, the great voyages of discovery by James Cook in Endeavour, 1768–71 and Resolution, 1772–75 laid that belief to rest. During his second voyage Cook circumnavigated the globe in high latitudes and made three crossings of the Antarctic Circle but failed to find the supposed continental land mass. Cook came to the conclusion that if a continent existed in still higher latitudes, as we know that it does, it would be perpetually frozen. Nevertheless, the scientific aims of the voyage were achieved. Considerable light was shed on the atmospheric and oceanographic phenomena of the region, based on factual data collected by the, scientists on board Resolution, and Adventure which accompanied it for partof the timeduring 1772–73.

A multidisciplinary approach to understanding the population structure of an exploited Southern Ocean top predator, the Antarctic toothfish, to improve sustainability and marine spatial planning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jilda Caccavo ◽  
Camila Mazzoni ◽  
Thomas Brey
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Life History ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Weddell Sea ◽  
Passive Transport ◽  
Antarctic Toothfish ◽  
Fishing Vessels ◽  
The Antarctic

<p>The Antarctic toothfish (<em>Dissostichus mawsoni</em>), commonly known as Chilean Sea Bass, has a critical role in Southern ecosystems as a top fish predator. Simultaneously, it represents the most lucrative Antarctic fishery.</p><p>Its fishery is managed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which introduced the world’s largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Ross Sea region of the Southern Ocean in 2016.</p><p>Since 2013, scientists at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany have been proposing the creation of an even more expansive MPA in the Weddell Sea region of the Southern Ocean, in order to protect unique ecosystems in this region, which has largely escaped the exploitation seen in the Ross Sea, due to its historic inaccessibility. However, CCAMLR, whose 25-member country composition functions by consensus, has failed to arrive at unanimous support for the various forms of a Weddell Sea MPA (WSMPA) proposed over recent years.</p><p>A remaining impediment to the design and acceptance of a WSMPA, is a near total lack of knowledge of the life history and population structure of Antarctica toothfish in the Weddell Sea. Much of the data regarding connectivity and ontogenic movement of Antarctic toothfish derive from the Ross Sea, given the presence of an active fishery there since 1997. Based on the hypotheses that have arisen from the Ross Sea (which remain contentious), a possible life cycle of Antarctic toothfish comprises juvenile development on nutrient rich continental shelf areas, followed by passive transport via gyre systems to offshore sea mounts, where spawning occurs, prior to completion of the cycle as fish are passively transported back towards the coast.</p><p>The combination of population genetics and otolith chemistry, methodologies which define population structure via metrics of relatedness and provenance respectively, offers the possibility to fill many of the existing knowledge gaps with regards to Antarctic toothfish life history connectivity in the Weddell Sea region of the Southern Ocean. The integration of hydrographic data on water mass movement which informs both the passive transport of Antarctic toothfish at various life stages, as well as the location of important prey sources, is an integral third point of consideration, completing the development of life history connectivity hypotheses testable via the aforementioned metrics.</p><p>Tissue samples from the present study derive from otoliths (fish ear bones), which are a standard tissue extract by CCAMLR observers on Antarctic fishing vessels, historically collected for age determination. Otoliths provide both a source of DNA for genetics work, via tissue traces dried on the otolith exterior, as well as a source for chemistry analysis, via trace element analysis of otolith ring layers from the nucleus (earliest) to edge (latest) elemental depositions.</p><p>The aim of the present study is to utilize this readily available tissue source (otoliths) in order to apply both aforementioned methodologies, with the ultimate aim to test between hypotheses of single or multiple populations within the Weddell Sea, while also contextualizing those Weddell Sea population(s) within the greater Southern Ocean distribution of Antarctic toothfish.</p>

scholarly journals First Evidence of the Toxin Domoic Acid in Antarctic Diatom Species

Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
Anna J. Olesen ◽  
Anneliese Leithoff ◽  
Andreas Altenburger ◽  
Bernd Krock ◽  
Bánk Beszteri ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Domoic Acid ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Diatom Species ◽  
Toxic Species ◽  
Antarctic Waters ◽  
Morphological And Molecular Data ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Marine Primary Production

The Southern Ocean is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. It is an area heavily dependent on marine primary production and serving as a feeding ground for numerous seabirds and marine mammals. Therefore, the phytoplankton composition and presence of toxic species are of crucial importance. Fifteen monoclonal strains of Pseudo-nitzschia subcurvata, a diatom species endemic to the Southern Ocean, were established, which were characterized by morphological and molecular data and then analysed for toxin content. The neurotoxins domoic acid and iso-domoic acid C were present in three of the strains, which is a finding that represents the first evidence of these toxins in strains from Antarctic waters. Toxic phytoplankton in Antarctic waters are still largely unexplored, and their effects on the ecosystem are not well understood. Considering P. subcurvata’s prevalence throughout the Southern Ocean, these results highlight the need for further investigations of the harmful properties on the Antarctic phytoplankton community as well as the presence of the toxins in the Antarctic food web, especially in the light of a changing climate.

Oiled wildlife response for Antarctica: Practical and realistic solutions

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 1559-1568
Author(s):  
Michael Short
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Marine Pollution ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Contingency Plans ◽  
Antarctic Marine ◽  
Station Base ◽  
Antarctic Treaty ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Antarctic Environment

ABSTRACT Through the Antarctic Treaty on Environmental Protection all of the Antarctic member nations are required to have in place contingency plans for oil spills including oiled wildlife response. The current risks for marine pollution incidents to the Antarctic environment include refuelling activities associated with Antarctic stations/bases; routine station/base activities; and shipping associated with stations/bases, tourism, commercial fishing and whaling. Between 1981 and 2011 there have been reported 33 spills or near spill incidents associated with the Antarctic marine environment. Wildlife at risk from oil spills include seabirds (flying birds and penguins), pinnipeds and cetaceans. Antarctic and polar environments both provide a number of logistical and practical complications given their climatic and geographic character. The key elements for response actions for Antarctic wildlife identified are divided amongst primary, secondary and tertiary oiled wildlife response activities. Primary activities identified include focussing containment and clean up efforts to protecting wildlife as a priority using tools such as sensitivity mapping, stochastic and real time modelling. Secondary activities specific to individual wildlife groups were identified and included specialised hazing, exclusion and pre-emptive capture mechanisms focussed to the Antarctic environment. Tertiary activities are considered with regards to the real capacity of Antarctic stations to respond, take and rehabilitate oiled wildlife given the Antarctic environment and its limitations. The paper identifies realistic mechanisms and systems considering the climatic, logistical and practical issues of the Antarctic environment. Although specific to Antarctic bases the paper outcomes can be equally applied to other polar environments.

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