Antarctic Research
Recently lots of exciting Antarctic research has been undertaken by
researchers through the Census of Antarctic Marine Life programme and
also by researchers from the UK.
CAML Expedition Reveals
First Hints of Biological Change After Collapse
of Polar Ice Shelves
Fifty-two marine explorers from 14
countries recently completed the
first comprehensive biological survey of a 10,000 square kilometer
portion of
the Antarctic seabed during a 10-week expedition aboard the German
research
vessel Polarstern. They explored icy waters as deep as 850
meters off
the Antarctic Peninsula - an area made suddenly accessible to
exploration by the
collapse of the Larsen A and B ice shelves, 12 and five years ago
respectively.
Among their findings were 15 potential new amphipod species, including
one of
the largest ever collected, four presumed new species of cnidarians, and
deep-sea species at unusually shallow depths.
The voyage was one
of 14
Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) expeditions planned during
International
Polar Year (2007-2008). Says CAML leader Michael Stoddart of Australia,
"What we
learned from the Polarstern expedition is the tip of an
iceberg, so to
speak. Insights from this and CAML's upcoming International Polar Year
voyages
will shed light on how climate variations affect ice-affiliated species
living
in this region."
Photo: A new species of Shackletonia,
an
amphipod crustacean sampled near Elephant Island, Antarctic Pensisula. ©
C.
d'Udekem, Royal Belgium Institute for Natural Sciences, 2007.
Links:
Download
the full Press Release as a PDF
View information on the BBC
website
View Images
View
video at the Alfred Wegener Institute
