RTX16WCB
Barbara Tucker, a passenger aboard the trapped ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy looks at an Adelie penguin walking by on the ice off East Antarctica December 29, 2013, some 100 nautical miles (185 km) east of French Antarctic station Dumont D'Urville and about 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km) south of Hobart, Tasmania. The Snow Dragon Chinese icebreaker was one of three icebreakers sent to free the MV Akademik Shokalskiy, which became stranded on Tuesday in ice driven by strong winds. Ice appeared to be cracking up on Sunday, raising hopes for a rescue as the Aurora Australis, a powerful Australian icebreaker, approached the stranded vessel. The trapped Russian ship, with 74 people on board, left New Zealand on November 28 on a privately funded expedition to commemorate the 100th anniversary of an Antarctic journey led by famed Australian explorer Douglas Mawson. Reuters/Andrew Peacock

Australia’s Antarctic summer season starts on Oct 22, as a key research project makes preparations to study the frozen continent in the south – waking up from the harsh winter. The “Aurora Australis” has been loaded with a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) for a journey to the Davis station in East Antarctica; a voyage spanning 4,800 km. Here, the ROV will be deployed under the thick ice cover to study algae growth of the early season on fast ice – the part of sea ice attached to land.

According to a Department of Environment press release, Robb Clifton, operations manager at the Australian Antarctic Division, said the 2015-16 season promises to be busy as there are over 400 Antarctic explorers south on the expedition as part of the programme. “This season, Australia is collaborating with 28 countries and 178 international institutions on 94 individual science projects,” said Clifton.

An array of sensory equipment will be used by the ROV to carry out observations of the biological and physical properties of the fast ice during the spring-summer transition period on a weekly basis. The data will then be combined with point measurements of ice cores from outside and within the ROV survey areas. The core samples will be used in measuring optical, chemical and physical properties, abundance of algae, and the structure of snow cover on the fast ice.

The team of Antarctic explorers will be led by Klaus Meiners of the Australian Antarctic Division and Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre.

“Ice algae begins growing earlier than algae in the water column and scientists think this early season productivity in the fast ice may be responsible for kick-starting the entire Antarctic food web,” said Meiners, according to the press release. “This makes the location and distribution of ice algae important when it comes to the foraging habits of larger predators. Understanding the effects of fast-ice algae growth on different scales is important if we are to understand the impacts of changes to the ecosystem more broadly.”

Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au, or let us know what you think below

RELATED STORIES