So much iron that it was providing beneficial fertilizer to the local ecosystem. It was discovered about a decade ago that this meltwater was providing iron-rich water to the polynya. On a per meter squared basis, it is more productive for reasons we think that are related to this melting glacier.” “The Amundsen Sea Polynya is about half the size of the state of Georgia,” Yager said. Krill eat the phytoplankton, and animals like seals, fish, and penguins eat the krill.Ĭertain coastal regions of Antarctica have the highest abundances of phytoplankton in the world. Phytoplankton are vital to the Antarctic food chain. Li Ling PhD student at KTH Royal Institute of Technology Li Ling PhD student at KTH Royal Institute of Technology Ms. Yager and her fellow researchers want to know what will happen to the surrounding ocean salt water if the glaciers melt, particularly what happens to the ecosystems that live in it – or under it.Ī seal resting on a piece of sea ice with the Nathaniel B. Everything in this ecosystem – from the small phytoplankton to the larger seals and penguins – is being impacted. Scientists believe this ecosystem is pivotal to climate research, and years of extraordinary warming has allowed them to finally see it with their own eyes. “What we realized as biologists and chemists and ecosystems scientists was, our ecosystem was also being impacted,” Yager said. This is very worrisome because of the sea level rise it could cause. But the Thwaites Glacier – also known as Doomsday Glacier – is one of the most unstable in Antarctica. In fact, most of the ice in western Antarctica is melting. The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica, roughly the size of Florida, is melting at a rapid rate. Large Antarctic iceberg with wavy contoured surface.
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