Antarctic Peninsula Region Of The Southern Ocean

The book is based on results from the Russian expedition in the region of the Antarctic Peninsula and Powell Basin in the northern part of the Weddell Sea, as well as on the review of earlier research in the region. The main goal of the research was to collect the newest data and study the physical properties and ecology of this key region of the Southern Ocean. Data analysis is supplemented with numerical modeling of the atmosphere-ocean interaction and circulation in the adjacent region, including research on rogue waves. The focus of the study was the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, currents and water properties in the Bransfield Strait and Antarctic Sound, properties of seawater, currents, ecosystem and biological communities in the Powell Basin of the northwestern Weddell Sea, and their variations. An attempt is made to reveal the role of various components of the Antarctic environment in the formation of biological productivity and maintenance of the Antarctic krill population. This is especially important as in the last decades the Antarctic environment has experienced significant changes related to the global climatic trends.

The book is based on results from the Russian expedition in the region of the Antarctic Peninsula and Powell Basin in the northern part of the Weddell Sea, as well as on the review of earlier research in the region. The main goal of the research was to collect the newest data and study the physical properties and ecology of this key region of the Southern Ocean. Data analysis is supplemented with numerical modeling of the atmosphere-ocean interaction and circulation in the adjacent region, including research on rogue waves. The focus of the study was the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, currents and water properties in the Bransfield Strait and Antarctic Sound, properties of seawater, currents, ecosystem and biological communities in the Powell Basin of the northwestern Weddell Sea, and their variations. An attempt is made to reveal the role of various components of the Antarctic environment in the formation of biological productivity and maintenance of the Antarctic krill population. This is especially important as in the last decades the Antarctic environment has experienced significant changes related to the global climatic trends.

A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promotes marine plant life, and which, in turn, allows for a greater abundance of animal life. In 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization delimited the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean).

During the intensification of research activities in the Southern Ocean in recent years, both at national levels and through international cooperation in such projects as BIOMASS with its FIBEX and SIBEX phases, the need was felt increasingly for closer collaboration between biologists, meteorologists, and oceanographers in the study of the interaction between the atmospheric forces, the water masses, and the living resources. Better knowledge in this regard is not only of scientific interest but also of practical importance, especially for the management of the resources and the protection of the Antarctic marine ecosystem. As a follow-up on a recommendation by the IOC Program Group for the Southern Oceans made in March 1983, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission organized a meeting of experts on oceanography related to the dynamics of the Antarctic ecosystems. During this meeting, held in Kiel, Federal Republic of Ger many, in May 1984, biologists and oceanographers involved in BIOMASS activities met with the oceanographers of SCOR Working Group 74 to discuss ways and means for additional physical and chemical observations in the oceanographic research within BIOMASS. It was the time when large fluctuations in the distribution of krill with subsequent detrimental effects on predator species dependent on krill had just been observed, and the question arose whether this was possibly the result of changes in the Antarctic water circulation.

The Southern Ocean surrounding the Antarctic continent is vast, in particular, its history, its isolation, and climate, making it a unique "laboratory case" for experimental evolution, adaptation and ecology. Its evolutionary history of adaptation provide a wealth of information on the functioning of the biosphere and its potential. The Southern Ocean is the result of a history of nearly 40 million years marked by the opening of the Straits south of Australia and South America and intense cooling. The violence of its weather, its very low temperatures, the formation of huge ice-covered areas, as its isolation makes the Southern Ocean a world apart. This book discusses the consequences for the evolution, ecology and biodiversity of the region, including endemism, slowed metabolism, longevity, gigantism, and its larval stages; features which make this vast ocean a "natural laboratory" for exploring the ecological adaptive processes, scalable to work in extreme environmental conditions. Today, biodiversity of the Southern Ocean is facing global change, particularly in regional warming and acidification of water bodies. Unable to migrate further south, how will she cope, if any, to visitors from the North? Designed for curious readers to discover the immense ocean surrounding the most isolated and most inhospitable continent on the planet. Describes the Southern Ocean facing biodiversification due to global change Authored by scientists with experience of expeditions to the Southern Ocean

Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean remains one of the world's last frontiers. Covering nearly 14 million km² (an area approximately 1.4 times the size of the United States), Antarctica is the coldest, driest, highest, and windiest continent on Earth. While it is challenging to live and work in this extreme environment, this region offers many opportunities for scientific research. Ever since the first humans set foot on Antarctica a little more than a century ago, the discoveries made there have advanced our scientific knowledge of the region, the world, and the Universe-but there is still much more to learn. However, conducting scientific research in the harsh environmental conditions of Antarctica is profoundly challenging. Substantial resources are needed to establish and maintain the infrastructure needed to provide heat, light, transportation, and drinking water, while at the same time minimizing pollution of the environment and ensuring the safety of researchers. Future Science Opportunities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean suggests actions for the United States to achieve success for the next generation of Antarctic and Southern Ocean science. The report highlights important areas of research by encapsulating each into a single, overarching question. The questions fall into two broad themes: (1) those related to global change, and (2) those related to fundamental discoveries. In addition, the report identified key science questions that will drive research in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in coming decades, and highlighted opportunities to be leveraged to sustain and improve the U.S. research efforts in the region.

BIOMASS (Biological Investigations of Marine Antarctic Systems and Stocks) was a unique, large-scale, long-term, international research programme established in 1977 to investigate the ecology of the Southern Ocean. Its main aim was to gain a greater understanding of the biological systems and stocks in the marine Antarctic environment, thereby providing a sound basis for the future management of the living resources within this immense ocean. The programme was drawn to a close in 1991 and its completion marked by a colloquium which brought together key researchers to summarise and review the results obtained. This volume, arising from that colloquium, provides a succinct, state-of-the-art account of the ecology of the Southern Ocean and serves as a comprehensive record of this unique and successful international project.

Antarctica is a major geographical region of our world and an important part of the global ecosystem. Including a continent larger than Australia and an ocean broader than the Atlantic, it makes up one-eighth of the World's surface. Knowledge gained by early explorers and more recently by scientists is proving increasingly important in world affairs. No longer remote at the southern end of the Earth, Antarctica and the southern oceans have become centres of general, historic, scientific and political interest. The Encyclopedia of Antarctica and the Southern Oceans contains over 1300 articles, compiled by a team of 26 international researchers, who have worked in the area. Topics covered include: History of discovery and exploration Geology, Glaciology and Climate Structure and ice cover of the Southern Ocean Biology of the ocean and continent Impacts of man, including conservation and political issues Islands of the southern oceans Articles are listed alphabetically and written in non-technical language. Many recommend further reading. Study guides help readers to follow learning paths through the Encyclopedia. This book is an up-to-date and authoritative reference on Antarctica and the southern oceans, essential for public libraries and reference sections of academic institutions, government departments and research centres. It is also of general use to any reader with an interest in Antarctica.