Antarctic SciencePub Date : 2023-10-03DOI: 10.1017/s0954102023000226
Zia Madani, Akiho Shibata
{"title":"International law, climate change and the Antarctic Treaty System: re-contemplating governance questions apropos of the mounting challenges","authors":"Zia Madani, Akiho Shibata","doi":"10.1017/s0954102023000226","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102023000226","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract More than 60 years since it entered into force in 1961, the Antarctic Treaty is experiencing significant challenges. These challenges also affect its associated instruments known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). These are mostly external dynamics that are increasingly challenging the ATS from outside of the Antarctic region. They encompass a spectrum of issues relating to global legal regimes and to what extent they are applicable in the Antarctic context. Climate change appears to be the most significant of these challenges, as the tangible planetary impacts of global warming and the perception of its urgency and seriousness by states have prompted additional challenges to the ATS. The physical changes that continue to be scientifically unveiled in the Antarctic are manifesting severe impacts on a planetary scale, and this fact has underscored the need for broader and more rapid international engagement within the Antarctic governance discourse. Nevertheless, the existing decision-making mechanisms compounded by the adversarial atmosphere within the ATS due to external factors have become challenges of themselves. Such challenges call for the re-contemplation and reassessment of the legal regime of the Antarctic in general, and the ATS in particular, to find ways forward for an otherwise historically effective international legal system. This paper utilizes both scientific and legal lenses to underscore the urgent need to achieve better communication between the ATS generally, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings specifically and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change regimes and to overcome the multiple barriers that stand in the way of achieving that objective.","PeriodicalId":50972,"journal":{"name":"Antarctic Science","volume":"46 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135738948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antarctic SciencePub Date : 2023-10-01DOI: 10.1017/s0954102023000299
Peter Convey
{"title":"The joys of returning to in-person conferences - in an age of travel judgement","authors":"Peter Convey","doi":"10.1017/s0954102023000299","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102023000299","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":50972,"journal":{"name":"Antarctic Science","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136153104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antarctic SciencePub Date : 2023-10-01DOI: 10.1017/s0954102023000238
Heitor Evangelista, Luciana F. Prado, Irina V. Gorodetskaya, Heber Reis Passos, Franco Nadal Villela, Marcelo Sampaio, Elaine Alves dos Santos, Carla M.C. de Brito
{"title":"The June 2022 extreme warm event in central West Antarctica","authors":"Heitor Evangelista, Luciana F. Prado, Irina V. Gorodetskaya, Heber Reis Passos, Franco Nadal Villela, Marcelo Sampaio, Elaine Alves dos Santos, Carla M.C. de Brito","doi":"10.1017/s0954102023000238","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102023000238","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The Antarctic surface mass balance has been shown to be sensitive to the impacts of atmospheric rivers (ARs), which bring anomalous amounts of both moisture and heat from lower latitudes poleward. Therefore, describing the characteristics of ARs and their intensity and frequency in the Antarctic regions by applying detection algorithms became a key method to evaluating their impacts on the surface mass balance and melting events. Several intense AR events have influenced Antarctica during the year 2022, and here we report an event with a peak on 10 June 2022 that was detected at 84°S, having a potential impact on West Antarctica. The extreme warm event originated in the Southern Pacific subtropical region and evolved towards the Southern Ocean, crossing the northern Antarctic Peninsula, before reaching as far as most inland regions in Antarctica, different from other typical ARs that are mostly restricted to the continental coast.","PeriodicalId":50972,"journal":{"name":"Antarctic Science","volume":"259 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136153100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antarctic SciencePub Date : 2023-10-01DOI: 10.1017/s0954102023000202
Paraskeva Michailova, Pavlo A. Kovalenko, Svitlana Serga, Ivan Parnikoza, Iryna Kozeretska, Peter Convey
{"title":"A chromosome map of <i>Belgica antarctica</i> Jacobs (Diptera: Chironomidae) from Antarctica, including chromosome variability","authors":"Paraskeva Michailova, Pavlo A. Kovalenko, Svitlana Serga, Ivan Parnikoza, Iryna Kozeretska, Peter Convey","doi":"10.1017/s0954102023000202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102023000202","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Belgica antarctica Jacobs (Diptera: Chironomidae) is the only endemic insect found in the Antarctic Peninsula region and has stimulated considerable research interest. Due to recent rapid changes in regional climate in Antarctica, there is growing interest in studying the responses of this species to environmental changes, in particular at the chromosomal level. Chromosomal inversions are known to play an important role in speciation and adaptation in many insect species, but their frequencies in natural populations are poorly understood. In the current study, we provide the first standard polytene chromosome map for B. antarctica , which will enable the precise location of chromosomal abnormalities in future studies. We further analysed chromosomal polymorphisms in fourth-instar larvae collected from two different locations on Galindez Island, Argentine Islands, western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. We found four previously reported and two new inherited inversions, and we discuss their possible adaptive role in response to environmental stressors in the Antarctic Peninsula region. Our data provide a foundation for future studies exploring the potential role of B. antarctica chromosomal polymorphisms in adaptation to the changing environment.","PeriodicalId":50972,"journal":{"name":"Antarctic Science","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135457035","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antarctic SciencePub Date : 2023-09-18DOI: 10.1017/s0954102023000160
Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz, Wojciech Niedbała, Dariusz Skarżyński, Bogna Zawieja
{"title":"What factors affect the alpha diversity of microarthropods (Acari, Collembola) on King George Island (Antarctica)?","authors":"Dariusz J. Gwiazdowicz, Wojciech Niedbała, Dariusz Skarżyński, Bogna Zawieja","doi":"10.1017/s0954102023000160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102023000160","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The natural environment in polar regions is being transformed, glaciers are melting and succession of microarthropods is being observed. We tested the hypothesis that habitat conditions, determined by the locality and character of the vegetation cover, play a significant role in such succession. The material for analysis was collected from four localities on King George Island in Antarctica: Arctowski Station, Demay Refuge, Republica del Ecuador Refuge and Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station. From each locality, 30 samples (grasses, lichens, mosses) were collected and 310 508 microarthropod specimens were recorded, with 17 species (1 Mesostigmata, 9 Oribatida, 7 Collembola species) identified. Based on statistical analyses, it was shown that microarthropod communities differ both in individual localities and selected microhabitats. The greatest number of species was reported in the grass turf, while the greatest number of individuals was recorded in mosses. The dominant species at all the localities was Cryptopygus antarcticus antarcticus (299 203 individuals), which was found in greatest numbers in grasses and mosses. In turn, Tullbergia mixta (2485 individuals) was the dominant species of the lichens. Moreover, the following species, new to King George Island, were also identified: Flagrosuctobelba subcornigera , Liochthonius australis , Membranoppia ventrolaminata and Quadroppia monstruosa belonging to Oribatida as well as Archisotoma brucei belonging to Collembola.","PeriodicalId":50972,"journal":{"name":"Antarctic Science","volume":"20 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135202665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antarctic SciencePub Date : 2023-08-31DOI: 10.1017/s0954102023000196
I. Garrido‐Benavent, R. Blanchette, A. de los Ríos
{"title":"Deadly mushrooms of the genus Galerina found in Antarctica colonized the continent as early as the Pleistocene","authors":"I. Garrido‐Benavent, R. Blanchette, A. de los Ríos","doi":"10.1017/s0954102023000196","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102023000196","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Fungi are probably the most diverse group of eukaryotic organisms in the Antarctic continent and nearby archipelagos, and they dominate communities in either mild or harsh habitats. However, our knowledge of their global distribution ranges and the temporal origins of their Antarctic populations is rather limited or almost absent, especially for species that do not lichenize. We focused for the first time on elucidating the taxonomic identity and phylogenetic relationships of several Antarctic collections of the deadly fungal Basidiomycota genus Galerina. By using molecular sequence data from the universal fungal barcode and a dataset encompassing 178 specimens, the inferred phylogeny showed that the Antarctic specimens corresponded with the sub-cosmopolitan species Galerina marginata, Galerina badipes and Galerina fallax, and their most closely related intraspecific genetic lineages were from northern Europe and North America. We found that these species probably host Antarctic-endemic intraspecific lineages. Furthermore, our dating analyses indicated that their Antarctic populations originated in the Pleistocene, a temporal frame that agrees with that proposed for the Antarctic colonization of plants such as the grass Deschampsia antarctica, mosses and some amphitropical lichens. Altogether, these findings converge on the same temporal scenario for the assembly of the most conspicuous terrestrial Antarctic plant and fungal communities.","PeriodicalId":50972,"journal":{"name":"Antarctic Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46088955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antarctic SciencePub Date : 2023-08-31DOI: 10.1017/s0954102023000159
J. Light, S. Passchier
{"title":"Eocene to Oligocene cooling and ice growth based on the geochemistry of interglacial mudstones from the East Antarctic continental shelf","authors":"J. Light, S. Passchier","doi":"10.1017/s0954102023000159","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102023000159","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The Eocene-Oligocene Transition at c. 34 million years ago (Ma) marked the global change from greenhouse to icehouse and the establishment of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS). How the ice-sheet behaviour changed during interglacials across this climate transition is poorly understood. We analysed major, trace and rare earth elemental data of late Eocene interglacial mudstone from Prydz Bay at Ocean Drilling Program Site 1166 and early Oligocene interglacial mudstone from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1360 on the Wilkes Land continental shelf. Both sites have comparable glaciomarine depositional settings. Lithofacies and provenance at Site 1166 in Prydz Bay are indicative of a late Eocene glacial retreat in the Lambert Graben. Palaeoclimate proxies, including the Chemical Index of Alteration, mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation, show a dominant warm and humid palaeoclimate for the late Eocene interglacial. In contrast, at Site U1360, in the early Oligocene, the provenance and interglacial weathering regime remained relatively stable with conditions of physical weathering. These results confirm that the EAIS substantially retreated periodically during late Eocene interglacials and that subglacial basins probably remained partially glaciated during interglacials in the earliest Oligocene.","PeriodicalId":50972,"journal":{"name":"Antarctic Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43000829","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antarctic SciencePub Date : 2023-08-31DOI: 10.1017/s0954102023000147
J. V. Finger, L. Krüger, Denyelle Hennayra Corá, M. Petry
{"title":"Habitat selection of southern giant petrels: potential environmental monitors of the Antarctic Peninsula","authors":"J. V. Finger, L. Krüger, Denyelle Hennayra Corá, M. Petry","doi":"10.1017/s0954102023000147","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102023000147","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The southern giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus) is a widely distributed top predator of the Southern Ocean. To define the fine-scale foraging areas and habitat use of Antarctic breeding populations, 47 southern giant petrels from Nelson Island were GPS-tracked during the summers of 2019–2020 and 2021–2022. Step-selection analysis was applied to test the effects of environmental variables on habitat selection. Visual overlap with seal haul-out sites and fishing areas was also analysed. Birds primarily used waters to the south of the colony in the Weddell and Bellingshausen seas. Females showed a broader distribution, reaching up to -70°S to the west of Nelson Island, while males were mainly concentrated in waters off the northern Antarctic Peninsula. Habitat selection of both sexes was associated with water depth and proximity to penguin colonies. Both overlapped their foraging areas with fishing sites and females in particular overlapped with toothfish fishery blocks in Antarctica and with fishing areas in the Patagonian Shelf. Due to their habitat associations and overlap with fisheries, when harnessed with tracking devices and animal-borne cameras, giant petrels can act as platforms for monitoring the condition and occurrence of penguin colonies, haul-out sites and unregulated fisheries on various temporal and spatial scales in Antarctica.","PeriodicalId":50972,"journal":{"name":"Antarctic Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45337126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antarctic SciencePub Date : 2023-08-04DOI: 10.1017/s095410202300010x
F. Pellizzari, João Pedro Dos Santos De Mello, M. C. Santos-Silva, Vanessa Sayuri Osaki, F. Brandini, P. Convey, Luiz Henrique Rosa
{"title":"New records and updated distributional patterns of macroalgae from the South Shetland Islands and northern Weddell Sea, Antarctica","authors":"F. Pellizzari, João Pedro Dos Santos De Mello, M. C. Santos-Silva, Vanessa Sayuri Osaki, F. Brandini, P. Convey, Luiz Henrique Rosa","doi":"10.1017/s095410202300010x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s095410202300010x","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This study provides new species records (NRs) of macroalgal assemblages present in rocky habitats from the South Shetland Islands (SSI) and north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula (EAP), Weddell Sea. Surveys were conducted during the summers of 2013/2014 to 2017/2018 at Elephant, Deception, Half Moon and Vega islands. Data from the present study and those available in the literature from the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) were combined to provide an updated checklist, giving insights into macroecology and potential changes in thermohaline circulation patterns. A total of 48 macroalgal taxa were identified from our sampling, with eight representing NRs to the EAP sector of the Weddell Sea and five representing NRs to the SSI. Statistical differences among the assemblages from the SSI, WAP and EAP were identified. NRs, including opportunistic species and new information about the biogeographical distributions of species reported here, give insights into ecoregional connectivity and environmental changes. This study updates macroalgal diversity records in regions that are currently experiencing the impacts of climate change. Future and ongoing monitoring for conservation purposes is required to detect non-native species, new dispersal pathways and patterns related to thermohaline anomalies in Antarctic waters.","PeriodicalId":50972,"journal":{"name":"Antarctic Science","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42948750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antarctic SciencePub Date : 2023-08-03DOI: 10.1017/s0954102023000172
Feride Karatekin, F. R. Uzun, Beverley J. Ager, P. Convey, K. Hughes
{"title":"The emerging contribution of Türkiye to Antarctic science and policy","authors":"Feride Karatekin, F. R. Uzun, Beverley J. Ager, P. Convey, K. Hughes","doi":"10.1017/s0954102023000172","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102023000172","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Antarctica is a continent dedicated to ‘peace and science’ and subject to international consensus-based governance through the Antarctic Treaty System. Through the Treaty, decision-making powers are reserved to Consultative Parties, which are those countries recognized as demonstrating ‘substantial scientific research activity’ in Antarctica. Türkiye acceded to the Antarctic Treaty in 1996. In its National Polar Science Program (2018–2022) it first declared a desire to attain consultative status to the Treaty. Here, we examine Türkiye‘s recent development across Antarctic science, policy and logistics. Since 2016, Türkiye’s national Antarctic scientific output has increased threefold, ranking seventh amongst the current 27 non-Consultative Parties, and this output is greater than some Consultative Parties. Türkiye has submitted more papers to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings than any other non-Consultative Party and is actively participating in the development of the Antarctic Protected Area system. To facilitate longer-term research goals, Türkiye is constructing an Antarctic research station (Horseshoe Island, Antarctic Peninsula), has joined several polar organizations, including the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP), and has developed scientific and logistical collaborations with many established Antarctic nations. The exceptionally rapid growth of Türkiye's Antarctic activities provides a firm foundation for the development of a future application for consultative status.","PeriodicalId":50972,"journal":{"name":"Antarctic Science","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2023-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41730773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}