Natural Elements, NRCan's Monthly Newsletter

Antarctica Experience Offers Unique Classroom

One of the many spectacular ice-bergs that were encountered on the 2009 SOI Antarctic expedition.

Antarctica — home of spectacular wildlife, colossal icebergs, volcanoes and hot springs — recently welcomed 71 students and 17 polar scientists and experts from around the world as part of the Students on Ice program to study and observe the effects of climate change. A Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and Students on Ice initiative undertaken in support of International Polar Year, the Antarctica Expedition 2009 also aimed to provide youths with a deeper understanding and respect for the planet’s global ecosystem.

It was a life-changing experience. “I left Antarctica with unforgettable memories and a sense of excitement for future research in this region,” says Shamin Mohamed, Jr., a University of Ottawa student. “The opportunity to learn from experts in the field was truly inspiring.”

Studying the effects of climate change in the polar regions is especially important. These areas are the quickest to respond to climate change since they consist largely of ice, making them key indicators of changes in global climate.

To observe this phenomenon first-hand, students were taken to the Ukrainian research station Vernadsky. There, they examined the temperature records for the past 40 years, which illustrate a clear 2.5°C warming over this period — the fastest temperature increase in the world during this time.

Dr. Burgess examines the structure and composition of an ice core taken from the summit of a small “pillow” ice cap.

The impacts of temperature increases in the Arctic regions are many. “A very sensitive component of the polar region is the Arctic sea ice, because it is so thin,” says David Burgess, a member of the Education Team for the Students on Ice expedition and an NRCan physical scientist who monitors four ice caps in the Canadian Arctic. West of the Antarctic Peninsula, some areas no longer develop sea ice during the winter as a result of climatic warming. “In the area we were in, there is a dramatic reduction of sea ice compared to previous years,” says David.

Glaciers are also impacted by climate change. “Recent studies have shown that it doesn’t take much warming — just a little bit longer of a summer period — to cause significant thinning of the glacier’s borders,” says David. The reduction of sea ice also causes the ocean water to absorb more radiation from the sun, which warms the water and accelerates melting from the bottom of glaciers. As a result, net thinning has caused destabilization and acceleration of many tidewater glaciers in the region.

The Students on Ice participants ventured further afield to several unique landscapes, including Deception Island, an active volcano. They conducted measurements on a small ice cap to better understand what glaciologists do in the field and to collect baseline data for establishing the site as a long-term monitoring base.

One exercise was to extract a short ice core from the summit of a small ice cap, which revealed clues about the recent climate history of the area. A section of the ice core was also melted to measure the conductivity of the water, which provided some indication of the level of natural and atmospheric contaminants that have been deposited in this region. These data provide valuable baseline information to compare future changes with. Possible future projects include extracting a surface-to-bedrock core from the ice cap to reconstruct the climate history of the area, potentially over the past several thousand years.

As well as learning first-hand about field research, the students developed a better understanding of environmental issues in the polar regions. Given the integral role of the poles in the world’s global ecosystem, these young scientists will be well equipped to contribute to future research in this field.

To learn more about the Students on Ice 2009 expedition to Antarctica, visit the program’s Web site. Explore the Earth Sciences Sector site for more information on NRCan’s activities in the polar regions.