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1.
Nature ; 562(7726): E5, 2018 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30018346

ABSTRACT

On page 234 of this Perspective, '50% decrease' has been corrected online to '50% increase' in the sentence "The pH of surface waters south of 60° S decreased by 0.2 between 2017 and 2070, equivalent to a 50% increase in the concentration of hydrogen ions since the pre-industrial period1."

2.
Nature ; 558(7709): 233-241, 2018 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29899481

ABSTRACT

We present two narratives on the future of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, from the perspective of an observer looking back from 2070. In the first scenario, greenhouse gas emissions remained unchecked, the climate continued to warm, and the policy response was ineffective; this had large ramifications in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, with worldwide impacts. In the second scenario, ambitious action was taken to limit greenhouse gas emissions and to establish policies that reduced anthropogenic pressure on the environment, slowing the rate of change in Antarctica. Choices made in the next decade will determine what trajectory is realized.


Subject(s)
Global Warming/prevention & control , Global Warming/statistics & numerical data , Animals , Antarctic Regions , Atmosphere/chemistry , Biodiversity , Carbon Dioxide/analysis , Fisheries , Food Chain , Human Activities , Ice Cover/chemistry , Introduced Species , Seawater/analysis , Time Factors
3.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 105(33): 11634-9, 2008 Aug 19.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18695241

ABSTRACT

Polar regions are particularly sensitive to climate change, with the potential for significant feedbacks between ocean circulation, sea ice, and the ocean carbon cycle. However, the difficulty in obtaining in situ data means that our ability to detect and interpret change is very limited, especially in the Southern Ocean, where the ocean beneath the sea ice remains almost entirely unobserved and the rate of sea-ice formation is poorly known. Here, we show that southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) equipped with oceanographic sensors can measure ocean structure and water mass changes in regions and seasons rarely observed with traditional oceanographic platforms. In particular, seals provided a 30-fold increase in hydrographic profiles from the sea-ice zone, allowing the major fronts to be mapped south of 60 degrees S and sea-ice formation rates to be inferred from changes in upper ocean salinity. Sea-ice production rates peaked in early winter (April-May) during the rapid northward expansion of the pack ice and declined by a factor of 2 to 3 between May and August, in agreement with a three-dimensional coupled ocean-sea-ice model. By measuring the high-latitude ocean during winter, elephant seals fill a "blind spot" in our sampling coverage, enabling the establishment of a truly global ocean-observing system.


Subject(s)
Ice , Seals, Earless , Seawater , Animals , Temperature
4.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 104(34): 13705-10, 2007 Aug 21.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-17693555

ABSTRACT

Responses by marine top predators to environmental variability have previously been almost impossible to observe directly. By using animal-mounted instruments simultaneously recording movements, diving behavior, and in situ oceanographic properties, we studied the behavioral and physiological responses of southern elephant seals to spatial environmental variability throughout their circumpolar range. Improved body condition of seals in the Atlantic sector was associated with Circumpolar Deep Water upwelling regions within the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, whereas High-Salinity Shelf Waters or temperature/salinity gradients under winter pack ice were important in the Indian and Pacific sectors. Energetic consequences of these variations could help explain recently observed population trends, showing the usefulness of this approach in examining the sensitivity of top predators to global and regional-scale climate variability.


Subject(s)
Predatory Behavior/physiology , Animal Migration , Animals , Caniformia/physiology , Ecology , Oceanography , Population Dynamics , Seasons
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