Precautionary spatial protection to facilitate the scientific study of habitats and communities under ice shelves in the context of recent, rapid, regional climate change
01 Jan 2013-
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight why commercial fishing activities should not be permitted in these habitats, and suggest that areas under existing ice shelves in Subareas 88.3, 48.1 and 48.5 should be preserved and protected for scientific study.
Abstract: Recent rapid climate change is now well documented in the Antarctic, particularly in the Antarctic Peninsula region. One of the most evident signs of climate change has been
ice-shelf collapse; overall, 87% of the Peninsula’s glaciers have retreated in recent decades. Further ice-shelf collapse will lead to the loss of existing marine habitats and to the creation of new habitats, with consequent changes in both ecological processes and in community structure. Habitats revealed by collapsed ice shelves therefore offer unique scientific opportunities. Given the complexity of the possible interactions, and the need to study these in the absence of any other human-induced perturbation, this paper highlights why commercial fishing activities should not be permitted in these habitats, and suggests that areas under existing ice shelves in Subareas 88.3, 48.1 and 48.5 should be preserved
and protected for scientific study. The boundaries of these areas should henceforth remain fixed, even if the ice shelves recede or collapse in the future. Designation of areas under ice shelves as areas for scientific study would fulfil one of the recommendations made by the Antarctic Treaty Meeting of Experts in 2010.
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23 Mar 2010
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse les relations conceptuelles (imprecises) de la vulnerabilite, de la resilience and de la capacite d'adaptation aux changements climatiques selon le systeme socioecologique (socio-ecologigal systems -SES) afin de comprendre and anticiper le comportement des composantes sociales et ecologiques du systeme.
Abstract: Cet article analyse les relations conceptuelles (imprecises) de la vulnerabilite, de la resilience et de la capacite d’adaptation aux changements climatiques selon le systeme socio-ecologique (socio-ecologigal systems – SES) afin de comprendre et anticiper le comportement des composantes sociales et ecologiques du systeme. Une serie de questions est proposee par l’auteur sur la specification de ces termes afin de developper une structure conceptuelle qui inclut les dimensions naturelles et so...
1,133 citations
TL;DR: The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) has managed the ecosystems of the high seas of the Southern Ocean since 1982 as discussed by the authors, and is seen as an example of best practice in managing marine resources in international waters.
19 citations
TL;DR: The assessment identifies South Georgia and sub-Antarctic islands in the Indian Ocean as being the most critical data gaps for this species and suggests that the global population has increased by approximately 11% since 2013, with even greater increases along the WAP.
Abstract: Though climate change is widely known to negatively affect the distribution and abundance of many species, few studies have focused on species that may benefit. Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua) populations have grown along the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP), a region accounting for ~ 30% of their global population. These trends of population growth in Gentoo Penguins are in stark contrast to those of Adelie and Chinstrap Penguins, which have experienced considerable population declines along the WAP attributed to environmental changes. The recent discovery of previously unknown Gentoo Penguin colonies along the WAP and evidence for southern range expansion since the last global assessment in 2013 motivates this review of the abundance and distribution of this species. We compiled and collated all available recent data for every known Gentoo Penguin colony in the world and report on previously unknown Gentoo Penguin colonies along the Northwestern section of the WAP. We estimate the global population of Gentoo Penguins to be 432,144 (95th CI 338,059 – 534,114) breeding pairs, with approximately 364,359 (95th CI 324,052 – 405,132) breeding pairs (85% of the population) living in the Atlantic sector. Our estimates suggest that the global population has increased by approximately 11% since 2013, with even greater increases (23%) along the WAP. The Falkland Islands population, which comprises 30% of the global population, has remained stable, though only a subset of colonies have been surveyed since the last comprehensive survey in 2010. Our assessment identifies South Georgia and sub-Antarctic islands in the Indian Ocean as being the most critical data gaps for this species.
18 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluate the extent to which these recommendations have been implemented in the global and regional legal frameworks, the flexibility and resilience to tackle climate change of the provisions can be assessed.
17 citations
TL;DR: The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is aware of the urgent need to develop climate-responsive options within its ecosystem approach to management.
14 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a dataset containing up-to-date and consistent area calculations for each of the twelve ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula over the past five decades, revealing an overall reduction in total ice-shelf area by over 28 000 km2 since the beginning of the period.
Abstract: . In recent decades, seven out of twelve ice shelves around the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) have either retreated significantly or have been almost entirely lost. At least some of these retreats have been shown to be unusual within the context of the Holocene and have been widely attributed to recent atmospheric and oceanic changes. To date, measurements of the area of ice shelves on the AP have either been approximated, or calculated for individual shelves over dissimilar time intervals. Here we present a new dataset containing up-to-date and consistent area calculations for each of the twelve ice shelves on the AP over the past five decades. The results reveal an overall reduction in total ice-shelf area by over 28 000 km2 since the beginning of the period. Individual ice shelves show different rates of retreat, ranging from slow but progressive retreat to abrupt collapse. We discuss the pertinent features of each ice shelf and also broad spatial and temporal patterns in the timing and rate of retreat. We believe that an understanding of this diversity and what it implies about the underlying dynamics and control will provide the best foundation for developing a reliable predictive skill for ice-shelf change.
398 citations
"Precautionary spatial protection to..." refers background in this paper
...One of the most evident signals of climate change has been ice-shelf retreat and collapse; regional warming caused by intensification of the westerly winds has led to ice-shelf collapse along the eastern edge of the northern Antarctic Peninsula (Cook and Vaughan, 2010)....
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..., 2008) and the retreat and collapse of ice shelves, glaciers and ice tongues (Cook and Vaughan, 2010; Cook et al., 2005; Gutt et al., 2010, 2013; Rignot et al., 2013)....
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TL;DR: It is shown that a redirection of the coastal current into thefilchner Trough and underneath the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf during the second half of the twenty-first century would lead to increased movement of warm waters into the deep southern ice-shelf cavity, which would boost average basal melting from 0.2 metres to almost 4 metres per year.
Abstract: The Antarctic ice sheet loses mass at its fringes bordering the Southern Ocean. At this boundary, warm circumpolar water can override the continental slope front, reaching the grounding line through submarine glacial troughs and causing high rates of melting at the deep ice-shelf bases. The interplay between ocean currents and continental bathymetry is therefore likely to influence future rates of ice-mass loss. Here we show that a redirection of the coastal current into the Filchner Trough and underneath the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf during the second half of the twenty-first century would lead to increased movement of warm waters into the deep southern ice-shelf cavity. Water temperatures in the cavity would increase by more than 2 degrees Celsius and boost average basal melting from 0.2 metres, or 82 billion tonnes, per year to almost 4 metres, or 1,600 billion tonnes, per year. Our results, which are based on the output of a coupled ice-ocean model forced by a range of atmospheric outputs from the HadCM3 climate model, suggest that the changes would be caused primarily by an increase in ocean surface stress in the southeastern Weddell Sea due to thinning of the formerly consolidated sea-ice cover. The projected ice loss at the base of the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf represents 80 per cent of the present Antarctic surface mass balance. Thus, the quantification of basal mass loss under changing climate conditions is important for projections regarding the dynamics of Antarctic ice streams and ice shelves, and global sea level rise.
374 citations
"Precautionary spatial protection to..." refers background in this paper
...500°S), melt rates are substantial where warm waters are transported beneath floating ice (Rignot and Jacobs, 2002; Hellmer et al., 2012)....
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...Rignot, E., S. Jacobs, J. Mouginot and B. Scheuchl....
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...Indeed, beneath the Filchner-Rønne ice shelf (40.000°W 79.000°S – 61.000°W 78.500°S), melt rates are substantial where warm waters are transported beneath floating ice (Rignot and Jacobs, 2002; Hellmer et al., 2012)....
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...Others are predicted to thin over the course of this century, for example the Filchner-Rønne ice shelf (Hellmer et al., 2012)....
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...Jacobs, S.S., A. Jenkins, C.F. Giulivi and P. Dutrieux....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the two northernmost sections of the Larsen ice shelf were found to have broken apart within a few days, following a period of steady retreat that coincided with a regional trend of atmospheric warming.
Abstract: In January 1995, 4200 square kilometers of the northern Larsen Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula, broke away. Radar images from the ERS-1 satellite, complemented by field observations, showed that the two northernmost sections of the ice shelf fractured and disintegrated almost completely within a few days. This breakup followed a period of steady retreat that coincided with a regional trend of atmospheric warming. The observations imply that after an ice shelf retreats beyond a critical limit, it may collapse rapidly as a result of perturbated mass balance.
373 citations
"Precautionary spatial protection to..." refers background in this paper
...…be dramatic, such as the final collapse of the remnants of the Larsen A (60.000°W 64.750°S) which disintegrated in late January 1995 losing ~4 200 km2 (Rott et al., 1996), or the Larsen B (61.000°W 65.500°S) which disintegrated within a period of just a few days in 2002 losing ~3 370 km2…...
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...750°S) which disintegrated in late January 1995 losing ~4 200 km2 (Rott et al., 1996), or the Larsen B (61....
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Book•
01 Jan 1992
TL;DR: In this paper, the evolution of the fish fauna of the Southern Ocean is discussed and an approach to a more effective fisheries management in the Southern ocean is presented. But the authors do not consider the effects of fishing and fishery-related activities on other components of the marine ecosystems of the southern Ocean.
Abstract: Preface Part I. The Ecology of Antarctic Fish: 1. Introduction 2. The evolution of the fish fauna of the Southern Ocean 3. The composition of the fish fauna 4. Classification of the Notothenioidei 5. Geographical and bathymetric distribution of the fish fauna 6. Adaptations to the environment 7. Reproduction and early life history 8. Age, growth, mortality and biomass estimates 9. The significance of fish in the ecosystem 10. Parasites 11. Future research Part II. Antarctic Fisheries: 12. The commercially exploited species 13. The development of the fishery 14. Trends in the fishery 15. Fishing grounds and fishing conditions 16. Fish detection and catching methods 17. Fishery products 18. The development of fish stock assessment and fisheries management in the Southern Ocean 19. The effect of fishing on single stocks 20. Detrimental effect of krill fishing on recruitment 21. Effects of fishing and fishery-related activities on other components of the marine ecosystems of the Southern Ocean 22. Approaches to a more effective fisheries management in the Southern Ocean 23. Perspectives for a future fish harvest from the Southern Ocean.
372 citations
03 Apr 2013
293 citations
"Precautionary spatial protection to..." refers background in this paper
...As the surface melt ponds began to fracture the shelf, strong winds or waves might have caused the shelf to flex, helping trigger catastrophic break up (Scambos et al., 2000, 2003)....
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