Global S&T Development Trend Analysis Platform of Resources and Environment
Giant iceberg mission | |
admin | |
2020-12-15 | |
发布年 | 2020 |
语种 | 英语 |
国家 | 英国 |
领域 | 资源环境 |
正文(英文) | A research mission to determine the impact of the giant A-68a iceberg on one of the world’s most important ecosystems gets underway next month. A team of scientists, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), will set sail on the National Oceanography Centre’s (NOC) ship bound for the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. The huge berg, which broke away from Antarctica’s Larsen C Ice Shelf in 2017, is now 3900 sq km in area. After satellite images revealed its movement towards South Georgia, the science team put a proposal to NERC to fund an urgent mission south. Recent images captured from the air by the MOD show that the iceberg is breaking up. The team will investigate the impact of freshwater from the melting ice into a region of the ocean that sustains colonies of penguins, seals and whales. These waters are also home to some of the most sustainably managed fisheries in the world. ![]() Underwater robotic gliders will be deployed from the NOC research ship RRS James Cook, which departs the Falkland Islands for the iceberg in late January. ![]()
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The two 1.5-metre long untethered submersible gliders will spend almost four months collecting measurements of seawater salinity, temperature, and chlorophyll from opposite sides of the iceberg, piloted over satellite link by personnel at NOC and BAS. The team will also measure how much plankton is in the water and compare their findings with long-term oceanographic and wildlife studies around South Georgia and nearby Bird Island. ![]() Waters around South Georgia are recognised as one of the most biologically rich places on the planet with more described marine species than the Galapagos, and is one of the world’s largest Marine Protected Areas. The iceberg, if it grounds near the island, poses a risk to penguins and seals during the breeding season.
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The research expedition to A-68a has been funded by a combination of the Natural Environment Research Council, the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and the UK Government’s Blue Belt Programme. More information Underwater gliders are small submersible robotic vehicles, which are designed to operate autonomously for months at a time. Rather than using a propeller, they move by changing their buoyancy, and wings convert this into forward motion. While “flying” through the water, sensors can measure temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, and other parameters. At regular intervals, the gliders will surface, check their position by GPS, transmit data back to servers in the UK, and check for new instructions on where to go. The A-68 iceberg broke off the Larsen C Ice Shelf in 2017; the largest remaining section is now denoted A-68a. The calving is thoughts by scientists to be a natural event and not directly attributed to climate change. However, models predict that a warmer Antarctica in the future will have more calving events as ice shelves and glaciers retreat. British Antarctic Survey (BAS), an institute of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and part of UKRI, delivers and enables world-leading interdisciplinary research in the Polar Regions. Its skilled science and support staff based in Cambridge, Antarctica and the Arctic, work together to deliver research that uses the Polar Regions to advance our understanding of Earth as a sustainable planet. Through its extensive logistic capability and know how BAS facilitates access for the British and international science community to the UK polar research operation. Numerous national and international collaborations, combined with an excellent infrastructure help sustain a world leading position for the UK in Antarctic affairs. For more information visit our website www.bas.ac.uk or social media; TW @BAS_news, FB @BritishAntarcticSurvey, LI @british-antarctic-survey, IG @britishantarcticsurvey The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is the UK’s leading institution for integrated coastal and deep ocean research. NOC undertakes and facilitates world-class agenda-setting scientific research and technology development to understand the global ocean by solving challenging multidisciplinary, large scale, long-term marine science problems to underpin international and UK public policy, business and societal outcomes. The NOC is a company limited by guarantee set up under the law of England and Wales (11444362) and registered as a charity (1185265). The NOC operates the Royal Research Ships James Cook and Discovery and develops technology for coastal and deep ocean research. Working with its partners the NOC provides long-term marine science capability including: sustained ocean observations, mapping and surveying; data management and scientific research and advice. Among the resources that the NOC provides on behalf of the UK are the British Oceanographic Data Centre (BODC), the Marine Autonomous and Robotic Systems (MARS) facility, the National Marine Equipment Pool (NMEP), the National Tide and Sea Level Facility (NTSLF), the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) and British Ocean Sediment Core Research Facility (BOSCORF). The Blue Belt Programme supports the UK Overseas Territories with the protection and sustainable management of their marine environments. Since 2016 the Blue Belt Programme has helped the Overseas Territories enhance marine protection across 4.3 million square kilometres of marine environment. This flagship programme has been central to the UK government’s ambition of leading action to tackle the serious global problems of overfishing, species extinction and climate change. It is supported by two world leading organisations – the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) on behalf of the UK government. For more information visit our website, Twitter, Facebook and blog.
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URL | 查看原文 |
来源平台 | British Antarctic Survey |
文献类型 | 新闻 |
条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.173/C666/handle/2XK7JSWQ/307751 |
专题 | 资源环境科学 |
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | admin. Giant iceberg mission. 2020. |
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