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You don’t have to imagine it - you can already see it. I spent a month in Antarctica earlier this year, travelling from East Antarctica around the Ross shelf t
by madaxe_again 9y ago
You don’t have to imagine it - you can already see it.
I spent a month in Antarctica earlier this year, travelling from East Antarctica around the Ross shelf to the peninsula and beyond - and the ecosystem is seriously sick. Marine biologists on the expedition were almost panicking.
Antarctic waters have warmed sufficiently for vast numbers of jellies and salps to multiply - and these guys eat krill and plankton.
This is problematic as krill and plankton are fundamental to Antarctic food chains - penguins, seals, whales - all feed on both almost exclusively - and salps and jellies are inedible for these species, meaning that they are literally starving.
Adelies, Chinstraps and Gentoos were all seen not moulting yet vomiting bile - this usually only happens during moult while the penguins starve as they can’t enter the water - but now they’re starving no matter what. Kings and Emperors were seen in significant numbers well outside of their usual range, suggesting they’re travelling farther afield to find food.
This talks about a particular colony of Adelies having a disastrous season, and they posit krill fishing as a reason - but it likely has more to do with invasive species disrupting the food chain - expect to see papers on the subject some time next year.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/science-environment-41608722 https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/scienc...
- nonbel 9y agoYour source says: "It was caused by unusually high amounts of ice late in the season, meaning adults had to travel further for food. [...] WWF says a ban on krill fishing in the area would eliminate their competition" Not that I find that any more trustworthy than your post, but it pretty much claims the opposite explanation (you claimed warmer waters lead to more jellies which eat the krill).
- madaxe_again 9y agoThere’s a delay between observed phenomena and the literature being updated - hence I surmised there’ll be papers published on the topic next year.
- nonbel 9y agoNo, there is no delay in publication. https://www.nature.com/news/does-it-take-too-long-to-publish-research-1.19320 https://www.nature.com/news/does-it-take-too-long-to-publish... While that source says the opposite, I presume there will be papers published in the future that agree with me. Yes, this is a joke post meant to point out how silly using that source was for you.
- madaxe_again 9y agoAlso: are you honestly denying that sea temperatures are rising? The data is abundant.
- nonbel 9y agoNo, my post says nothing about this at all. Really, I wouldn't be surprised if higher sea temperatures meant higher polar precipitation and thus more ice...
- madaxe_again 9y agoBut less sea ice, which means any additional ice mass on land would accelerate glaciers into the sea, likely meaning a net loss of ice. It’s all chaotic, of course, so try as we might even the smallest variables in input can drastically change the outcome - and there are still many unknowns. All I know is that I was on a ship with a hundred scientists, and nobody was jumping for joy at what they were seeing. Also, sorry for the snark - I should remove my thumbs until I’ve had breakfast.