Research Paper On Penguins
Emperor penguins
Emperor penguin on iceberg alley in the Vestfold Hills (Photo: Peter Hargraves) Scientific name: Aptenodytes forsteri
Physical description and related species
Emperor penguins are truly amazing birds. They not only survive the Antarctic winter, but they are capable of breeding during the worst weather conditions on earth.
Our research aims to learn more about the penguins themselves (how they live, where they go, what they do, and what they need to survive), and how human activities may impact on their lives and survival chances.
The emperor is the largest of the 17 penguin species growing up to 1.15 metres tall and weighing up to 40 kg.
They can live to more than 40 years. Their closest relatives are king penguins. …show more content…
Special adaptations to the cold
Nature has provided the emperor with excellent insulation in the form of several layers of scale-like feathers and it takes very strong winds (over 60 knots) to get them ruffled.
They have a very small bill and flippers, which conserve heat. Their nasal chambers also recover much of the heat that is normally lost during exhalation. Emperor penguins have large reserves of energy-giving body fat and a low level of activity during winter. They are also very social creatures, and one of their survival mechanisms is an urge to huddle together to keep warm. This huddling instinct means that they do not defend any territory. The emperor penguin is the only species of penguin that is not territorial.
Another special adaptation of the emperor penguin is the ability to 'recycle' its own body heat. The emperor's arteries and veins lie close together so that blood is pre-cooled on the way to the bird's feet, wings and bill and warmed on the way back to the heart.
Emperor's feet are adapted to the icy conditions, since they have strong claws for gripping the …show more content…
ice.
Distribution and abundance
Emperor penguins breed in colonies scattered around the Antarctic continent. Colonies range in size from a few hundred to over 20,000 pairs. All but two colonies are situated on the fast-ice (frozen sea) that is locked between islands or grounded icebergs.
For more information see adapting to a changing environment.
Conservation status: least concern
Breeding
Emperor penguins are the only animals that breed during the Antarctic winter (see breeding cycle).
The emperor has not only evolved special physical characteristics to help it survive the extreme Antarctic conditions, it has also developed some unique social features. Like most penguins, emperor parents closely share parental duties. What is unique about emperors however, is the co-operation between males while carrying out their parenting duties.
Diet and feeding
Emperor penguins are exquisite divers! While they mostly forage at depths from 150 to 250 metres, the deepest dive recorded was to 565 metres. On average dives last 3–6 minutes but the longest dive on record was 22 minutes. (See diving and travelling).
Emperor penguins are near the top of the Southern Ocean's food chain. They have a varied menu with some prey items being more important than others. One of the most frequently eaten prey species is the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum. They also eat other fish, Antarctic Krill and some species of squid. Most prey items are small; since they are very cold when ingested it makes it easier to bring the food up to body temperature and to digest.
An adult penguin eats 2–3 kg per day. When they need to fatten up before a moult or at the start of the breeding season, they can eat as much as 6 kg per day.
Breeding adults really have to fill up their stomachs before they return to the colony. They need to feed their chicks and the colonies are often a long way from the fishing grounds.
Each chick needs about 42 kg of food from each parent.
Huddling
Feeding time.Photo: Cal Young |
Emperor penguins have to face freezing winds called katabatic winds, which blow off the polar plateau and intensify the cold. Emperor colonies also face blizzards of up to 200 km/h. To keep warm, the males close ranks to share their warmth. Emperors are big birds, when carrying their incubation fat, they are about as large around the chest as a man. Yet on very cold days, as many as 10 of them pack into every square metre of a huddle. In the huddle, individuals seem to temporarily lose their identity, and the mass of emperors takes on the appearance and behaviour of a single living entity. On a functional level, huddling cuts the heat loss by as much as 50%, and enables males to survive the long incubation fast since the warmer they are, the longer their fat lasts. The temperature inside a huddle can be as high as +24°C.
On a social level, huddling behaviour is an extraordinary act of co-operation in the face of a common hardship, and emperors take this act of group co-operation to its extreme, they take turns to occupy the warmest and coldest positions in the huddle. On windy days, those on the windward edge feel the cold more than those in the centre and down-wind. One by one they peel off the mob and shuffle, egg on feet, down the flanks of the huddle to rejoin it on the lee. They follow one another in a continuous procession, passing through the warm centre of the huddle and eventually returning back to the windward edge. Because of this constant circulation the huddle gradually moves downwind. During a 48 hour blizzard, the huddle may shift as much as 200 m.
Adapting to a changing environment
Emperor penguins like many seabirds have evolved a life strategy that is characterised by two main features: first, the birds are long-lived (up to at least 40 years), and second they have a low annual reproductive output.
Each breeding pair can produce only one chick per year. Emperor penguins breed during the Antarctic winter and only the male incubates the single egg. Should the egg be lost or the chick die there is no chance for a pair to breed again in that season. Chick mortality tends to be high once the youngsters leave the colony and head for the ocean. They have to learn very quickly about predators and how and what to hunt. It is not surprising that maybe only a third of each year's cohort may live to their first
birthday.
Emperor penguins are superbly adapted to a marine life style. When breeding and moulting they need the fast-ice as a platform. |
Every environment is subject to changes that vary from season to season and from year to year. Even in Antarctica where it is always cold the variations can be quite marked. For example, the number and intensity of storms and blizzards can vary from year to year as can the time at which the sea-ice forms in autumn or breaks out in summer. These environmental changes are likely to have an influence on the animals that live there. In a year during which the fast-ice extends a long way north it may mean that Emperor penguins have to walk longer distances across the ice before they reach the pack-ice where they can forage. Any environmental change can also influence the abundance and distribution of prey. Thus, the effort the penguins have to put into gathering food may vary. When studying Emperor penguins we are trying to determine how these changes in the environment affect the penguin populations. Say, for example, we have an especially cold year during which the ice-edge is a long way from the colony, the penguins must travel maybe 80-100 km before they can enter the open water. Once they are there the birds may find it much harder to hunt the fish and squid which means that they have to spend more time at sea to get what they need for themselves, as well as for their chicks. In a year like that the chicks have to wait much longer between feeds. Some may be thin and many may not even live long enough to fledge (shed their down, grow real feathers and become waterproof).
Emperor penguins depend on the fast-ice for their long-term survival. Without a breeding platform they have no where to go. But it is also important that this platform is available for the duration of the chick rearing period. If global warming alters the patterns of ice break-out or stability, it may be that the fast-ice disappears before the chicks are ready to go to sea. Such a scenario puts the further survival of Emperor penguins at risk.
A satellite picture of the Mawson coast in May 2001 |
Climate Change
Climate change scientists leave Wilkins (Photo: Todor Iolovski) Antarctica and its surrounding ocean are dominated and shaped by the presence of snow and ice which, while themselves controlled by the climatic regime and very sensitive to climate change, also influence and provide major feedbacks to the global climate system.
Many globally significant processes are driven by the unique climate and geography of the Antarctic region. These include the uptake of carbon dioxide by the Southern Ocean; the overturning circulation of the deep ocean; the balance between water storage and discharge in the main continental ice-sheet; changes in surface energy, mass and momentum exchange by ice masses; and energy transfer between all levels of the atmosphere to space. Understanding these processes is vital for understanding and predicting climate and environmental changes and their impacts. These impacts include future greenhouse gas levels, sea-level rise, the variability and rate of change of climate, and changes in atmospheric composition. The latter includes the stratospheric 'ozone hole', which affects life in Southern Hemisphere nations.
Use the links at left to explore the various facets of our climate change research.
Ice sheets and sea-level rise
Australia has collected data on ice flow, ice thickness and other ice sheet characteristics in East Antarctica for over 50 years. These data allow researchers to calibrate and validate new satellite measurements of the ice sheet and to develop models used to project the ice sheet's response to climate change.
The intense cold of the Antarctic ice sheet affects the global climate system through changes in surface energy and moisture, clouds, precipitation, and atmospheric and ocean circulation. If the Antarctic ice sheet melted, it would raise global sea level by nearly 60 metres. However, the response of the ice sheet to global warming is the largest unknown in projecting future sea level over the next 100–1000 years.
A major focus of Australia's ice sheet research has been in the Lambert Glacier basin. At the Amery Ice Shelf, where the Lambert Glacier flows out to sea, research aims to understand the thermal and salinity interactions between the ice and the underlying ocean. Scientists have found that ice near the base of the ice shelf is porous and infiltrated with sea water, making it highly vulnerable to rapid melting.
Is the Antarctic ice sheet growing or shrinking?
The findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4), in 2007, was that the Antarctic Ice Sheet, as a whole, was contributing to sea level rise at a rate 0.2 mm/yr. Ice loss occurred mostly from increased discharge of icebergs by large outlet glacier systems in the Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea regions of West Antarctica. Loss also occurred by melt along the Antarctic Peninsula, where air temperatures have warmed over the last 50 years.
Since late 2005 (the cut-off date for work assessed by IPCC AR4), further studies of ice accumulation and loss ('mass budget') in Greenland and Antarctica have been made using satellite altimetry, satellite gravity measurements and estimates of the difference between net snowfall and discharge of ice. These confirm that both the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are losing ice mass and contributing to sea level rise.
These new estimates suggest that the total annual loss from Antarctica since 1993 is around 100 Gt/yr (100 billion tonnes of ice per year; equivalent to ~0.25 mm/yr of global sea level rise). While the range of estimates from the different studies is large (from near zero to 0.5 mm/yr of sea level rise) they all suggest a net loss. Ice loss has been greatest along coastal sectors of the Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctica. However, ice thickening (gain) further inland and over most of East Antarctica may have partially offset this loss. All of the available estimates, however, show that the loss of mass in West Antarctica is greater than any added mass in East Antarctica.
This map shows the ‘balance flux’, which is the volume of ice that must be discharged to balance the annual snow fall onto the ice sheet. This is derived by a computer model for a given snow fall distribution: the blue areas are low ice discharge rates and the red are high rates, on a logarithmic scale. The plot compares the modelled mass flux across the 200 m surface elevation contour. The discharge is derived from ice velocity and the ice thicknesses, measured during over-snow traverses between 40 and 130 degrees East (black dots). Where the balance flux is greater than the measured flux, the interior ice sheet is growing, and vice versa.
Much of this part of Antarctica is nearly in balance, although gains in the Lambert Glacier Basin (LGB, top) and Wilkes Land (bottom) lead to an overall gain for this part of the ice sheet that is equivalent to a drop in sea level of 0.1 mm per year. Different balance conditions in other parts of Antarctica, and between the 2000 m elevation contour and the coastline, also impact sea level, and overall Antarctica is contributing to a net sea level rise. From the report: Australia’s contribution to Antarctic Climate Science (2008).
What about the Greenland Ice Sheet?
In Greenland the average ice mass loss since 1993 has been about 120 GT/yr (contributing ~0.35 mm/yr to sea level rise). There is evidence that the rate of mass loss may be increasing, with recent values as high as 0.5 mm/yr of sea level rise. However there can be large variability from year to year in the surface melt in Greenland and the short term changes, from satellite gravity data in particular (which are only available since 2003), may reflect this, rather than a long-term trend. There has been thickening of the high central ice sheet in Greenland, but this has been more than offset by increased melting near the coast. Flow speed has also increased for some Greenland outlet glaciers.
Why is Antarctic ice melting faster over the Peninsula and in West Antarctica than in East Antarctica?
The Antarctic Ice Sheet is complex, and different regions respond differently.
Ice loss by melting along the Antarctic Peninsula is a direct result of warming air temperature. The rate of temperature rise in this region (2.5ºC over the last 50 years) is among the greatest on our planet.
Increased ice discharge from glaciers is, in some cases, a result of the collapse of floating ice shelves. In the more northerly parts of the Antarctic Peninsula, large ice shelves are eroded from beneath by warming ocean waters, and a number of these ice shelves have catastrophically disintegrated. Although the collapse of a floating ice shelf does not add to sea level, the removal of buttressing by the ice shelves may “unplug” land-based glaciers behind the former ice shelves, and these can then flow more rapidly into the sea.
The cause of acceleration of other large outlet glaciers in West Antarctica is not fully understood, but may be related to marine ice shelf instability (discussed under the next question).
Over most of East Antarctica surface temperatures are well below the freezing point, and a small increase in temperature cannot initiate melt. Warmer temperatures however allow the atmosphere to hold more water vapour, and thus lead to increased snowfall. An increased input of snow may be causing East Antarctica to grow slightly, but any gain here is more than offset by loss from West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula.
Could the West Antarctic ice sheet continue to add to sea level rise?
The West Antarctic ice sheet forms what is called a marine ice sheet – the ice is resting on bedrock, but that bedrock is below sea level. This is comparable to loading too many ice cubes in your gin and tonic – the bottom one touches the bottom of the glass even though it's well below the water level.
Where the bedrock under a marine ice sheet slopes down towards the interior, such as under parts of West Antarctica, the ice sheet may be unstable. If the coastal part of the ice sheet thins, it will start to float and is then able to flow more rapidly. This drains more ice from further inland which may also start to float and, with bedrock that slopes backwards and becomes deeper further in, continued retreat of the grounded ice sheet may proceed very rapidly. A small retreat could in theory destabilize the entire West Antarctica ice sheet, leading to rapid disintegration.
What will be the contribution of the ice sheets to future sea level rise?
The IPCC AR4 projected that sea level rise from thermal expansion of the ocean, melt of small glaciers and ice caps, and from Greenland and Antarctica (for a wide range of emission scenarios) would be in the range 0.18 to 0.59 m by 2090–2100. This estimate does not include further accelerated discharge from ice sheet outlet glaciers.
The ice sheet contribution to this estimate comes mostly from melt in Greenland and from the Antarctic Peninsula. Surface temperatures over most of East Antarctica are well below the freezing point and direct melt of the East Antarctic ice sheet is not expected to contribute significantly to sea level rise over the next century.
Estimating any extra sea level rise from further acceleration of outlet glaciers is not straight forward. Processes such as those controlling basal sliding of glaciers (where lubricating water at the bed of the glacier allows it to move more rapidly) are not well understood. The IPCC AR4 estimated that dynamic ice sheet accelerations from processes such as marine ice sheet instability and accelerated basal sliding might add another 0.1 to 0.2 m of sea level rise over the next century. But the AR4 report emphasized that even larger values might be possible.
Are reports of sea level rise of 6 m correct?
With recent observations of the speed-up of some glaciers in both Greenland and Antarctica, it has been argued that the IPCC estimate of the ice dynamic effect may be too low. Total sea level rise of as much as 6 m over the next century has been proposed based on a comparison with sea level rise rates at the end of the last ice age.
However, at the end of last ice age there was three times as much ice to melt as there is presently on the Earth. A rise of sea level by 6 m over the next century is improbable within constraints of the area of present day ice sheets, and the rate at which glaciers can accelerate.
A more generally accepted upper bound of sea level rise over the next century is 2 m. The probable rise will be less than this, although possibly toward the upper end of the IPCC AR4 estimate of around 0.8 m.
What is happening to ice shelves – and do they contribute to sea level rise?
A number of floating ice shelves along the Antarctic Peninsula have disintegrated dramatically over the last decade. The cause of their catastrophic collapse is a combination of melting at the base, which thins and makes them more vulnerable, and warmer summer temperatures which cause increased surface melt that can lead to rapid disintegration. Large areas of ice shelves (thousands of square kilometres of ice that is 100 to 200 m thick) have broken into small pieces and disintegrated within a few weeks.
The most recent example of this is the Wilkins Ice Shelf. The Wilkins Ice Shelf has undergone significant changes since 2008 after two significant break-up events in February and May 2008 and further losses in June and July 2008. These changes have been attributed to strong regional warming, and melting of the ice shelves from below.
Loss of ice shelves does not contribute to sea level rise as they are already floating. But where ice shelves buttress glaciers flowing into the sea, accelerated glacier flow can add to sea level rise. This is not the case for Wilkins Ice Shelf, but did occur when the Larsen B Ice Shelf dramatically collapsed.
What are the gaps in our knowledge that restrict better estimates of future sea level rise?
The main gaps are in our understanding are of some aspects of ice sheet dynamics. There is a need to improve our mathematical models of ice streams, ice sheets and ice shelves to be able to better project future changes. We also need more detailed measurements of how deep the bedrock is under the ice sheets, to use in the models.
Another major gap concerns what is happening at the bed of the ice sheets – how they react with liquid water at the base, what role water may have in sliding processes, and the role of gravels and slurry at the base. We now know there is a lot of liquid water under the ice sheets, but we don't really know how changes in this may affect the ice flow.
Sea ice change
SIPEX. Aurora Australis in the pack ice (Photo: Sandra Zicus) Understanding the interactions between sea ice, the surrounding ocean and the atmosphere is critical for accurate weather predictions and climate projections. Scientists are studying these interactions through measurements of sea ice extent, thickness, concentration, drift and snow thickness above the ice. Changes in these attributes significantly alter the ocean-atmosphere interaction, ocean circulation and the marine food web.
Australia has 20 years of ship-based sea ice thickness measurements, which provide a baseline against which to measure future change and data for climate models. These include observations from the Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystem eXperiment (SIPEX) in 2007, which studied the physics and biology of the sea ice, and the interactions of the sea ice structure, thickness and snow properties and their effects on the under-ice algae and ecosystem of the Southern Ocean.
These in situ sea ice measurements are used to validate local satellite measurements and improve the instruments and techniques used to make these measurements. For example, observations from the Australian sea ice research campaign, Antarctic Remote Ice Sensing Experiment (ARISE) in 2003, are being used by NASA and the European Space Agency to validate and develop satellite algorithms. As satellite measurements become more accurate they will be used to measure sea ice (and any changes) on a large scale.
How is sea ice extent changing?
Satellite measurements show the average annual sea ice extent in the Arctic has declined by 2.9% per decade since 1979, while summer extent has decreased by 11% per decade.
In Antarctica the changes have been much more subtle and regionally variable. The western Antarctic Peninsula region has shown a decline in sea ice extent, particularly in the Bellingshausen Sea, consistent with the recent change to more northerly winds and surface warming observed there.
In contrast, sea ice in the Ross and Weddell seas is increasing. These changes involve both changes in sea ice extent and in the length of season during which sea ice is present each year.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4, 2007) concluded that there had been no net change in Antarctic sea ice extent for the period of reliable satellite records (i.e., since 1979); however, recent results suggest a slight increase in maximum Antarctic sea ice extent.
What are the projections for the future?
Climate models predict that Antarctic sea ice will reduce by 24% in total extent and 34% in total volume by 2100. Such reductions will lead to changes in oceanic and atmospheric circulation and will impact on the ecosystems of the Southern Ocean including its wildlife, and open up areas previously inaccessible to shipping.
What impacts will changes in sea ice extent and duration have?
Reduced sea ice formation will potentially slow the global ocean overturning circulation and will result in increased absorption of the sun's heat by the ocean at high latitudes. It will also provide greater access for ships to the higher latitudes and may lead to a significant increase in tourist vessels in the Antarctic. This will have implications for Australia's search and rescue responsibilities as well as for resource management.
What is driving the changes in sea ice?
In the western Antarctic Peninsula, sea ice decline has largely been driven by an intensification of more northerly winds during autumn-spring, leading to wind-induced ice compaction. The sea ice changes are also coincident with an increase in average winter air temperature of 5.8°C between 1950 and 2005, attributed to climate change.
In the western Ross Sea region the increase in sea ice has been attributed to both a strengthening of westerly winds and a more frequent southerly outflow of winds from the continent, associated with the persistence of a deep low-pressure anomaly in the Amundsen Sea.
Intensive research is continuing using both modelling and observations to better understand changes in the large-scale patterns of atmospheric circulation around Antarctica, their complex impacts on observed changes in sea ice, and possible feedback mechanisms involved, as well as connections with atmospheric processes in other parts of the world.
Does the ozone hole have an effect on sea ice?
Recent research published by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey suggests that the ozone hole is delaying the impact of greenhouse gas increases on the climate of Antarctica and contributing to the increase in Antarctic sea ice (BAS press release). As ozone levels recover towards the end of the century, however, sea ice is expected to decline.
How are we monitoring sea ice change?
Currently there are no means of accurately and routinely measuring and monitoring sea ice thickness over large-scales, although satellite radar and laser altimeters show great potential. Most of our knowledge on the changes in Arctic sea ice thickness comes from de-classified sonar data from military submarines. No such data is available for the Antarctic.
However, Australian researchers have developed a technique for measuring sea ice thickness that has resulted in the first circumpolar maps of Antarctic sea ice thickness ever published. These data provide a valuable baseline for climate studies; however ongoing monitoring of changes in Antarctic sea ice thickness requires more precise measurement techniques. These are currently being developed and implemented by scientists at the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC) and include airborne laser and radar altimetry for surface mapping and under-ice sonar measurements using an autonomous underwater vehicle for measuring ice thickness. In addition, ACE CRC research validates satellite-derived information on the thickness of snow cover on sea ice. Data from these programs will be used to improve the interpretation of satellite data and will ultimately contribute to the production of more reliable global ice thickness products. Scientific Classification of Emperor Penguin | Kingdom: | Animalia | Phylum: | Chordata | Class: | Aves | Order: | Sphenisciformes | Family: | Spheniscidae | Scientific Name: | Aptenodytes forsteri | Conservation Status | Near Threatened |
Height of Antarctica
Antarctica is the highest continent on earth with an average elevation of 2500 m (the average elevation of Australia is only 340 m). The height of the South Pole is 2835 m and the highest point on the icecap is in Australian Antarctic Territory, at 4100 m, at 82° 20'S, 56° 30'E. The highest mountains in Australian Antarctic Territory are Mt McClintock (3490 m) and Mt Menzies (3355 m). Vinson Massif is the highest mountain in Antarctica, at 4897 m. For more information, see the ice cap.
Snow (precipitation) in Antarctica
Antarctica is the driest continent on earth. The amount of moisture received by the polar plateau is comparable to that falling on the world’s hot deserts. For more information, see Ice, Ocean, Atmosphere and Climate.
Wind in Antarctica
Antarctica is the windiest continent on earth. Winds flow down the coastal slopes under the influence of gravity. These katabatic wind speeds have been recorded at up to 327 km per hour. For more information, see Antarctic weather – meteorology.
Temperature in Antarctica
Antarctica is the also coldest continent on earth. The lowest temperature ever recorded on earth was minus 89.2°C at Vostok, in the Australian Antarctic Territory, in 1983. For more information see Dome Argus (the coldest place in the Antarctic Territory) and wind chill.
Size of Antarctica
Including all the islands and ice shelves, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia, covering 13,661,000 km². The Australian Antarctic Territory is 5,896,500 km² (42% of Antarctica).
The closest country to Antarctica
South America, the point of which is shared by Argentina and Chile, is the closest continent to Antarctica. At the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, 1238 km south of Ushuaia (the southern-most city of Argentina) is the Argentinian station Vice Comodoro Marambio.
In contrast, the distance between Hobart, Tasmania (where the Australian Antarctic Division is situated) and Australia’s closest station, Casey, is 3443 km.
Claims for Antarctic Territory The Antarctic Treaty was designed to provide an agreement for the future care and use of Antarctica, and avoid territorial and other disputes. The Treaty encourages international co-operation in scientific research – an extraordinary agreement given that it was signed during the Cold War!
Antarctica is the highest, driest, windiest and coldest continent in the world. The Antarctic continent is a land mass covered with ice up to 4 km thick. The highest point is approximately 4 km above sea level. There is little exposed rock and, although milions of years ago there was heavy vegetation, today the only plants that grow are very small mosses.’ The Emperor Penguin has a circumpolar distribution around the shores of Antarctica. Predominately the distribution is over greatest density between 66 ° and 77° south latitudes. Despite staying around the coast Emperor penguins have been known to travel 18 km inland. The total population is estimated at 400,000-450,000 penguins with several main breeding colonies. These colonies are usually located between ice cliffs and ice bergs to be shelters from the wind. The Emperor Penguin has a circumpolar distribution in the Antarctic almost exclusively between the 66° and 77° south latitudes. It almost always breeds on stable pack ice near the coast and up to 18 km (11 mi) offshore.[8] Breeding colonies are usually located in areas where ice cliffs and icebergs shelter them from the wind.[8] The total population is estimated at around 400,000–450,000 individuals, which are distributed among as many as 40 independent colonies.[10] Around 80,000 pairs breed in the Ross Sea sector.[33] Major breeding colonies are located at Cape Washington (20,000–25,000 pairs), Coulman Island in Victoria Land (around 22,000 pairs), Halley Bay, Coats Land (14,300–31,400 pairs), and Atka Bay in Queen Maud Land (16,000 pairs).[10] Two land colonies have been reported: one on a shingle spit at Dion Island on the Antarctic Peninsula,[34] and one on a headland at Taylor Glacier in the Australian Antarctic Territory.[35] Vagrants have been recorded on Heard Island,[36] South Georgia, and in New Zealand.[10][37] * Websites * Information * https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html * http://www.defence.gov.au/op/afghanistan/index.htm * http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107264.html * http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1336172/Timeline-The-war-in-Afghanistan * http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486eb6.html * http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0802662.html * http://www.refintl.org/where-we-work/asia/afghanistan * http://www.indigofoundation.org/pdfs/projects/refugees/Afghan_Refugees_In_Australia__03.pdf * http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8143196.stm * http://www.help-afghan-refugees.com/ * http://www.afghanwomensmission.org/ * http://csis.org/files/publication/120111_Afghanistan_Aspen_Paper.pdf
Emperor penguin on iceberg alley in the Vestfold Hills (Photo: Peter Hargraves) Scientific name: Aptenodytes forsteri
Physical description and related species
Emperor penguins are truly amazing birds. They not only survive the Antarctic winter, but they are capable of breeding during the worst weather conditions on earth.
Our research aims to learn more about the penguins themselves (how they live, where they go, what they do, and what they need to survive), and how human activities may impact on their lives and survival chances.
The emperor is the largest of the 17 penguin species growing up to 1.15 metres tall and weighing up to 40 kg.
They can live to more than 40 years. Their closest relatives are king penguins. …show more content…
Special adaptations to the cold
Nature has provided the emperor with excellent insulation in the form of several layers of scale-like feathers and it takes very strong winds (over 60 knots) to get them ruffled.
They have a very small bill and flippers, which conserve heat. Their nasal chambers also recover much of the heat that is normally lost during exhalation. Emperor penguins have large reserves of energy-giving body fat and a low level of activity during winter. They are also very social creatures, and one of their survival mechanisms is an urge to huddle together to keep warm. This huddling instinct means that they do not defend any territory. The emperor penguin is the only species of penguin that is not territorial.
Another special adaptation of the emperor penguin is the ability to 'recycle' its own body heat. The emperor's arteries and veins lie close together so that blood is pre-cooled on the way to the bird's feet, wings and bill and warmed on the way back to the heart.
Emperor's feet are adapted to the icy conditions, since they have strong claws for gripping the …show more content…
ice.
Distribution and abundance
Emperor penguins breed in colonies scattered around the Antarctic continent. Colonies range in size from a few hundred to over 20,000 pairs. All but two colonies are situated on the fast-ice (frozen sea) that is locked between islands or grounded icebergs.
For more information see adapting to a changing environment.
Conservation status: least concern
Breeding
Emperor penguins are the only animals that breed during the Antarctic winter (see breeding cycle).
The emperor has not only evolved special physical characteristics to help it survive the extreme Antarctic conditions, it has also developed some unique social features. Like most penguins, emperor parents closely share parental duties. What is unique about emperors however, is the co-operation between males while carrying out their parenting duties.
Diet and feeding
Emperor penguins are exquisite divers! While they mostly forage at depths from 150 to 250 metres, the deepest dive recorded was to 565 metres. On average dives last 3–6 minutes but the longest dive on record was 22 minutes. (See diving and travelling).
Emperor penguins are near the top of the Southern Ocean's food chain. They have a varied menu with some prey items being more important than others. One of the most frequently eaten prey species is the Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum. They also eat other fish, Antarctic Krill and some species of squid. Most prey items are small; since they are very cold when ingested it makes it easier to bring the food up to body temperature and to digest.
An adult penguin eats 2–3 kg per day. When they need to fatten up before a moult or at the start of the breeding season, they can eat as much as 6 kg per day.
Breeding adults really have to fill up their stomachs before they return to the colony. They need to feed their chicks and the colonies are often a long way from the fishing grounds.
Each chick needs about 42 kg of food from each parent.
Huddling
Feeding time.Photo: Cal Young |
Emperor penguins have to face freezing winds called katabatic winds, which blow off the polar plateau and intensify the cold. Emperor colonies also face blizzards of up to 200 km/h. To keep warm, the males close ranks to share their warmth. Emperors are big birds, when carrying their incubation fat, they are about as large around the chest as a man. Yet on very cold days, as many as 10 of them pack into every square metre of a huddle. In the huddle, individuals seem to temporarily lose their identity, and the mass of emperors takes on the appearance and behaviour of a single living entity. On a functional level, huddling cuts the heat loss by as much as 50%, and enables males to survive the long incubation fast since the warmer they are, the longer their fat lasts. The temperature inside a huddle can be as high as +24°C.
On a social level, huddling behaviour is an extraordinary act of co-operation in the face of a common hardship, and emperors take this act of group co-operation to its extreme, they take turns to occupy the warmest and coldest positions in the huddle. On windy days, those on the windward edge feel the cold more than those in the centre and down-wind. One by one they peel off the mob and shuffle, egg on feet, down the flanks of the huddle to rejoin it on the lee. They follow one another in a continuous procession, passing through the warm centre of the huddle and eventually returning back to the windward edge. Because of this constant circulation the huddle gradually moves downwind. During a 48 hour blizzard, the huddle may shift as much as 200 m.
Adapting to a changing environment
Emperor penguins like many seabirds have evolved a life strategy that is characterised by two main features: first, the birds are long-lived (up to at least 40 years), and second they have a low annual reproductive output.
Each breeding pair can produce only one chick per year. Emperor penguins breed during the Antarctic winter and only the male incubates the single egg. Should the egg be lost or the chick die there is no chance for a pair to breed again in that season. Chick mortality tends to be high once the youngsters leave the colony and head for the ocean. They have to learn very quickly about predators and how and what to hunt. It is not surprising that maybe only a third of each year's cohort may live to their first
birthday.
Emperor penguins are superbly adapted to a marine life style. When breeding and moulting they need the fast-ice as a platform. |
Every environment is subject to changes that vary from season to season and from year to year. Even in Antarctica where it is always cold the variations can be quite marked. For example, the number and intensity of storms and blizzards can vary from year to year as can the time at which the sea-ice forms in autumn or breaks out in summer. These environmental changes are likely to have an influence on the animals that live there. In a year during which the fast-ice extends a long way north it may mean that Emperor penguins have to walk longer distances across the ice before they reach the pack-ice where they can forage. Any environmental change can also influence the abundance and distribution of prey. Thus, the effort the penguins have to put into gathering food may vary. When studying Emperor penguins we are trying to determine how these changes in the environment affect the penguin populations. Say, for example, we have an especially cold year during which the ice-edge is a long way from the colony, the penguins must travel maybe 80-100 km before they can enter the open water. Once they are there the birds may find it much harder to hunt the fish and squid which means that they have to spend more time at sea to get what they need for themselves, as well as for their chicks. In a year like that the chicks have to wait much longer between feeds. Some may be thin and many may not even live long enough to fledge (shed their down, grow real feathers and become waterproof).
Emperor penguins depend on the fast-ice for their long-term survival. Without a breeding platform they have no where to go. But it is also important that this platform is available for the duration of the chick rearing period. If global warming alters the patterns of ice break-out or stability, it may be that the fast-ice disappears before the chicks are ready to go to sea. Such a scenario puts the further survival of Emperor penguins at risk.
A satellite picture of the Mawson coast in May 2001 |
Climate Change
Climate change scientists leave Wilkins (Photo: Todor Iolovski) Antarctica and its surrounding ocean are dominated and shaped by the presence of snow and ice which, while themselves controlled by the climatic regime and very sensitive to climate change, also influence and provide major feedbacks to the global climate system.
Many globally significant processes are driven by the unique climate and geography of the Antarctic region. These include the uptake of carbon dioxide by the Southern Ocean; the overturning circulation of the deep ocean; the balance between water storage and discharge in the main continental ice-sheet; changes in surface energy, mass and momentum exchange by ice masses; and energy transfer between all levels of the atmosphere to space. Understanding these processes is vital for understanding and predicting climate and environmental changes and their impacts. These impacts include future greenhouse gas levels, sea-level rise, the variability and rate of change of climate, and changes in atmospheric composition. The latter includes the stratospheric 'ozone hole', which affects life in Southern Hemisphere nations.
Use the links at left to explore the various facets of our climate change research.
Ice sheets and sea-level rise
Australia has collected data on ice flow, ice thickness and other ice sheet characteristics in East Antarctica for over 50 years. These data allow researchers to calibrate and validate new satellite measurements of the ice sheet and to develop models used to project the ice sheet's response to climate change.
The intense cold of the Antarctic ice sheet affects the global climate system through changes in surface energy and moisture, clouds, precipitation, and atmospheric and ocean circulation. If the Antarctic ice sheet melted, it would raise global sea level by nearly 60 metres. However, the response of the ice sheet to global warming is the largest unknown in projecting future sea level over the next 100–1000 years.
A major focus of Australia's ice sheet research has been in the Lambert Glacier basin. At the Amery Ice Shelf, where the Lambert Glacier flows out to sea, research aims to understand the thermal and salinity interactions between the ice and the underlying ocean. Scientists have found that ice near the base of the ice shelf is porous and infiltrated with sea water, making it highly vulnerable to rapid melting.
Is the Antarctic ice sheet growing or shrinking?
The findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4), in 2007, was that the Antarctic Ice Sheet, as a whole, was contributing to sea level rise at a rate 0.2 mm/yr. Ice loss occurred mostly from increased discharge of icebergs by large outlet glacier systems in the Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea regions of West Antarctica. Loss also occurred by melt along the Antarctic Peninsula, where air temperatures have warmed over the last 50 years.
Since late 2005 (the cut-off date for work assessed by IPCC AR4), further studies of ice accumulation and loss ('mass budget') in Greenland and Antarctica have been made using satellite altimetry, satellite gravity measurements and estimates of the difference between net snowfall and discharge of ice. These confirm that both the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are losing ice mass and contributing to sea level rise.
These new estimates suggest that the total annual loss from Antarctica since 1993 is around 100 Gt/yr (100 billion tonnes of ice per year; equivalent to ~0.25 mm/yr of global sea level rise). While the range of estimates from the different studies is large (from near zero to 0.5 mm/yr of sea level rise) they all suggest a net loss. Ice loss has been greatest along coastal sectors of the Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctica. However, ice thickening (gain) further inland and over most of East Antarctica may have partially offset this loss. All of the available estimates, however, show that the loss of mass in West Antarctica is greater than any added mass in East Antarctica.
This map shows the ‘balance flux’, which is the volume of ice that must be discharged to balance the annual snow fall onto the ice sheet. This is derived by a computer model for a given snow fall distribution: the blue areas are low ice discharge rates and the red are high rates, on a logarithmic scale. The plot compares the modelled mass flux across the 200 m surface elevation contour. The discharge is derived from ice velocity and the ice thicknesses, measured during over-snow traverses between 40 and 130 degrees East (black dots). Where the balance flux is greater than the measured flux, the interior ice sheet is growing, and vice versa.
Much of this part of Antarctica is nearly in balance, although gains in the Lambert Glacier Basin (LGB, top) and Wilkes Land (bottom) lead to an overall gain for this part of the ice sheet that is equivalent to a drop in sea level of 0.1 mm per year. Different balance conditions in other parts of Antarctica, and between the 2000 m elevation contour and the coastline, also impact sea level, and overall Antarctica is contributing to a net sea level rise. From the report: Australia’s contribution to Antarctic Climate Science (2008).
What about the Greenland Ice Sheet?
In Greenland the average ice mass loss since 1993 has been about 120 GT/yr (contributing ~0.35 mm/yr to sea level rise). There is evidence that the rate of mass loss may be increasing, with recent values as high as 0.5 mm/yr of sea level rise. However there can be large variability from year to year in the surface melt in Greenland and the short term changes, from satellite gravity data in particular (which are only available since 2003), may reflect this, rather than a long-term trend. There has been thickening of the high central ice sheet in Greenland, but this has been more than offset by increased melting near the coast. Flow speed has also increased for some Greenland outlet glaciers.
Why is Antarctic ice melting faster over the Peninsula and in West Antarctica than in East Antarctica?
The Antarctic Ice Sheet is complex, and different regions respond differently.
Ice loss by melting along the Antarctic Peninsula is a direct result of warming air temperature. The rate of temperature rise in this region (2.5ºC over the last 50 years) is among the greatest on our planet.
Increased ice discharge from glaciers is, in some cases, a result of the collapse of floating ice shelves. In the more northerly parts of the Antarctic Peninsula, large ice shelves are eroded from beneath by warming ocean waters, and a number of these ice shelves have catastrophically disintegrated. Although the collapse of a floating ice shelf does not add to sea level, the removal of buttressing by the ice shelves may “unplug” land-based glaciers behind the former ice shelves, and these can then flow more rapidly into the sea.
The cause of acceleration of other large outlet glaciers in West Antarctica is not fully understood, but may be related to marine ice shelf instability (discussed under the next question).
Over most of East Antarctica surface temperatures are well below the freezing point, and a small increase in temperature cannot initiate melt. Warmer temperatures however allow the atmosphere to hold more water vapour, and thus lead to increased snowfall. An increased input of snow may be causing East Antarctica to grow slightly, but any gain here is more than offset by loss from West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula.
Could the West Antarctic ice sheet continue to add to sea level rise?
The West Antarctic ice sheet forms what is called a marine ice sheet – the ice is resting on bedrock, but that bedrock is below sea level. This is comparable to loading too many ice cubes in your gin and tonic – the bottom one touches the bottom of the glass even though it's well below the water level.
Where the bedrock under a marine ice sheet slopes down towards the interior, such as under parts of West Antarctica, the ice sheet may be unstable. If the coastal part of the ice sheet thins, it will start to float and is then able to flow more rapidly. This drains more ice from further inland which may also start to float and, with bedrock that slopes backwards and becomes deeper further in, continued retreat of the grounded ice sheet may proceed very rapidly. A small retreat could in theory destabilize the entire West Antarctica ice sheet, leading to rapid disintegration.
What will be the contribution of the ice sheets to future sea level rise?
The IPCC AR4 projected that sea level rise from thermal expansion of the ocean, melt of small glaciers and ice caps, and from Greenland and Antarctica (for a wide range of emission scenarios) would be in the range 0.18 to 0.59 m by 2090–2100. This estimate does not include further accelerated discharge from ice sheet outlet glaciers.
The ice sheet contribution to this estimate comes mostly from melt in Greenland and from the Antarctic Peninsula. Surface temperatures over most of East Antarctica are well below the freezing point and direct melt of the East Antarctic ice sheet is not expected to contribute significantly to sea level rise over the next century.
Estimating any extra sea level rise from further acceleration of outlet glaciers is not straight forward. Processes such as those controlling basal sliding of glaciers (where lubricating water at the bed of the glacier allows it to move more rapidly) are not well understood. The IPCC AR4 estimated that dynamic ice sheet accelerations from processes such as marine ice sheet instability and accelerated basal sliding might add another 0.1 to 0.2 m of sea level rise over the next century. But the AR4 report emphasized that even larger values might be possible.
Are reports of sea level rise of 6 m correct?
With recent observations of the speed-up of some glaciers in both Greenland and Antarctica, it has been argued that the IPCC estimate of the ice dynamic effect may be too low. Total sea level rise of as much as 6 m over the next century has been proposed based on a comparison with sea level rise rates at the end of the last ice age.
However, at the end of last ice age there was three times as much ice to melt as there is presently on the Earth. A rise of sea level by 6 m over the next century is improbable within constraints of the area of present day ice sheets, and the rate at which glaciers can accelerate.
A more generally accepted upper bound of sea level rise over the next century is 2 m. The probable rise will be less than this, although possibly toward the upper end of the IPCC AR4 estimate of around 0.8 m.
What is happening to ice shelves – and do they contribute to sea level rise?
A number of floating ice shelves along the Antarctic Peninsula have disintegrated dramatically over the last decade. The cause of their catastrophic collapse is a combination of melting at the base, which thins and makes them more vulnerable, and warmer summer temperatures which cause increased surface melt that can lead to rapid disintegration. Large areas of ice shelves (thousands of square kilometres of ice that is 100 to 200 m thick) have broken into small pieces and disintegrated within a few weeks.
The most recent example of this is the Wilkins Ice Shelf. The Wilkins Ice Shelf has undergone significant changes since 2008 after two significant break-up events in February and May 2008 and further losses in June and July 2008. These changes have been attributed to strong regional warming, and melting of the ice shelves from below.
Loss of ice shelves does not contribute to sea level rise as they are already floating. But where ice shelves buttress glaciers flowing into the sea, accelerated glacier flow can add to sea level rise. This is not the case for Wilkins Ice Shelf, but did occur when the Larsen B Ice Shelf dramatically collapsed.
What are the gaps in our knowledge that restrict better estimates of future sea level rise?
The main gaps are in our understanding are of some aspects of ice sheet dynamics. There is a need to improve our mathematical models of ice streams, ice sheets and ice shelves to be able to better project future changes. We also need more detailed measurements of how deep the bedrock is under the ice sheets, to use in the models.
Another major gap concerns what is happening at the bed of the ice sheets – how they react with liquid water at the base, what role water may have in sliding processes, and the role of gravels and slurry at the base. We now know there is a lot of liquid water under the ice sheets, but we don't really know how changes in this may affect the ice flow.
Sea ice change
SIPEX. Aurora Australis in the pack ice (Photo: Sandra Zicus) Understanding the interactions between sea ice, the surrounding ocean and the atmosphere is critical for accurate weather predictions and climate projections. Scientists are studying these interactions through measurements of sea ice extent, thickness, concentration, drift and snow thickness above the ice. Changes in these attributes significantly alter the ocean-atmosphere interaction, ocean circulation and the marine food web.
Australia has 20 years of ship-based sea ice thickness measurements, which provide a baseline against which to measure future change and data for climate models. These include observations from the Sea Ice Physics and Ecosystem eXperiment (SIPEX) in 2007, which studied the physics and biology of the sea ice, and the interactions of the sea ice structure, thickness and snow properties and their effects on the under-ice algae and ecosystem of the Southern Ocean.
These in situ sea ice measurements are used to validate local satellite measurements and improve the instruments and techniques used to make these measurements. For example, observations from the Australian sea ice research campaign, Antarctic Remote Ice Sensing Experiment (ARISE) in 2003, are being used by NASA and the European Space Agency to validate and develop satellite algorithms. As satellite measurements become more accurate they will be used to measure sea ice (and any changes) on a large scale.
How is sea ice extent changing?
Satellite measurements show the average annual sea ice extent in the Arctic has declined by 2.9% per decade since 1979, while summer extent has decreased by 11% per decade.
In Antarctica the changes have been much more subtle and regionally variable. The western Antarctic Peninsula region has shown a decline in sea ice extent, particularly in the Bellingshausen Sea, consistent with the recent change to more northerly winds and surface warming observed there.
In contrast, sea ice in the Ross and Weddell seas is increasing. These changes involve both changes in sea ice extent and in the length of season during which sea ice is present each year.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4, 2007) concluded that there had been no net change in Antarctic sea ice extent for the period of reliable satellite records (i.e., since 1979); however, recent results suggest a slight increase in maximum Antarctic sea ice extent.
What are the projections for the future?
Climate models predict that Antarctic sea ice will reduce by 24% in total extent and 34% in total volume by 2100. Such reductions will lead to changes in oceanic and atmospheric circulation and will impact on the ecosystems of the Southern Ocean including its wildlife, and open up areas previously inaccessible to shipping.
What impacts will changes in sea ice extent and duration have?
Reduced sea ice formation will potentially slow the global ocean overturning circulation and will result in increased absorption of the sun's heat by the ocean at high latitudes. It will also provide greater access for ships to the higher latitudes and may lead to a significant increase in tourist vessels in the Antarctic. This will have implications for Australia's search and rescue responsibilities as well as for resource management.
What is driving the changes in sea ice?
In the western Antarctic Peninsula, sea ice decline has largely been driven by an intensification of more northerly winds during autumn-spring, leading to wind-induced ice compaction. The sea ice changes are also coincident with an increase in average winter air temperature of 5.8°C between 1950 and 2005, attributed to climate change.
In the western Ross Sea region the increase in sea ice has been attributed to both a strengthening of westerly winds and a more frequent southerly outflow of winds from the continent, associated with the persistence of a deep low-pressure anomaly in the Amundsen Sea.
Intensive research is continuing using both modelling and observations to better understand changes in the large-scale patterns of atmospheric circulation around Antarctica, their complex impacts on observed changes in sea ice, and possible feedback mechanisms involved, as well as connections with atmospheric processes in other parts of the world.
Does the ozone hole have an effect on sea ice?
Recent research published by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey suggests that the ozone hole is delaying the impact of greenhouse gas increases on the climate of Antarctica and contributing to the increase in Antarctic sea ice (BAS press release). As ozone levels recover towards the end of the century, however, sea ice is expected to decline.
How are we monitoring sea ice change?
Currently there are no means of accurately and routinely measuring and monitoring sea ice thickness over large-scales, although satellite radar and laser altimeters show great potential. Most of our knowledge on the changes in Arctic sea ice thickness comes from de-classified sonar data from military submarines. No such data is available for the Antarctic.
However, Australian researchers have developed a technique for measuring sea ice thickness that has resulted in the first circumpolar maps of Antarctic sea ice thickness ever published. These data provide a valuable baseline for climate studies; however ongoing monitoring of changes in Antarctic sea ice thickness requires more precise measurement techniques. These are currently being developed and implemented by scientists at the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC) and include airborne laser and radar altimetry for surface mapping and under-ice sonar measurements using an autonomous underwater vehicle for measuring ice thickness. In addition, ACE CRC research validates satellite-derived information on the thickness of snow cover on sea ice. Data from these programs will be used to improve the interpretation of satellite data and will ultimately contribute to the production of more reliable global ice thickness products. Scientific Classification of Emperor Penguin | Kingdom: | Animalia | Phylum: | Chordata | Class: | Aves | Order: | Sphenisciformes | Family: | Spheniscidae | Scientific Name: | Aptenodytes forsteri | Conservation Status | Near Threatened |
Height of Antarctica
Antarctica is the highest continent on earth with an average elevation of 2500 m (the average elevation of Australia is only 340 m). The height of the South Pole is 2835 m and the highest point on the icecap is in Australian Antarctic Territory, at 4100 m, at 82° 20'S, 56° 30'E. The highest mountains in Australian Antarctic Territory are Mt McClintock (3490 m) and Mt Menzies (3355 m). Vinson Massif is the highest mountain in Antarctica, at 4897 m. For more information, see the ice cap.
Snow (precipitation) in Antarctica
Antarctica is the driest continent on earth. The amount of moisture received by the polar plateau is comparable to that falling on the world’s hot deserts. For more information, see Ice, Ocean, Atmosphere and Climate.
Wind in Antarctica
Antarctica is the windiest continent on earth. Winds flow down the coastal slopes under the influence of gravity. These katabatic wind speeds have been recorded at up to 327 km per hour. For more information, see Antarctic weather – meteorology.
Temperature in Antarctica
Antarctica is the also coldest continent on earth. The lowest temperature ever recorded on earth was minus 89.2°C at Vostok, in the Australian Antarctic Territory, in 1983. For more information see Dome Argus (the coldest place in the Antarctic Territory) and wind chill.
Size of Antarctica
Including all the islands and ice shelves, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia, covering 13,661,000 km². The Australian Antarctic Territory is 5,896,500 km² (42% of Antarctica).
The closest country to Antarctica
South America, the point of which is shared by Argentina and Chile, is the closest continent to Antarctica. At the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, 1238 km south of Ushuaia (the southern-most city of Argentina) is the Argentinian station Vice Comodoro Marambio.
In contrast, the distance between Hobart, Tasmania (where the Australian Antarctic Division is situated) and Australia’s closest station, Casey, is 3443 km.
Claims for Antarctic Territory The Antarctic Treaty was designed to provide an agreement for the future care and use of Antarctica, and avoid territorial and other disputes. The Treaty encourages international co-operation in scientific research – an extraordinary agreement given that it was signed during the Cold War!
Antarctica is the highest, driest, windiest and coldest continent in the world. The Antarctic continent is a land mass covered with ice up to 4 km thick. The highest point is approximately 4 km above sea level. There is little exposed rock and, although milions of years ago there was heavy vegetation, today the only plants that grow are very small mosses.’ The Emperor Penguin has a circumpolar distribution around the shores of Antarctica. Predominately the distribution is over greatest density between 66 ° and 77° south latitudes. Despite staying around the coast Emperor penguins have been known to travel 18 km inland. The total population is estimated at 400,000-450,000 penguins with several main breeding colonies. These colonies are usually located between ice cliffs and ice bergs to be shelters from the wind. The Emperor Penguin has a circumpolar distribution in the Antarctic almost exclusively between the 66° and 77° south latitudes. It almost always breeds on stable pack ice near the coast and up to 18 km (11 mi) offshore.[8] Breeding colonies are usually located in areas where ice cliffs and icebergs shelter them from the wind.[8] The total population is estimated at around 400,000–450,000 individuals, which are distributed among as many as 40 independent colonies.[10] Around 80,000 pairs breed in the Ross Sea sector.[33] Major breeding colonies are located at Cape Washington (20,000–25,000 pairs), Coulman Island in Victoria Land (around 22,000 pairs), Halley Bay, Coats Land (14,300–31,400 pairs), and Atka Bay in Queen Maud Land (16,000 pairs).[10] Two land colonies have been reported: one on a shingle spit at Dion Island on the Antarctic Peninsula,[34] and one on a headland at Taylor Glacier in the Australian Antarctic Territory.[35] Vagrants have been recorded on Heard Island,[36] South Georgia, and in New Zealand.[10][37] * Websites * Information * https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html * http://www.defence.gov.au/op/afghanistan/index.htm * http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107264.html * http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1336172/Timeline-The-war-in-Afghanistan * http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486eb6.html * http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0802662.html * http://www.refintl.org/where-we-work/asia/afghanistan * http://www.indigofoundation.org/pdfs/projects/refugees/Afghan_Refugees_In_Australia__03.pdf * http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8143196.stm * http://www.help-afghan-refugees.com/ * http://www.afghanwomensmission.org/ * http://csis.org/files/publication/120111_Afghanistan_Aspen_Paper.pdf