Now You SEA Ice, Now You Don’t Climate Change: Now You SEA Ice, Now You Don’t

Antarctic Peninsula For many, the Antarctic Peninsula is the most beautiful part of the Antarctic, unlocked each year by the retreating ice, it is on this rocky backbone stretching north that most of the continent’s wildlife survives…

Antarctic Peninsula Almost every patch of accessible bare rock is covered in a penguin colony. Even tiny crags that pierce the mountainsides are used by nesting birds.

Antarctic Peninsula At the global level, strong evidence suggests that observed changes in Earth’s climate are largely due to human activities

Antarctic Peninsula At the regional level, the evidence for human-dominated change is less clear. Scientists have a particularly difficult time explaining warming trends in Antarctica.

Antarctic Peninsula www.units.muohio.edu/cryolab/education/antarcticbestiary.htm

Antarctic Peninsula Temperature increase of 3o C in the last century Shift in penguin communities Adelie penguins are declining 600-year colonization history Chinstrap penguins are increasing Cause: changes in sea ice

Climatologists: Air temperature data set. Source: Data compiled from the Palmer Station, Antarctica Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) data archive. Data from the Palmer LTER archive were supported by the Office of Polar Programs, NSF Grants OPP-9011927, OPP-9632763, and OPP‑021782.

Antarctic Peninsula Adelie Penguins Pygoscelis adeliae Chinstrap Penguins Pygoscelis antarctica Breed on the coast of Antarctica and surrounding islands Named after the wife of French Explorer Jules Dumont d’Urville Adults stand 70-75 cm and weigh up to 5 kg Found primarily on the Antarctic Peninsula and the Scotia Arc island chain Named from the black band running across their chins Adults stand 71-76 cm tall and weigh up to 5 kg

Summary Essay- Individual How has the ecosystem of the Antarctic Peninsula changed in the last 50 years? What are the most likely explanations for these changes? Is there sufficient evidence to support these explanations? Why or why not? What further questions are left unanswered? Did your Specialist Group come up with any explanations that you think are not very likely (or not even possible), based on the complete story presented by your Home Group?