Research wrap-up

We spent our last week finishing our research projects. One of the final projects we've been working on is Dr. Angelica's climate warming experiment. 

We still don't know all of the impacts of a warming climate, especially in a place so sensitive as Antarctica. In the U.S., being just a few degrees warmer isn't so noticeable to most of us. But in Antarctica where temperatures are so close to freezing, a few degrees is the difference between frozen water and liquid water. That matters a lot for the plants and animals that live there! The Antarctica Peninsula has already warmed by a few degrees over the recent decades, and will likely continue warming with the rest of the planet. Dr. Angelica has been learning the consequences of those warmer temperatures for the soil and plant communities.

How can we try to predict what will happen to the soil and moss that live in Antarctica when it's a few degrees warmer than it is now? We use structures called "open top chambers".  These are little greenhouses that are placed over the ground. The tops are open, so that rain and snow can still come in, but the sides help warm the soil and air inside the chamber by a few degrees. Dr. Angelica has placed some of these chambers at a few different sites around King George Island. We were most recently working on ones on a bluff that overlooks the Drake Passage.

The open-top chambers at Juan Carlos Point.

Inside the chambers, the soil and air are a few degrees warmer. So the moss and soil inside the chambers are experiencing a future Antarctica where it is a few degrees warmer. By watching how the soil and moss changes, we can try to predict the effects of climate change. Dr. Angelica studies how the plant community changes, and we will be looking at how the invertebrate community living inside the moss changes. We also measured photosynthesis and respiration inside the chambers. All of this will be compared to what's happening outside the chambers in "normal" Antarctica.

A peek inside an open-top chamber at Collins Outcrop, one of the other locations for the experiment.

So we've been working hard to finish collecting all of our samples. It's been very busy! There is of course time to stop for a little fun here and there, though. I brought my ukulele with me, and took a break to serenade the glacier. (My fingers were VERY cold, so don't listen too carefully for the mistakes.) Young people out there might not recognize the song. It's the theme from a muppet show called Fraggle Rock. If you've never heard of it, maybe ask your parents. :)