Climate change and the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing one of the fastest rates of regional climate change on Earth, resulting in the collapse of ice shelves, the retreat of glaciers and the exposure of new terrestrial habitat. In the nearby oceanic system, winter sea ice in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas ha...
Published in: | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:1170 2024-06-09T07:41:07+00:00 Climate change and the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula Clarke, Andrew Murphy, Eugene J. Meredith, Michael P. King, John C. Peck, Lloyd S. Barnes, David K.A. Smith, Raymond C. 2007 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/1170/ https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2006.1958 unknown Royal Society Clarke, Andrew orcid:0000-0002-7582-3074 Murphy, Eugene J. orcid:0000-0002-7369-9196 Meredith, Michael P. orcid:0000-0002-7342-7756 King, John C. orcid:0000-0003-3315-7568 Peck, Lloyd S. orcid:0000-0003-3479-6791 Barnes, David K.A. orcid:0000-0002-9076-7867 Smith, Raymond C. 2007 Climate change and the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (B), 362 (1477). 149-166. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2006.1958 <https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2006.1958> Marine Sciences Biology and Microbiology Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2007 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2006.1958 2024-05-15T08:39:04Z The Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing one of the fastest rates of regional climate change on Earth, resulting in the collapse of ice shelves, the retreat of glaciers and the exposure of new terrestrial habitat. In the nearby oceanic system, winter sea ice in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas has decreased in extent by 10% per decade, and shortened in seasonal duration. Surface waters have warmed by more than 1K since the 1950s, and the Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current has also warmed. Of the changes observed in the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) region to date, alterations in winter sea ice dynamics are the most likely to have had a direct impact on the marine fauna, principally through shifts in the extent and timing of habitat for ice-associated biota. Warming of seawater at depths below ca 100m has yet to reach the levels that are biologically significant. Continued warming, or a change in the frequency of the flooding of CDW onto the WAP continental shelf may, however, induce sublethal effects that influence ecological interactions and hence food-web operation. The best evidence for recent changes in the ecosystem may come from organisms which record aspects of their population dynamics in their skeleton (such as molluscs or brachiopods) or where ecological interactions are preserved (such as in encrusting biota of hard substrata). In addition, a southwards shift of marine isotherms may induce a parallel migration of some taxa similar to that observed on land. The complexity of the Southern Ocean food web and the nonlinear nature of many interactions mean that predictions based on short-term studies of a small number of species are likely to be misleading. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice Shelves Sea ice Southern Ocean Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Southern Ocean The Antarctic Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 362 1477 149 166 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Marine Sciences Biology and Microbiology |
spellingShingle |
Marine Sciences Biology and Microbiology Clarke, Andrew Murphy, Eugene J. Meredith, Michael P. King, John C. Peck, Lloyd S. Barnes, David K.A. Smith, Raymond C. Climate change and the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula |
topic_facet |
Marine Sciences Biology and Microbiology |
description |
The Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing one of the fastest rates of regional climate change on Earth, resulting in the collapse of ice shelves, the retreat of glaciers and the exposure of new terrestrial habitat. In the nearby oceanic system, winter sea ice in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas has decreased in extent by 10% per decade, and shortened in seasonal duration. Surface waters have warmed by more than 1K since the 1950s, and the Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current has also warmed. Of the changes observed in the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) region to date, alterations in winter sea ice dynamics are the most likely to have had a direct impact on the marine fauna, principally through shifts in the extent and timing of habitat for ice-associated biota. Warming of seawater at depths below ca 100m has yet to reach the levels that are biologically significant. Continued warming, or a change in the frequency of the flooding of CDW onto the WAP continental shelf may, however, induce sublethal effects that influence ecological interactions and hence food-web operation. The best evidence for recent changes in the ecosystem may come from organisms which record aspects of their population dynamics in their skeleton (such as molluscs or brachiopods) or where ecological interactions are preserved (such as in encrusting biota of hard substrata). In addition, a southwards shift of marine isotherms may induce a parallel migration of some taxa similar to that observed on land. The complexity of the Southern Ocean food web and the nonlinear nature of many interactions mean that predictions based on short-term studies of a small number of species are likely to be misleading. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Clarke, Andrew Murphy, Eugene J. Meredith, Michael P. King, John C. Peck, Lloyd S. Barnes, David K.A. Smith, Raymond C. |
author_facet |
Clarke, Andrew Murphy, Eugene J. Meredith, Michael P. King, John C. Peck, Lloyd S. Barnes, David K.A. Smith, Raymond C. |
author_sort |
Clarke, Andrew |
title |
Climate change and the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula |
title_short |
Climate change and the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full |
Climate change and the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula |
title_fullStr |
Climate change and the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula |
title_full_unstemmed |
Climate change and the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula |
title_sort |
climate change and the marine ecosystem of the western antarctic peninsula |
publisher |
Royal Society |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/1170/ https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2006.1958 |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice Shelves Sea ice Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ice Shelves Sea ice Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
Clarke, Andrew orcid:0000-0002-7582-3074 Murphy, Eugene J. orcid:0000-0002-7369-9196 Meredith, Michael P. orcid:0000-0002-7342-7756 King, John C. orcid:0000-0003-3315-7568 Peck, Lloyd S. orcid:0000-0003-3479-6791 Barnes, David K.A. orcid:0000-0002-9076-7867 Smith, Raymond C. 2007 Climate change and the marine ecosystem of the western Antarctic Peninsula. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (B), 362 (1477). 149-166. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2006.1958 <https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2006.1958> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2006.1958 |
container_title |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
362 |
container_issue |
1477 |
container_start_page |
149 |
op_container_end_page |
166 |
_version_ |
1801369547165401088 |