Pole of Possibility

research Legacy

An important goal of the ‘Pole of Possibility’ expedition is to have a research legacy. Specifically, we plan to undertake empirical research that will help (i) to raise awareness the importance of polar regions to people and (ii) to demonstrate the impact that climate change will have on Polar regions. Below we outline two research projects that undertaken as part of the PoP expedition.

 

Measurement of the impacts of climate change on the release of microbial carbon within the Antarctica ice sheet.

 

Each year, around 3.5x10e21 microbial cells are flushed from glaciers and ice sheets worldwide. This loss of cells release carbon that was previously locked in the ice. Current estimates suggest that this equates to around 1-2% of the carbon fixed on glacier surfaces annually. With predicted climate change, it is likely that the volume of carbon released from glaciers and ice sheets will increase. The current estimates for this type of carbon loss are, however, extremely crude. For example, the models for Antarctica are based on data from the Antarctic Peninsula and at the South Pole only. There are currently little or no data on the microbial content of glaciers in the rest of Antarctica. It is proposed that the ‘Pole of Possibility’ expedition will help fill some of this knowledge gap by collecting snow samples along the expedition route. These samples will subsequently be analysed for carbon content. This new data will then feed into more robust models of carbon fluxes on the Antarctic ice sheet, which in turn will allow better assessment of the amount of carbon that might be released from Antarctica as a result of global warming..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Economic valuation of the ecosystem services derived from Antarctica

Natural environments provide a range of fundamental goods and services (termed ‘ecosystem services’), which are essential in supporting human existence, for health, well-being and the provision of livelihoods. In recent years there has been an increasing research and policy interest to understand how people benefit from natural environments and to assess the economic value of the services delivered (Costanza et al, 1997; MEA, 2005; TEEB, 2010). Although there has been significant progress towards understanding the value of ecosystem services across most biomes, one biome remains conspicuous in terms of research effort: Polar Regions.

Polar regions provide a wide range of provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting ecosystem services, which directly and indirectly benefit people (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). For example, the Southern Ocean provide around one sixth of the global fish take (Kock, 1992). The polar ice caps store approximately 80% of the planet’s fresh water: which helps to regulate sea levels and are also important carbon sinks. Polar regions also deliver significant cultural services including aesthetic, recreational, inspirational, spiritual and educational benefits. To date, there are only a handful of studies that have assessed the economic value of Antarctic ecosystem services, and no study has undertaken a holistic assessment. As part of the ‘Pole of Possibility’ expedition, it is proposed that we interview scientists at various polar research stations to gather evidence that would allow a robust and comprehensive assessment of Antarctica’s potential to the delivery and regulate global ecosystem services.

 

Click here for further details of the ‘Pole of Possibility’ expedition

You can also contact me on mec@aber.ac.uk