PA32A-05
Cape Adare – A sentinel for change in Antarctica

Wednesday, 16 December 2015: 11:23
103 (Moscone South)
Gary S Wilson, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, Craig Cary, University of Waikato, International Centre for Terrestrial Antarctic Research, Hamilton, New Zealand, Vonda Cummings, NIWA National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New Zealand, Ian Hawes, University of Canterbury, Gateway Antarctica, Christchurch, New Zealand, Soon Gyu Hong, Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon, South Korea and Morgan Coleman, Landcare Research, Lincoln, New Zealand
Abstract:
Cape Adare stretches some 40km beyond the Antarctic Continent across the Continental Shelf. It is flanked to the east by the northern Ross Sea and to the West by Robertson Bay. The following characteristics make it an ideal monitoring and observation point to understand the impact of warm ocean and climate propogating into Antarctica from the Southern Ocean:

1) Robertson Bay is some 500m deep and has the potential to record deep water inflow which is predicted as climate warms and is also indicated as the biggest risk for melting Antarctic ice shelves.

2) Cape Adare also lies between the Antarctic continental high pressure and the Southern Ocean low pressure

3) Ridley Beach at the tip of the Peninsula is home to Antarctica’s largest Adelie Penguin Colony

In November 2015 we will conduct a pilot survey of the marine and terrestrial ecology and physical setting, with a view to determining what opportunities exist for a long term monitoring system. Cape Adare and the Ridley Beach Penguin Colony also offers the advantage of being on the edge of the proposed Ross Sea marine protected area and may represent an opportunity to monitor the associated ecosystem.

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