SCIENCE PROGRAMME 2019/20New Zealand’s Antarctic Science Programme is driven by the Government’s science

strategy for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Events for this season are grouped into strategic themes.

Improved understanding of inland and coastal ecosystems of the Ross Sea region leading to enhanced knowledge, conservation and

protection priorities in Antarctica.

Improved conservation and resource management of the Antarctic

marine environment.

Seasonal flow of the Ross Ice ShelfVictoria University of WellingtonThis team will install global positioning system (GPS) receiver units on the Ross Ice Shelf. The units will remain in place for two years to collect information on rate of flow (forward movement) of the ice shelf and seasonal patterns of flow. Field measurements will be combined with satellite data to create computer simulations of ice shelf movement, which will ultimately increase our understanding of how the ice shelf will respond to climate change.

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Greenhouse gases in Antarctic permafrostUniversity of Otago, Sapienza Universita di RomaThis joint New Zealand/Italian team will work in the McMurdo Dry Valleys to investigate greenhouse gases in permafrost (permanently frozen ground). This first season of research will include a range of soil gas surveys, soil pit analyses and the installation of two long-term monitoring probes. Understanding the potential release of greenhouse gases from Antarctic permafrost is important for predicting their influence on climate change.

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New flow laws for Ice SheetsUniversity of Otago, Korea Polar Research Institute, University of TasmaniaThis team will camp at the Priestley Glacier where they will study ice structure by using seismic waves (low frequency sound waves). Scientists will detonate small explosives and measure the sound waves that travel through the ice. This research will improve our understanding of how ice flows, how that flow might change with warming temperatures and how it may respond to potential ice shelf collapse.

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Ice sheet retreat from past warmingGNS Science, Victoria University of Wellington This team will work from a field camp in the Byrd Glacier area where they will investigate the age of rocks. To do this, researchers will use surface exposure dating to reveal the length of time the rocks have been ice-free. This information will reveal when the Byrd Glacier retreated during past warm periods, and will help inform projections of how the Antarctic Ice Sheet might respond to a warming world.

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Killer whales and marine spatial protectionUniversity of CanterburyThis team will work in McMurdo Sound to study Antarctic killer whales from the ice edge. They will collect photo-ID images to characterise the whale population, dart biopsies to investigate diet and kinship, and record vocalisations and behaviour using hydrophones, camera traps, and a remote operating vehicle. Results from this research will contribute to understanding the effectiveness of the Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area.

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Adélie penguin population ecologyNIWA, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research This team will study Adélie penguin population dynamics at Cape Bird. Scientists will assess links between environmental conditions, foraging paths and behaviour of individual breeding adults, and chick growth and recruitment. The team will also study over-winter survival and migration paths. The research aims to understand and forecast Adélie penguin population dynamics in response to a range of management and climate change scenarios.

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Weddell sealsNIWA, Cawthron InstituteThis team will study the underwater movement and diet of Weddell seals in McMurdo Sound. Scientists will investigate how Weddell seals move within their environment, and how their underwater movements are linked to what they are eating. Researchers will also study the long-term over-winter movement of Weddell seals, after they have given birth, to identify key areas with enough food to prepare them for the next breeding season.

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Ancient Adélie penguins NIWA, Manaaki Whenua Landcare ResearchThis team will visit ancient Adélie penguin breeding sites on Ross Island, where they will gather guano, bone, feather and eggshell samples. DNA from these samples will be used to reconstruct changes in penguin diet and population size over the past 8,000 years. Understanding how changes in diet have affected penguin populations in the past will contribute to assessing the potential impacts of climate change and fishing in the Ross Sea region.

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We would like to acknowledge the support from funding agencies including the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment; the Antarctic Science Platform; the New Zealand Antarctic Research Institute; the Marsden Fund; the Deep South National Science Challenge; and the Pew Charitable Trust. We also acknowledge the contributions from partnering research institutions including GNS Science; Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research; NIWA; University of Otago; University of Canterbury; Victoria University of Wellington; University of Waikato; Massey University; University of Auckland and Auckland University of Technology.

Improved understanding of the past and current state of Antarctica, its

significance and implications of the role of Antarctica in global change, and implications of global change

for Antarctica.

CLIMATE, CRYOSPHERE, ATMOSPHERE

AND LITHOSPHERE

www.antarcticanz.govt.nz

INLAND & COASTAL

ECOSYSTEMS

Terrestrial ecosystems of Northern Victoria Land University of Waikato, Korea Polar Research Institute This collaborative New Zealand/Korean team will study terrestrial ecosystems in Northern Victoria Land. Researchers will focus on soils, microbes, mosses and lichens and look for changes in biological communities along gradients in the physical environment. These baseline data will help detect changes in terrestrial ecosystems that are linked to a changing climate.

K812-BResilience in Antarctic biota and ecosystems University of WaikatoThis collaborative New Zealand/United States team will study microbial communities at Lake Fryxell in the McMurdo Dry Valleys as part of a long-term ecological research programme. The team will investigate microbial mats using a combination of under-ice diving, under-water experimentation and sampling, and will assess how rising water levels affect microbial communities.

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Sea-ice microbial communities Victoria University of Wellington, University of TasmaniaThis team will use tethered submarines and specialised microsensors to monitor the health and composition of microbial communities that live on the underside of the sea ice. The research will help reveal how expected environmental changes, like thinning sea ice or more snow, will affect these unusual communities which are a critical link in the Antarctic food web. These observations will generate baseline data from which the effects of climate change can be measured.

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MARINE SYSTEMS

Drilling for climate, ice and ocean historyGNS Science, Victoria University of WellingtonThis team will work from a field camp at Siple Coast (1000 km from Scott Base) where they will use hot water to drill through the Ross Ice Shelf, then sample the ocean below and recover sedimentary cores from the sea floor. This season’s main objective is to develop an understanding of the nature of the sea-floor sediments. Future retrieval of deep sediment cores will help inform multidisciplinary studies of the stability of the Ross Ice Shelf during past warm periods. Drill holes at the Siple Coat will also support the United States Icefin project. Icefin is an under-ice robot designed to explore ice-ocean environments here on Earth and ultimately on Jupiter’s icy moon named Europa.

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Ross Ice Shelf programmeUniversity of Otago, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Canterbury, University of Waikato, University of Auckland, GNS Science, NIWA, UC Santa Cruz, Georgia Institute of Technology, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (Columbia University)This team will work from a location known as Hot Water Drill site 2 (HWD2), in the middle of the Ross Ice Shelf. In 2017/18, a 370 m deep hole was drilled through the ice shelf as part of an interdisciplinary project, and scientists deployed equipment which measures the temperature and saltiness of the ocean beneath the ice. This season, the team will visit HWD2 to download data collected over the past year. This information will help us to understand how the Ross Ice Shelf will respond to a warming ocean.

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Emperor Penguin ecologySan Jose State University, Alaska SeaLife CenterThis team will work at Cape Crozier to study Emperor penguin diet and movement patterns using a combination of underwater cameras and specialised physiological equipment. The aim is to identify how movement patterns of adult penguins are linked to feeding patterns. This is important information for understanding the effectiveness of the Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area (MPA) as the boundaries of the MPA are fixed, whereas animals are highly mobile.

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Kamb Ice Stream surveysGNS Science, Victoria University of Wellington This team will carry out geophysical surveys at the Kamb Ice Stream on the Siple Coast (1000 km from Scott Base). The research includes seismic surveys using explosives as the sound source, and airborne gravity surveys using a gravity meter. This work will help identify sites where researchers can sample sedimentary deposits that contain records of how the ice sheet responded during previous warm periods in Earth’s history.

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Sea ice growth in McMurdo SoundUniversity of OtagoThis team will work on the sea ice in McMurdo Sound, where they will retrieve instruments installed during the winter. The data record measurements of sea ice growth from winter to spring. This research will improve our understanding of how ocean processes beneath the ice shelf influence sea ice formation in McMurdo Sound.

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Marine ecosystems of northern Victoria Land University of Waikato, Korea Polar Research InstituteThis collaborative New Zealand/Korean team will work from Terra Nova Bay to continue a long-term study of marine sea floor communities. Researchers will use a mix of remote video cameras and divers to describe the communities that live on the sea floor at selected sites. The key objective of the research is to determine how fast different components of the community respond to climate change.

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Ice edge and ocean processesNIWA, Korea Polar Research InstituteThis team will work from the Korean research vessel RV Araon to recover, download and then redeploy oceanographic instruments attached to moorings in Terra Nova Bay. Data collected provide information on the temperature and saltiness of the ocean at various depths. This information contributes to understanding processes associated with the Terra Nova Bay Polynya - an important area for the production of cold, dense, salty water that has a key role in global ocean circulation.

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Geothermal extremophiles on ErebusUniversity of Waikato, University of Canterbury, Northeastern University, University of South CaliforniaThis team will study microorganisms that live in the geothermally-warmed soils of Mt Erebus. This season’s activities focus on exploring and mapping geothermal areas for future sampling, and testing drilling equipment specifically designed for this work. Research will increase our knowledge of geothermal microbe diversity and ultimately broaden our understanding of how organisms survive in extreme environments.

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