Lack of sea ice surprises scientists on Antarctic trip

WELLINGTON: The absence of sea ice near the Antarctic has surprised scientists who have spent the past six weeks carrying out research in the Southern Ocean.

The Niwa vessel Tangaroa returned to Wellington yesterday.

Niwa marine ecologist David Bowden said the voyage was planned late in the season knowing it might not be able to get where it wanted to go because of ice, but it was almost completely icefree.

Sea ice forms when the ocean surrounding the Antarctic freezes, which plays a crucial role in the global climate system, but this summer coverage has dropped to its secondlowest on record.

‘‘It has been an extraordinary year from that aspect but has allowed us to go to places we thought would probably be inaccessible,’’ Dr Bowden said.

The voyage lost three days to bad weather but managed to achieve what it set out to do. The voyage looked at.—

Climate change effects on oceanographic processes.

Marine microbial community structure and function.

Influence of marine aerosols on cloud formation and properties of Antarctic clouds.

Seabed habitats and fauna inside and outside the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area.

The role of whales in the Antarctic ecosystem.

The abundance, diversity, and distribution of mesopelagic fish, krill and zooplankton. — NZN