Scientists Address Climate Change in Patagonia
Afew days after protests over economic inequality issues erupted i n Santiago, several international and national scientists met October 21 - 22 in Coyhaique to discuss climate change and its effects on Patagonia’s ecosystems. Organized by the Patagonia Ecosystem Research Center ( CIEP), the speakers discussed the most urgent climate issues facing Chilean Patagonia.
Today, t he Patagonian region holds 64 percent of Chile’s lakes, 75 percent of river runoff, and 72 percent of glaciers. The Patagonian Ice Fields are studied through photographs that permit scientists to observe how much they change in size annually; images of lakes are also especially useful in looking for evidence of the changes that global warming has wrought in recent years. “They look less transparent as the years go by,” says Dr. Brian Reid, who has participated in lake monitoring programs from Puerto Montt to Cape Horn for more than a decade. Reid says the samples he studies are changing strongly in terms of productivity, transparency and nutrition limits.
Regarding the state of the cryosphere in Patagonia, there has been a significant decline in Antarctic sea ice and glacial ice from the Patagonian Ice Fields, which could cause flooding in coastal areas and affect areas inhabited by humans. The thaw also results in rising sea temperatures and a decrease i n water salinity, which directly alters the phytoplankton population. “This i s an organism t hat absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen, and that affects the dynamics of gases in the atmosphere,” says Dr. Irene Schloss of the Argentine Antarctic Institute. This organism is the basis of the oceanic trophic network and the increase or decrease of
its population also impacts the fish that feed on it and the entire food chain.
For 25 years, Schloss has done studies at Caleta Potter, located southwest of King George Island off the coast of Antarctica. She says the island used to be surrounded by the Fourcade Glacier, but in 2016 it “went from being a glacier that directly fell into the water, to one that is completely on land. It went from being a tidewater glacier to a land glacier, and the rate of retreat is about 40 meters per year. It’s really astounding the change.”
As for the oceans, the marine life around Patagonia is globally exceptional in terms of its diversity. “That is why Patagonia is called a biodiversity hotspot,” explains Dr. Vreni Haussermann, who has been conducting studies in the region for more than 20 years. However, she says these organisms must develop in an environment full of complexities. There are many abiotic factors, such as the temperature and salinity of the sea, that interfere with its growth. Additionally, there is the pressure exerted by economic activities, especially the increasing reach of the salmon farming industry along the coast, which has l ed t o t he mass death of coral reefs.
“There are l arge areas where we have only dead corals,” she reveals, adding that on Madre de Dios Island there once had been a hydrocoral reef that resembled a tropical reef, but it ceased to exist in the span of just one year. “Local fishermen say there are areas where everything dies suddenly,” says Haussermann. Molluscs, anemones, gorgonian algae, sardines and jellyfish, among other species, have also been affected. She urges the creation of more marine protection areas i n Patagonia, particularly because it’s the areas that are in greatest conflict which are currently not protected.
Climate change will alter the habitat and l i ving condition f or all f orms of life and ecosystems around the world, said Dr. Russel Death, from the I nstitute of Ecology and Environment in New Zealand. “More diseases are going to arise from bacteria that were once functional at a certain temperature and are now mobilizing in new temperatures,” he said. Death witnessed first- hand the disastrous consequences of prioritizing polluting economic activities over the benefits that come from taking care of the amazing landscapes that captivate millions of t ouri sts every year who t ravel to that country. Patagonia is much like New Zealand was 20 years ago, Death said, and warned that Patagonia should avoid repeating their mistakes.
“Regarding the state of the cryosphere, there has been a significant decline in Antarctic sea ice and glacial ice from the Patagonian Ice Fields, which could cause flooding in coastal areas and affect areas inhabited by humans.”