Why Should We Care?

Today people care about the poles because of one primary issue -- the melting of ice caps and sea ice, and its potential implications for humans. Both resulting sea level rise around the world and interference with the Ocean Conveyor Belt, a circumglobal current system that delivers cold water from the poles to subtropical upwelling areas, are cause for concern.  This attention almost borders on the histrionic, as more and more people wake up to the fact that dramatic changes in even the remotest parts of the planet have the ability to affect us in major ways. So while the image of polar bears floating on broken up ice packs wrenches our hearts, our minds have become fixated on the fact the change at the poles means change for us, as well.

The Arctic and Antarctic are fascinating places, ecologically, geologically, and meteorologically.  The ice environments are highly dynamic, and ice- and cold- adapted organisms at each pole live in a highly tuned set of interactions with seasonal alterations in ecological conditions.  The species diversity at some levels of organization has proved to be surprisingly high, and even new biomes like under-ice lacustrine environments – revealed by the recent rapid disappearance of ice in Antarctica – are being discovered even today.  And who can resist penguins, leopard seals, polar bears, and walruses?

But the pull to the poles rests on more than curiosity about the strange and wondrous patterns of nature there. The pull to the poles is an extension of our dawning (and ever-growing) realization that what we do affects even the distant poles, and what happens there in turn will affect each and every one of us, through links in ocean circulation, atmosphere and weather.  Climate change, and in particular global warming, has the potential to flag the poles as the keystone in global cycles and balances – where, in the worst case scenario, the unraveling of the planet as we know it begins. 

The IPY Research Agenda  

While much of the research of IPY is focused on better understanding of climate change impacts, the coordinated research effort goes well beyond that.  It would be impossible to summarize all the hundreds of research initiatives occurring under the rubric of the IPY. The range of projects is astounding, but all are characterized as either multidisciplinary in nature, or having relevance to multidisciplinary studies aimed at furthering our understanding of polar systems, oceans, the earth, and outer space.

Of particular interest for readers of the Ocean Observer are those studies that address the ecology of polar areas and the link between polar systems and marine ecosystems. For years there has been interest and growing concern about the fragile ecosystems occurring at both poles, and about the indirect degradation of these systems by factors other than climate change.  For instance, discoveries of toxins in the flesh of Arctic animals such as caribou and beluga whales spurred research into the origin and pathways of pollutants that reach polar areas. 

One example is the EBESA (Environmental, Biological, and Ecological Studies in Antarctica), which involves researchers from Italy, Czech Republic, Chile, New Zealand, and the U.S.  EBESA addresses the effects of climatic and environmental changes, and the impact of man-made contaminants, on organisms and ecosystems of northern Victoria Land, James Ross Island, and Patagonia. Included in these studies are measures to establish sources of persistent pollutants and deposition patterns. Study organisms include mosses and sponges.

Another landmark study under the IPY umbrella is the INCATPA (Intercontinental Transport of Anthropogenic Pollutants to the Arctic), which is focused on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury in the Arctic.  Preliminary research has shown an astounding level of pollutants in the Arctic biota, raising questions of transport mechanisms and rates, and ultimate fate and impact.  These pollutants are accumulating in the tissues of fish and wildlife, and in turn in the indigenous peoples of the Arctic who continue traditional diets.  This issue carries with it the same sense of urgency as that surrounding climate change. Because the Asian Pacific region is undergoing the fastest economic growth of any region in the world, chemical use and energy consumption is expected to increase substantially.  This study focuses primarily in atmospheric transport of POPs and mercury, including sources and climatic influences on transport, but it will be complemented by other initiatives looking at other transport mechanisms and their impacts.