Australian Broadcasting Corporation Producer Margot Foster takes us on a voyage aboard the Aurora Australis, Australia's research vessel. The 7-week trip into the Southern Ocean around Antarctica lets scientists sample plants, animals, and ocean water quality and composition, in an attempt to uncover how climate change is affecting, and will be affected by, the ecology of the Southern Ocean. Producer Sarah Castor-Perry talks to scientists after the trip, to try to decipher the data they collected.
Southern Ocean Voyage airs as part of Pole to Pole, an international media
celebration of the 2007-2009 International Polar Year, produced with
support from the National Science Foundation, the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation, the British Broadcasting Corporation, Deutsche Welle Radio,
Radio New Zealand, and the SOUNDPRINT Media Center, INC.
Links:
International Polar Year
This site is dedicated to the use of cutting edge science to explore and interprete the wide range of the physical and biological issues of the Arctic and Antarctic.
Aurora Australis
A look at the magnificent Aurora Australis that was used for the trip around Antarctica on the program.
Antarctic Sea Creatures
Here are some of the magnificent creatures that can be seen under the southern ocean around Antarctica.
Pole to Pole Gallery
A gallery showing different ‘Pole to Pole’ research sites.
Books:
Polar Lakes and Rivers: Limnology of Arctic and Antarctic Aquatic Ecosystems by: Warwick F. Vincent, Johanna Laybourn-Parry 2008 This book describes the ecology of glacial environments in both the North and South polar regions.It illustrates the diversity in both regions that provide habitat for plant and animal life. Giving us a better understanding on the way animal and plant life adapt to their extreme environment.
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