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Hey...tell your friends about Antarctica!
Just Ice, Right?
When you think of Antarctica, you just picture a big sheet of ice, right? Well it turns out that there’s a lot more to Antarctica than you might think. For starters, there is evidence of a 90 million year old rainforest underneath Antarctica’s surface. This swampy rainforest contained lots of vegetation in its warm climate. At this time, there weren’t any ice sheets and the global temperature was a lot hotter than it is today.
In addition, who would think there are lava lakes in Antarctica? The eighth lava lake in the world was discovered on a remote Antarctic island in 2018. Using satellite imaging, scientists confirmed the lake’s existence in Mount Michael. The lake is estimated to be 300-700 feet across and more than ten times the boiling point of water. This area has been very difficult to research, but with developing technology, scientists are now able to discover more of Mount Michael’s and Antarctica’s many secrets.
Meet us in Antarctica! We are the Adélie Penguins!
Adelie Penguin Slaps Giant Emperor Chick!
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As you can see,
we are very ~gentle~creatures...100%
Learn more about the Adélie Penguins!
Adélie penguins may look adorable and innocent, but they can be feisty. They have no problem slapping seals, large birds, and even human researchers if they give them a reason to - so don’t get too close! In mating season, they use rocks to make nests, and to make theirs better than everyone else’s, they’ll steal from their neighbors’ nests.
Other than these interesting habits of these penguins, they are great swimmers and spend most of their winters in the water. They eat shrimp and krill, get to about 12 bounds, and live around 11-20 years old.This type of penguin got its name from a French Antarctic explorer in 1840 who named these penguins after his wife, Adéle.
The adélie penguins need your help! Though their population is slowly increasing, they are still an at-risk population, especially with climate change worsening. Adopt a penguin today to help!
image source: https://support.wwf.org.uk/adopt-a-penguin
Meet our friend Betty the Sea Butterfly (aka Limacina helicina)!
Sea Butterflies!
Sea butterflies are small, floating sea snails around 1-3 mm in length. Their name comes from their “wings”, which are really their expanded foot, that they use to move through the water. Although small, these organisms are essential for the antarctic ecosystem, and unfortunately they are also in danger.
As fossil fuels release CO2 into the atmosphere, some of the carbon dioxide dissolves into ocean water, decreasing its pH. The subsea permafrost also contributes to the acidification of antarctic waters, as climate change causes it to melt, and the trapped methane oxidizes into CO2.
The problem with acidification comes when you consider its effects on ocean life, most importantly crustaceans. Their shells, which are made of calcium carbonate, will dissolve in acidic waters, making the crustaceans vulnerable and weakened.
