A cache of scientific equipment that could fit in the back of an SUV has been lowered into the sea north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and is already streaming open-source data for anyone wanting to monitor the Southern Ocean’s health.
Scientists say the underwater observatory collects measurements, including temperature, oxygen concentration and chlorophyll levels, and will fill a gap in data to help understand the impact of climate change in the waters around Antarctica.
The project is being jointly run by Ocean Networks Canada, out of the University of Victoria, and the Spanish National Research Council.
Ocean Networks’ CEO Kate Moran says prior to the station being installed, data in the Antarctic primarily came from surface satellites, some floating research equipment and people on cruises.
The Canadian-built equipment is now about 23 metres deep near a Spanish research station on Livingston Island in the South Shetlands archipelago, where it is expected to stay for years.
WATCH | Ocean Networks Canada president explains collaboration with Spanish scientists:
University of Victoria teams up with Spanish scientists for Antarctic observatory
2 days ago
Duration 2:04
The University of Victoria, through its Oceans Network Canada (ONC) initiative, has partnered with scientists at a Spanish Antarctic station to install one of their observatories for a real-time look at oceanic conditions. CBC News spoke with ONC president and CEO, Kate Moran about the project, intended to gather information on one of the most under-observed parts of the planet.
Kohen Bauer, a senior staff scientist at Ocean Networks Canada, says the Southern Ocean and its circumpolar current are critical to how much the water in the area circulates, and having long-term data from a stationary location will help researchers spot changes.
The current that circles the continent connects basins for the Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific oceans.
The observatory, which also measures conductivity, depth and clarity in the water, posts updated data to Ocean Networks Canada’s online dashboard about every 30 minutes.
“This is meant to be a long, continuous, time series and there’s actually very few of those in the world, let alone in the Southern Ocean,” Bauer says.
“We’re trying to establish a continuous time series of these ocean variables. And it’s with these established time series that we can start to ask, or interpret the data, in the context of key questions, both at the local and actually at the regional and potentially global scale.”
Data could pick up changes to sea ice, glacier formation and ice retreat, he says.
“Then, ultimately, it’s about connecting those types of observations to, let’s say, more global questions such as climate change,” he says.
Moran says understanding how the ocean is absorbing the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by greenhouse gases can help predict future trends.
“Colder oceans, like the Arctic and the Southern Ocean, can absorb more CO2 than other places,” she says.
“So, understanding how that is happening now, and how we can forecast it, helps us to understand further the natural carbon system to help us forecast the future, no matter what happens in terms of emissions.”
Last year, following a symposium focused on the Southern Ocean, 300 scientists from 25 nations issued a statement calling for better observation.
It says the ocean has seen record low levels of sea-ice, record high temperatures and dramatic shifts in penguin populations, among other changes.
“The chronic lack of observations for the Southern Ocean challenges our ability to detect and assess the consequences of change,” the statement says.
“As such, it is more pressing than ever to have a sustained and co-ordinated Southern Ocean observing system to provide an understanding of current conditions, inform predictions of future states, and support policies and regulations for the benefit of society.”
All Points West6:00Canadian and Spanish researchers are teaming up to establish a new Antarctic Ocean Observatory.
Members of Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) and the Spanish National Research Council are establishing a new Antarctic Ocean underwater observatory. The President and CEO of Ocean Networks Canada Kate Moran tells host Jason D’Souza that researchers from ONC will be operating the subsea observatory.
David Hik, the chief scientist for Polar Knowledge Canada, which manages Canada’s scientific contributions in the Antarctic under the Ministry of Northern Affairs, says the observatory and the work with Spain is an example of the kind of contribution Canada can make to Antarctic science.
“Any new observations are going to have a significant impact on our ability to better understand what’s happening in those environments, and how they’re changing over time,” he says.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
