Latest news with #seaIce
CTV News
3 days ago
- Science
- CTV News
Emperor penguins show dramatic decline in one region of Antarctica, satellite photos show
This undated photo provided by the British Antarctic Survey in January 2024 shows adult emperor penguins with a chick near Halley Research Station in Antarctica. (British Antarctic Survey via AP) WASHINGTON — The population of emperor penguins in one part of Antarctica appears to be declining faster than previously thought, according to a new analysis of satellite imagery released Tuesday. The estimated population of 16 penguin colonies — visible in satellite photos taken between 2009 and 2024 – had declined 22 per cent during that period mainly because of climate change that's shrinking the amount of available sea ice. It's unclear whether this drop is seen across the continent, scientists said. 'Sea ice is very important for the penguins because they breed on sea ice and forage on sea ice,' said Peter Fretwell with British Antarctic Survey, who helped analyze the data. Scientists previously estimated that the total emperor penguin population declined about 10 per cent across all of Antarctica over the past decade and a half. The latest survey included a region covering the Antarctic Peninsula, Weddell Sea and Bellingshausen Sea. 'It's absolutely alarming that the numbers are so much worse than predicted,' said Daniel Zitterbart, a penguin researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who was not involved in the study. There are uncertainties in the latest estimate. The analysis relies on a calculation of how densely the penguins are clustered in each area where they're detected in a single satellite photo taken each year. The colonies studied represent about 30 per cent of the total emperor penguin population, which lives only in Antarctica. The loss of stable sea ice may be affecting the penguins in ways beyond shrinking their breeding grounds. 'More predators like leopard seals and orcas may be able to come in closer to the colonies if sea ice breaks up earlier in the year,' said Fretwell. Warming ocean temperatures and changing rainfall patterns may also impact the survival of penguin chicks, he added. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Christina Larson, The Associated Press
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Science
- Associated Press
Emperor penguins show dramatic decline in one region of Antarctica, satellite photos show
WASHINGTON (AP) — The population of emperor penguins in one part of Antarctica appears to be declining faster than previously thought, according to a new analysis of satellite imagery released Tuesday. The estimated population of 16 penguin colonies — visible in satellite photos taken between 2009 and 2024 – had declined 22% during that period mainly because of climate change that's shrinking the amount of available sea ice. It's unclear whether this drop is seen across the continent, scientists said. 'Sea ice is very important for the penguins because they breed on sea ice and forage on sea ice,' said Peter Fretwell with British Antarctic Survey, who helped analyze the data. Scientists previously estimated that the total emperor penguin population declined about 10% across all of Antarctica over the past decade and a half. The latest survey included a region covering the Antarctic Peninsula, Weddell Sea and Bellingshausen Sea. 'It's absolutely alarming that the numbers are so much worse than predicted,' said Daniel Zitterbart, a penguin researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who was not involved in the study. There are uncertainties in the latest estimate. The analysis relies on a calculation of how densely the penguins are clustered in each area where they're detected in a single satellite photo taken each year. The colonies studied represent about 30% of the total emperor penguin population, which lives only in Antarctica. The loss of stable sea ice may be affecting the penguins in ways beyond shrinking their breeding grounds. 'More predators like leopard seals and orcas may be able to come in closer to the colonies if sea ice breaks up earlier in the year,' said Fretwell. Warming ocean temperatures and changing rainfall patterns may also impact the survival of penguin chicks, he added. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
CTV News
23-05-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
2024 sees record warm temperatures, less sea ice cover in Gulf of St. Lawrence
Boats make their way through the ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, March 25, 2006. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press) Last year, the Gulf of St. Lawrence recorded its highest maximum surface temperature and lowest seasonal volume of ice cover in decades, say researchers with the federal Fisheries Department. Surface temperatures and ice cover are directly related to air temperature, said Peter Galbraith, a research scientist in physical oceanography at the agency's Maurice Lamontagne Institute in Mont-Joli, Que., northeast of Quebec City. Last July, the surface temperature hit 16.7 C, a record since data started being recorded in 1981, and 2.4 C warmer than average. Between May and November, the warmest surface temperature was 11.6 C, also a record, and 1.6 C higher than average. 'So it was the warmest air temperature, which gave us the warmest sea surface temperature,' Galbraith said. The findings were presented at a briefing Friday on the state of the Gulf of St-Lawrence, with scientists presenting data from studies conducted last year on the marine environment. Aside from having the highest surface temperature in 2024, the Gulf of St. Lawrence also recorded the lowest seasonal ice cover since 1969. Sea ice is linked to winter air temperature between December and March. In the winter of 2023-24, the volume of ice cover was six cubic kilometres, compared to 14 cubic kilometres in the winter of 2024-25. The two winters are among the seven winters since 1969 that saw almost no sea ice. 'So our winters are warming quite a lot faster than the rest of the year, which is going to lead to more frequent years with very low sea ice cover in the Gulf of St. Lawrence,' Galbraith said. But the shift in temperatures is not linear. The last four years have been warmer than average, but so far this year, temperatures are closer to the average in April and May. 'So we might not have (a) hugely warm summer, we can't expect with climate change to have year after year after year of really, really hot,' Galbraith said. 'There's going to be some interannual variability, so we have to manage these expectations.' Effects on wildlife One species having to contend with the sea ice is the Northwest Atlantic harp seal. Joanie Van de Walle, a specialist in population dynamics with the Fisheries Department, said the seals are dependent on quality ice. Harp seals track the edge of the ice because that's where they find their preferred food, but it's also where they reproduce, give birth, and where young pups develop. The gulf herd breeds near the Iles-de-la-Madeleine in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. When ice is limited, as it was in 2024 in the gulf, it was not considered a successful reproductive year. Some pups were abandoned by females because the ice drifted. 'Sometimes there is ice, but the ice is not of good enough quality, but some females still (give birth) in those conditions and that's when we see the most important impacts because the ice can break and that can lead to the drowning of the pups,' Van de Walle said. 'In years where there is very poor ice, we see massive mortality events for the pups.' Galbraith said projecting in the future, it's possible the gulf won't have any sea ice 75 or 100 years down the line, with the occasional cold polar vortex creating a rare ice event. If there's no ice, Harp seals may eventually move to other habitats where better ice exists, Van de Walle said. 'And in that case it would be probably even better for the stock because there they could encounter better conditions to give birth, but also to nurse and produce viable pups,' she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 23, 2025. The Canadian Press
