Index to this page: Global warming , penguins , seals , Vernadsky Base
, Shackleton , Deception
Island , Trip Maps
Photographs Copyright 2005 by Tom Dempsey. I
last updated this page on May 14, 2008.
Buy a Custom Print. Send
comments to: Tom@photoseek.com
According to National Geographic Magazine August 2007, the Antarctic Peninsula is warming quickly, while other parts of Antarctica may be cooling beneath the seasonal "ozone hole". The annual average temperature of Antarctic Peninsula has increased about 2.5 degrees Centigrade in the last 50 years, which is 2 or 3 times faster than the average in the rest of the world. This makes the Antarctic Peninsula an excellent climate study area. The temperature of the rest of Antarctica - the other 96% outside of the Antarctic Peninsula - shows no rising trend, and shows no significant loss of ice. In general, global warming is happening fastest north of the equator where most of the land mass is located. However, the air of the two hemispheres mixes within a few years, so the Southern Hemisphere should also warm. The temperature of Antarctica as a whole is predicted to rise by a small amount over the next 50 years. If global warming eventually starts melting the Antarctica ice shelves floating on sea ice, that won't raise worldwide sea levels on its own, but the increased flow rate of the land-based glaciers feeding the ice shelves would add to global sea-level rise. Any increase in the rate of ice melting is expected to be at least partly offset by increased snowfall in Antarctica as a result of the warming. Earth's climate is very complex. Huge human carbon aerosol emissions since the start of the industrial revolution have forced a grand experiment on the earth. Almost all climate scientists now agree that human carbon gas emissions are accelerating global warming, especially in the Northern Hemisphere and the Antarctic Peninsula.
Left: Gentoo
penguins have a distinctive white patch
behind their eye.
Above: Ice arch splits from glacier.
Above: A jumble of icebergs.
Above: Pushing through the sea icepack in Antarctica. On
this trip, the Explorer carried us as far south as 65º 41 minutes
67 seconds of latitude,
before pack ice stopped us about 40 miles short of the Arctic Circle.
Above: Mountains on the Antarctic Peninsula.
Navigation instrument, and sea pack ice.
Left: old boats from the whaling era.
Above: Vernadsky Station, now operated by Ukraine. The
hole in Earth's ozone layer was first discovered here by British
researchers.
Left: This replica of Shackleton's famous 23-foot
lifeboat, the "James Caird" is temporarily on the dock at the port of Ushuaia. In
the James Caird lifeboat, Ernest Shackleton and a few shipmates performed the remarkable feat of crossing
over 800 miles of one of the most treacherous seas in
the world, from Elephant Island to South Georgia Island.
Below: Sailors from the wrecked ship Endurance
launch
the lifeboat "James Caird" from the shore of Elephant
Island, April 24th, 1916. This photograph [free for
public domain distribution] was captured by Frank Hurley during
the
Imperial
Trans-Antarctic Expedition and published in the United States in Ernest
Shackleton's book, "South", in 1919.
Above: Exploring volcanic Deception Island.
Above: Ash layers on Deception Island.
Above: Eroded column of volcanic ash offshore of Deception Island.
Above:
Offloading a Zodiac boat at Deception Island from the ship M/S
Explorer.
Above:
People board the Zodiac from the ship M/S Explorer.
Above: A man watches Gentoo penguins walk to the ocean to retrieve food
for themselves and their chicks. Offshore is anchored our ship, the
M/S Explorer.
Above: Gentoo penguins descend a hill on their frequent commute
to feed at sea.
Left: Gentoo penguins are white on the front and black on their back.
Patagonia
& Antarctica Trip Maps
Left: As shown on this map, we flew from Seattle 7000 miles (through Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas) to Buenos Aires, taking 15 hours in the air. Argentina is +5 hours jet lag from Pacific Standard Time (on the West Coast, USA). In these three maps, flights are light-green, and ground transport is purple.
Index to this Antarctica page: Global warming , penguins , seals , Vernadsky Base , Shackleton , Deception Island , Trip Maps
See also these related pages: Tom's Gallery of Antarctica images ~ Argentine Patagonia & Ushuaia ~ Chilean Patagonia
Back to Photoseek home. ~
Tom's
Portfolio of
Published Images ~ My Fine Art Gallery ~
Buy My Images ~ The Best Travel Cameras ~
About This Web Site
