Antarctica Unfrozen

Ever thought about how scientists measure sea ice thickness without a giant drill and metre ruler or how to spy on Antarctic seals from space? Then you’ll particularly love this one because we are joined by two remote sensing specialists, Prof. Wolfgang Rack and Masters Student, Shanelle Dyer!

Have you ever wondered what it must feel like to jump into the near-freezing Antarctica waters through an ice hole and spend the next 30 minutes to an hour surrounded by sea spiders, giant sponges and seals?! Well, tune in for an epic chat with Marine Ecologists, Dr. Drew Lohrer and Dr. Leigh Tait from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, otherwise known as NIWA.

Drew is a principal scientist at NIWA who has made a massive contribution to the advancement of marine ecology. His main area of research focuses on the organisms that live on the seafloor and their contribution to ecosystem function in estuaries and along coastlines. His work in Antarctica has shown that these communities are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and ocean acidification as they respond to change more rapidly than initially thought.

Leigh travelled down to the ice in 2019 with Drew for his first Antarctic expedition where he operated a BOXFish ROV, taking our knowledge of the under-ice environment to new depths, literally! Leigh is also a marine ecologist at NIWA, he specialises in ecophysiology ecological structure in the marine environment.

Sit back and tune in as we discuss all things benthic ecology, kinds of communities exist under the ice in Antarctica, how sea ice influences them and how resilient they are to climate-related changes! We also touch on Science Under the Ice, an epic outreach project which takes you on real and virtual research expeditions to Antarctica where scientists like Drew and Leigh explore how climate change will affect the marine biodiversity in Antarctica.

Kia ora everyone and welcome back to another episode of Antarctica Unfrozen Season 2! Today’s knowledge-rich guest is Dr. Natalie Robinson of NIWA. Natalie (@PolarGirlNZ on Twitter) is a marine physicist, specialising in polar oceanography, but she’s also an amazing voice for the future generation of environmental scientists with some priceless advice. There is much to digest in this episode and we touch on various subjects throughout, but by the end of it, your understanding of Antarctic (and by default, global) Oceanography and Sea Ice will be much closer to crystal clear... Enjoy!