August 24, 2016
Elephant seals have helped
scientists to demonstrate that fresh water from Antarctic's melting ice shelves
slows the processes responsible for the formation of deep-water ocean currents
that regulate global temperatures.
The study, led by Dr Guy Williams
from the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies and Antarctic Climate and
Ecosystems CRC, is published today in Nature Communications.
Macquarie's Professor Rob
Harcourt from the Department of Biological Sciences is the Facility Leader for
the elephant seal IMOS Animal Tracking program through which
the data is collected.
Dr Williams said the findings
raised questions about potential future changes in global ocean circulation patterns.
"Antarctica and the Southern
Ocean are like a beating heart, producing deep and powerful currents of cold
water that drive global ocean mixing and regulate atmospheric
temperatures," Dr Williams said.
"These currents begin with
intense sea ice formation around the Antarctic continent in winter, which
creates cold, salty and dense water that sinks and flows away from the
continent in large volumes.
"If this production of
Antarctic bottom water weakens, it leads to changes in global ocean circulation patterns
that can, in turn, lead to changes in the global climate."
In 2011, the same team of
researchers discovered a fourth source of Antarctic Bottom Water off Cape Darnley
in East Antarctica.
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