The Antarctic Peninsula provides a window into the likely future of the whole continent · John Weller
When the countries responsible for protecting the Southern Ocean meet in October, they have a choice to make, and it must be unanimous: vote to create three large marine protected areas (MPAs) spanning nearly 4 million square kilometers of ocean and fortify our planet’s climate defences, or not.
The Peninsula waters are home to the tiny shrimp-like crustacean, Antarctic krill · John Weller
It is not just penguins and whales that we need to worry about. Antarctica regulates our climate and its waters feed the fish that feed the world. The Southern Ocean connects all the world’s ocean basins, its deep cold waters helping to stabilise our climate and circulate vital nutrients across the globe.
The proposed network of new MPAs would be a vital haven for some of the most vulnerable creatures on our planet · John Weller
MPAs have been proven to boost biodiversity and resilience to climate change. As nowhere is changing faster than Antarctica, nowhere is the establishment of MPAs more vital or urgent than in the precious waters that surround it.
Minke whale · John Weller
Pack ice is crucial for many Antarctic creatures — whales, seals, penguins, krill, and petrels to name a few — which use the ice in a myriad of different ways. Climate change is acting fast in Antarctica, especially damaging for pack ice · John Weller
Weddell seals are the southernmost breeding mammals in the world, and the only air-breathing animals besides emperor penguins to brave the Antarctic winter · John Weller
My grandfather once described Antarctica as “a vast, eternally white continent where life clings to the borders of death”. His haunting words ring even truer today with the region at the epicentre of global climate change, its unique fauna clinging to the shifting ice. Together we can protect that life and the future of our planet.
