Photo: Sea ice camp 2021/22 by Anthony Powell
Antarctic Science Platform in the News 2021/22
In case you missed it, here some of the media and outreach opportunities our team was involved in during the past year.
IPCC AR6, Irreversible Change & Climate Tipping Points
The Sixth Assessment Report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was long anticipated. Stuff summarised the importance of the IPCC report.
The report found that human-induced climate change was now influencing weather and climate extremes across the globe. This report, co-authored by members of our team, was reported by NZ Herald, Otago Daily Times, The Spinoff, Three News, and Stuff.
Prof Nick Golledge wrote an article for The Conversation: Rising Seas and melting glaciers – changes are now irreversible but we have to act to slow them down, which was republished by Radio NZ and Newshub.
Prof Golledge was interviewed by RadioNZ about Antarctic ice melt reaching a tipping point, and Prof Christina Hulbe was interviewed for BBC programme: Climate Tipping Points.
Bella Duncan co-authored an article in The Spinoff: Returning to a green Antarctica.
NZ SeaRise Projections
Antarctic Science Platform research outcomes underpin the latest generation of IPCC global sea-level projections used by NZSeaRise Programme to improve NZ sea-level projections. Our team members Richard Levy and Tim Naish also lead the NZ SeaRise research programme, and were engaged in a significant number of outreach activities and media reports for the release of the new sea level projections for New Zealand in May 2022.
You can find interviews and media articles on the NZ SeaRise website.
Past Climates
Dr Christina Riesselman provided expert consultation and review for journalist Mark Daalder’s Newsroom article: Long read: How past climates hold secrets for our future.
New Zealand scientists drilling through Antarctic ice discovered an underwater ecosystem 500 metres down. Photo: Craig Stevens/NIWA
Drilling at Kamb Ice Stream
Kamb Ice Stream is a massive river of ice on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and our team have been drilling into the ice sheet.
A/Prof Huw Horgan and Prof Craig Stevens wrote an article for the Conversation: Exploring Antarctica’s hidden under-ice rivers and their role in future sea-level rise. Prof Stevens was also interviewed on Radio NZ, sharing the discovery an under-ice river and some unexpected marine life. Many media articles followed, including The Guardian, Australia’s ABC Radio Pacific Watch and National, Radio NZ, BBC World News, and 95bfm (Auckland student radio)
This venture was highlighted on the homepages of Newsweek, IFLS, Smithsonian Magazine, Independent (UK), Daily Express (UK), The Mirror (UK), Times Now (India) and The Sun (UK/USA). Additionally, the news story was shared and boosted by over 40 high-profile social media accounts across Twitter and Facebook.
Understanding Fast Ice
Dr Gemma Brett was interviewed for an NZ Herald article showcasing What 'fast ice' could tell us about Antarctica.
Four EM-bird flights were conducted over sea ice and across the transition to the ice shelf. Photo: Anthony Powell
Determining Sea Ice Thickness
A/Prof Wolfgang Rack and his team were featured in an article: Researchers using radar and electromagnetic induction to measure thickness of Antarctic ice from the air.
Sympagic Sampler
The sympagic community sampler is a newly designed device designed to sample the life associated with sea ice and platelet ice habitats. A video about this work is available online.
Dr Natalie Robinson has also showcased this new technology on NewsHub TV, Radio NZ, C-Tech, and through NIWA.
Need More?
Dr Robinson also prepared a short webinar on Antarctic Science as part of NZ Primary Science week with a focus on Antarctic science.
PhD student, Natasha Gardiner, won the University of Canterbury’s Three-Minute-Thesis (3MT) competition and was an Australasian 3MT finalist with a talk on her research: Defrosting an Icy Relationship in a Warming World.
The first sample of platelet ice is drawn up the Sympagic Sampler into the Perspex tube using the Venturi system. Photo: Brett Grant/NIWA