If in other fields of study the unbridled race for leadership predominates, collaboration is essential in the case of the frozen continent
TEvery year Antarctica follows its binary rhythm. During winter, intense cold and total darkness predominate. In summer, with constant sunlight, the region comes alive with the return of several species of whales, birds and seals. Another group also heads to Antarctica in the milder months: scientists who spend the season on bases, ships and research camps.
Biologist Flávio Dias Passos, from Unicamp, who until 2007 participated in expeditions, talks about daily life in the Antarctic summer: “On a daily basis, we talked a lot with the researchers staying at neighboring stations”. The international collaborative spirit permeated scientific initiatives and even social events.
The agreement that regulates this international collaboration was pioneering. “The Antarctic treaty was created in the 1950s, at the height of the Cold War. It was the first time that science was considered an essential activity of an international treaty”, explains glaciologist Jefferson Cardia Simões, director of the National Institute of Cryosphere Science and Technology and vice-president of Scar (Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research). The treaty regulated the use of the Antarctic region for peaceful and non-commercial purposes, aiming for scientific research and free access to discoveries.
Twelve countries signed the treaty in 1959, including the USA and the Soviet Union, just two years before the construction of the Berlin Wall. While fierce competition was already driving advances in the space race, on the frozen continent science progressed with international collaborations. Today, 53 countries are part of the Antarctic treaty, including Brazil, which signed the document in 1975.
Weather patterns recorded in the ice
One of the main focuses of Antarctic research is understanding the history of climate variations on the planet and how the climate is changing due to human actions. For this investigation there is a search for ancient Antarctic ice, which contains information about the climate and atmosphere hundreds of thousands of years ago.
To recover this climate record, Simões and colleagues collect cores: large cylinders of ancient ice that are extracted through drilling. “Ice cores give us the best temporal resolution, they are more precise than tree rings or sediment analysis, they are second only to directly measured meteorological data, which are very recent”, explains the researcher. “There are dozens of parameters that we analyze. We were able to determine past solar activity, average temperatures, volcanic eruptions, sources of these eruptions, storms, variation in humidity, micrometeorite events, greenhouse gases, and more”, he continues.
With all this information, climatologists can reconstruct past climate and test their predictions for the future. Today, scientists already have ice cores with information from the last eight hundred thousand years and a European initiative is trying to excavate even older ice, one and a half million years old.
Brazil does not participate in the search for ice that is one and a half million years old, but the country is part of an international collaboration seeking the greatest possible detail of global climate variations over the last 2000 years. “We look for testimonies in the polar regions, but also in other places around the globe, such as Bolivia. We can carry out cutting-edge science, but with fewer resources, relying on a lot of international collaboration”, says Simões.
Lack of financing is a threat
To participate in the Antarctic treaty and be a voting member in decisions, each country must maintain a continuous and qualified research program. “Each country has only one vote, but status in this system is given by the quality of science. And this is where the issue of the diplomatic use of science comes in”, explains Simões. “Those who have quality science have a greater voice in political negotiations, have more status and more to say. Brazil often ends up being shy because it doesn’t have a stronger program.”
The Brazilian Antarctic station was burned in a tragic fire in 2012. Even so, much of Brazilian research continued. A new base is being built, scheduled to open in March 2018. “However, funding for Antarctic research is seriously compromised,” says Simões. “Even if the station opens, we only have money to maintain the scientific part of the program until March.” Funding for Antarctic research has been suffering major cuts since 2014. “We tried to issue new notices, but the government claims a lack of resources,” he continues.
Professor Elisabete Braga, from the USP Oceanographic Institute, has participated in the Brazilian Antarctic program since the first expedition, in 1982. “We made six sea voyages to ensure participation in the Antarctic treaty”, says Braga. “An economic crisis could compromise this pace. The government must ensure that Antarctic research is a permanent commitment. Even if it is reduced, it cannot stop. If Brazil gives up on the program, it will lose its vote.”
Changes echo across the rest of the planet
In addition to being crucial for the climate, Antarctica is also important for sustaining life in the oceans. “In general, the number of species that exist in Antarctica is much lower than in tropical environments, but the biomass, the number of individuals, is very large”, says Flávio Dias Passos. “The krill clouds are impressive,” he continues. Large animals, such as whales, migrate to Antarctica every year to feed, consuming enormous quantities of these small crustaceans.
A small variation in ocean temperature can have drastic consequences for the fauna of the Antarctic seas, which are used to low and relatively stable temperatures all year round. “For example, in hot regions, we already see the decay of corals with an increase in temperatures of just 1-2oC”, points out Passos. Elisabete Braga recalls that pollution in the sea and atmosphere also has negative consequences for the Antarctic ecosystem. “The research bases in Antarctica themselves have strict criteria for waste management,” she explains.
Changes in the Antarctic environment end up having direct and indirect consequences for Brazil and the world. Whether these are sea level changes, collapses in marine food chains, or climate change. “For the global climate system, Antarctica is as important as the Amazon. There is circulation of water and atmosphere between the tropics and the polar regions. By interfering with one, the entire system is affected”, warns Jefferson Simões.
Sarah Azoubel Lima has a PhD in biology from the University of California at San Diego and a master's degree from Unicamp. She is currently specializing in scientific journalism at Labjor / Unicamp.
This text is part of the Rhythms of Knowledge dossier of the electronic magazine ComCiência, whose content can be accessed here:
http://www.comciencia.br/confira-aqui-todo-o-conteudo-do-dossie-ritmos-do-conhecimento/