Contemplating Our Climate Future in Antarctica

_SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

Researchers on a multimonth Antarctic expedition describe how the climate crisis intertwines with their work.

Episode description:
We’re at the end of the Nathaniel B. Palmer’s Antarctic expedition. The researchers onboard are returning sea ice and thousands of gallons of seawater. These samples will allow them to examine biogeochemical processes, some of which are linked to climate change. As the research vessel makes its way back to port, the scientists reflect on the future of our planet and the question of whether the ice in Antarctica will always be around for sampling.

Transcription:
[CLIP: Theme music]

Rachel Feltman: For Science Quickly, this is Rachel Feltman. In our last few Friday Fascination episodes, journalist Sofia Moutinho has taken us along for her ride on the Nathaniel B. Palmer, an icebreaker traveling through the Southern Ocean. Today marks the end of our journey with Sofia, so if this is the first time you’re hearing about Antarctica in our feed, definitely go back and catch up.

In today’s episode, Sofia speaks with some of the scientists on the icebreaker as they make their way back home—and as they grapple with how to feel about the beauty and horror they’ve witnessed at sea.

[CLIP: Sound of waves]

Sofia Moutinho: After spending two months traveling through West Antarctica’s Amundsen Sea onboard the Nathaniel B. Palmer, we are approaching the end of our expedition. Researchers collected sea ice and thousands of gallons of seawater at 27 different spots in the ocean surrounding Antarctica. Those samples allow them to examine different biogeochemical processes, some of them linked to climate change and the future of our planet.

We endured bad weather in our quest to reach certain places. One of them was Pine Island Bay, a remote coastal area of West Antarctica that is usually blocked by sea ice, even in the summer.

You find the complete episode transcription here

Science Quickly is produced by Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg and Jeff DelViscio. This episode was hosted, reported, and scripted by journalist Sofia Moutinho. The show is edited by Elah Feder, Alexa Lim, Madison Goldberg and Anaissa Ruiz Tejada, with fact-checking by Shayna Posses and Aaron Shattuck. The theme music was composed by Dominic Smith.