The Australian Antarctic Program is preparing an observation tower equipped with environmental sensors, which will be part of the Antarctic Near-Shore and Terrestrial Observation System (ANTOS) and will be used to monitor ancient plant communities near Casey Station.
The centuries-old moss beds nestle between rocks and thrive particularly well in depressions where moisture collects. Lichens, microbes and invertebrate soil organisms are also part of the unique ecosystem that has developed on the Bailey Peninsula in East Antarctica, where the Australian Casey Station is located. The region is the most extensive and best developed plant community on the entire Antarctic continent.
Researchers from the Australian Antarctic Program and the University of Wollongong are working on a monitoring tower equipped with numerous environmental sensors in order to monitor the health and changes that this community – which is exceptionally diverse by Antarctic standards – is experiencing as a result of climate change. It is a further component of the “Antarctic Near-Shore and Terrestrial Observation System” (ANTOS) – a network of high-tech towers that is still under development and will monitor ecological and biological variability and changes at a total of 25 sites of significant biodiversity in the Antarctic. ANTOS is being developed by an expert group of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR).
“The tower will allow us to continuously monitor the environment around the moss, so that when events such as the heatwaves that hit in 2008, 2020 and 2022, occur, we’ll be collecting the data in real time,” said Sharon Robinson, a professor at the University of Wollongong and member of the ANTOS steering committee, in a press release from the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD).
Antarctic vegetation struggles with warming and drought
In a review study from 2022, Claudia Colesie, Senior Lecturer in Plant Physiology at the University of Edinburgh and also a member of the ANTOS Steering Committee, and other authors examined the impact of climate change on Antarctic vegetation:
Mosses are widespread in the Antarctic and show different reactions to warming. While warmer temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula promote growth, a decline in moss growth can be observed on the Windmill Islands in East Antarctica due to increasing desiccation.
Lichens are also widespread in the Antarctic and are considered sensitive indicators of temperature changes. Their growth rates are closely linked to local temperatures, and warming could promote their growth. However, rapid and unpredictable climate changes could disrupt the symbiotic relationships in lichens and thus jeopardize their survival. Another risk for lichens is the so-called “snowkill”, where increased snowfall and prolonged snow cover affect the growth and survival of lichens.
The only two vascular plant species in the Antarctic, Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis, show a clear spread due to rising temperatures. Both species are increasingly colonizing new locations, but due to the warming they are also more susceptible to frost damage, which could jeopardize their long-term viability.
Algae and cyanobacteria in the Antarctic, especially snow algae, could move to higher altitudes as a result of warming and snowmelt, but could also lose their habitat. Episodic warming events could also destabilize the stable microhabitats in cryoconite holes on glaciers, which could affect the microbial communities in these holes.
Ecosystem-wide responses are also observed, with Antarctic vegetation gaining a foothold in newly ice-free areas. This spread could lead to changes in soil microbial communities and thus to shifts in the physicochemical properties of the soil. In the future, immigration of alien species and competition could also increase, with implications for community composition.
Plant communities under observation
“The microclimate measurements made from the tower will allow investigation of the underlying cause of this change and improve our understanding of local and regional climate impacts on this important site,” says Dr. Jane Wasley, biologist at the Australian Antarctic Division.
Dr. Krystal Randall, spatial biologist and microclimate modeller at the University of Wollongong, further explained that the tower carries sensors at heights of one, two and four meters above the ground to meet the requirements of the World Meteorological Organization’s CryoNet program. This ensures comparability with other meteorological observation systems.
“By measuring wind, relative humidity and air temperature at all three heights we’re capturing vertical profiles in climate that correspond with other meteorological systems,” Dr. Randall explained. “This data can be used in models to better understand the climate conditions that terrestrial life experiences in Antarctica.”
In addition to the meteorological sensors, there are others that measure photosynthetically active radiation – the wavelengths of light that mosses use for photosynthesis – as well as snow depth, light penetration through the snow, soil moisture and net radiation. “And because Antarctic mosses change color under stress, we have a camera to capture visual changes in the ecosystem,” she adds.
A special AI computer acts as the “brain” of the system, continuously processing the data and images from the sensors, extracting relevant information and transmitting a minimized amount of data to Australia.
So far, six terrestrial monitoring towers have been installed by New Zealand and Italy and three marine towers have been installed by New Zealand at biodiversity-important sites in Antarctica, according to the latest available ANTOS report from 2022.
Autonomous drone swarms for monitoring remote areas
The ANTOS project team is also planning to extend monitoring to remote regions with high biodiversity with the help of autonomous drone swarms that are currently being developed.
“The drones will be able to map biodiversity and collect visual health signatures from more distant sites, on a regular basis and over winter, overcoming the challenges of getting people into the field,” Dana Bergstrom, professor at the University of Wollongong and leader of the Australian ANTOS project, said in the press release.
Although the use of drones would bring considerable benefits, it also poses potential risks, particularly for the Antarctic environment. Penguins, seabirds and other wildlife could be stressed or disturbed in their natural behavior by the noise and presence of the drones.
In addition, the extreme climatic conditions in Antarctica could lead to technical failures and crashes, destroying sensitive habitats or contaminating them with lost parts. The use of drone swarms of also increases the risk of collisions, which could also lead to environmental contamination.
Last but not least, there is also a risk of losing data under the extreme Antarctic weather conditions.
However, until this vision is ready for implementation, the towers will collect important data on the biological communities. The Australian tower will be erected in one of the upcoming Antarctic field seasons, once the design optimization has been completed.
Julia Hager, Polar Journal AG
Link to ANTOS: https://scar.org/science/cross/antos
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