Latest news with #McMurdoSound
RNZ News
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Virtual tour of Scott's Discovery Hut debuts at Te Papa Museum
Wellingtonians can explore a section of Antarctica, using cutting edge virtual reality technology at Te Papa this week. Developed by the Antarctic Heritage Trust and Auckland-based tech company StaplesVR, the first virtual reality experience of Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery Hut made its debut in Wellington on Monday. Scott led the National Antarctic Expedition of 1901-04. The Discovery Hut, which was built in 1902, was the first expedition base on the island and has been preserved, so visitors today can see how the early explorers left it. Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery Hut, in McMurdo Sound. Photo: Neville Peat Recreating it as a VR experience took more than 1100 hours and a team of 15 people, and it has toured around the world since it was launched last August. Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith tested out the VR experience at Te Papa on Thursday. Among some of his favourite scenes from the experience was the recreation of a meal of seal meat being cooked inside the hut and seeing huskies out in the snow. "I gave the huskies a little pat." Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Paul Goldsmith tests out the VR experience at Te Papa. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Goldsmith also enjoyed seeing penguins and going up in a hot air balloon that looked over the McMurdo Sound. He said the experience gave people a unique opportunity to experience Antarctica's history. "Very few New Zealanders get a chance to actually get down to those huts, which are an important part of our history and, well, humanity's history. To be able to look around and explore is extraordinary." Several parents and kids also tested out the VR before the end of the school holidays. Luis said it was a great exhibition for kids and gave them an awareness of what was happening down in Antarctica. "I think it's a good opportunity for kids to get involved and [be] aware about the environment." Inside the hut. Photo: Supplied Emilio said he particularly liked feeding the huskies dog biscuits. Meanwhile, Laila had several favourite moments from the experience. "I liked the balloon ride, because you got this whole view of everything that you had already seen," she said. "Then I really liked the huskies, because they were adorable, but you could also pet them with your gloves." "Then I liked the penguins, because you couldn't smell their terrible stink." Antarctic Heritage Trust executive director Francesca Eathorne said it was excited to bring Scott's Discovery Hut to people virtually. "It gives great insight into the everyday items the explorers had with them, and how they used the hut to support the important science and exploration they undertook. "What is amazing is that StaplesVR have built the icy Antarctic environment surrounding the hut, so you can see the hut in context and even do activities as an explorer yourself, like take a ride in a hydrogen balloon - just like Scott did." Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii Since its launch, thousands of people, both in New Zealand and around the world, have taken the opportunity to explore the hut, with the Trust's Education team recently returning from touring major museums, schools and Antarctic organisations in the UK. Te Papa chief executive Courtney Johnston said Te Papa was delighted to partner with Antarctic Heritage Trust to bring the experience to Wellington. "This is an incredible experience that highlights our heritage and environment." The VR experience will be at Te Papa until Sunday, 13 July. Entry is free, but online bookings are required, with an 11+ age requirement. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
Mighty Indeed - Life on the Ice
Photo: Mighty Indeed Set in one of the harshest corners of Earth, a new documentary follows three women from different generations as they explore a hidden world underneath the Antarctic sea ice. Dr Natalie Robinson leads a world-first expedition to McMurdo Sound, joined by a microbiologist and mentored from afar by a veteran sea ice physicist. Battling brutal weather and isolation, Mighty Indeed shows the moments the team discover extraordinary tiny creatures within the delicate structures of the ice. Weaving personal stories with rich archival footage and groundbreaking science, and set against the immense scale of Antarctica, this film tells of the love these women have for the place. They even sing songs about Phytoplankton! Mighty Indeed is showing in the Doc Edge Film Festival and has this week won Best Director and Best Film. Director Vanessa Wells and expedition leader Dr Natalie Robinson speak to Mihi.
RNZ News
28-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Antarctica's sea ice is changing, and so is a vital part of the marine food web that lives within it
By Jacqui Stuart and Natalie Robinson* of Adélie penguins on sea ice in the Gerlach inlet next to the Mario Zucchellis station, the Italian base in Terra Nova Bay, in the Antarctic. Photo: Liv Cornellisen Antarctica is the world's great cooling unit. This vital part of Earth's climate system is largely powered by the annual freeze and melt of millions of square kilometres of sea ice around the continent. Our research shows changes to this annual freeze cycle in McMurdo Sound can lead to shifts in the diversity of algal communities that live within the sea ice. At the start of the southern winter, as sea water begins to freeze, it expels salt and forms heavy and very cold brine. This sinks to the seafloor, ultimately forming what's known as Antarctic Bottom Water. This is then pumped out to the rest of the world through several major oceanic currents. Historically, this cycle meant that Antarctica effectively doubled in size and the continent was surrounded by an enormous apron of sea ice at the peak of winter. But the changing climate is shifting this annual cycle. Major ocean currents transport cold Antarctic Bottom Water out to the rest of the world. Photo: The Conversation / Jacqui Stuart, VUW, CC BY-NC-ND For the past decade, Antarctic sea ice has been in decline. It hasn't been a steady trend, but each year since 2016 less sea ice has formed compared to historic averages. Antarctica's annual maximum sea ice extent in September 2023 was the lowest on record, with approximately 1.75 million square kilometres less sea ice than normal - an area equivalent to about 6.5 times the land area of Aotearoa. Change happening at the continental scale is usually well documented and publicised. However, smaller, more local changes are also occurring in places such as McMurdo Sound, the home of Aotearoa New Zealand's only Antarctic outpost. For four of the last seven years, unseasonable winter southerly storms have been associated with significant delays in the timing of sea-ice formation within McMurdo Sound. Where measurements were taken during these "unusual" years, the sea ice that formed later was thinner (1.5 metres compared to 2.5 metres) and had less snow cover (about 5 centimetres versus 15-30 centimetres) compared to the same locations during "typical" years. Antonia Radlwimmer (left) and Chris Pooley preparing a sea ice core for transport to the University of Otago Physics Antarctic Ice Lab. Photo: Inga Smith Another type of ice, known as "platelet ice", also appears to be affected by the later formation of sea ice. A layer of platelet ice extends into the ocean below the sea ice in some regions around Antarctica, including McMurdo Sound. It is a fragile lattice structure made up of loosely consolidated plate-shaped ice crystals, creating an upside-down reef-like structure. The resulting protective environment is a hot spot for primary productivity - microscopic algae that support the base of the marine food web. When sea ice forms later, the platelet ice doesn't have as much time to accumulate beneath and can be metres thinner than beneath older ice (down to about 1 metre from more than 3 metres). Why should we care about sea ice? Because, it isn't just a frozen, lifeless sheet expanding out from the continent, broken by the odd silhouette of a seal or a gathering of penguins on the top. Beneath the desolate surface, where ice meets water, green meadows of microalgae can spread out as far as the eye can see. Microalgae are single-cell, plant-like organisms that use sunlight to create energy. Similar to land-based meadows, they provide food for many other creatures. In winter, when other sources of food can be scarce, this sea-ice superstore plays a crucial role in feeding other inhabitants of McMurdo Sound. The frozen expanse of McMurdo Sound. Photo: Claire Concannon / RNZ Our research indicates that when the sea ice forms later, microalgal communities living within the ice are also different. In later-forming sea ice, these vital communities are less diverse and dominated by fewer species. Some species usually abundant in earlier-forming sea ice are absent or in low numbers when the sea ice forms later. Interestingly, though, it appears the quantity of microalgae in later-forming ice conditions is similar to "typical" ice. However, instead of being spread out through almost three metres depth of the platelet layer, they are crammed into a metre-thick habitat instead. These microscopic snacks are diverse in shape, size and the roles they play in the ecosystem. It can help to think of microalgal communities as the produce section in the supermarket. Each type has preferred growing conditions and different nutritional values, producing varied quantities of important resources such as proteins, carbohydrates and fatty acids. Imagine, one winter the weather is different and all that grows are cabbages and sweet peas. These won't provide you with all the nutrients you need. This mirrors the problem when there is less diversity at the base of the food web. As the microalgal communities shift in the ways our research has observed, the quantity and quality of resources they provide are likely to change, too. These early signals matter. They foreshadow wider ecological impacts, especially, if Antarctic sea ice continues to thin, retreat or form later each year. We need more research to establish the nuances of these changes and the extent of their impact. But it is worth remembering that what happens at the base of the food web in Antarctica doesn't necessarily stay there. These changes could ripple through ecosystems further afield with the potential to affect key fisheries in the Southern Ocean. By paying close attention now, we have a chance to understand and adapt, to ensure ecosystems stay resilient in a changing world. *Jacqui Stuart is a Postdoctoral Researcher in Marine Ecology, Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington; Natalie Robinson is a Marine Physicist, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). This article was first published by The Conversation .
