Source: Australian Government – Antarctic Division
Data crucial to understanding diversity, distribution, connectivity
The Denman Marine Voyage has a large number of early career researchers and Professor Delphine Lannuzel from the University of Tasmania, working with ACEAS, said she was particularly excited by the “breadth of expertise and career stages brought together on this voyage”.
“The Denman Glacier is one of the most dynamic and vulnerable parts of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet,” she said.
“This is a unique opportunity for ACEAS scientists and collaborators to study this remote area and contribute our piece of the puzzle to understand the drivers and consequences of changes.”
Scientists from SAEF will investigate the region’s biodiversity. One major project will seek to reveal life on the seafloor, including octopus, sea spiders, starfish and urchins.
“The ocean off the Denman Glacier terminus is a freezing, remote and almost unexplored habitat, yet if it is anything like other parts of the Southern Ocean, it could be home to a surprising diversity of life, potentially rivalling that found in tropical seas,” SAEF science coordinator Professor Jan Strugnell, from James Cook University, said.
“The data gathered on this trip will be crucial to understanding the diversity, distribution and connectivity of life in this habitat, which is key to its conservation.
“In addition, harnessing some of the information encoded in their DNA will enable us to look into the future and improve projections of the behaviour of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and its contributions to sea level rise.”
It is scheduled to leave Hobart on March 1 and return in early May.
The DMV is a collaboration between the Australian Antarctic Division, Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS) and the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership (AAPP).
The Denman Glacier Photo: Dr David Souter