Antarctica is Earth’s most southernmost continent, where the geographic South Pole is located. The frozen desert, which is home to more than 1,000 scientists and reaches blistering temperatures of -90C at times, has been of great interest to NASA over the years to prepare for missions to the Moon and the sun. However, the space agency also made a shocking discovery during their time on Earth’s fifth largest continent.
Former US Vice President Al Gore revealed during his book “An Inconvenient Truth” how the population of Emperor penguins has decreased at an alarming rate over the past decade.
He believes climate change is to blame.
He wrote in 2006: “Scientists studying Emperor penguins found that their numbers have dropped by 70 percent since the Sixties.
“The likely cause is climate change as increasing temperatures in both the air and the ocean descended on the penguin’s Antarctic home.
An Antarctica scientists works below the ice (Image: GETTY)
Climate change can be seen first-hand in Antarctica (Image: GETTY)
Scientists believe global warming is responsible for the rising temperature and changes to sea ice
“The Southern Ocean experiences natural shifts in weather from one decade to the next, but the warm spell has continued unabated.
“Warmer temperatures and stronger winds produce thinner sea ice – the frozen water where the penguins nest.
“The weakened ice is more likely to break apart and drift out to sea, taking the penguins’ eggs and chicks with it.”
Mr Gore, who was Bill Clinton’s running mate for their successful presidential campaign in 1992 and 1996, explained how NASA technology could prove rising temperatures are to blame for the decrease in penguin population.
He continued: “Scientists believe global warming is responsible for the rising temperature and changes to sea ice, though they can’t be certain.
“Sea ice has decreased only in certain parts of Antarctica, but the frozen freshwater that covers most of the land mass is thinning across the whole continent.
“A recent NASA study using satellite mapping technology found that Antarctica is losing land ice at a rate of 31 billion tonnes of water a year.
“The Emperor penguins, who rely on sea ice to breed and hunt for food, are feeling the impacts first.”
Scientists use Antarctica as a hub to study the effects of climate change.
Mr Gore explained how a team led by researcher Lonnie Thompson often digs down into the ice sheets to take a look at the chemical composition of the earlier ice.
Al Gore expressed his concerns during his 2006 book (Image: GETTY)
Scientists are digging into the ice to test for chemical levels (Image: GETTY)
He wrote: “They dig core drills down into the ice, extracting long cylinders filled with ice that was formed year by year over many centuries.
“Lonnie and his team of experts then examine the tiny bubbles of air trapped in the snow in the year that it felt.
“They can measure how much CO2 was in the Earth’s atmosphere each year by calculating the ratio of different types of oxygen which provides an ingenious and highly accurate thermometer.
“The team can count backwards in time, year by year – the same way an experienced forester can read tree rings – by simply observing the clear line of demarcation that separates each year from the one preceding it.
“The correlation between temperature and CO2 concentrations over the last 1,000 years is shocking.”
The penguins are being affected (Image: GETTY)
Scientist dig into the ice (Image: GETTY)
Mr Gore, who won the Nobel Peace Prize a year after the book was published for his work in climate change activism, revealed how the team uncovered findings from 650,000 years ago.
Referring to a graph where the CO2 level shot up over the last 1,000 years, he added: “In Antarctica, measurements of CO2 concentrations and temperature go back 650,000 years.
“The blue line shows CO2 concentrations over this period.
The top right side of the blue line represents the present era and the dip down is the last ice age.
“At no point in the last 650,000 years did the CO2 concentration go above 300 parts per million.”
Mr Gore then referred to a second graph reflecting temperatures in the world, which mirrored the first.
He continued: “The grey line shows the world’s temperature over the same 650,000 years.
“It’s a complicated relationship, but the most important part is when there is more CO2 in the atmosphere the temperature increases because more heat from the sun is trapped inside.
“CO2 is now way above anything measured in the prior 650,000 years (350 parts per million).
“And within 45 years it will be at 600 parts per million.
“If we allow this to happen, it would be deeply and unforgivably immoral, it would condemn coming generations to a catastrophically diminished future.”
