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Phenology: An Integrative Environmental Science pp 115–135Cite as

Antarctica

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Abstract

Antarctica was the last continent to be discovered and colonized by people, and this has resulted in generally sparse meteorological, oceanographic and biological data for the Antarctic and much of the Southern Ocean. Within the Antarctic region, here defined to include all regions south of the Antarctic Polar Front, much of the land-based biological research occurs at or near international scientific stations, leading to some regions, such as the Amundsen Sea, being poorly researched. In the last decade, evidence has emerged of significant differences, but also some similarities, in species’ responses to changing environmental conditions, including climate change. However, most of the studies have been confined to larger organisms, such as seabirds and marine mammals, with few long-term studies on the phenology of plants, invertebrates and other species. This highlights the need for greater spatial and species coverage in the southern regions of the globe to assess and quantify regional and ecosystem-scale processes and patterns.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Lily Gao and the staff at the Australian (National Meteorological Library). Patricia Selkirk for advice and references. We thank Valeria Ruoppolo for assistance with details on the South American research programs and Amy Winnard, Steve Pendlebury, Scott Carpentier and Phillip Reid for helpful comments on earlier drafts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Lynda E. Chambers

  2. Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science, University of Melbourne, Creswick, VIC, Australia

    Marie R. Keatley

  3. Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay, TAS, Australia

    Eric J. Woehler

  4. Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, TAS, Australia

    Dana M. Bergstrom

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  1. Lynda E. Chambers
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  2. Marie R. Keatley
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  3. Eric J. Woehler
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  4. Dana M. Bergstrom
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Correspondence to Lynda E. Chambers .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

    Mark D. Schwartz

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Chambers, L.E., Keatley, M.R., Woehler, E.J., Bergstrom, D.M. (2013). Antarctica. In: Schwartz, M. (eds) Phenology: An Integrative Environmental Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6925-0_7

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