Chaple Hill, NC - Marine biologists at Duke University report an unprecedented number of humpback whales off the coast of the West Antarctic Peninsula, feeding on the largest swarm of krill seen in the region in more than 20 years. While this may seem like good news to animal lovers, the marine biologists claim global warming is to blame and the prevalence of both krill and whales is a bad thing.
The Duke team claims a recent decline in regional sea ice is allowing whales to feed in krill breeding grounds that were previously protected by sea ice. Although the remarkable numbers and concentration of krill indicate the krill seem to be benefiting from the regional decline in sea ice, the Duke team claims the whales may soon consume so much krill that it will threaten the krill population.
Taking a bold step outside their marine biology expertise and into the realm of climate science, the team claims rapid global warming is the cause of the recent decline in sea ice off the West Antarctic Peninsula, as well as the cause of the recent boom in krill and whale concentrations.
Precise measurements from NASA satellites, however, show Antarctic sea ice has been expanding for at least the past 30 years. Record Antarctic sea ice extent has been repeatedly measured during the past four years. The lone portion of Antarctica where sea ice is not expanding is the West Antarctic Peninsula region, where scientists have documented a number of active undersea volcanoes warming the water. Even with this small portion of Antarctic sea ice in modest retreat,
Antarctic sea ice as a whole continues to grow. Given the consistent, longstanding growth in overall Antarctic sea ice, it seems a bit of a stretch for the Duke marine biologists to claim rapid global warming is responsible for the allegedly undesirable proliferation of krill and whales off the West Antarctic Peninsula.
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