One Planet News: The tiny super-powered climate heroes
Technology to monitor 'the beating heart of the Southern Ocean'
By Annette J Beveridge
AN innovative project called Antarctic Krill from Space is monitoring a vital yet overlooked species.
Krill are tiny creatures at the centre of the food chain. They can be called climate heroes as they help to stabilise the climate by transferring vast amounts of carbon to the depths of the ocean.
The World Wildlife Fund, the University of Strathclyde and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are collaborating on the Krill from Space project launched at UNFCCC COP 26 in Baku, in November 2020. The project compares light patterns, combined with current and historical satellite and remote sensing data. This is to comprehend the distribution and population of krill across time and space.
Chief Polar Advisor of WWF-UK, Rod Downie, said: “Antarctic Krill are the Superheroes of the Southern Ocean. These tiny, unsung heroes are the beating heart of the Southern Ocean, sustaining incredible marine life. They are the reason why humpback whales migrate thousands of miles every year to feed in the icy waters around Antarctica and they are climate heroes too, playing a critical role in drawing down carbon from the ocean surface.
“But climate change and unsustainable fishing are putting them at risk. With sea ice declining and industrial fishing growing, we urgently need to better manage the fishery and protect krill habitats within a network of marine protected areas. ‘Krill from Space’ may give us a new tool to help monitor and safeguard this vital species.”
Every day, these tiny crustaceans transfer 0.3 million tonnes of carbon to the deep ocean (equivalent to the UK’s daily CO2 emissions) by eating and excreting phytoplankton and by regularly shedding their exoskeletons.
But as sea temperatures rise and krill nurseries lose protective sea ice which is essential for krill nurseries, populations are shrinking and shifting south.
From the Department of Physics at Strathclyde, David McKee, said: “Ocean colour satellites have provided daily global monitoring of the world ocean since 1997. However, it is only very recently that we have been able to identify a signal associated with the pigment that turns krill red.
“This is a ground-breaking effort to develop a new way to monitor krill swarms at the surface where they are known to occur in huge patches that are important feeding grounds for whales and other important marine species.
“We are delighted to be partnering with the WWF and BAS on this project. In time we hope to be able to support international conservation and sustainable management of this most important Antarctic species.”
