Guest Scientist Update – David – Mercury and Penguins
Antarctica is a trip of a lifetime for many visitors hoping to catch glimpses of penguins, whales, and crisp reflections of mountain glaciers in crystal bays. Antarctica isn’t only a destination for tourism, however. For a different group of people, this isolated and frozen continent offers a unique outdoor laboratory to study the natural sciences, a sizable chunk of our planet that is little touched by human disturbance of any kind. It’s also home to large numbers of flora and fauna not found any other place on earth. I am one of the scientists working in Antarctica, and my project involves looking into both unique fauna and human disturbances. Specifically, my research is using penguins as indicators of mercury levels in the surrounding ocean. Mercury is a pollutant released into the atmosphere in large amounts from fossil fuel combustion and has increased by three to five times since industrialization began. To perform my study, I collect feathers from penguin colonies and will return to my lab in Colorado to find out how much of this human-generated pollutant has reached remote waters of the Antarctic Peninsula and various sub-Antarctic islands.
At this point, there have been very few studies of mercury signals in penguins in the regions I’m studying because these areas are very difficult and expensive to access. Fortunately, there are tour operators who are willing to accommodate scientists to help them get to these remote locations. Quixote Expeditions, thanks to their devotion to science, is one of those fantastic tour operators who is bending over backwards to help me reach my study sites. Without Laura and Fede’s help, I would not be collecting this valuable data right now. If you feel that understanding our planet is important, please reach out to them and thank them for their continued support of scientific research!
-David
