Cons? Of water? Well, yes and no. Definitely more pros, by far. But when that water is no longer in frozen form there can be problems. The area down here - the Northwestern part of Antarctica is a part of the globe that is in the most flux environmentally. Antarctica is considered an indicator region meaning that the changes that are going on here offer some insight into the potential effects of global warming. That is a focus of many research projects at the two poles.
Icebergs this size used to be commonplace off the shores of Palmer Station, Anvers Island 25 years ago. If you look closely you can see some pieces falling down from the arch. Photo courtesy of Lisa Crockett
Antarctica is a continent that is covered by snow and ice - 7,000 feet thick on average! It is estimated that 90% of the world's ice is located down here. And 70% of the world's fresh water. If all that melted, the average sea level would increase about 200 feet! Uh oh - bad news for people living in any coastal area. Yikes! Pretty impressive stuff. Especially if you think that most people, maybe even you, traditionally think of Antarctica as a monolithic, unchanging snowy landmass. Au Contraire!! This is an incredibly dynamic part of the earth. So lots of science going on down here and coming from so many angles. investigations into the seaweed (macroalgae), invertebrates, investigations to see if the decrease in penguin populations is related to the decrease of their food source krill and is the decrease of krill related to the loss of sea ice cover. And is climate change related to seal populations moving south? And, what about the icefishes!! You already know about them - are they the next to be affected. And all this is only the tip of the iceberg...so to speak...of the science abounding down here. Actually, science everywhere.
What would happen to the food chain if the krill populations decreased qualitatively? This is a picture of an Antarctic krill.
Really this is a very long winded way to get you to think about the dynamics of any ecosystem and the dynamics of life itself. It is all interconnected. Is there such a thing as an isolated event? Krill are tiny ocean dwellers but seals, whales and many other sea animals depend upon it as a food source. I will leave you with a question to ponder. Which would have a greater impact on life on earth - the disappearance of humans or the disappearance of insects? Hmmmm...
This picture shows you how dramatically the glacier behind Palmer Station has receded since 1963. The glacier has receded so much that a new island was discovered! It is named Amsler island after a couple researchers down here at Palmer Station - Chuck and Maggie Amsler.