Ukrainian meteorologists from the "Akademik Vernadsky" station have recorded a new climatic anomaly - this year the water temperature has never dropped below the freezing point. This was reported by the National Antarctic Scientific Center on Facebook, writes UNN.
This year, the sea water temperature in the area of our station has never dropped below the freezing point, i.e. -1.8°C (we remind you that salt water freezes at a lower temperature than fresh water)
This happened for the first time in the entire history of sea water temperature observations, which have been ongoing at Vernadsky since 2002.
In 2024 and 2023, the number of days when the temperature dropped below -1.8°C was minimal — 4 and 10, respectively.
This is probably another confirmation of warming in our area of Antarctica. After all, over the last decade, the number of such days exceeded the mark of 40 only once, while over the previous decade it reached even 148
Our polar explorers see the impact of this trend on nature with the naked eye. This Antarctic winter (when it is summer in Ukraine), a stable ice cover did not form around the Argentine Islands, where Vernadsky is located. Therefore, the water area was open for boat trips almost all year round.
A similar situation was observed in several previous winters, although before the early 2020s this almost never happened.
Moreover, since the beginning of Ukrainian Antarctic expeditions, the 7 km distance between our Galindez Island and the coast of Antarctica could be covered on skis in winter, crossing the frozen Penola Strait. Now this is impossible. And the last time our polar explorers recorded a sufficient ice thickness for crossing Penola was in 2019
Previously, a stable ice cover around Galindez was formed by the freezing of drifting iceberg fragments, drifting multi-year and annual ice, and local ice cover. Prolonged frost and cold water "cemented" all this into a surface suitable for movement throughout the entire visible water area.
In recent decades, a stable cover has formed less and less frequently and more fragmented, scientists say.
This year, new ice was only in places between our and neighboring islands, but in small areas and for a short time. Although this is not indicative for the ocean, because desalinated water collects in narrow straits, which freezes faster. We remind you that sea ice is a very important part of the Antarctic ecosystem. In particular, the life of many animals is closely connected with it