In scientific 1st, Turkish team sights emperor penguin chick on Horseshoe Island, Antarctica

By Sebnem Coskun

ANTARCTICA (AA) — Turkish scientists who went to Antarctica have observed an emperor penguin chick for the first time on Horseshoe Island.

Scientists who spoke to Anadolu on Friday went to the "continent of science and peace" to carry out glacial observations as part of the expeditions on Horseshoe Island, where they have been carrying out scientific activities for seven years.

Burak Karacik, environmental officer in Türkiye's 7th National Antarctic Science Expedition, said they observed three types of penguins on Horseshoe Island, where their temporary science camp is located, but that they encountered a baby emperor penguin for the first time this year.

Emperor penguins are the largest of the 18 penguin species found in the world.

"Emperor penguins are known to live near Horseshoe Island in previous records, but we've never seen emperor penguins on Horseshoe Island during our expeditions. The emperor penguins, which we normally see further south, are a species we haven't seen for seven years despite them having a colony. This is an interesting situation for us. Apart from this species, Adelie and Chinstrap penguins are also seen on the island," the scientist said.

During the expedition, held under the auspices of the Turkish presidency with support from the Ministry of Industry and Technology and coordinated by the Polar Research Institute of Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye's (TUBITAK) Marmara Research Center (MAM), Turkish scientists are doing their best to leave the smallest possible footprint on Antarctica to prevent harm to the ecosystem of the continent and its surroundings.

National Antarctic Science Expedition deputy head Atilla Yilmaz said they were working on lakes on Horseshoe Island and aimed to examine the levels and distribution of human-induced pollutants in the lakes.

Explaining that there are four lakes on the island and that they were collecting water and sediment samples from these lakes, Yılmaz said:

"We will conduct various analyses in the laboratories in Türkiye on the samples collected. Two different (species of) zooplankton have been found in the studies carried out on the lakes. This is why the lake ecosystems in the southernmost latitudes where these zooplankton are seen are of great importance."

"Zooplankton fossils dating back tens of thousands of years have been found in the core and sediment samples taken during the studies. Therefore, we are making great efforts to preserve this scientific and cultural heritage in the future.

"As the United Kingdom, Belgium and Türkiye, we are making an effort to declare all the lakes in the vicinity as protected areas. Most likely, this place will be a protected area from 2024. When it is a protected area, of course, where scientific studies will continue," he said, adding that this would entail "certain rules."

Karacik said they would look for heavy metal and organic pollutants in the samples they make in the lakes on the island, adding: "Though there are no humans (living here), human-induced pollutants come here. They can come here especially by air such as pesticides and atmospheric effects, and they can also affect living things."

Underlining the importance of sea ice formation in Antarctica, Karacik said that this year, sea ice levels were "very low compared to previous years, it is at its lowest level ... The creatures we call krill, which are the beginning of the ecosystem, have a direct proportion to sea ice."

"When sea ice decreases, krill decreases. Whales, seals, and penguins in particular live on krill. When the sea ice decreases in Antarctica, the whole ecosystem deteriorates. I can say that we have seen this with our own observations. While we saw a large number of whales and seals in previous expeditions, we had the opportunity to see very few of them this time," he added.

- 'ASPAs' in Antarctica

Karacik said there were 72 areas under special protection in Antarctica and noted that the areas that required protection had been determined.

Pointing out that special permissions must be obtained to enter these Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPA), Karacik continued:

"Because these are areas reserved only for scientists to do research and not to affect the ecosystem there. There is no such spot on Horseshoe Island, but the lakes on it are very important for the Antarctic ecosystem and ASPA is planned there. We also paid attention to research these lakes in this year's expedition. We took samples from the lakes for possible human-caused pollution," he said.

"It is forbidden to take anything, including water and ice, from Antarctica. The reason is that the area is under protection. Scientists can only take samples from here, and special permits are required for these samples," Karacik added.

Emphasizing that the scientists paid a lot of attention to leave a minimum impact on the continent during their work on the White Continent during the expedition, Karacik said,

"Because Antarctica is far from people and the points we go to are not connected to each other, we put our feet in a special liquid and clean it every time we land. "We do this because we do not want to carry viruses or pathogens from one point to another. Such incidents have happened before."

"For example, bird flu has caused the death of penguin colonies. To prevent this, we are very careful, especially when going ashore, and we always clean our shoes and clothes," he added.

Noting that they could see many mammals around Horseshoe Island, Karacik said elephant seals, fur seals, Weddell seals, crabeater seals were present on the island.

Karacik and Anadolu photojournalist Sebnem Coskun later dove off an iceberg that broke from the glacier on Horseshoe Island in an effort to raise awareness on the melting of the White Continent's ice.