arek KEJNA Department of Climatology Nicolas Copernicus University Danielewskiego б, 87-100 Toruń POLAND POLISH POLAR STUDIES XXVI Polar Symposium Lublin, June 1999 Kamil LÄSKA Department of Geography Faculty of Sciences, asaryk University Kotlarska 2, 61134 Brno CZECH REPUBLIC INFLUENCE OF ADELIE PENGUIN COLONY ON THE TEPERATURE OF THE AIR LAYER NEAR THE SURFACE (KING GEORGE ISLAND, ANTARCTICA) IN SPRING 1996 WPŁYW PINGWINISKA ADELI NA TEPERATURĘ W PRZYPOWIERZCHNIOWEJ WARSTWIE POWIETRZA (WYSPA KRÓLA JERZEGO, ANTARKTYKA) NA WIOSNĘ 1996 r. INTRODUCTION On the Antarctica on small areas free of ice, there are large colonies of nesting birds and breeding places of web-footed mammals. Warm-blooded birds and mammals influence considerably the thermal conditions of the surroundings by the heat of their own body and by changing the surface characteristics (for example changing the colour by excrements). In the H. Arctowski Station region (King George Island, Antarctica) oczydłowski (1986) studied the microclimate of the nests of Adelie penguins, Gentoo penguins and Chinstrap penguins in 1980. In 1996 during the XX Antarctic Expedition of the Polish Academy of Sciences to the Arctowski Station, the problem of the influence of penguin colonies on the temperature of the air layer above the surface was studied. In comparison to 1980 in the Point Thomas oasis, only the colony of Adelie penguins remained on the Penguin Ridge, however there are no nests of Chinstrap penguins and Gentoo penguins have nests only on the moraines of Ecology Glacier. For the study a colony of Adelie penguins on the Penguin Ridge was chosen. This elevation is a flat old maritime terrace 25-38 m a.s.l. (Birkenmajer 1981). The localisation of the penguin colony is not accidental. It is situated near the sea and
114 arek Kejna, Kamil Läska it has a convenient access for the penguins. The terrain of the penguin colony is inclined to the north which favours its warming up. The strong northern winds blow out the snow from the penguin colony and therefore in spring this terrain quickly gets free of snow. The considerably inclination of the surface makes the draining of the penguin colony easier The number of Adelie penguins at Point Thomas reaches from 7,000 to 17,905 pairs (Jabłoński 1984, Trivelpiece et al. 1990, yrcha 1992, Ciaputa 1998). In 1996 the first Adelie penguin appeared on 21 September. The number of penguins grew quickly and on 30 September was over 4000 (J. Smykla, oral information). In the days 19-22 December 1996 the Adelie penguins were settled in 7.995 nests, the average density was 1,69 nest/m 2 (Ciaputa 1998). On the Penguin Ridge the Adelie penguins assembled in three groups leaving free the centre of the colony. The first eggs appeared in the nests on 19 October and the first nestling on 26 November. Fig. 1. Location of measurement stands on the Adćlie penguin colony near Arctowski Station in 1996; 1 - sea shore, 2 - contours, 3 - altitude points, 4 - windings, edges, 5 - streams, 6 - lakes, 7 - penguin colonies, 8 - meteorological stands, 9 - buildings of the Arctowski Station
Influence of Adćlie penguin colony on the temperature of the air.. 115 Research was carried out over the period from 1 September to 30 November 1996. Through the penguin colony a profile was established by 5 meteorological boxes with maximum and minimum thermometers. Their readings and reductions were taken every evening. The measurement stands were located at every 60 m in a profile from the shore to a south-western direction (Fig. 1). The stands and were installed outside the penguin colony, the stand, and were placed inside the penguin colony but only and were situated among the penguin nests. The stand was located in the centre of the colony having 1,600 m 2 surface area and 2,698 nests (Ciaputa, personal information). The measurement level was chosen at 20 cm above surface level. This is the height of an Adelie penguin sitting on the nest. RESULTS The weather conditions at the H. Arctowski Station in spring 1996 were very variable (Fig. 3) - Kejna, Laska 1997. The mean monthly air temperature grew gradually from -1.0 in September to 0.3 in November (Table 1). However, there were also strong thaws, for example in the third decade of September (2.6) and on the turn of October and November. The cloudiness was high (September 8.9, October 7.8 and November 8.4), only in the third decade of October there was more clearing up (6.4). The number of hours with sunshine grew systematically, c October September -6 November Fig. 2. Daily maximum (max) and minimum (min) air temperature at 20 cm a.g.l. on the Adćlie penguin colony in spring 1996
arek Kejna, Kamil Läska 116 high sunshine duration appeared in the third decade of October (52.9 hours) and in the second decade of November (45.9 hours). In September, before the return of the penguins, the air temperature at 20 cm above ground level was differentiated depending on the distance from the sea, height above sea level and the surface conditions (snow, ice, unfrozen ground). The mean day maximum air temperatures were the highest at the stands near Admiralty Bay (Id 1.8 and 1.7), and the lowest at the eastern end of the profile ( 0.9 and 1.0) - Table 1, Fig. 2. The mean daily minimum temperatures were the lowest outside the penguin colony ( -4.5 and -4.2) and a little higher in the penguin colony (, and about -4.0). Table 1. ean values of cloudiness (C), sunshine duration (SS) and air temperature (T) at the Arctowski Station and mean daily maximum and minimum air temperature on the Adelie penguin colony (20 cm a.g.i.) in the period 1.09-30.11.1996 Arctowski Station Decade IX X XI С SS 0-10 Hour Tmean Tmax Penguin Adelie Colony Tmin Tmin () Tmax () 0.3-0.2-0.6-0.6-3.3-3.0-3.2-3.2-3.4 I 9.3 1.9-1.8-0.5-3.1 0.2 II 9.0 7.7-3.9-0.5-7.8-0.2-0.7-1.1-1.3-1.3-7.9-7.6-7.3-7.0-7.0 III 8.3 11.9 2.6 4.7 0.5 5.1 5.5 4.9 4.4 4.6 8.9 21.5-1.0 1.2-3.5 1.8 1.7 1.2 0.9 1.0-2.0-1.1-1.3-1.7-1.7-4.5-4.1-4.0-4.1-4.2 1.2 1.3-3.8-2.9-3.2-3.7-4.0 1 8.7 23.3-0.8 0.8-2.2 2.1 3.3 1.9 II 8.4 18.8-2.9-0.5-6.4 0.5 1.4-0.4-0.7-0.4-6.8-5.8-5.6-5.9-7.2 III 6.4 52.9 0.9 2.7-1.4 4.4 6.0 4.1 4.2 3.9-2.2-1.4-1.4-1.6-2.9 7.8 95.0-0.9 1.1-3.3 2.4 3.6 1.9 1.6 1.7-4.2-3.3-3.3-3.7-4.6 1 8.3 30.8 1.1 2.4-0.2 4.6 7.0 4.4 4.7 3.8-1.1-0.8-0.6-0.6-1.0 II 8.1 45.9-0.9 0.7-2.8 4.1 5.0 3.8 4.2 3.5-3.1-2.4-2.7-2.5-2.8 III 8.9 18.6 0.6 2.3-1.3 5.3 6.4 5.6 5.9 5.4-1.6-1.1-1.2-1.3-1.3 8.4 95.3 0.3 1.8-1.4 4.5 6.2 4.6 4.9 4.3-1.9-1.4-1.5-1.5-1.7 The appearance of a few thousand warm-blooded penguins considerably influenced the thermal conditions on the area of the colony. The snowy and icy surface turned quickly into a reddish mud mainly consisting of guano. In October 1996 the mean value of the daily maximal temperatures was the highest in the centre of the penguin colony ( 3.6) and the lowest outside it ( 2.4 and 1.7). The temperature difference between the centre of the penguin colony and its environs reached +1,9. During the night the mean values of minimal daily temperatures varied from -4.2 (Kl) and -4.6 () outside the colony to -3.3 in its centre (). The thermal influence of the penguin colony during the night reached + 1.3. In November 1996 the spatial distribution of temperature was similar to the one in October. During the day, in the centre of the penguin colony the monthly mean of the daily maximal temperatures was 6.2 (), while at the stands outside of the colony it was 4.5 (Kl) and 4.3 (), the difference rea-
Influence of Adćlie penguin colony on the temperature of the air.. 15 Cloudiness [0-10] 21 ix ' J»-" и 1 IX 117 11 IX 1X 11 X 21 X 31 X 10X1 20 Я 11 X 21 X [111 20Я JI I..I 11 T_L 30 X : Air temperature 20» ", 5 5 '; c ЗОЯ Sunshine duration 30 XI 96 Tmax ( -) 96 Tm in ( -) 96 Fig. 3. Course of cloudiness, sunshine duration and air temperature at the Arctowski Station and difference between daily maximum (Tmax) and minimum (Tmin) air temperature on the stands (middle of the penguin colony) and (out of the colony) in the period 1.09-30.11.1996 ched 1.9. In the night, the highest minimal temperatures occurred on the area of the penguin colony (about -1.5), while at the stands outside the colony the temperature was -1.9 (Kl) and -1.7 (). Analysing the air temperature distribution over the colony of Adelie penguins by different weather conditions we can state that it depends on the cloudiness
arek Kejna, Kamil Läska 118 t«t c 26 XI 1996 - m - -ш- -Ж- С =10.0, SS =0.0 h., V = 6.4m/s, SE И 15X11996, 6J C = 4. 5, SS =11.1 h., V = 5.9m/s, SW t1 X1996 С =8.0, SS =0.0 h., V = 4.7 m/s, SE ^ J C = 9. 5, SS=0.0h., V = 19.4 m/s, NNW Fig. 4. Daily maximum (max) and minimum (min) air temperature at 20 cm a.g.l. on the Adćlie penguin colony in selected days. С - cloudiness, SS - sunshine duration, V - wind velocity and prevailing wind direction and the sunshine duration, the air temperature and the wind speed and direction (Fig. 3 and 4). On cloudy days the air temperature differences between the penguin colony and its environs are small in the day as well as in the night (26.11.1996). Strong winds also blow away the local heat island formed above the colony (17.11.1996). The highest temperature differences occur on sunny days (15.11.1996). The ground of the penguin colony warms up strongly (small albedo) because of the lack of snow cover, which maintain still long on the neighbouring terrain. The influence of some thousands of penguins shows itself particularly in low air temperatures. On 14.10.1996 the temperature in the night fell down to -9.9 outside the penguin colony () while in its centre only to -7.5 (). In spite of the earlier studies by oczydłowski (1986) we can state that the penguin colonies have considerable influence on the thermal conditions within the colony and on its surroundings. In the day the maximal temperatures on the average are by 1.9 higher in the centre of the penguin colony than in its neighbourhood. The thermal relations between the penguin colony and its environs are change accordingly to the cloudiness, the sunshine duration and the wind velocity.
Influence of Adćlie penguin colony on the temperature of the air... 119 REFERENCES K. 1981: Raised marine features and glacial history in the vicinity of H. Arctowski Station, King George Island, South Shetland Islands, West Antarctica. Bull. l'acad. Pol. Sei. Ser. Sei. Terre, Vol. XXIX, No 2: 109-117. CIAPUTA P. 1998: Long-term population changes in Adćlie, Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins in the region of SSSI No 8 and SSSI No 34, King George Island, Antarctica, ateriały XXV iędzynar. Sympozjum Polarnego, Warszawa: 22. JABŁOŃSKI B. 1984: Distributions, number and breeding preferences of penguins in the region of the Admiralty Bay (King George Island, South Shetland Islands) in the season 1979/1980. Polish Polar Research, 5, 1-2: 5-16. KEJNA LÄSKA K. 1997: Warunki pogodowe na Stacji H. Arctowskiego (Szetlandy Pd., Antarktyka) w 1996 r. Problemy Klimatologii Polarnej, 7, Gdynia: 91-108. OCZYDŁOWSKI E. 1986: icroclimate of the nest-sites of pygoscelid penquins (Admiralty Bay, South Shetland Island). Polish Polar Research, 7 ( 4 ) : 3 7 7-3 9 4. YRCHA A. 1 9 9 2 : Ptaki. [In:] Rakusa-Suszczewski S. (ed.): Zatoka Admiralicji, Antarktyka. Inst. Ekologii PAN, Dziekanów Leśny: 1 6 9-1 9 4. TRIVELPIECE W. Z., TRIVELPICE S. G GEUPEL G. R KJELYR J., VOLKAN N. J. 1 9 9 0 : Adćlie and chinstrap penguins: their potential as monitors of the Southern Ocean marine ecosystem. [In: ] Antarctic ecosystems. Ecological change and conservation. Eds. K. R. Kerry, G. Hempel, Springer-Verlag, BerlinHeidelberg: 1 9 1-2 0 2. BIRKENAJER STRESZCZENIE W okresie od 1 września do 30 listopada 1996 г., w ramach XX Wyprawy Antarktycznej PAN, prowadzono pomiary temperatury powietrza na pingwinisku Adćlie w pobliżu Stacji H. Arctowskiego (Wyspa Króla Jerzego, Antarktyka). Temperaturę powietrza mierzono 20 cm n.p.g. przy pomocy termometrów maksymalnych i minimalnych umieszczonych w 5 klatkach w profilu przechodzącym przez pingwinisko na Penguin Ridge. Po przybyciu pingwinów pod koniec września klatki i znalazły się w obrębie kolonii pingwinów, klatka 3 pomiędzy koloniami, a klatki 1 i 5 poza pingwiniskiem. We wrześniu 1996 г., przed przybyciem pingwinów, rozkład temperatury powietrza był uwarunkowany odległością od morza, wysokością nad poziom morza oraz stanem powierzchni (śnieg, lód, odmarznięty grunt). Pojawienie się ok. 8 tys. par pingwinów spowodowało, że temperatura na stanowiskach zlokalizowanych w centrum kolonii () była w dzień średnio o 1,9 wyższa niż na stanowiskach poza pingwiniskiem. W nocy różnica ta wynosiła 1,3 w październiku i 0,4 w listopadzie. Największe różnice temperatury pomiędzy pingwiniskiem a otoczeniem występują przy pogodzie słonecznej, mroźnej i bezwietrznej, natomiast małe zróżnicowanie jest charakterystyczne dla pogody pochmurnej oraz przy wysokich temperaturach powietrza i silnym wietrze. Termiczne uprzywilejowanie pingwinisk wynika z bezpośredniego oddziaływania wielu tysięcy par stałocieplnych ptaków oraz ze zmiany właściwości podłoża (zmiana barwy i szybkie topnienie pokrywy śnieżnej).