Antartica



The March theme for the Teen Science Cafe was Antarctica. We got to hear from a speaker, Alex Rothburg, who is a scientist that went to Antarctica to study fish, and the effect climate change is having on the ice fish. Mr. Rothburg talked to us about how he studies death, and what death and extinction can tell us about different species, and species in the past.

First, we played a game of Extinction Bingo, where Mr. Rothburg explained different words in relation to his expedition to Antarctica. For example, we learned about anti-freeze proteins, which the fish in the Antarctic waters have, which allows them to live in sub-zero environments. Mr. Rothburg explained the effects of trawling and commercial fishing on the fish in Antarctica. Large trawling nets are used to capture these fish, and often other larger fish can get caught up in the nets. This has a detrimental impact on larger fish, as they are unable to get out.

This presentation by Mr. Rothburg directly relates to topics and themes we are learning about in AP Environmental Science. Mr. Rothburg discussed the negative impacts of human activities on the environment, and how global warming and climate change affect different aspects of the environment. One specific human activity he discussed was trawling, which we learned about in APES. He also discussed how climate change affects the food chain as prey die off, or migrate, affecting the population growth. The effects of global warming also have a direct impact on the ice caps, which we are now seeing today.