Science is about solving mysteries. Ms. Geisz stated that she has spent six years in Antarctica studying persistent organic pollutants. Antarctica is the last pristine environment. It is in this environment that she and other scientists studied climate change and the Adelie penguin’s response to this change.

The word penguin means “fat.” These birds hunt in the ocean and eat krill, fish and squid. They are flightless and hunt during the day. Antarctica is the coldest, driest place on the planet. Thus, they evolved in a “polar desert” with limited precipitation

The data that has been collected includes about half from the 1970’s to the 1990’s and another 50 percent from the 1990’s to current. Ms. Geisz explained how these data related to her work with persistent organic pollutants (POPs). These are materials that are produced and used globally – they are characterized as persistent, highly toxic, concentrate in animals’ fat, and transfer globally. An example of a POP is DDT.

Adelie penguins never leave Antarctica, so how do POPs affect their ecosystem?

In 2003, no DDT was found in the ice, snow or air, but it was found in the glacial melt water on plankton. There is an incredible amount of ice being released into the ecosystem from global warming. In 2004, 87% of the glaciers were retreating. This chemical and others are being reintroduced into the system from glacial meltdown.

Ms. Geisz posed the question, so if DDT is entering the marine system due to glacial meltdown, what other chemicals may be released? Since these chemicals don’t affect the penguins, the population is doing fine, but scientists have the opportunity to use them as “canaries in a coal mine” to study the impacts of POPs.