The Science of Cool

     Author: Sharon Robinson

This video is about plants that are found around the coast of Antarctica. Mosses are the dominant plants that grow around the coast of the Antarctic continent. Vascular plants are restricted to the Antarctic peninsula where conditions are slightly less extreme. Firstly this video seeks to explain how mosses survive in this inhospitable environment. Secondly I talk about how three species of Antarctic moss are being impacted by the ozone hole, and resulting increased ultraviolet radiation over Antarctica. Finally I discuss how recent climate change is affecting biodiversity and the consequences that this will have. The video represents a brief overview of my research into this area over the past decade. I hope that it is informative and interesting, but also makes people aware of the impacts of climate change across the globe and the need to act immediately to reduce our carbon emissions.

Video editing: Andrew Netherwood. Images & Video: Sharon Robinson, Laurence Clarke, Ellen Ryan-Colton. Ozone movie (NASA Ozone Hole watch: http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/multimedia/index.html Research supported by the Australian Antarctic Division.