News / University of Bristol

Daring journey to remote island to study elusive organism

By Sydney Vallance  Monday Feb 12, 2024

A scientist has embarked on a potentially treacherous journey to one of the world’s most remote locations in a bid to shed light on the planet’s warming.

Emily Broadwell will stay at the British Antarctic Survey research station on Signy Island in the Antarctic until April, where she will research rare snow and glacier algae to learn how they survive in an environment of extreme low temperatures, abundant light and very few nutrients.

The 26-year-old formerly studied at Summerhill Infant School before attending Bristol Brunel Academy. Now she is a PhD student at the University of Bristol and spent two weeks reaching the ex-whaling station, which has been used as a British Antarctic Survey research station since 1947, on a voyage that saw her travel through the fearsome Drake’s Passage, where waves can reach 60ft.

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The microscopic organisms she is studying live in locations that were previously thought to be unfriendly to life and studying them allows scientists to track climate change in the most affected locations, while also improving their understanding of habitats further downstream.

Emily Broadwell will stay at the British Antarctic Survey research station on Signy Island in the Antarctic until April – photo: Emily Broadwell

Emily, who grew up in St George, says it’s a race against time to study the algae before their habitats are lost to climate change.

“For a long time people didn’t  consider these extreme environments as habitats for life,” said Emily.

“Much of the research over the past few decades has shown the diversity of the life here, and it’s a race to study it before these environments are lost. These landscapes are changing fast, and arctic and alpine glaciers might be some of the first habitats we lose completely to climate change.

“By researching them now we can capture as much as we can about them, including how they are adapted and how fast they are changing.”

Signy Island is only three miles by four miles, with penguin and seal populations along its coastline. Situated 370 miles from the Antarctic Peninsula and 800 miles from the Falkland Islands without enough space to land a helicopter or aircraft, an emergency extraction takes seven to nine days.

Emily will be at the British Antarctic Survey research station until April, before it closes ahead of the Antarctic winter when temperatures on the island can drop to -44C.

Signy Island is only three miles by four miles, with penguin and seal populations along its coastline – photo: Dr Ingeborg Klarenberg

Main photo: Emily Broadwell/ University of Bristol

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