Lovelace no Happy Feet
Rockhopper penguins, the species that were portrayed by the character Lovelace in the movie Happy Feet, have no reason to be happy. Since the 1930s, their population has declined by 85% in the Falkland Islands, according to a recent study. The study suggests that the decline in the rockhopper penguin population may be due to climate change in the Southern Ocean.
The rockhopper penguin population decline is another warning that global climate change is occurring, and at a rapid rate. The Southern Ocean is the only ocean that circles the globe, uninterrupted by a land mass. It is home to the world's largest ocean current, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which connects to and impacts the climate of the world, via the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans and their currents. The cold, dense, salty water of the Southern Ocean is the driving force behind the circulation of the world's oceans. As the climate of the Southern Ocean changes, so will the change be felt elsewhere in the world. Soon, we may be sharing the fate of Lovelace.
The rockhopper penguin population decline is another warning that global climate change is occurring, and at a rapid rate. The Southern Ocean is the only ocean that circles the globe, uninterrupted by a land mass. It is home to the world's largest ocean current, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which connects to and impacts the climate of the world, via the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans and their currents. The cold, dense, salty water of the Southern Ocean is the driving force behind the circulation of the world's oceans. As the climate of the Southern Ocean changes, so will the change be felt elsewhere in the world. Soon, we may be sharing the fate of Lovelace.
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