Viking Expedition Team Discovers New Chinstrap Penguin Colony In Antarctica
Viking announced the incredible discovery of a new colony of chinstrap penguins previously unknown to science. The discovery took place on Diaz Rock, near Astrolabe Island, in Antarctic.
The finding occurred in January when Viking’s expedition vessel, the Viking Octantis®, visited Astrolabe Island. The island is three-miles-long and located in the Bransfield Strait of the Trinity Peninsula in Antarctica.
A colony of chinstrap penguins reside on Astrolabe Island and the area had not been surveyed since 1987. Oceanites, an American non-profit, is the leading field research entity in Antarctic penguin monitoring and a partner of Viking.
Oceanites conducted a visual and thermal aerial survey of the island and results indicated that in addition to the known chinstrap penguin colony there resides an additional colony on Diaz Rock. Oceanites will publish their findings in an upcoming scientific paper.
Viking’s Newest Penguin Discovery
Today’s announcement underscores Viking’s commitment that expedition voyages on the Viking Octantis and her identical sister ship, the Viking Polaris®, provide opportunities for meaningful scientific activity.
The discovery comes one year after Viking’s first published scientific paper in Polar Research, the scientific journal of the Norwegian Polar Institute. That paper documented an expedition team’s encounter with rare giant phantom jellyfish in Antarctica.
Torstein Hagen is the Chairman of Viking
Torstein Hagen is the Chairman of Viking and he stated: “With our third season in Antarctica underway, we are pleased to have supported another significant scientific development that will allow for further understanding of the region.”
“From the thoughtful design of our expedition vessels, each with a well-appointed Science Lab, to our partnerships with some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, our intention has always been to provide our guests and scientists with opportunities for meaningful discovery during each voyage. We look forward to supporting other critical research opportunities on future voyages.”
Viking Expedition Team & Scientific Partners
Viking offers the world’s leading scientific enrichment environment in an expedition setting. They do so via partnerships with esteemed academic institutions that provide researchers for a multidisciplinary 36-person expedition team. The researchers act as guides and interpreters on shore excursions, and through world-class lectures.
For 30 years, Oceanites has been at the forefront of Antarctic penguin monitoring. “The Antarctic peninsula is well-traveled and explored, and it is not often we find a new penguin colony,” said Dr. Grant Humphries, Director of Science at Oceanites.
“Our partnership with Viking opened a new opportunity to not only count the chinstrap penguins on Astrolabe Island for the first time since the 1980s, but it also allowed us to locate and map a colony of chinstrap penguins previously unknown to us. This work will allow us to get a better understanding of how Antarctic penguin population dynamics are shifting in an ever-changing world.”
Oceanites is a Viking Research Partner
“Viking’s expedition vessels continue to showcase the potential of reimagined ‘ships of opportunity’ and the research capabilities available for scientific efforts,” said Dr. Damon Stanwell-Smith, Head of Science and Sustainability at Viking. “With scientists from our partner organizations on board, like Oceanites, we can conduct real, meaningful research in the regions. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Oceanites and other science partners to bring more findings forward in the future.”
In addition to Oceanites, Viking’s other scientific partners include:
The University of Cambridge’s Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI). Scientists from SPRI conduct fieldwork on Viking’s expedition ships and educate guests. Specialists from the Institute were consulted in the development of The Science Lab on Viking’s expedition vessels, a 380-square-foot lab appointed with wet and dry laboratory facilities to support a broad range of research.
Julian Dowdeswell, Professor of Physical Geography at the University of Cambridge, and former director of SPRI, serves as the Chair of the Viking Research Advisory Group, a consortium of scientific leaders from Viking’s partner institutions who have been actively involved in overseeing the field research performed on board.
Viking’s Exciting Penguin Discovery
Viking also partners with The Cornell Lab of Ornithology wherein ornithologists are regularly on board Viking’s ships, undertaking post-doctoral research on new observation methods and providing guest advice and interaction.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) is another Viking research partner. It performs innovative research on the dynamic environments and ecosystems of the Great Lakes and coastal regions.
In turn this data is used to help with resource use and management decisions for safe and sustainable ecosystems, ecosystem services, and human communities. In addition, Viking’s expedition ships are designated official NOAA /US National Weather Service weather balloon stations.
Viking’s Esteemed Research Partnerships
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is another esteemed Viking research partner, with Viking hosting Fjord Phyto, a NASA-funded program of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego.
Also on Viking’s expedition ships, Norwegian Institute of Water Research (NIVA) scientists maintain automated oceanographic instruments that sample the marine and freshwater regions where the vessels sail. These systems provide continuous information about chlorophyll, oxygen, temperature, salinity, microplastic presence and complementary meteorological data.
Viking coordinates with the IUCN Species Survival Commission Species Monitoring Specialist Group, an international group of experts, on the development of marine biodiversity monitoring systems which collect valuable species population data.
Lastly, the Norwegian Polar Institute is the permitting authority for Viking’s Norwegian flagged expedition vessels. The group reviews and approves all of Viking’s expedition and science activities in Antarctica.
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