Wild Sounds: Kākāpō Files II

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Voice of the Sea Ice 06 | Where to? Apr 09, 2025

Show notes

Human-induced climate change is impacting Earth’s global systems, including ice melt in Antarctica. What is the world doing to combat it? Signed in 2016, the Paris Agreement is the current global plan to tackle it. Countries pledge different emission reduction targets and then produce their workings and homework about how they are going about it. Where does New Zealand fit in? Are we doing our bit as a nation? And should we be bothering with individual actions or is that simply a bait-and-switch tactic by those who want to delay real change?

Guests:

Eloise Gibson, RNZ climate correspondent
Dr Jess Berentson-Saw, Director of Narrative Research and Strategy, The Workshop

Learn more:

Read Eloise’s recent analysis about New Zealand’s international climate targets, or listen to this episode of The Detail.
Eloise has also recently fact checked Winston Peters on climate accord, reported on our 2035 Paris Agreement target, and delved into the recent uptake of solar demand in New Zealand.
The Climate Action Tracker website keeps tabs on the targets and pledges of different countries and monitors whether they are on track to keep the world below 2 °C of warming (compared to pre-industrial temperatures).
The Workshop have published a cheat sheet on ‘How to talk about climate change’.

This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme.

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Voice of the Sea Ice 05 | Changing times Apr 02, 2025

Show notes

In February 2025, the world hit a new low for global sea ice extent. Arctic sea ice has been declining for several decades now, but Antarctic sea ice had been holding steady, until recently. With low summer sea ice extents for four years in a row, it appears that Earth’s warming has kicked Antarctic sea ice into a new regime. Claire Concannon speaks to scientists to understand what this means for Antarctica, what this means for us, and how they feel about it.

Guests:

Dr Natalie Robinson, NIWA
Dr Jacqui Stuart, Victoria University of Wellington
Dr Greg Leonard, University of Otago
Dr Daniel Price, University of Canterbury and Kea Aerospace
Dr Inga Smith, University of Otago
Dr Michelle LaRue, University of Canterbury

Learn more:

Read about the recent State of the Global Climate Report.
The world’s biggest iceberg recently ran aground, but to get up close and personal, listen to the Voice of the Iceberg miniseries.
The world is also experiencing ice loss from its glaciers. New Zealand’s glaciers have shrunk by 29% since 2000. Listen to The annual snowline survey to learn how our glaciers are monitored.

This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme.

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Voice of the Sea Ice 04 | More life! Mar 26, 2025

Show notes

Penguins that return to the ice in the middle of winter to lay their eggs. Seals that use cracks in the ice to keep their pups safe. And fish that have antifreeze proteins to survive in the icy cold waters... Antarctic life is tough, and full of surprises. Scientists are keen to piece together the Antarctic food web puzzle to better understand the interconnections, and to enable smart conservation decisions.

Guests:

Arek Aspinwall, University of Canterbury
Dr Michelle LaRue, University of Canterbury
Professor Steve Wing, University of Otago

Learn more:

Meet other seals and penguins with Peregrin Hyde on his journey to South Georgia Island as part of an Inspiring Explorers expedition.
In ‘Best Journey in the World’ from the Voices from Antarctica series, Alison Ballance travelled to Cape Crozier with a team from NIWA studying the emperor penguins.

This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme.

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Voice of the Sea Ice 03 | Life! Mar 19, 2025

Show notes

What’s it like to live and work on the frozen ocean? A team of researchers are camping out on the sea ice to investigate the small critters that live on the bottom of the ice, and among the sloshy platelet ice layer just below it. From microalgae to krill, these tiny organisms hold up the big complex food web of Antarctica. Scientists are keen to understand these communities, and how they might shift as the sea ice cycle changes.

Guests:

Dr Natalie Robinson, NIWA
Dr Jacqui Stuart, Victoria University of Wellington
Dr Greg Leonard, University of Otago
Lizzy Skelton, University of Canterbury
Dr Aimee van der Reis, University of Auckland
Salvatore Campanile, Victoria University of Wellington

Learn more:

Dr Natalie Robinson spoke to The Detail in 2023 about the unprecedented sea ice conditions of that year
Alison Ballance's Voices from Antarctica series from 2020 explores what it’s like to live and work in Antarctica.

This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme.

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Voice of the Sea Ice 02 | Antarctica's heartbeat Mar 12, 2025

Show notes

Step out on the sea ice just outside New Zealand’s Scott Base with researchers studying the physics of its annual cycle. Each year a massive patch of ocean around Antarctica freezes and then melts again come summer – Antarctica’s heartbeat. In winter, the ice effectively more than doubles the size of this already massive continent, and it plays a huge role in controlling our planet’s climate.

Guests:

Dr Inga Smith, University of Otago
Antonia Radlwimmer, University of Otago
Professor Wolfgang Rack, University of Canterbury

Learn more:

Listen to Physics on Ice from 2021 with Emeritus Professor Pat Langhorne and Dr Inga Smith.
Alison Ballance's Voices from Antarctica series from 2020 explores what it’s like to live and work in Antarctica.

This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme.

Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Voice of the Sea Ice 01 | A land of ice and ambition Mar 05, 2025

Show notes

Welcome to Antarctica - a land of ice, extremes, and ambition. From historic expeditions to modern day science projects, Antarctic exploration is a unique, and dangerous, experience. We meet one researcher involved in an epic journey across the largest ice shelf in Antarctica, mapping a safe route through a crevassed landscape for others to follow. Plus, we learn about the different types of ice found in this vast, frozen landscape.

Guests:

Dr Daniel Price, University of Canterbury and Kea Aerospace
Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision archival audio

Learn more:

Read the article that accompanies this episode.
Daniel did the route-finding for the SWAIS2C project. Veronika Meduna flew out to the camp in the 2023/2024 season to report on their activities.
Daniel has spoken to Morning Report about Kea Aerospace’s work developing a solar-powered aircraft
Hear about other ongoing research in Antarctica from the latest research season, including investigating new methane seeps, and giant glass sponges.
Learn more about living, and working, on the ice in the 2020 podcast series – Voices from Antarctica.

This series was made with travel support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

Introducing: Voice of the Sea Ice Feb 20, 2025

Show notes

Each winter the sea ice that forms around Antarctica effectively doubles the size of this massive continent. It’s one of the biggest annual global changes. It reflects sunlight, drives ocean currents and is home to a host of critters key to the Antarctic food web. But the last few years have seen unusually low sea ice extents in Antarctica, and scientists are sounding the alarm. Is this a blip, or a trend?

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details

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