Sirens of Antarctica
Jan 14, 2023, 10:56 AM
"This is my take on global warming and war, both of which are human made real threats to all life of earth.
"Named after the British explorer James Clark Ross, who obtained the first specimen during his Antarctic expedition with war ships HMS Erebus and Terror 1839 -1843, less is known about the Ross seal than any of the other Antarctic seals. The species is mostly found on the extremely hard to navigate pack ice around the Antarctic continent, sometimes called “the last place on earth”. The Ross seal often assumes a posture with the head raised, and the mouth open and pointing upwards, and it is due to this behavior that this seal has often been referred to as the “singing seal”. It displays a variety of vocalizations which may be used for communication between seals or to warn off predators. Explosive noises, pulsed chugs and siren calls are also used by the Ross seal, some of which are used during mating and in communication between the mother and pup.
"The first siren was invented by John Robison towards the end of the 18th century as a device to create a piercing sound. Various similar apparatus with loudspeakers were quickly developed before and during “the war to end all wars” WW1 and further became an all too familiar soundtrack to anyone in Europe during WW2. The wailing sound being synonymous with approaching enemy bombing from above. Most countries test the air raid sirens on a regular basis during peace time. In Ukraine during the war in 2022, the sounds of the air raid sirens are no drill. The waxing and waning wail of a siren has embedded itself in the human psyche as warning of impending danger.
"The primary threat to the Ross seal as well as the human species is global climate change. The Antarctic holds up to 86% of all fresh water on earth. Would this melt - which it already is - sea levels around the globe will rise, up to 10 meters, affecting all coastal cities and the global climate as we know it. The sirens of the Antarctic are out of sight and ears, but the warning is real.
"Siren (noun, device)
a device that makes a loud warning noise:
The terrible wail of sirens signaled a disaster.
"Siren (in ancient Greek literature)
one of the creatures who were half woman and half bird, whose beautiful singing encouraged sailors to sail into dangerous waters where they died."
Ross seal reimagined by Eva Q Månsson.
Part of the Polar Sounds project, a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). Explore the project in full at http://citiesandmemory.com/polar-sounds.
IMAGE: Hannes Grobe, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
"Named after the British explorer James Clark Ross, who obtained the first specimen during his Antarctic expedition with war ships HMS Erebus and Terror 1839 -1843, less is known about the Ross seal than any of the other Antarctic seals. The species is mostly found on the extremely hard to navigate pack ice around the Antarctic continent, sometimes called “the last place on earth”. The Ross seal often assumes a posture with the head raised, and the mouth open and pointing upwards, and it is due to this behavior that this seal has often been referred to as the “singing seal”. It displays a variety of vocalizations which may be used for communication between seals or to warn off predators. Explosive noises, pulsed chugs and siren calls are also used by the Ross seal, some of which are used during mating and in communication between the mother and pup.
"The first siren was invented by John Robison towards the end of the 18th century as a device to create a piercing sound. Various similar apparatus with loudspeakers were quickly developed before and during “the war to end all wars” WW1 and further became an all too familiar soundtrack to anyone in Europe during WW2. The wailing sound being synonymous with approaching enemy bombing from above. Most countries test the air raid sirens on a regular basis during peace time. In Ukraine during the war in 2022, the sounds of the air raid sirens are no drill. The waxing and waning wail of a siren has embedded itself in the human psyche as warning of impending danger.
"The primary threat to the Ross seal as well as the human species is global climate change. The Antarctic holds up to 86% of all fresh water on earth. Would this melt - which it already is - sea levels around the globe will rise, up to 10 meters, affecting all coastal cities and the global climate as we know it. The sirens of the Antarctic are out of sight and ears, but the warning is real.
"Siren (noun, device)
a device that makes a loud warning noise:
The terrible wail of sirens signaled a disaster.
"Siren (in ancient Greek literature)
one of the creatures who were half woman and half bird, whose beautiful singing encouraged sailors to sail into dangerous waters where they died."
Ross seal reimagined by Eva Q Månsson.
Part of the Polar Sounds project, a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). Explore the project in full at http://citiesandmemory.com/polar-sounds.
IMAGE: Hannes Grobe, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons