Curiously Polar

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If there is one thing that cultures around the world have in common then it’s music. Music helps us to express emotions, to celebrate, to mourn. We connect memories with certain songs, couples have "their" song, films without music are hard to imagine nowadays and even in a time when films didn't have their own sound, pianists played a suitable score in the cinemas. But at the same time music is very much connected to each culture itself, to traditions and language. With the upcoming episodes we would like to shed a light on the music culture of the circumpolar north.

The first part of this mini series takes a look into the music of Nunavut, probably the largest Inuit territory. In a culture that lives in small communities, was largely nomadic, and is cut off from the outside world for most of the year, music plays an even bigger role. Traditional Inuit music has been based on drums used in dance music as far back as can be known. When you travel along the different Inuit cultures from Greenland to Canada and Alaska towards Russia, you will find the basics of the drum dances in all the cultures and the same applies for the second base of traditional Inuit music, a vocal style called katajjaq, Inuit throat singing. Mostly performed as a duet, this form of throat singing mimics the natural world. Wind, ice, sea and bird sounds dominate.

This traditional form of singing was only recently threatened with extinction. The colonisation of the Arctic has almost everywhere caused the nomadic peoples to be settled and the language of the colonial power to be spoken primarily at school, Danish in Greenland, English in Canda and Alaska. This effectively prevented the transfer of this purely oral form of expression. Fortunately, however, today we find a lively Inuit culture everywhere in the circumpolar Arctic. And as the Inuit languages see a new rise so does the throat singing. And it’s amazing to see that it’s not only part of today’s Inuit musical pop culture but being adopted by people all around the world. At the German University of Music FRANZ LISZT in Weimar two throat singers from Nunavut, Kiah Hachey and Karen Flaherty, are joined by three electronic music artists, Paul Hauptmeier, Martin Recker and Sergio Valencia. Inuit throat singing usually doesn’t include any form of instrumentation and the two guys simply create environments for the audience to encapsulate and experience the throat singing. They place the wonderful singing into an environment, space if you wish that allows you to ground and reference the throat singing and chanting.

As music has become a huge part in Western culture it always has been in Inuit culture. Inspired by traditional throat singing and contemporary artists, young Inuit musicians offer a modern take on Inuit life.

Check out Aakuluk Music's sounds on Spotify.

If you think of the Antarctic, you almost inevitably think of what is probably the most symbolic animal in the south - penguins. Living almost exclusively south of the equator - the Galapagos penguin is found on the edge to the Northern Hemisphere - those curious fellas might look a bit awkward when they waddle around on land. But as soon as you experience them in water you realise, those aquatic flightless birds are perfectly adapted for a life in the ocean. They have evolved into the most efficient swimmers and divers of all birds and some species spend 75% of their time at sea — the most of any birds.

As the coldest, driest, and windiest place on Earth, Antarctica is mostly a huge, lifeless desert. Its largest land animal is a wingless midge, Belgica antarctica, whose adults live about a week and we talked about already in a bit more detail in Episode 84. But most people wonder, why’s the midge the largest land animal of Antarctica? Shouldn’t it be the penguin? Here starts the first misconception. Even though most people will experience penguins on land, mainly during their breeding season, they are no land animals. And although they cannot fly, they are birds. Penguins are the most common birds in the Antarctic. Living in colonies with populations larger than some cities, and surviving in the harshest of conditions, it is no wonder that penguins are seen as the emblem of Antarctica. However, of the 17 different species of penguin, only two (Emperor and Adélie) make the Antarctic continent their true home, although others (Gentoo, Chinstrap and Macaroni) breed on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, where conditions are less harsh. King penguins and Magellanic penguins only breed on the warmer more northerly subantarctic islands or the southernmost tip of the Americas.

But the real home of all penguins is the cooler waters of the Southern Hemisphere. In the whole of Antarctica, the ocean is the really productive, biodiverse realm. There are loads of species and very high abundance in places. And that’s where penguins find their food. Antarctic waters brim with krill, a tiny crustacean that feeds large whales, including blue, humpback, and minke whales, as well as penguins. Penguin wings are stiff, short flippers to propel them underwater — they literally fly through the sea. Their legs are set far back in the body, and together with the tail form an underwater rudder to their perfectly streamlined bodies. Their cruising speed in water is about 10km per hour. To catch their breath and to save energy while swimming, they leap clear of the water every few meters.

They are excellent divers, descending to depths of over 250 meters, though most of their dives will be in the top 10 meters. Unlike flying birds, their bones are dense to make diving easier. Underwater they are every bit as fearsome to their prey as lions are to theirs!

Although no one knows for sure where the name ‘penguin’ comes from, there are a few theories about it. It could come from the Welsh ‘pen gwyn’, which means ‘white head’, or from the Latin ‘pinguis’, referring to the fat or blubber of the bird. The name penguin was first given to another type of bird, the auk (also a large, flightless, black and white bird). However, it seems it’s quite a task to pronounce the word itself, even for skilled actors and speakers like Benedict Cumberbatch.

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Today's episode takes us on a small tour to what is probably the most exciting geological feature on the edge of the South Shetland Islands offshore the Antarctic Peninsula and one of the most incredible islands on the planet - the active volcano Deception Island. Named by American sealer Nathaniel Palmer on account of its outward deceptive appearance as a normal island, Deception Island reveals itself rather to be a ring around a flooded caldera once, the narrow entrance of Neptune's Bellows is passed. Being a focal point of the early sealing and whaling industry in the Southern Ocean, Deception Island served also as the basis for Robert Wilkins' first Antarctic flight in 1928. But first and foremost, Deception Island is an active volcano, the flooded caldera of which enables us today to sail into the most protected natural harbour in the Antarctic. Deception Island is one of the most active volcanoes in Antarctica, with more than 20 explosive eruptive events registered over the past two centuries. Recent eruptions (1967, 1969, and 1970) and the volcanic unrest episodes that happened in 1992, 1999, and 2014–2015 demonstrate that the occurrence of future volcanic activity is still valid. The ring-shaped island is the exposed portion of an active shield volcano 30 km (17 miles) in diameter, produced more than 10,000 years ago by an explosive eruption, that is responsible for the largest known eruption in the Antarctic area. The active volcano is home to a wide variety of wildlife, the density of it in some parts being literally staggering. Deception Island on the map

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In March, Henry had the chance to make a rare encounter: At the edge of the Weddell Sea, in Powell Basin, the world's largest existing iceberg presented a once-in-a-lifetime experience. With a surface area of 5,800 square kilometres, twice the size of Luxembourg, larger than Delaware and weighing one trillion tonnes, it is one of the largest recorded icebergs, the largest being B-15 which measured 11,000 square kilometres before breaking up. The calving of A-68 reduced the overall size of the Larsen C shelf by 12 percent. With a speed of currently up to 5 nautical miles per day the iceberg is moving away from the Antarctic Peninsula into the warmer waters of the South Atlantic.

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The coronavirus pandemic is literally everywhere. But if it affects us who live in rather stable conditions in Central Europe or the Americas, how does it affect the indigenous people in the Arctic? Are Indigenous at much greater risk amid coronavirus pandemic, since water shortages, insufficient healthcare, overcrowded housing make native groups especially susceptible to the virus? Most local communities in the Arctic, however, prohibited travel into the territories quite early, trying to avoid the virus of getting in. As experts say, "It is imperative to keep the virus out". The pandemic not only affects daily lives but also scientific research when coronavirus concerns force Arctic mission to cancel research flights of the largest research expedition of all times. Luckily one continent remains untouched by the coronavirus: Antarctica.

Being one of the cruelest, most gorgeous wildernesses on earth, South Georgia is a chunk of the Andes that wandered into the southern Atlantic some 50 million years ago. The 170 km spit of land is so isolated that it creates its own weather system, but despite—or perhaps because of—its ruggedness, it’s also a holy grail. Located 1,300 miles east of Tierra del Fuego in the South Atlantic Ocean, a combination of underwater topography and converging currents produce rich seas that support some of the most populous seal, penguin, and seabird colonies on the planet. Today, other than the extraordinary wildlife, the island is home to only a British Government Office, a postmaster, some museum staff and scientists.

Thwaites Glacier, sometimes referred to as the Doomsday Glacier, is an unusually broad and fast Antarctic glacier flowing into Pine Island Bay, part of the Amundsen Sea. For the first time now, scientists of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration have recorded unusually warm water beneath the Florida-sized glacier that is already melting and contributing to a rise in sea levels. The researchers, working on the Thwaites Glacier, recorded water temperatures at the base of the ice of more than 2 degrees Celsius above the normal freezing point. Critically, the measurements were taken at the glacier’s grounding line, the area where it transitions from resting wholly on bedrock to spreading out on the sea as ice shelves. That is significant because the Thwaites, along with the Pine Island Glacier and a number of smaller glaciers, acts as a brake on part of the much larger West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Together, the two bigger glaciers are currently holding back ice that, if melted, would raise the world’s oceans by more than a meter over centuries, an amount that would put many coastal cities underwater.

Ema Kuhn is passionate about the Polar Regions. Always fascinated with life and nature, she decided at age 13 to become a biologist and dedicated 18 years to scientific research. Twelve years of her academic career were devoted to studying life in freezing and cold environments. An expert in Antarctic ecosystems, she has published several research papers and has a particular interest in how life adapts and evolves in cold environments. Her academic life gave Ema the opportunity to participate in 8 scientific expeditions to Antarctica, including the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctic Plateau (at 84°00' S/79°30' W), McMurdo Sound and Dry Valleys. Considering Antarctica her "home, sweet home" she is passionate about sharing her knowledge and introduce people to the mesmerizing beauty of this place. In this episode, she is sharing some of her passion with us.

China's aim to declare a special managed area at the ice sheet’s highest point is a test of Antarctic governance. China has become more and more active in Antarctica in recent years – both in research and in the international framework of agreements known as the Antarctic Treaty System that has successfully seen the frozen continent devoted to peace and science for decades. Establishing an ASMA around the Kunlun Station in the area known as Dome Argus (Dome A), the highest place on the Antarctic ice sheet would essentially give China a greater say in the activities conducted in the area. China is a consultative party to the 1959 Antarctic Treaty and the creation of an ASMA around Kunlun would serve as a symbolic achievement to showcase China’s influence in the ATS. The proposal was first raised in 2013 – the year President Xi Jinping took office, where from outset he emphasised the importance of the emerging economy playing a key role in global governance. The proposal for Antarctica reflected what has been a general shift in Chinese diplomacy under Xi, from an attitude of “keep low” to “being active” in the international arena. While China’s enthusiasm is clear, several countries oppose this proposal, with the stand-off holding implications for future Antarctic governance. Legally speaking, China argues its proposal for Dome A is to protect the important environmental value of the area. Opponents however believe that an ASMA is essential only when more than one country is conducting activities in the same area, where coordination is required to avoid negative effects for the environment. So far, China is the only country to operate in the Dome A area. Nevertheless, behind polite, diplomatic debates, some alarmist views bluntly reveal that there is a fear China might consolidate its presence in a large area around Dome A.