540 ships per season

Antarctic tourism has an impact on ice melting

Increasing fires in the southern hemisphere and more and more ships traveling in the Antarctic are leading to increased melting of the Antarctic ice.

According to the research team led by lead author Newton Magalhães from the University of Rio de Janeiro, previous simulations have already shown that fires in South America, for example, have a corresponding impact.

Black carbon particles from fires - ships also emit such particles - reached the Antarctic from there. If soot is deposited on the ice, more sunlight is absorbed, which causes the ice to melt faster.

540 ship voyages during the 2023/24 season

For their analysis, they evaluated data from the years between 2003 and 2008. According to figures from the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO), the number of tourist cruises increased from less than 200 to up to 300 per season during this period. According to IAATO, this number remained stable for a long time afterwards, but has continued to rise since 2017, most recently to 540 voyages during the 2023/24 season. During the coronavirus pandemic, there were reportedly no such voyages.

According to the study, the number of melt days, i.e. the days on which the Antarctic ice melts, has increased on the eastern side of the peninsula.

The time of the highest soot concentration has also shifted. Before 2004, this was in September or October, parallel to the fire season in South America.

Either the travel agencies rethink their strategies and find technical solutions to reduce emissions, or they have to reduce their activities and limit the number of tourists.

Newton Magalhães in „Science Advances“

The peak is now from November to February, which coincides with the tourist and fire season in Australia. In Antarctica, it is then summer - rising temperatures and more sunlight then combine with the soot to cause even greater ice melt, according to the experts.