Last summer, while many of us lay under the sun working on our tan, a research group from the University of Hawai'i worked on a project at the Antarctica Peninsula.

The research project, FOODBANCS II, was funded by the National Science Foundation. It was an international collaborative effort involving universities in the United States (UH and North Carolina State University), the United Kingdom and Brazil.

FOODBANCS II is a follow-up to a project conducted from 1999 to 2001; its main goal is to explore how the Antarctic ecosystem is changing over time in the face of global warming and how that is impacting benthic organisms.

The crew, which included two UH environmental science undergraduates, spent close to four weeks in Antarctica. The preparations for the trip were certainly unique. Prior to leaving, each person had to undergo extensive medical surveys to see if they would be able to withstand the area's extreme weather conditions.

To learn more about the project, an interview was conducted with Dr. Craig Smith, the chief scientist and Fabio de Leo, a Ph.D. student from the UH department of oceanography.

What were your findings in your previous visits to Antarctica?

Smith: There has already been major warming along the Antarctic Peninsula, which is causing the loss of sea ice and changing the coastal ecosystems. On our last cruise in February 2008, we found ice-free areas that, as recently as 1985, were routinely ice-bound all summer. We are just beginning to explore how this is affecting Antarctic food webs and ecosystem services, such as the burial of organic carbon.

de Leo: Part of the carbon removed from the atmosphere by the photosynthetic phytoplanktonic organisms is stored in the sediments after several biogeochemical reactions along the food web. A large portion is "respired," or remineralized. The portion of the carbon that is trapped in the sediments is stored for long geological time periods. Unless, of course, we burn it to make gasoline and diesel.

So far, what raises concern among your findings?

Smith: One concern is that certain species seem adapted to living under conditions of sea ice. And, as sea ice disappears, these species will also disappear. With warming, there also is a change in the species of phytoplankton that thrive in the ocean.

There is evidence that the phytoplankton associated with sea ice is more nutritious than the warm-adapted phytoplankton. We are conducting experiments to see if this nutritional change in phytoplankton ... will cause some species to starve.

de Leo: If you have "normal" ice conditions, you have a long dark season without any primary production taking place. Only during the short summer season do you have a burst in productivity. Some researchers predict that, due to loss in sea ice cover, phytoplankton cells will be different and the bloom dynamics will be altered.

In Antarctica, summer phytoplankton blooms are very efficient in terms of transferring carbon from surface waters to the sea floor. If climate pattern changes, sequestration of carbon will be threatened.

What is the hardest thing about working on a cruise ship in Antarctica as a PI?

Smith: The most challenging thing is the planning and organization that is required to stage an expedition to a remote part of the world. We need to plan for everything and bring spare parts for everything, because if something breaks or fails, we have to fix it.

What kind of a background would you expect your grad students to have if they wanted to come work with you?

Smith: They need to have background in physics, geology and chemistry, as well as biology, zoology or ecology.

Anything you would like to add?

de Leo: I've been on many different oceanographic cruises. If you ever want to join such an adventure, you will have to cope with a psychological aspect as well. ... Don't just be prepared for the science. You need to prepare yourself to live in such an isolated place.

People get moody sometimes, and after a while, some of them might even stop saying hi to you. However, this is not a rule and some people are pretty used to being at sea for such a long time. I think some even do better at sea than on land - that's not my case, though.

Smith: Antarctica is really the last wilderness on Earth, with extraordinary physical beauty and wildlife. It is very unsettling to see how rapidly parts of the Antarctic are warming and the ecosystem is being changed, in part because of human production of greenhouse gases.

Humans are having a profound impact on even the most remote places of the Earth. ... It is time for us to take serious steps to reduce our use of fossil fuels. We are going to damage or destroy some of the most amazing ecosystems on earth, like those at the poles, if we don't act soon.