Show Notes
Elephant seals collect data beneath the Southern Ocean. Dr. Clive McMahon explains how researchers equip southern elephant seals with miniature conductivity, temperature, and depth sensors. As the seals dive and travel through remote waters that are difficult to observe, especially during winter, the animal-borne sensors collect information about temperature, salinity, depth, and ocean productivity before transmitting observations by satellite. The data help scientists study elephant seal tracking, foraging, body condition, and population change while improving Southern Ocean monitoring. They also reveal physical processes connected to Antarctic dense water, global ocean circulation, weather, and climate.
Episode Guest: Dr. Clive McMahon Review the research publication discussed in the episode here Visit Dr. McMahon’s publications on Google Scholar Visit the website of the Sydney Institute of Marine Sciences
Episode Transcript and more information on the Pine Forest Media Website Follow Pine Forest Media on Instagram @pineforestmedia Hosted, produced, written, and edited by Clark Marchese Cover art and PFM logo by Laurel Wong. Theme music by Nela Ruiz Find some more Pine Forest Media podcasts below
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Jackie Ronne changed who could explore Antarctica. Polar historian Dr. Joanna Kafarowski recounts how Ronne joined the Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition in 1947 as a full expedition member and became one of the first two women to overwinter on the continent. The episode follows her journey from the National Geographic Society to Antarctica, where male expedition members initially signed a petition opposing the women’s participation. Learn how Ronne contributed to expedition operations and scientific objectives while facing isolation, sexism, and extraordinary pressure. Her story reveals the institutional barriers that kept qualified women out of polar exploration for decades.
The Antarctic Treaty turned rivalry into cooperation. Political and environmental philosopher Dr. Alejandra Mancilla traces how overlapping territorial claims, international tensions, and the Cold War led twelve countries to sign the Antarctic Treaty in 1959. The resulting Antarctic Treaty System set the continent aside for peaceful purposes and international scientific cooperation while effectively freezing competing territorial claims. The episode explores environmental protection, membership and decision-making, questions of political legitimacy, and the pressures climate change could place on polar governance. It also asks what the treaty’s model of shared guardianship might teach the rest of the world.
Pine Forest Media is proud to present Oceanography, a new podcast hosted by South Pole creator Clark Marchese. This weekly series explores the science and global cooperation needed to protect our oceans.
Women are written across the map of Antarctica. Researcher and writer Carol Devine connects two projects exploring polar history and environmental stewardship. Mapping Antarctic Women traces place names honoring queens, sponsors, family members, scientists, explorers, and other women whose stories are embedded in the continent’s geography. Devine also recounts Cleanup Project Antarctica, a 1990s initiative in which volunteer teams worked with Polish and Russian research stations to remove legacy waste and raise awareness of the Antarctic Treaty’s environmental protections. Together, the projects reveal how maps, historical recognition, activism, and hands-on conservation shape Antarctica’s human story.