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Nature 389, 20-21 (4 September 1997) | doi:10.1038/37876

Open Innovation Challenges

Climate change:  Icy message from the Antarctic

Eugene Murphy & John King

Historically, much of the whaling in the Antarctic occurred in the vicinity of the ice edge where the whales congregated to feed on krill. During the austral spring, the whalers tracked the animals as they moved south with the edge of the sea ice, and their records of harvesting position thus provide proxy data for ice extent before monitoring by satellite began.

  1. Eugene Murphy is in the Marine Life Sciences Division, and John King in the Ice and Climate Division, British Antarctic Survey, NERC, Madingley Road, CambridgeCB3 0ET, UK.