REVEALING DATA PUBLISHED FROM KRILL PROJECT

​PRESS RELEASE – JANUARY 2023

REVEALING DATA PUBLISHED FROM KENT SCOUTS KRILL PROJECT

• The T.A.S.K. (“THE ANTARCTICA SCOUT KRILL”) project was carried out by the Kent Scouts REQUEST2021 Antarctica expedition team in partnership with British Antarctic Survey to study and raise awareness of the importance of Antarctic krill to the Southern Ocean ecosystem.
• British Antarctic Survey loaned the team of Scouts a replica Nansen Net and all the other necessary equipment for capturing the krill samples.
• Twelve samples in total were taken by the team a year ago between the 7^th and 13^th January 2022 whilst on board the Bark Europa tall ship in the waters of the Antarctic peninsula.

After analysing the samples taken by the team, Prof Geraint Tarling FMBA, Ecosystems Science Leader, British Antarctic Survey, said:

“There were a small number of krill (Euphausia superba) captured. However, most interesting were the larger number of krill eggs. These are negatively buoyant and will quickly sink to beyond 500 m once spawned, so it indicates that there was a very recent spawning event during the period of sampling.”

Bear Grylls, Chief Scout, had sent the team off on their expedition with these encouraging words:

“You are truly following in the footsteps of many legends including the great Sir Ernest Shackleton who set off on his Quest expedition. You are also doing vital work in how we can protect the world around us, which is so important.”

[236 Words] For more information, please contact alan.noake@kentscouts.org.uk 07525 633435
High resolution images available upon request. ENDS

Notes to Editor:

About the Project

• Tarling, G. A., Ward, P., Fielding, S., & Noake, A. (2022). Mesozooplankton collected by the Bark Europa in Gerlache Strait, Antarctic Peninsula (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/6676EC60-9E37-45A8-B447-938256438E9F
• Taxonomic analysis of the plankton samples was carried out by Dr Peter Ward and the data curated by Petra Ten Hoopen of the Polar Data Centre at the British Antarctic Survey.
• The ReQuest2021 project was a wider programme of activity centred around the expedition to Antarctica to commemorate the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition of 1921-1922 which included two Scouts: James Marr and Norman Mooney. 100 years after Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Quest sailed to Antarctica a ten strong team of Scouts and leaders were recreating the original ethos of the expedition by undertaking their own voyage to the frozen south. The ten participants have been undertaking research projects whilst in Antarctica. Findings will be presented in a range of engaging formats including photography, soundscapes, reports, artwork and interactive forums.
• For more information about the ReQuest2021 expedition and the various research projects, please visit http://www.request2021.org.uk 
• The ReQuest2021, Antarctic Research Project Team sailed on board Bark Europa tall ship from Ushuaia, Argentina to the Antarctic Peninsula from 30^th Dec 2021 to 20^th January 2022.
• Over the past four years the ten Scouts have undertaken fundraising activities including a rowing challenge, grand auction and online merchandise sales to raise £140,000 for the expedition.
• Individual Projects: CLIMATE CHANGE (LUCY), PHYSIOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT (GENEVIEVE), 3D ICEBERG SIMULATION (GEORGE), COLLABORATIVE ARTWORK (DARCEY), OCEAN CURRENTS (SAM), ANTARCTIC SOUNDSCAPE (ALAN), MOTION SICKNESS STUDY (CATHY), PLASTIC POLUTION (HELEN), ELECTRICITY GENERATION (MATT), GEOMAGNETICALLY INDUCED CURRENTS (ALEX)
• Expedition participant names and locations they are from: –
  • Alan Noake, Deal, Walmer, Sandwich & District Kent
  • Cathy Mummery, Weald District, Kent
  • Matt Wood, Malling District, Kent
  • Helen Smith, Gravesham District, Kent
  • Lucy Morgan, Sevenoaks District, Kent
  • Genevieve Scullion, Deal, Walmer, Sandwich & District, Kent
  • George Stonor, Faversham District, Kent
  • Darcey Holmes, Thanet District, Kent
  • Sam Payne, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
  • Alex Maciver, Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland

About Scouts:

• All genders, races and backgrounds are welcome at Scouts. Every week, it gives almost half a million people aged 6-25 the skills they need for school, college, university, the job interview, the important speech, the tricky challenge and the big dreams: the skills they need for life.   
• Scouts helps members gain these skills by encouraging them to ask the big questions and listen with wide open minds. It helps them to take a deep breath and speak up, think on their feet, ignore the butterflies and go for it. With Scouts, young people don’t give up – they get back up and try again, often with the support of the friends they’ve made there.   
• Our volunteers contribute more than 50 million hours of voluntary work each year to their local communities.   

Alan Noake

Assistant County Commissioner, Global Projects & Community Impact (Kent)

District Appointments Secretary (Deal, Walmer, Sandwich & District)
Mobile: 07525 633435
alan.noake@kentscouts.org.uk