Noémie Sheppard's dream became reality when she set foot in Antarctica. Amidst breathtaking landscapes and diverse wildlife, she began her hands-on research looking at the effects of climate change on local plant species.
Antarctica, often recalling images of ice, snow and relentless storms, in the face of climate change, is undergoing considerable anthropogenic warming. Scientists have noted a significant change on the Antarctic peninsula.
BSE alumnus Noémie Sheppard has been interested in this change.
Now as a PhD candidate in Biological Sciences at Monash University in Melbourne, she is contributing to Antarctic science by focusing on the impacts of climate change on the continent's vascular flora. Her work is part of the Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF) initiative.
“I’ve always wanted to go down to Antarctica, it has always been a dream of mine.”
Sheppard’s research is focused on grass population changes in the Western Antarctic Peninsula.
“As temperatures rise, grasses, which produce high amounts of seeds, are able to colonize newly deglaciated areas, potentially outcompeting native plants,” Sheppard explained.
Her work brings us back to the 1990’s where observations had been made regarding flowering plants and other green species. According to Sheppard, since that decade scientists have been noticing the population of grass increase.
“What we are seeing from the remote satellite images,” Sheppard explained, “is that Antarctica is getting greener and greener. But green is not necessarily good.”
This shift in habitat illustrates a consequence of climate change, said Sheppard.
Her work involved detailed on-the-ground surveys using quadrats—1x1 meters squared. Getting boots on the ground and using these quadrats are critical to understanding the region, as remote sensing, while it can be an effective method of analyzing the continent, provides more of a broad overview of vegetation changes, but cannot identify specific plant species.
As her work progresses, Sheppard reflects on her time at the Bieler School of Environment as a period of preparation and learning that made her Antarctic research possible.
"I am grateful for my time as a student in the Bieler School of Environment. My interdisciplinary program prepared me to pursue research on global change."
With one dream realized, Sheppard returns to her research, ready to uncover what Antarctica's environmental changes means for our future. With a realization that the “wildest place on earth may not be as wild as it once was."