Our publications

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Contrasting life-history traits of two toothfish (Dissostichus spp.) species at their range edge around the South Sandwich Islands

1 July, 2022 by Martin Collins, Mark Belchier, Philip Hollyman

The South Sandwich Islands (SSI), a chain of volcanic islands in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, are home to two large notothenoid species: the Patagonian toothfish Dissostichus eleginoides…

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Radar characterization of ice crystal orientation fabric and anisotropic viscosity within an Antarctic ice stream

21 June, 2022 by Alex Brisbourne, Andy Smith, Carlos Martin Garcia

We use polarimetric radar sounding to investigate ice crystal orientation fabric, and its impact on ice viscosity, within the near-surface of Rutford Ice Stream, West Antarctica. The technique retrieves lateral…

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Early‐to-late winter 20th century North Atlantic multidecadal atmospheric variability in observations, CMIP5 and CMIP6

16 June, 2022 by Thomas Bracegirdle

The strong multi-decadal variability in North Atlantic (NA) winter atmospheric circulation is poorly understood and appears too weak in climate models. Recent research has shown peak atmospheric multi-decadal variability over…

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Sea spiders (Arthropoda, Pycnogonida) from ten recent research expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula, Scotia Arc and Weddell Sea – data

14 June, 2022 by Huw Griffiths

This dataset contains information on specimens of Southern Ocean Pycnogonida (Arthropoda), that were collected from ten different research cruises, spanning 13 years. The individual aims and objectives of each cruise…

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Using seabird and whale distribution models to estimate spatial consumption of krill to inform fishery management

6 June, 2022 by Philip Trathan, Victoria Warwick-Evans

Ecosystem dynamics at the northwest Antarctic Peninsula are driven by interactions between physical and biological processes. For example, baleen whale populations are recovering from commercial harvesting against the backdrop of…

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Towards a field-ready HF-VHF ground-based ice penetrating synthetic aperture radar: Forward modelling and validation for SAR imaging

2 June, 2022 by Keith Nicholls

A ray-based 2D modelling approach is proposed to reduce computation times involved in the forward-modelling of deramped frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar signals for subglacial ice features. The model generation…

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Microhabitats: macro-differences. A survey of temperature records in Victoria Land terrestrial and freshwater environments

1 June, 2022 by Peter Convey

The temperature experienced by micro-invertebrates in extreme environments (such as those of Antarctica) is a pivotal parameter regarding these animals' ecology and physiology. However, at present, detailed knowledge of microhabitat…

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Feeding and trophic ecology of Antarctic toothfish Dissostichus mawsoni in the Amundsen and Dumont D’Urville Seas (Antarctica)

1 June, 2022

Fisheries ecosystem-based management is an important tool for sustainable harvesting of fisheries worldwide. Knowledge of trophic interactions is crucial since changes in trophic balances can induce severe changes in the…

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Can classic biological invasion hypotheses be applied to reported cases of non-native terrestrial species in the Maritime Antarctic?

1 June, 2022 by Peter Convey

Understanding the success factors underlying each step in the process of biological invasion provides a robust foundation upon which to develop appropriate biosecurity measures. Insights into the processes occurring can…

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Sedimentary Signatures of Persistent Subglacial Meltwater Drainage From Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica

31 May, 2022 by Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, James Smith, Kelly Hogan, Robert Larter

Subglacial meltwater drainage can enhance localized melting along grounding zones and beneath the ice shelves of marine-terminating glaciers. Efforts to constrain the evolution of subglacial hydrology and the resulting influence…

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Whales from space dataset, an annotated satellite image dataset of whales for training machine learning models

27 May, 2022 by Hannah Cubaynes, Peter Fretwell

Monitoring whales in remote areas is important for their conservation; however, using traditional survey platforms (boat and plane) in such regions is logistically difficult. The use of very high-resolution satellite…

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Exceptional middle latitude electron precipitation detected by balloon observations: Implications for atmospheric composition

24 May, 2022 by Mark Clilverd

Energetic particle precipitation leads to ionization in the Earth's atmosphere, initiating the formation of active chemical species which destroy ozone and have the potential to impact atmospheric composition and dynamics…

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The relative impacts of initialization and climate forcing in coupled ice sheet‐ocean modeling application to Pope, Smith and Kohler glaciers

23 May, 2022 by Paul Holland

Coupled ice sheet-ocean models are beginning to be used to study the response of ice sheets to ocean warming. Initialising an ice-ocean model is challenging and can introduce nonphysical transients,…

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Polarimetric radar reveals the spatial distribution of ice fabric at domes and divides in East Antarctica

6 May, 2022 by Carlos Martin Garcia, Hugh Corr, Robert Mulvaney

Ice crystals are mechanically and dielectrically anisotropic. They progressively align under cumulative deformation, forming an ice-crystal-orientation fabric that, in turn, impacts ice deformation. However, almost all the observations of ice…

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Fungal diversity in a sediment core from climate change impacted Boeckella Lake, Hope Bay, north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula assessed using metabarcoding

2 May, 2022 by Peter Convey

We studied the fungal DNA present in a lake sediment core obtained from Trinity Peninsula, Hope Bay, north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula, using metabarcoding through high-throughput sequencing (HTS). Sequences obtained were assigned…

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Temperature and concentration affect particle size upon sublimation of saline ice: Implications for sea salt aerosol production in polar regions

28 April, 2022 by Xin Yang

Using an environmental scanning electron microscope, we quantified for the first time aerosol-sized salt particles formed during the sublimation of sea ice as a function of temperature and concentration. The…

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Ground-based Ku-band microwave observations of ozone in the polar middle atmosphere

20 April, 2022 by David Newnham, Mark Clilverd, William Clark

Ground-based observations of 11.072 GHz atmospheric ozone (O3) emission have been made using the Ny-Ålesund Ozone in the Mesosphere Instrument (NAOMI) at the UK Arctic Research Station (latitude 78∘55′0′′ N, longitude 11∘55′59′′ E),…

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Quantifying the causes and consequences of variation in satellite‐derived population indices: a case study of emperor penguins

19 April, 2022 by Philip Trathan, Peter Fretwell

Very high-resolution satellite (VHR) imagery is a promising tool for estimating the abundance of wildlife populations, especially in remote regions where traditional surveys are limited by logistical challenges. Emperor penguins…

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Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) distribution and movements in the vicinity of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Marine Protected Area

12 April, 2022 by Connor Bamford, Jennifer Jackson, Philip Trathan

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are showing strong recovery from commercial whaling in the western South Atlantic. In this region, humpback whales migrate annually from their winter breeding grounds off the…

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An exploration of the political, social, economic and cultural factors affecting how different global regions initially reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic

6 April, 2022 by Michael Dinn

Responses to the early (February–July 2020) COVID-19 pandemic varied widely, globally. Reasons for this are multiple but likely relate to the healthcare and financial resources then available, and the degree…

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Quantification and assessment of methane emissions from offshore oil and gas facilities on the Norwegian continental shelf

4 April, 2022 by Thomas Lachlan-Cope

The oil and gas (O&G) sector is a significant source of methane (CH4) emissions. Quantifying these emissions remains challenging, with many studies highlighting discrepancies between measurements and inventory-based estimates. In…

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Fungi in the Antarctic cryosphere: Using DNA metabarcoding to reveal fungal diversity in glacial ice from the Antarctic Peninsula region

1 April, 2022 by Peter Convey

We assessed fungal diversity present in glacial from the Antarctic Peninsula using DNA metabarcoding through high-throughput sequencing (HTS). We detected a total of 353,879 fungal DNA reads, representing 94 genera…

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