Our publications

Filtered view: Research papers

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Forecasting the Earth’s radiation belts and modelling solar energetic particle events: Recent results from SPACECAST

1 April, 2013 by Nigel Meredith, Richard Horne, Sarah Glauert

High-energy charged particles in the van Allen radiation belts and in solar energetic particle events can damage satellites on orbit leading to malfunctions and loss of satellite service. Here we…

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Environmental management of a scientific field camp in Maritime Antarctica: reconciling research impacts with conservation goals in remote ice-free areas

1 April, 2013 by Kevin Hughes

Currently, a substantial proportion of Antarctic research is carried out through deployment of field camps, but little detailed information on the running of these facilities is often available. The remoteness…

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Assessment of Southern Ocean mixed-layer depth in CMIP5 models: historical bias and forcing response

1 April, 2013 by Andrew Meijers, Emily Shuckburgh, Jean-Baptiste Sallee, Thomas Bracegirdle

The development of the deep Southern Ocean winter mixed layer in the climate models participating in the fifth Coupled Models Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) is assessed. The deep winter convection regions…

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Assessment of Southern Ocean water mass circulation and characteristics in CMIP5 models: Historical bias and forcing response

1 April, 2013 by Andrew Meijers, Emily Shuckburgh, Jean-Baptiste Sallee, Thomas Bracegirdle

The ability of the models contributing to the fifth Coupled Models Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) to represent the Southern Ocean hydrological properties and its overturning is investigated in a water mass…

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Influence of subglacial conditions on ice stream dynamics: Seismic and potential field data from Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica

1 April, 2013 by Andy Smith, Fausto Ferraccioli, Tom Jordan

We interpret seismic reflection and airborne potential field data acquired on Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica and find variations in the subglacial geology which correlate with variations in ice dynamics.…

Read more on Influence of subglacial conditions on ice stream dynamics: Seismic and potential field data from Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica

The impact of changes in sea ice advance on the large winter warming on the western Antarctic Peninsula

30 March, 2013 by Gareth Marshall, John Turner, Michael Meredith, Tony Phillips

Over 1979–2007 near-surface air temperatures on the maritime western side of the Antarctic Peninsula have increased throughout the year, with the greatest monthly temperature rise of 1.7 °C dec−1 occurring…

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Trends in Antarctic Peninsula surface melting conditions from observations and regional climate modelling

1 March, 2013 by David Vaughan, Scott Hosking

Multidecadal meteorological station records and microwave backscatter time-series from the SeaWinds scatterometer onboard QuikSCAT (QSCAT) were used to calculate temporal and spatial trends in surface melting conditions on the Antarctic…

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Predicting the distribution of a threatened albatross: The importance of competition, fisheries and annual variability

1 March, 2013 by Richard Phillips

The ability to predict the distribution of threatened marine predators is essential to inform spatially explicit seascape management. We tracked 99 individual black-browed albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris from two Falkland Islands’…

Read more on Predicting the distribution of a threatened albatross: The importance of competition, fisheries and annual variability

Endemic species have highly integrated phenotypes, environmental distributions and phenotype-environment relationships

1 March, 2013 by Peter Convey

Aim: Why are some species geographically restricted? Ecological explanations suggest that endemic species may have restricted distributions because limited phenotypic variability results in narrow niches. However, studying variability of traits…

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Temporal separation between CO2 assimilation and growth? Experimental and theoretical evidence from the desiccation-tolerant moss Syntrichia ruralis

1 March, 2013 by Dominic Hodgson, Peter Convey

The extent of an external water layer around moss tissue influences CO2 assimilation. Experiments on the desiccation-tolerant moss Syntrichia ruralis assessed the real-time dependence of the carbon and oxygen isotopic…

Read more on Temporal separation between CO2 assimilation and growth? Experimental and theoretical evidence from the desiccation-tolerant moss Syntrichia ruralis

Differing source water inputs, moderated by evaporative enrichment, determine the contrasting δ18OCELLULOSE signals in maritime Antarctic moss peat banks

1 March, 2013 by Dominic Hodgson, Louise Sime, Peter Convey

Oxygen isotope palaeoclimate records, preserved in moss tissue cellulose, are complicated by environmental influences on the relationships between source water inputs and evaporative conditions. We carried out stable isotope analyses…

Read more on Differing source water inputs, moderated by evaporative enrichment, determine the contrasting δ18OCELLULOSE signals in maritime Antarctic moss peat banks

Bedmap2: improved ice bed, surface and thickness datasets for Antarctica

28 February, 2013 by Adrian Jenkins, Andy Smith, David Vaughan, Ed King, Fausto Ferraccioli, Hugh Corr, Hamish Pritchard, Peter Fretwell, Richard Hindmarsh, Tom Jordan, Richard Hindmarsh

We present Bedmap2, a new suite of gridded products describing surface elevation, ice-thickness and the seafloor and subglacial bed elevation of the Antarctic south of 60° S. We derived these…

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The instability theory of drumlin formation and its explanation of their varied composition and internal structure

15 February, 2013 by Richard Hindmarsh, Richard Hindmarsh

Despite their importance in understanding glaciological processes and constraining large-scale flow patterns in palaeo-glaciology, there is little consensus as to how drumlins are formed. Attempts to solve the ‘drumlin problem’…

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Crustal architecture of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin in East Antarctica, as revealed from airborne gravity data

11 February, 2013 by Fausto Ferraccioli, Tom Jordan

The Wilkes Subglacial Basin, in the hinterland of the Transantarctic Mountains, represents one of the least understood continental-scale features in Antarctica. Aeromagnetic data suggests that this basin may be imposed…

Read more on Crustal architecture of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin in East Antarctica, as revealed from airborne gravity data

Magnetic susceptibilities of rocks of the Antarctic Peninsula: Implications for the redox state of the batholith and the extent of metamorphic zones

11 February, 2013 by Fausto Ferraccioli

A combination of 1555 magnetic susceptibility measurements from the Antarctic Peninsula between 65°S to 72°S (for which the raw data are made available), and petrological, structural and metamorphic data, has…

Read more on Magnetic susceptibilities of rocks of the Antarctic Peninsula: Implications for the redox state of the batholith and the extent of metamorphic zones

A new bipolar ice core record of volcanism from WAIS Divide and NEEM and implications for climate forcing of the last 2000 years

7 February, 2013 by Robert Mulvaney

Volcanism is a natural climate forcing causing short-term variations in temperatures. Histories of volcanic eruptions are needed to quantify their role in climate variability and assess human impacts. We present…

Read more on A new bipolar ice core record of volcanism from WAIS Divide and NEEM and implications for climate forcing of the last 2000 years

The spatial scale of ozone depletion events derived from an autonomous surface ozone network in coastal Antarctica

6 February, 2013 by Anna Jones, Eric Wolff, Neil Brough

To probe the spatial extent of tropospheric ozone depletion events during Antarctic spring, a network of 10 autonomous ozone monitors was established around the Dronning Maud Land sector of Antarctica…

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First geomorphological record and glacial history of an inter-ice stream ridge on the West Antarctic continental shelf

1 February, 2013 by Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, James Smith, Robert Larter

Inter-ice stream areas cover significant portions of Antarctica's formerly glaciated shelves, but have been largely neglected in past geological studies because of overprinting by iceberg scours. Here, we present results…

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Warming constrains bacterial community responses to nutrient inputs in a southern, but not northern, maritime Antarctic soil

1 February, 2013 by Kevin Newsham

We investigated the effects of increased soil temperature, water and nutrient availability on soil bacterial communities at Wynn Knolls on Signy Island (60 °S) in the northern maritime Antarctic and…

Read more on Warming constrains bacterial community responses to nutrient inputs in a southern, but not northern, maritime Antarctic soil

Inferring sites of subglacial erosion using the Pb isotopic composition of ice-rafted feldspar: Examples from the Weddell Sea, Antarctica

1 February, 2013 by Victoria Peck

The delivery of ice-rafted debris (IRD) from glaciated margins is a function of ice sheet dynamics. Shifts in supply and sourcing of IRD can therefore identify episodes of ice sheet…

Read more on Inferring sites of subglacial erosion using the Pb isotopic composition of ice-rafted feldspar: Examples from the Weddell Sea, Antarctica

Hydrogen peroxide and ecdysone in the cryoprotective dehydration strategy of Megaphorura Arctica(Onychiuridae: Collembola)

1 February, 2013 by Roger Worland, Melody Clark

The Arctic springtail, Megaphorura arctica, survives sub-zero temperatures in a dehydrated state via trehalose-dependent cryoprotective dehydration. Regulation of trehalose biosynthesis is complex; based in part on studies in yeast and…

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The non-native chironomid Eretmoptera murphyi in Antarctica: erosion of the barriers to invasion

1 February, 2013 by Kevin Hughes, Michael Thorne, Roger Worland, Peter Convey

Antarctica is the continent least affected by invasive species, but climate change and increasing human activity are increasing this threat. Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems generally have low biodiversity with simple community…

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Sensitivity analysis identifies high influence sites for estimates of penguin krill consumption on the Antarctic Peninsula

1 February, 2013 by Norman Ratcliffe, Philip Trathan

Krill consumption by natural predators represents a critical link between surveys and models of standing krill biomass and the design of a sustainable krill fishery for the Scotia Sea. Antarctic…

Read more on Sensitivity analysis identifies high influence sites for estimates of penguin krill consumption on the Antarctic Peninsula