Showing 13487 items
1 January, 2010 by Keith Nicholls, Michael Meredith, Sally Thorpe
In recent years, the international “Southern Elephant seals as Oceanographic Samplers” (SEaOS) project has deployed miniaturized conductivity-temperature-depth satellite-relayed data loggers (CTD-SRDL) on elephant seals 1) to study their winter foraging…1 January, 2010 by David Pearce, Peter Convey
In a previous study, soil bacterial diversity at environmentally distinct locations on Signy Island was examined using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiling, and a range of chemical variables in…1 January, 2010 by Lloyd Peck, Michael Thorne, Melody Clark
Background: The Antarctic clam, Laternula elliptica, is an infaunal stenothermal bivalve mollusc with a circumpolar distribution. It plays a significant role in bentho-pelagic coupling and hence has been proposed as…1 January, 2010 by Melody Clark
The field of Genomics has essentially been fuelled by medical research with developments in human gene therapy, such as the Human Genome Project. This major international undertaking resulted in a…1 January, 2010 by Andrew Clarke, Alistair Crame
Ecologists have long been fascinated by the flora and fauna of extreme environments. Physiological studies have revealed the extent to which lifestyle is constrained by low temperature but there is…1 January, 2010 by Andrew Clarke
Endothermy has evolved at least twice, in the precursors to modern mammals and birds. The most widely accepted explanation for the evolution of endothermy has been selection for enhanced aerobic…Read more on Temperature, metabolic power and the evolution of endothermy
1 January, 2010 by Mark Clilverd
Noise burst events observed at Sodankylä, Finland, in the frequency range 20–25 kHz during January–April 2005 last up to 4 s, occur more often at midnight, are associated with high…1 January, 2010 by Martin Collins, Mark Belchier
Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) is a large notothenioid fish that supports valuable fisheries throughout the Southern Ocean. D. eleginoides are found on the southern shelves and slopes of South America…Read more on The Patagonian toothfish: biology, ecology and fishery
1 January, 2010
Despite clear benefits of optimal arrival time on breeding grounds, migration schedules may vary with an individual bird's innate quality, non-breeding habitat or breeding destination. Here, we show that for…Read more on Breeding latitude drives individual schedules in a trans-hemispheric migrant bird
1 January, 2010 by Peter Convey
This chapter is concerned with the life-history features of terrestrial invertebrates inhabiting the cold regions of the world. It predominantly focuses on the Antarctic continent and the Arctic elements of…Read more on Life history adaptations to polar and alpine environments
1 January, 2010 by Peter Convey
Although its major components have been known almost since the earliest exploring expeditions, even today the terrestrial biota of Antarctica is surprisingly poorly described in detail. It is clear that…Read more on Terrestrial biodiversity in Antarctica – recent advances and future challenges
1 January, 2010 by Peter Convey
We report the establishment of two representatives of a new ecological functional group on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia - pollinating insects - in the form of the hoverfly…1 January, 2010 by David Herbert
Using archival photography and satellite imagery, we have analysed the rates of advance or retreat of 103 coastal glaciers on South Georgia from the 1950s to the present. Ninety-seven percent…Read more on Glacier retreat on South Georgia and implications for the spread of rats
1 January, 2010 by David Vaughan
In recent decades, seven out of twelve ice shelves around the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) have either retreated significantly or have been almost entirely lost. At least some of these retreats…1 January, 2010
South Georgia is a glaciated island in the South Atlantic, which provides a primary nesting site for the albatrosses and petrels of the Southern Ocean. 60% of the island is…Read more on Estimating ice thickness in South Georgia from SRTM elevation data
1 January, 2010 by Philip Trathan, Richard Phillips
Where life-history stages overlap, there is the potential for physiological conflicts that might be important in mediating carryover effects. However, our knowledge of the specific physiological mechanisms underlying carryover effects…1 January, 2010 by Teal Riley
The island of South Georgia exposes remnants of a Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Andean magmatic arc and marginal basin system that was compressively deformed during the mid-Cretaceous main Andean…Read more on Andean sinistral transpression and kinematic partitioning in South Georgia
1 January, 2010
The analysis of many natural time series and especially those related to ice core records often suffers from uneven sampling intervals. For fractional Brownian motion, we show that standard estimates…1 January, 2010 by Povl Abrahamsen
This paper examines the role of atmospheric forcing in modifying the pathways of riverine water on the Laptev Sea shelf, using summer-to-winter hydrographic surveys from 2007-2009. Over the two consecutive…1 January, 2010 by Jaume Forcada
Leopard seals are regular winter visitors to Bird Island, South Georgia, where they mostly prey on fur seals and penguins, and to a lesser extent on Antarctic krill and fish.…Read more on First documentation of leopard seal predation of South Georgia pintail duck
1 January, 2010 by Janet Silk, Richard Phillips
The study of long-distance migration provides insights into the habits and performance of organisms at the limit of their physical abilities. The Arctic tern Sterna paradisaea is the epitome of…Read more on Tracking of Arctic terns Sterna paradisaea reveals longest animal migration
1 January, 2010 by Peter Convey
Coal Nunatak is an ice-free inland nunatak located on southern Alexander Island, adjacent to the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Situated close to the Antarctic continent, it is characterized…Read more on Life history strategy of Lepraria borealis at an Antarctic inland site, Coal Nunatak
1 January, 2010 by Simon Morley
Ocean acidification, or the lowering of seawater pH, is caused by sequestration of atmospheric CO2 into the oceans. This study investigated the effects of present-day pH 8.0, predicted ocean surface…1 January, 2010
The Ronne Polynya is a coastal polynya, a region of thin ice or open water in sea ice, caused by the offshore transport of the ice by strong winds from…Read more on Ocean-atmosphere heat fluxes at the Ronne Polynya, Antarctica
1 January, 2010 by Eric Wolff
Recent progress in the reconstruction of atmospheric CO2 records from Antarctic ice cores has allowed for the documentation of natural CO2 variations on orbital time scales over the last up…1 January, 2010
This study examines the long-range dependency, climate noise characteristics, and nonlinear temperature trends of eight Antarctic stations from the Reference Antarctic Data for Environmental Research (READER) dataset. Evidence is shown…Read more on Long-range dependence and climate noise characteristics of Antarctic temperature data
1 January, 2010 by Mervyn Freeman
There is substantial interest in the effect of human mobility patterns on opportunistic communications. Inspired by recent work revisiting some of the early evidence for a Lévy flight foraging strategy…1 January, 2010 by Dominic Hodgson, Peter Fretwell, Stephen Roberts
We present new isobases constraining the Holocene isostatic uplift of the South Shetland Islands, northern Antarctic Peninsula, based on evidence from raised shorelines. Holocene shorelines were described and surveyed at…1 January, 2010
Emissions of CO2 are the main contributor to anthropogenic climate change. Here we present updated information on their present and near-future estimates. We calculate that global CO2 emissions from fossil…1 January, 2010 by Joanne Johnson
This paper presents new lichenometric population data from the Antarctic Peninsula (67°S), and describes a new approach to lichen growth-rate calibration in locations where dated surfaces are extremely rare. We…1 January, 2010 by Eugene Murphy, Geraint Tarling, Melody Clark, Will Goodall-Copestake
The Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, is an abundant and key species found in the Southern Ocean that forms dense, discrete swarms. Despite over three decades of research on Antarctic krill,…Read more on Swarms of diversity at the gene cox1 in Antarctic krill
1 January, 2010
While Antarctica is often described as a pristine environment, there is an increasing awareness of the potential threats from local pollution sources including tourist ships and emissions associated with scientific…1 January, 2010 by Huw Griffiths
The remote and hostile Southern Ocean is home to a diverse and rich community of life that thrives in an environment dominated by glaciations and strong currents. Marine biological studies…1 January, 2010 by Victoria Peck
Increased fluxes of ice-rafted detritus (IRD) from European ice sheets have been documented some 1000-1500 years before the arrival of Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS)-sourced IRD during Heinrich (H) events. These…1 January, 2010 by Martin Miller
To investigate the formation and early evolution of the lunar mantle and crust we have analysed the oxygen isotopic composition, titanium content and modal mineralogy of a suite of lunar…1 January, 2010
Introduction: The diurnal rhythm of saliva cortisol and its association to adaptation, performance and health were examined in personnel over-wintering at two British Antarctic stations. Methods: In total, 55 healthy…1 January, 2010 by Richard Phillips
Most seabirds die outside the breeding season, but understanding the key factors involved is hampered by limited knowledge of nonbreeding distributions. We used miniature geolocating loggers to examine the movements…1 January, 2010 by Philip Trathan
The nature of how behaviour at one time step influences the next is of great interest to behavioural ecologists, but rarely used for comparisons between animals. Time depth recorders (TDR)…1 January, 2010 by Philip Trathan
Recording the activity of animals as they migrate or forage has proven hugely advantageous to understanding how animals use their environment. Where animals cannot be directly observed, the problem remains…1 January, 2010 by Roger Worland
The process of organismal freezing in the Antarctic limpet, Nacelle concinna, is complicated by molluscan biology. Internal ice formation is, in particular, mediated by two factors: (a) the provision of…Read more on Freezing in the Antarctic limpet, Nacella concinna
1 January, 2010 by Michael Meredith
The use of dissolved Al as a tracer for oceanic water masses and atmospheric dust deposition of biologically important elements, such as iron, requires the quantitative assessment of its sources…1 January, 2010 by Hugh Venables
The Crozet Plateau is an area of interest as it is a region of the Southern Ocean where annual primary productivity is relatively high. We describe spatial and temporal variations…1 January, 2010
The longitudinal variability of the semidiurnal tide in the Antarctic upper mesosphere is investigated by comparison of observations from two radars at approximately opposite sides of Antarctica. Under the assumption…Read more on A new perspective on the longitudinal variability of the semidiurnal tide
1 January, 2010 by Oliver Marsh
Twelve years of horizontal wind data from the Scott Base MF radar and the Halley SuperDARN radar recorded between January 1996 and December 2007 are analysed to study the interannual…1 January, 2010 by Claire Waluda, Jaume Forcada, Philip Trathan, Simeon Hill
The purpose of ecosystem monitoring programs is to indicate the state of ecosystems and whether they have been impacted by activities such as fishing. This paper discusses a range of…Read more on Using ecosystem monitoring data to detect impacts
1 January, 2010 by Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Robert Larter
A major trough ("Belgica Trough") eroded by a palaeo-ice stream crosses the continental shelf of the southern Bellingshausen Sea (West Antarctica) and is associated with a trough mouth fan ("Belgica…1 January, 2010 by Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, James Smith, Robert Larter
Reliable dating of glaciomarine sediments deposited on the Antarctic shelf since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is challenging because of the rarity of calcareous (micro-) fossils and the recycling of…1 January, 2010 by Chester Sands, Dominic Hodgson, Peter Convey, Sandra McInnes, Sandra McInnes
Very little is known about the higher latitude inland biology of continental Antarctica. In this paper we describe the limnology and biology of the Dufek Massif, using a range of…Read more on The limnology and biology of the Dufek Massif, Transantarctic Mountains 82° South
1 January, 2010 by Dominic Hodgson, Louise Sime
The Southern Hemisphere westerly winds affect the exchange of carbon dioxide between the ocean and atmosphere. Climate reconstructions from the southern mid-latitudes may reveal variability in the strength and position…1 January, 2010 by David Pearce
Glacier surfaces support unique microbial food webs dominated by organic and inorganic debris called 'cryoconite'. Observations from Longyearbreen, Spitsbergen, show how these aggregate particles can develop an internal structure following…1 January, 2010 by Kevin Newsham
Solute yields, laboratory dissolution data and both chemical and isotopic markers of rock weathering reactions are used to characterise the biogeochemistry of glacial meltwaters draining a maritime Antarctic glacier. We…1 January, 2010 by Guy Hillyard, Lloyd Peck, Melody Clark
The extent to which genetic divergence can occur in the absence of physical barriers to gene flow is currently one of the most controversial topics in evolutionary biology, with implications…1 January, 2010 by Jaume Forcada
Although heterozygosity-fitness correlations (HFCs) are widely reported in the literature, most studies use too few markers to allow the proximate mechanisms to be convincingly resolved. Two competing hypotheses have been…1 January, 2010 by Jaume Forcada, Philip Trathan
Most studies of heterozygosity-fitness correlations (HFCs) in natural populations relate to fitness traits expressed early in life, whereas traits that are often more difficult to measure such as longevity and…1 January, 2010 by Rachel Cavanagh
Using data for 25,780 species categorized on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, we present an assessment of the status of the world's vertebrates. One-fifth of species…Read more on The impact of conservation on the status of the world’s vertebrates
1 January, 2010 by Eric Wolff
Ice core evidence indicates that even though atmospheric CO2 concentrations did not exceed 300 ppm at any point during the last 800 000 years, East Antarctica was at least 3–4…1 January, 2010 by Paul Holland
Greenland is losing ice through glaciers that flow into deep fjords. New observations highlight the important fjord processes that supply warm ocean waters to the melting glaciers, and thereby affect…1 January, 2010 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey, Rolf Maslen
Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems currently include very few non-native species, due to the continent’s extreme isolation from other landmasses. However, the indigenous biota is vulnerable to human-mediated introductions of non-native species.…1 January, 2010 by Kevin Hughes
Under the Antarctic Treaty System, environmental monitoring is a legal obligation for signatory nations and an essential tool for managers attempting to minimize local human impacts, but is it given…Read more on How committed are we to monitoring human impacts in Antarctica?
1 January, 2010 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
Invasions by non-indigenous species are amongst the greatest threats to global biodiversity, causing substantial disruption to, and sometimes local extinction of, individual species and community assemblages which, in turn, can…1 January, 2010 by Kevin Hughes
Antarctic ecosystems are at risk from the introduction of invasive species. The first step in the process of invasion is the transportation of alien species to Antarctic in a viable…Read more on Impact of anthropogenic transportation to Antarctica on alien seed viability
1 January, 2010 by Kevin Hughes, Roger Worland
The introduction of invasive species is one of the greatest threats to Earth’s biodiversity, as they can reduce native biodiversity and alter ecosystem structure and function. Currently, the only two…1 January, 2010 by David Vaughan
A narrow bridge of floating ice that connected the Wilkins Ice Shelf, Antarctica, to two confining islands eventually collapsed in early April 2009. In the month preceding the collapse, we…Read more on Deformation and failure of the ice bridge on the Wilkins Ice Shelf, Antarctica
1 January, 2010 by Katrin Linse
The shelled pteropod (sea butterfly) Limacina helicina is currently recognised as a species complex comprising two sub-species and at least five "forma". However, at the species level it is considered…1 January, 2010
As part of the open access publishing movement, Research Councils UK has mandated that the outputs of all Research Council funded research must be deposited in an institutional or subject-based…Read more on NORA: An Open Window to British Antarctic Research
1 January, 2010
Solar Radiation Management (SRM) Geoengineering may ameliorate many consequences of global warming but also has the potential to drive regional climates outside the envelope of greenhouse-gas induced warming, creating 'novel'…Read more on Assessing the regional disparities in geoengineering impacts
1 January, 2010 by Jennifer Jackson
At present, there are 15 species of baleen whales that belong to the monophyletic suborder Mysticeti. The family-level designations of Balaenidae (right and bowhead whales) and Neobalaenidae (pygmy right whales)…1 January, 2010 by Ed King
We modelled the flow of the Larsen C and northernmost Larsen D ice shelves, Antarctic Peninsula, using a model of continuum mechanics of ice flow, and applied a fracture criterion…Read more on Present stability of the Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctic Peninsula
1 January, 2010
Several papers have recently invoked Joule heating in the stratosphere, generated from electric currents induced by solar wind interactions with Earth, as possibly playing a significant role in warming the…Read more on The ineffectiveness of Joule heating in the stratosphere
1 January, 2010 by Adrian Jenkins, Hugh Corr, Keith Nicholls
Parameterizations of turbulent transfer through the oceanic boundary layer beneath an ice shelf are tested using direct measurements of basal ablation. Observations were made in the southwestern part of Ronne…Read more on Observation and parameterization of ablation at the base of Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica
1 January, 2010 by Anna Jones, Eric Wolff, Gareth Marshall, Howard Roscoe, Neil Brough, Steve Colwell
The majority of tropospheric ozone depletion event (ODE) studies have focussed on time-series measurements, with comparatively few studies of the vertical component. Those that exist have almost exclusively used free-flying…1 January, 2010 by Hugh Venables
The effect of sea ice melt on the carbonate chemistry of surface waters in the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, Southern Ocean, was investigated during January 2008. Contrasting concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon…Read more on Rapid changes in surface water carbonate chemistry during Antarctic sea ice melt
1 January, 2010 by Fausto Ferraccioli, Hugh Corr, Tom Jordan
Subglacial outburst floods at the margins of the Antarctic and Laurentide Ice Sheets have been linked to changes in global ocean circulation and climate. The impact of palaeo-hydrological systems beneath…1 January, 2010 by David Vaughan, Fausto Ferraccioli, Hugh Corr, Tom Jordan
The West Antarctic Rift System provides critical geological boundary conditions for the overlying West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Previous geophysical surveys have traced the West Antarctic Rift System and addressed the…1 January, 2010 by Michael Meredith
Recent studies suggest that the variability in Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) properties in the Scotia Sea on time scales up to decadal may be linked to changes in the baroclinicity…Read more on Wind-controlled export of Antarctic Bottom Water from the Weddell Sea
1 January, 2010 by Andrew Orr
The progress achieved since 2005 in simulating today's climate with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model through improved physical parametrizations is described. Results are based on climate…Read more on The ECMWF model climate: Recent progress through improved physical parametrizations
1 January, 2010 by Eric Wolff
Sulfate (SO42-) and ammonium (NH4+) flux records over the last 150,000 years from both Antarctic EPICA ice cores (European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica) are presented. The ice core…1 January, 2010 by Andy Smith
Modulation of the flow of Rutford Ice Stream, Antarctica, has been reported previously at semi-diurnal, diurnal, fortnightly and semi-annual periods. A model that includes non-linear response to tidal forcing has…1 January, 2010 by Geraint Tarling, Sophie Fielding
We studied the relationship between the proximity of land and the distribution and swarming characteristics of Antarctic krill across the Scotia Sea in January and February 2003. Krill swarms identified…1 January, 2010 by Peter Ward
During the austral summer of 2008, we carried out a high resolution survey of the microplankton communities along a south to north transect covering a range of environments across the…1 January, 2010 by Peter Convey
We studied the development of the Antarctic herb tundra vegetation formation in relation to the history of deglaciation across a range of habitats near H. Arctowski Research Station (King George…1 January, 2010 by David Barnes
A bipolar distribution is one in which a taxon occurs at high northern and southern latitudes but is absent in the latitudes between. In spite of the large distance between…1 January, 2010 by Howard Roscoe
The passive tracer method is used to estimate ozone loss from ground-based measurements in the Antarctic. A sensitivity study shows that the ozone depletion can be estimated within an accuracy…Read more on Estimation of Antarctic ozone loss from ground-based total column measurements
1 January, 2010 by Thomas Lachlan-Cope
Sensitivity studies with global climate models show that, by their influence on the radiation balance, Antarctic clouds play a major role in the climate system, both directly at high southern…1 January, 2010
To determine the potential of Antarctic bivalve shells as biomonitors for environmental and climatic variations in polar marine areas, we developed a growth model for juvenile Adamussium colbecki Smith, 1902…1 January, 2010 by Robert Larter
Amundsen Sea Embayment: Tectonic and Climatic Evolution; Granada, Spain, 9 September 2009; Geoscientists working on the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE) of West Antarctica met at a workshop during the First…Read more on Improving constraints on paleo-ice sheets in the Amundsen Sea Embayment
1 January, 2010
Only about 45% of the total CO2 emitted from fossil fuel burning and land use change stayed in the atmosphere on average during the past few decades. The remaining CO2…1 January, 2010
The international political commitment to limit global warming to 2 °C urgently requires the stabilisation of radiative forcing from carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere.…Read more on An International Carbon Office to assist policy-based science
1 January, 2010
About one quarter of the CO2 emitted to the atmosphere by human activities is absorbed annually by the ocean. All the processes that influence the oceanic uptake of CO2 are…Read more on Impact of climate change and variability on the global oceanic sink of CO2
1 January, 2010 by Alexander Tate, Philip Leat
New multibeam (swath) bathymetric sonar data acquired using an EM120 system on the RRS James Clark Ross, supplemented by sub-bottom profiling, reveals the underwater morphology of a not, vert, similar…1 January, 2010 by Hilmar Gudmundsson
The advance of a glacier over a deforming sediment layer is analysed numerically. We treat this problem as a contact problem involving two slowly-deforming viscous bodies. The surface evolution of…Read more on A numerical study of glacier advance over deforming till
1 January, 2010 by Melody Clark
The gilthead sea bream. Sparus auratus, and the European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, are two of the most important marine species cultivated in Southern Europe. This study aimed at increasing…1 January, 2010
Quantifying the equilibrium response of global temperatures to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations is one of the cornerstones of climate research. Components of the Earth's climate system that…Read more on Earth system sensitivity inferred from Pliocene modelling and data