Found 13633 items
17 November, 2023 by Lloyd Peck, Melody Clark, Tony Phillips
Polar ecosystems are experiencing amongst the most rapid rates of regional warming on Earth. Here, we discuss ‘omics’ approaches to investigate polar biodiversity, including the current state of the art,…Read more on Multi-omics for studying and understanding polar life
17 November, 2023 by Dominic Hodgson
Toward the poles, life on land is increasingly dominated by microorganisms, yet the evolutionary origin of polar microbiomes remains poorly understood. Here, we use metabarcoding of Arctic, sub-Antarctic, and Antarctic…Read more on Polar lake microbiomes have distinct evolutionary histories
16 November, 2023 by Diana Vladimirova, Dieter Tetzner, Liz Thomas
Sea-ice extent is predicted to decrease in a warming climate. However, despite global warming over the past century, total Antarctic sea ice remained relatively stable from 1979 until 2015, before…15 November, 2023 by Rahul Sivankutty
The seasonal evolution and interannual variability of latent heat flux (LHF) over the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) region is examined for the period 1980–2019. The seasonal distribution of LHF is…Read more on Latent heat flux variability over the tropical Indian Ocean
13 November, 2023 by Yohei Takano
Ocean deoxygenation due to anthropogenic warming represents a major threat to marine ecosystems and fisheries. Challenges remain in simulating the modern observed changes in the dissolved oxygen (O2). Here, we…10 November, 2023 by Richard Phillips
Knowledge of fisheries impacts, past and present, is essential for understanding the ecology and conservation of seabirds, but in a rapidly changing world, knowledge and research directions require updating. In…9 November, 2023 by Philip Trathan
Individual differences in oxygen storage and carrying capacity have been associated with fitness-related traits and, for air-breathing aquatic animals, to diving ability and foraging success. In winter, many seabirds must…8 November, 2023 by Susie Grant
Nests of the icefish Chionodraco hamatus were documented for the first time at about 500 m depth at Terra Nova Bay (Victoria Land, western Ross Sea), in an area included…3 November, 2023 by Florian Mekhaldi
The Sun is magnetically active and often produces eruptive events on different energetic and temporal scales. Until recently, the upper limit of such events was unknown and believed to be…2 November, 2023 by Philip Trathan
Emperor penguins are tough birds that breed on sea ice, which is the frozen surface of the ocean. They are famous for walking across the sea ice, to and from…2 November, 2023 by John King
This paper explores the unique methods and strategies employed by a team of artists, in collaboration with engineers, programmers, a climate scientist, researchers and members of the public, who have…1 November, 2023 by John Turner
During the second half of the twentieth century, the Antarctic Surface Air Temperature (SAT) trends are characterized by fast warming over West Antarctica but mild cooling over East Antarctica. However,…Read more on A broadscale shift in antarctic temperature trends
1 November, 2023 by David Barnes
Spatial management of the deep sea is challenging due to limited available data on the distribution of species and habitats to support decision making. In the well-studied North Atlantic, predictive…1 November, 2023 by Andrew Fleming, Anita Faul, Ben Evans, David Vaughan, Scott Hosking
Accurate quantification of iceberg populations is essential to inform estimates of Southern Ocean freshwater and heat balances as well as shipping hazards. The automated operational monitoring of icebergs remains challenging,…1 November, 2023 by Alistair Crame, Jane Francis, Rowan Whittle, Vanessa Bowman
Lower Paleocene marine siliciclastics of the Sobral Formation (Seymour Island, Antarctica) form an important component of a key southern high latitude reference section for the Maastrichtian–Eocene. The formation comprises a…1 November, 2023 by Jonathan Adams, Joanne Johnson
Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica, is the largest Antarctic contributor to global sea-level rise and is vulnerable to rapid retreat, yet our knowledge of its deglacial history since the Last…1 November, 2023 by Louise Sime
The Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) is the Earth’s largest store of frozen water; understanding how it changed in the past allows us to improve projections of how it, and sea…1 November, 2023 by Alice Fremand
Scienists are increasingly using autonomous and remotely piloted aerial vehicles (commonly referenced here as UAVs) to collect large volume of data in a range of different scienific domains. These data…1 November, 2023 by Alice Fremand
This document gives relevant information related to the management of remotely piloted or uncrewed airborne vehicles (commonly referenced as UAV in this document) data collected as part of NERC funded…1 November, 2023 by Richard Phillips
For decades, studies have highlighted links between wind patterns and the behavior, ecology, distribution, energetics and life history of seabirds. However, only relatively recently have advancements in tracking technologies and…28 October, 2023 by Jeremy Wilkinson
Snow depth on sea ice is an Essential Climate Variable and a major source of uncertainty in satellite altimetry-derived sea ice thickness. During winter of the MOSAiC Expedition, the “KuKa”…24 October, 2023 by Eugene Murphy, Jennifer Jackson, Nadine Johnston, Richard Phillips
The Southern Ocean, which flows around the Antarctic continent, is home to vast numbers of unique and remarkable animals, including penguins, albatrosses, petrels, seals, and whales. The ocean bursts into…Read more on The Southern Ocean Ecosystem Affects The Entire World
23 October, 2023 by Kaitlin Naughten, Paul Holland
Ocean-driven melting of floating ice-shelves in the Amundsen Sea is currently the main process controlling Antarctica’s contribution to sea-level rise. Using a regional ocean model, we present a comprehensive suite…19 October, 2023 by Peter Convey, Peter Fretwell
Precise mapping of Blue Ice Regions (BIRs) in Antarctica can facilitate resource management during expeditions and help plan field investigations. Satellite-based BIR mapping was traditionally performed with large-swath, coarse to…Read more on How precisely can we map blue ice in Antarctica?
19 October, 2023 by Paul Holland, Pierre Dutrieux
Glaciers in the Amundsen Sea Embayment of West Antarctica are rapidly retreating and contributing to sea level rise. Ice loss is occurring primarily via exposure to warm ocean water, which…18 October, 2023 by Eugene Murphy, Huw Griffiths, Nadine Johnston, Rachel Cavanagh, Simon Morley, Susie Grant
i. The Antarctic Treaty System (beginning in 1959 with the Antarctic Treaty) and its emphasis on conservation and protection, exemplified in the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living…Read more on Marine Ecosystem Assessment for the Southern Ocean: Summary for Policymakers
17 October, 2023 by Elisabeth Biersma, Kevin Newsham, Peter Convey
Aim Poa annua L. (annual bluegrass) is presently the sole invasive vascular plant species to have successfully established in Maritime Antarctica, where it poses a significant conservation threat to native…17 October, 2023 by Huw Griffiths, Katrin Linse
This dataset contributes to the knowledge of macro- and megafaunal Mollusca associated with a range of benthic habitat types in the South Orkney Islands, Antarctica, an exceptionally diverse region of…16 October, 2023 by Peter Davis
Understanding ice shelf water (ISW) structure is crucial for studying the basal melting of ice shelves. In this study, we performed large-eddy simulation experiments to assess ISW structure and basal…Read more on Ice Shelf Water Structure Beneath the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica
16 October, 2023 by Dave Munday
During the Eocene and the Eocene-Oligocene transition, the lower cell of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC), associated with bottom water formation, underwent changes associated with the geological evolution of Southern…15 October, 2023 by Norman Ratcliffe
Over the past decade, drones have become increasingly popular in environmental biology and have been used to study wildlife on all continents. Drones have become of global importance for surveying…Read more on Best practices for using drones in seabird monitoring and research
12 October, 2023 by Joseph Ulanowski
Dust particles in lofted atmospheric layers may present a preferential orientation, which could be detected from the resulting dichroic extinction of the transmitted sunlight. The first indications were provided relatively…10 October, 2023 by Robert Mulvaney
High-resolution stable isotope records obtained from Antarctic ice cores can be used as proxies to investigate past climatic changes in Antarctica, overcoming the spatiotemporal limitations of observational and instrumental records.…3 October, 2023 by Victoria Warwick-Evans
Understanding the processes that drive interpopulation differences in demography and population dynamics is central to metapopulation ecology. In colonial species, populations are limited by local resource availability. However, individuals from…1 October, 2023 by Hannah Cubaynes, Peter Fretwell
The use of satellite imagery to find, count and monitor whales in remote and hard to access areas has shown some promise, but few satellite studies have, as yet, provided…Read more on Satellite image survey of beluga whales in the southern Kara Sea
1 October, 2023 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
Signatories to the Antarctic Treaty System’s Environmental Protocol are committed to preventing incursions of non-native species into Antarctica, but systematic surveillance is rare. Environmental DNA (eDNA) methods provide new opportunities…1 October, 2023 by Sandra McInnes, Sandra McInnes
Glaciers are inhabited by various cryophilic organisms ranging from single celled to multicellular, like Tardigrada (water bears). Owing to their scattered distribution, glaciers represent extremely fragmented habitats, and it remains…1 October, 2023 by Peter Convey
Climate change, coupled with the introduction of non-native organisms, represent major threats to the functioning of ecosystems, especially in species-poor communities such as polar terrestrial ecosystems. In this laboratory study,…1 October, 2023 by Kayleigh Jones
Interactions between seals and commercial fisheries can pose a significant threat to the conservation status of seal populations. In the Falkland Islands, home to over 50% of the global South…1 October, 2023 by Andrew Orr, Ella Gilbert, Hua Lu, John King, Steve Colwell, Thomas Bracegirdle, Tony Phillips
Extreme warm events in the South Orkney Islands (SOIs) are investigated using synoptic observations from Signy and Orcadas stations for 1947-1994 and 1956-2019, respectively. Defining the extremes as temperatures exceeding…1 October, 2023 by Paul Holland
Little is known about Antarctic subglacial hydrology, but based on modeling, theory and indirect observations it is thought that subglacial runoff enhances submarine melt locally through buoyancy effects. However, no…Read more on The non‐local impacts of Antarctic subglacial runoff
1 October, 2023 by Mark Evans
An almost complete ichthyosaur skeleton 10 m long was discovered in January 2021 at the Rutland Water Nature Reserve in the county of Rutland, UK. This was excavated by a small…1 October, 2023 by Peter Convey
Belgica antarctica Jacobs (Diptera: Chironomidae) is the only endemic insect found in the Antarctic Peninsula region and has stimulated considerable research interest. Due to recent rapid changes in regional climate…1 October, 2023 by Claire Waluda, Michael Dunn, Philip Trathan
Due to its persistence and potential ecological and health impacts, mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant of major concern that may reach high concentrations even in remote polar oceans. In…1 October, 2023 by Louise Sime, Qinggang Gao
To refine moisture-source and site-temperature reconstructions inferred from measurements from ice cores, we must understand moisture provenance from which Antarctic precipitation originates. Here, we discuss our current understanding of Antarctic…30 September, 2023 by Peter Convey
Cyanobacteria are one of the most important groups of photoautotrophic organisms, contributing to carbon and nitrogen fixation in mangroves worldwide. They also play an important role in soil retention and…28 September, 2023 by Paul Holland
We investigate feedbacks between subsurface continental shelf ocean temperatures and Antarctic glacial melt using a coupled climate model. The model was forced with SSP5-8.5 and an uncoupled projection of basal…28 September, 2023 by Roseanne Smith
Giant icebergs release cold, fresh meltwater as they drift, perturbing the physical conditions of the surface ocean. This study uses satellite-derived sea surface salinity and temperature measurements to explore the…27 September, 2023 by Eugene Murphy, Sally Thorpe
Understanding the vertical migration behaviour of Antarctic krill is important for understanding spatial distribution, ecophysiology, trophic interactions and carbon fluxes of this Southern Ocean key species. In this study, we…26 September, 2023 by Bryony Freer, Oliver Marsh
Tide-forced short-term migration of the grounding line (GL) of Antarctic ice shelves can impact ice dynamics at the ice sheet margins and obscures assessments of long-term GL advance or retreat.…7 September, 2023 by Kaitlin Naughten
Observations of ocean-driven grounding-line retreat in the Amundsen Sea Embayment in Antarctica raise the question of an imminent collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Here we analyse the committed…6 September, 2023 by Ashley Bennison
Many vertebrates show lateralized behaviour, or handedness, where an individual preferentially uses one side of the body more than the other. This is generally thought to be caused by brain…4 September, 2023 by Ananth Ranjithkumar, Markus Frey, Xin Yang
The Arctic warms nearly four times faster than the global average, and aerosols play an increasingly important role in Arctic climate change. In the Arctic, sea salt is a major…Read more on Arctic warming by abundant fine sea salt aerosols from blowing snow
1 September, 2023 by Peter Convey
We evaluated the diversity and enzymatic activities of culturable fungi recovered from cotton baits submerged for 2 years in Hennequin Lake, King George Island, and from benthic biofilms in Kroner…1 September, 2023 by Peter Convey
The high number of bipolar and widespread bryophyte and microbial taxa in the Antarctic flora suggests the effective Long-Distance Dispersal (LDD) of spores and other propagules from lower latitudes and…1 September, 2023 by Melody Clark
The wild poses a multifaceted challenge to the maintenance of cellular function. Therefore, a multistressor approach is essential to predict the cellular mechanisms which promote homeostasis and underpin whole-organism tolerance.…Read more on The environmental cellular stress response: the intertidal as a multistressor model
1 September, 2023 by Alvaro Arenas Pingarron, Carl Robinson, Hugh Corr, Tom Jordan, Alvaro Pingarron Arenas
Polarimetric Airborne Scientific INstrument, mark 2 (PASIN2) is a 150 MHz coherent pulsed radar with the purpose of deep ice sounding for bedrock, subglacial channels and ice-water interface detection in…1 September, 2023 by Peter Convey
The majority of islands surrounding the Antarctic continent are poorly characterized in terms of microbial macroecology due to their remote locations, geographical isolation and access difficulties. The 2016/2017 Antarctic Circumnavigation…Read more on Expanding Antarctic biogeography: microbial ecology of Antarctic island soils
1 September, 2023 by Martin Rogers
Biological invasions may act as conduits for pathogen introduction. To determine which invasive non-native species pose the biggest threat, we must first determine the symbionts (pathogens, parasites, commensals, mutualists) they…1 September, 2023 by Richard Horne
The propagation of fast magnetosonic (MS) waves from high to extremely low L shells and their conversion into electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves is investigated with a ray tracing model…1 September, 2023 by Tom Jordan
Knowledge of Antarctica’s sedimentary basins builds our understanding of the coupled evolution of tectonics, ice, ocean, and climate. Sedimentary basins have properties distinct from basement-dominated regions that impact ice-sheet dynamics,…Read more on Antarctic sedimentary basins and their influence on ice-sheet dynamics
1 September, 2023 by Peter Convey
Biological invasions represent a growing threat to islands and their biodiversity across the world. The isolated sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic Ocean is a highly protected…1 September, 2023
Climate change is expected to have major negative effects on marine life across phylogenetic groups. Cephalopods, however, have life history characteristics that suggest they may benefit from certain climate change…29 August, 2023 by Gareth Chisham, Mervyn Freeman
Measurements of ionospheric flow vorticity can be used for studying ionospheric plasma transport processes, such as convection and turbulence, over a wide range of spatial scales. Here, we analyse probability…29 August, 2023 by Siddharth Gumber
The Cauvery Delta, the ‘Rice Bowl’ of India follows a time-tested cultivation pattern over several irrigation zones. However, in this era of the Anthropocene, it is now well-established that short-duration,…28 August, 2023 by Gaelle Veyssiere, Jeremy Wilkinson
As Arctic sea ice deteriorates, more light enters the ocean, causing largely unknown effects on the ecosystem. Using an autonomous biophysical observatory, we recorded zooplankton vertical distribution under Arctic sea…Read more on Sea-ice decline could keep zooplankton deeper for longer
25 August, 2023 by Anna Belcher, Clara Manno, Kate Hendry
The biological carbon pump is responsible for much of the decadal variability in the ocean carbon dioxide (CO2) sink, driving the transfer of carbon from the atmosphere to the deep…25 August, 2023 by Clara Manno, Victoria Peck
We all know that carbon dioxide (CO2) is produced from burning fossil fuels, and that it contributes to global warming. But have you heard about the “evil twin” of global…Read more on Sea Butterflies Defend Their Homes Against an Acidic Ocean
24 August, 2023 by Norman Ratcliffe, Peter Fretwell
The spring season of 2022 saw record low sea ice extent in Antarctica that persisted throughout the year. At the beginning of December, the Antarctic sea ice extent was tracking…24 August, 2023 by Carlos Martin Garcia, Robert Mulvaney
The European Beyond EPICA project aims to extract a continuous ice core of up to 1.5 Ma, with a maximum age density of 20 kyr m−1 at Little Dome C (LDC). We present…Read more on Stagnant ice and age modelling in the Dome C region, Antarctica
18 August, 2023 by James Kirkham
Despite their importance for regional water resource planning and as indicators of climate change, records of in situ glacier mass balance remain short and spatially sparse in the Himalaya. Here,…17 August, 2023 by Dieter Tetzner, Robert Mulvaney
Few ice cores from the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Sea sectors of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) extend back in time further than a few hundred years. The WAIS is…Read more on An age scale for new climate records from Sherman Island, West Antarctica
17 August, 2023 by Peter Convey
Phytoremediation is a plant-based approach to extract, stabilise, eliminate, or render pollutants into less harmful form. The study highlights the use of a native polar microalga as a means of…11 August, 2023 by Kevin Hughes
Non-native species introductions and establishment are having substantial and likely irreversible environmental impacts on Antarctic ecosystems and biodiversity. Non-native species, or species that live outside of their natural range, can…11 August, 2023
Leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) are top predators that can exert substantial top-down control of their Antarctic prey species. However, population trends and genetic diversity of leopard seals remain understudied, limiting…10 August, 2023 by Philip Trathan
Large-scale breeding failures, such as offspring die-offs, can disproportionately impact wildlife populations that are characterized by a few large colonies. However, breeding monitoring—and thus investigations of such die-offs—is especially challenging…10 August, 2023 by Ashley Bennison
Despite multiple studies examining the diving behavior of leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) at coarse resolution over broad distances, there is still a paucity of high-resolution diving data collected in…10 August, 2023 by Scott Hosking, Raghul Parthipan
The modelling of small-scale processes is a major source of error in climate models, hindering the accuracy of low-cost models which must approximate such processes through parameterization. Red noise is…10 August, 2023 by Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Robert Mulvaney
We present a database of observational constraints on past Antarctic Ice Sheet changes during the last glacial cycle intended to consolidate the observations that represent our understanding of past Antarctic…9 August, 2023 by Paul Holland
A major source of uncertainty in future sea level projections is the ocean-driven basal melt of Antarctic ice shelves. While ice sheet models require a kilometre-scale resolution to realistically resolve…8 August, 2023 by Caroline Holmes, Jeremy Wilkinson, Kevin Hughes, Michael Meredith, Peter Convey, Thomas Bracegirdle
There is increasing evidence that fossil-fuel burning, and consequential global heating of 1.1°C to date, has led to the increased occurrence and severity of extreme environmental events. It is well…3 August, 2023 by Beverley Ager, Rumeysa Uzun, Feride Karatekin, Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
Antarctica is a continent dedicated to ‘peace and science’ and subject to international consensus-based governance through the Antarctic Treaty System. Through the Treaty, decision-making powers are reserved to Consultative Parties,…Read more on The emerging contribution of Türkiye to Antarctic science and policy
3 August, 2023 by Richard Phillips
The Lesser Noddy Anous tenuirostris occurs in large numbers in the northern Maldives during the northeast monsoon season (December to April). These birds do not breed in the Maldives, but…3 August, 2023 by Dani Jones, Scott Hosking, Tom Andersson
Environmental sensors are crucial for monitoring weather conditions and the impacts of climate change. However, it is challenging to place sensors in a way that maximises the informativeness of their…Read more on Environmental sensor placement with convolutional Gaussian neural processes
1 August, 2023 by Alex Burton-Johnson
We present a new extensional tectonic model for the Cenozoic history of SE Asia and the opening of the South China Sea (SCS), proposing a feedback mechanism by which intracontinental…1 August, 2023 by Anna Belcher, Geraint Tarling, Gabriele Stowasser, Ryan Saunders, Sophie Fielding
Zooplankton form an integral component of epi- and mesopelagic ecosystems, and there is a need to better understand their role in ocean biogeochemistry. The export and remineralisation of particulate organic…1 August, 2023 by Clara Manno, Emily Rowlands, Sally Thorpe, Victoria Peck
Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) plays a central role in the Antarctic marine food web and biogeochemical cycles and has been identified as a species that is potentially vulnerable to plastic…1 August, 2023 by Clara Manno, Emily Rowlands, Sally Thorpe, Victoria Peck
Estimated plastic debris floating at the ocean surface varies depending on modelling approaches, with some suggesting unaccounted sinks for marine plastic debris due to mismatches between plastic predicted to enter…Read more on Vertical flux of microplastic, a case study in the Southern Ocean, South Georgia
1 August, 2023 by Dani Jones
Fieldwork, including work done at sea, is a key component of many geoscientists' careers. Recent studies have highlighted the pervasive harassment faced by women and LGBTQ+ people during fieldwork. However,…1 August, 2023 by Eugene Murphy, Philip Trathan, Sally Thorpe
Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) and Ice krill (Euphausia crystallorophias) are key species within Southern Ocean marine ecosystems. Given their importance in regional food webs, coupled with the uncertain impacts of…1 August, 2023 by Peter Convey
This study provides new species records (NRs) of macroalgal assemblages present in rocky habitats from the South Shetland Islands (SSI) and north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula (EAP), Weddell Sea. Surveys were conducted…1 August, 2023 by Andrew McDonald
Forecasting the block maxima of a future time window is a challenging task due to the difficulty in inferring the tail distribution of a target variable. As the historical observations…31 July, 2023 by Tracy Moffat-Griffin
Global measurements to characterize gravity wave (GW) parameters, distribution and main trends in the ITM are crucial. This white paper summarizes current GW measurement techniques operated from ground-based to space…Read more on Measurements of gravity wave global distributions and trends in the ITM