The overall responsibility of SciMT is to advise and support the Director of Science on management issues that affect planning and delivery of science on both short and long timescales.
Specific responsibilities of SciMT are:
Chair: Dr Anna Jones, Director of Science
15 April, 2025 by Lloyd Peck, Melody Clark
Antarctica is a very cold, isolated continent surrounded by frozen seas, yet these extreme environmental conditions have not restricted life and diversity in the sea. The marine environment is seasonally…Read more on Psychrotrophic Antarctic marine bacteria as reservoirs for novel antimicrobial genes
14 April, 2025 by Jasmine Lee, Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
Antarctica has been subject to direct human activity for a little over 200 years. In recent decades, the combination of sharp increases in human activity and regional climate change, particularly…Read more on Status assessment of non-native terrestrial species in Antarctica
4 April, 2025 by Povl Abrahamsen, Geraint Tarling, Alexander Brearley, Kate Hendry, Michael Meredith, Natasha Lucas
Ice-sheet mass loss is one of the clearest manifestations of climate change, with Antarctica discharging mass into the ocean via melting or through calving. The latter produces icebergs that can…Read more on Giant iceberg meltwater increases upper-ocean stratification and vertical mixing
3 April, 2025 by Peter Convey
Fuel spills pose significant pollution threats to Antarctic terrestrial environments. Biological remediation offers a sustainable solution for restoring these polluted sites. Indigenous microorganisms capable of degrading diesel hydrocarbons at low…1 April, 2025 by Peter Convey
Lichens play important roles in habitat formation and community succession in polar and alpine ecosystems. Despite their significance, the ecological effects of lichen traits remain poorly researched. We propose a…1 April, 2025 by Peter Convey
Rhizosphere microbial communities are intimately associated with plant root surfaces. The rhizosphere microbiome is recruited from the surrounding soil and is known to impact positively on the plant host via…1 April, 2025 by Peter Convey
Polar ecosystems are threatened by non-native plants, and this risk will increase with climate warming. Non-native plant growth depends on Antarctic environmental conditions and substrates, but these influences are poorly…31 March, 2025 by Alistair Crame, Jane Francis
The Cretaceous period is particularly well represented by a thick sequence of clastic sedimentary rocks exposed in the Antarctic Peninsula region of western Antarctica. This was an active margin throughout…Read more on Cretaceous stratigraphy of Antarctica and its global significance
31 March, 2025 by Peter Convey
We report new oribatid records from the western Antarctic Peninsula region obtained during the XXIV and XXVI–XXVIII Ukrainian Antarctic expeditions. Five species (including 2 subspecies) representing five families of oribatid…Read more on New oribatid mite (Acari: Oribatida) records in the Antarctic Peninsula region
28 March, 2025 by Ramesh Karanam, Tracy Moffat-Griffin
Long-term variability and tendencies in monthly mean semidiurnal tide (12-hr) in zonal (U12) and meridional (V12) winds are investigated in northern polar mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT; ∼80–100 km) using…28 March, 2025 by Ayat Fekry, George Coombs, Harrison Abbot, Jonathan Smith, Maria Fox, Michael Thorne, Samuel Hall
An algorithm is presented for path-planning in a non-uniform spheroid mesh containing exclusion zones, vector and scalar fields. The mesh models physical environments such as ocean regions, together with a…Read more on Path-Planning on a Spherical Surface with Disturbances and Exclusion Zones
18 March, 2025 by Hannah Moulton, Lloyd Peck, Peter Convey, Peter Fretwell
Algal blooms play important roles in physical and biological processes on glacial surfaces. Despite this, their occurrence and impacts within an Antarctic context remain understudied. Here, we present evidence of…Read more on Surface darkening by abundant and diverse algae on an Antarctic ice cap
14 March, 2025 by Peter Convey
A major natural route of dispersal to Antarctica is often assumed to be atmospheric transport, although few studies have documented this in detail. Aerial dispersal to Antarctica is very challenging…10 March, 2025 by Peter Convey
Background and Methods: We assessed the prokaryotic and eukaryotic diversity present in non-vegetated and vegetated soils on King George Island, Maritime Antarctic, in combination with measurements of carbon dioxide fluxes.…6 March, 2025 by Peter Convey
In the extreme conditions of Antarctica two native vascular plants are present, Colobanthus quitensis (Kunth) Bartl. (Caryophyllaceae) and Deschampsia antarctica Desv. (Poaceae), distributed along the western Antarctic Peninsula and the…1 March, 2025 by Peter Convey
Polar microalgae are microscopic organisms adapted to survive in cold and extreme habitats such as sea-ice, glaciers, lakes and snow. These microorganisms provide an essential basis as primary food sources…Read more on Adaptations, Cultivation, and Commercial Prospects of Polar Microalgae
25 February, 2025 by Alison McLaren, Louise Sime, Qinggang Gao
There is an increasing need to understand how water is cycled and transported within the atmosphere to aid water management. Here, atmospheric water tracers are added to the Met Office…Read more on Implementation of Water Tracers in the Met Office Unified Model [EGUsphere preprint]
12 February, 2025 by Andrew Kavanagh, Jade Reidy, Jade Reidy
The mesosphere/lower-thermosphere/ionosphere (MLTI) region is a critical boundary in the coupling of the atmosphere, climate and space weather, however it is one of the least understood regions, making it hard…12 February, 2025 by Peter Convey
The Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica, is a unique insect endemic to Antarctica. It has a 2-year life cycle, with larvae overwintering in two different instars and adults emerging the following…
