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Quantarctica, an integrated mapping environment for Antarctica, the Southern Ocean, and sub-Antarctic islands

1 June, 2021 by Huw Griffiths

Quantarctica (https://www.npolar.no/quantarctica) is a geospatial data package, analysis environment, and visualization platform for the Antarctic Continent, Southern Ocean (>40oS), and sub-Antarctic islands. Quantarctica works with the free, cross-platform Geographical Information…

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Inhomogeneity of the surface air temperature record from Halley, Antarctica

1 June, 2021 by Andrew Orr, Gareth Marshall, Hua Lu, Scott Hosking, John King, John Turner, Steve Colwell, Tony Phillips

Commencing in 1956, observations made at Halley Research Station, Antarctica provide one of the longest continuous series of near-surface temperature observations from the Antarctic continent. Since few other records of…

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International response under the Antarctic Treaty System to the establishment of a non-native fly in Antarctica

1 June, 2021 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey

Antarctica currently has few non-native species, compared to other regions of the planet, due to the continent’s isolation, extreme climatic conditions and the lack of habitat. However, human activity, particularly…

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Ecosystem services in Antarctica: Global assessment of the current state, future challenges and managing opportunities

1 June, 2021 by Kevin Hughes, Susie Grant

Antarctic ecosystem services are rich and diverse and include global climate modulation, biodiversity and habitat protection, cultural heritage, scientific knowledge, education and recreation as well as the extraction of marine…

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Local- and large-scale drivers of variability in the coastal freshwater budget of the Western Antarctic Peninsula

1 June, 2021 by Hugh Venables, Alexander Brearley, Mark Barham, Michael Meredith

The west Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is a region of marked climatic variability, exhibiting strong changes in sea ice extent, retreat of most of its glaciers, and shifts in the amount…

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Developing UAV monitoring of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands’ iconic land-based marine predators

1 June, 2021 by Eugene Murphy, John Dickens, Martin Collins, Philip Hollyman, Philip Trathan, John Dickens

Many remote islands present barriers to effective wildlife monitoring in terms of challenging terrain and frequency of visits. The sub-Antarctic islands of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are…

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Marine genetic resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction: Promoting marine scientific research and enabling equitable benefit sharing

31 May, 2021 by Katrin Linse

Growing human activity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) is driving increasing impacts on the biodiversity of this vast area of the ocean. As a result, the United Nations General…

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Improved estimates of preindustrial biomass burning reduce the magnitude of aerosol climate forcing in the Southern Hemisphere.

28 May, 2021 by Robert Mulvaney

Fire plays a pivotal role in shaping terrestrial ecosystems and the chemical composition of the atmosphere and thus influences Earth’s climate. The trend and magnitude of fire activity over the…

Read more on Improved estimates of preindustrial biomass burning reduce the magnitude of aerosol climate forcing in the Southern Hemisphere.

Yellowfin tuna behavioural ecology and catchability in the South Atlantic: The right place at the right time (and depth).

28 May, 2021 by Martin Collins

The yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares: YFT) is a widely distributed, migratory species that supports valuable commercial fisheries. Landings of YFT are seasonally and spatially variable, reflecting changes in their availability…

Read more on Yellowfin tuna behavioural ecology and catchability in the South Atlantic: The right place at the right time (and depth).

The use of response surface methodology as a statistical tool for the optimisation of waste and pure canola oil biodegradation by Antarctic soil bacteria

20 May, 2021 by Peter Convey

Hydrocarbons can cause pollution to Antarctic terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, both through accidental release and the discharge of waste cooking oil in grey water. Such pollutants can persist for long…

Read more on The use of response surface methodology as a statistical tool for the optimisation of waste and pure canola oil biodegradation by Antarctic soil bacteria

Is our dynamical understanding of the circulation changes associated with the Antarctic ozone hole sensitive to the choice of reanalysis dataset?

18 May, 2021 by Andrew Orr, Gareth Marshall, Hua Lu, Thomas Bracegirdle

This study quantifies differences among four widely used atmospheric reanalysis datasets (ERA5, JRA-55, MERRA-2, and CFSR) in their representation of the dynamical changes induced by springtime polar stratospheric ozone depletion…

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Wind variations in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere near 60°S latitude during the 2019 Antarctic sudden stratospheric warming

7 May, 2021 by Tracy Moffat-Griffin

Sudden Stratospheric Warmings (SSWs) could act as an important mediator in the vertical coupling of atmospheric regions and dramatic variations in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) in response to…

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First record of the cyanobacterial genus Wilmottia (Coleofasciculaceae, Oscillatoriales) from the South Orkney Islands (Antarctica)

6 May, 2021 by Peter Convey

Two cyanobacterial morphotypes isolated from Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, maritime Antarctica were characterised using a polyphasic approach combining morphological, cytological and molecular analyses. These analyses showed that the strains…

Read more on First record of the cyanobacterial genus Wilmottia (Coleofasciculaceae, Oscillatoriales) from the South Orkney Islands (Antarctica)

Comparison of the oxygen isotope signatures in speleothem records and iHadCM3 model simulations for the last millennium

5 May, 2021 by Louise Sime

Improving the understanding of changes in the mean and variability of climate variables as well as their interrelation is crucial for reliable climate change projections. Comparisons between general circulation models…

Read more on Comparison of the oxygen isotope signatures in speleothem records and iHadCM3 model simulations for the last millennium

Using a sclerochronological approach to determine a climate-growth relationship for waved whelk, Buccinum undatum, in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic

5 May, 2021 by Philip Hollyman

Using growth rings observed in statoliths, the size-at-age relationship was modeled for waved whelk (Buccinum undatum) populations within the Mid-Atlantic Bight. A total of 45 sites in the Mid-Atlantic were…

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Anisotropy parameterization development and evaluation for glacier surface albedo retrieval from satellite observations.

28 April, 2021 by Michael McCarthy, Michael McCarthy

Glacier albedo determines the net shortwave radiation absorbed at the glacier surface and plays a crucial role in glacier energy and mass balance. Remote sensing techniques are efficient means to…

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Body mass and behaviour of stranded harbour seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina) pups during the peak pupping season in Co. Down, north-east Ireland

22 April, 2021 by Kayleigh Jones

Concerns have recently been raised as to whether small harbour seal pups found alone are genuine 'orphans', i.e. pups permanently separated from their mother. We present records of body mass…

Read more on Body mass and behaviour of stranded harbour seal (Phoca vitulina vitulina) pups during the peak pupping season in Co. Down, north-east Ireland

Towards implementing artificial intelligence post-processing in weather and climate: Proposed actions from the Oxford 2019 workshop

5 April, 2021 by Scott Hosking

The most mature aspect of applying artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) to problems in the atmospheric sciences is likely post-processing of model output. This article provides some history and current…

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Stable isotopes demonstrate intraspecific variation in habitat use and trophic level of non‐breeding albatrosses

1 April, 2021 by Richard Phillips, William Mills

The non‐breeding period is critical for restoration of body condition and self‐maintenance in albatrosses, yet detailed information on diet and distribution during this stage of the annual cycle is lacking…

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Morphological changes to the terminus of a maritime glacier during advance and retreat phases: Fox Glacier/Te Moeka o Tuawe, New Zealand

1 April, 2021 by Oliver Marsh

Fox Glacier/Te Moeka o Tuawe is a fast-responding maritime glacier that has undergone multiple advance and retreat phases during recent decades. Here we use a combination of repeat photography, Structure…

Read more on Morphological changes to the terminus of a maritime glacier during advance and retreat phases: Fox Glacier/Te Moeka o Tuawe, New Zealand

A revised interpretation of the Chon Aike magmatic province: Active margin origin and implications for the opening of the Weddell Sea

1 April, 2021 by Teal Riley

Late Triassic – Jurassic igneous rocks of the Antarctic Peninsula and Patagonia provide evidence for the evolution of the margin of southwestern Gondwana. We present new geochronological (LAICP-MS zircon U-Pb…

Read more on A revised interpretation of the Chon Aike magmatic province: Active margin origin and implications for the opening of the Weddell Sea

Un-crewed aerial vehicle population survey of three sympatrically breeding seabird species at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands

1 April, 2021 by Andrew Wood, Michael Dunn, Norman Ratcliffe, Philip Trathan, Stacey Adlard

Surveying seabirds in polar latitudes can be challenging due to sparse human populations, lack of infrastructure and the risk of disturbance to wildlife or damage to habitats. Counting populations using…

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Not all icequakes are created equal: basal icequakes suggest diverse bed deformation mechanisms at Rutford Ice Stream, West Antarctica

26 March, 2021 by Alex Brisbourne, Andy Smith, Sofia-Katerina Kufner

Microseismicity, induced by the sliding of a glacier over its bed, can be used to characterize frictional properties of the ice‐bed interface, which are a key parameter controlling ice stream…

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Comparing electron precipitation fluxes calculated from pitch angle diffusion coefficients to LEO satellite observations

22 March, 2021 by Emma Woodfield, Jade Reidy, Johnathan Ross, Mark Clilverd, Nigel Meredith, Richard Horne, Sarah Glauert, Jade Reidy

Particle precipitation is a loss mechanism from the Radiation Belts whereby particles trapped by the Earth’s magnetic field are scattered into the loss cone due to wave‐particle interactions. Energetic electron…

Read more on Comparing electron precipitation fluxes calculated from pitch angle diffusion coefficients to LEO satellite observations

Magnetic conjugacy of Pc1 waves and isolated proton precipitation at subauroral latitudes: Importance of ionosphere as intensity modulation region

16 March, 2021 by Richard Horne

Pc1 geomagnetic pulsations, equivalent to electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves in the magnetosphere, display a specific amplitude modulation, though the region of the modulation remains an open issue. To classify whether…

Read more on Magnetic conjugacy of Pc1 waves and isolated proton precipitation at subauroral latitudes: Importance of ionosphere as intensity modulation region

The Roland von Glasow Air-Sea-Ice Chamber (RvG-ASIC): an experimental facility for studying ocean–sea-ice–atmosphere interactions

5 March, 2021 by James France

Sea ice is difficult, expensive, and potentially dangerous to observe in nature. The remoteness of the Arctic and Southern Oceans complicates sampling logistics, while the heterogeneous nature of sea ice…

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A refined method to analyse insoluble particulate matter in ice cores, and its application to diatom sampling in the Antarctic Peninsula

5 March, 2021 by Claire Allen, Dieter Tetzner, Liz Thomas

The insoluble particulate matter deposited on ice sheets provide key information to reconstruct past climate. The low concentration of some insoluble particulate matter, such as terrigenous particles and microfossils, challenges…

Read more on A refined method to analyse insoluble particulate matter in ice cores, and its application to diatom sampling in the Antarctic Peninsula