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Southern Weddell Sea shelf edge geomorphology: Implications for gully formation by the overflow of high-salinity water
1 December, 2012 by Deb Shoosmith, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Robert Larter
Submarine gullies are the most common morphological features observed on Antarctic continental slopes. The processes forming these gullies, however, remain poorly constrained. In some areas, gully heads incise the continental…Representation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the CMIP5 climate models and future changes under warming scenarios
1 December, 2012 by Andrew Meijers, Emily Shuckburgh, Jean-Baptiste Sallee, Thomas Bracegirdle
The representation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) in the fifth Coupled Models Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) is generally improved over CMIP3. The range of modeled transports in the historical (1976–2006)…Chorus, ECH, and Z mode emissions observed at Jupiter and Saturn and possible electron acceleration
1 December, 2012 by Emma Woodfield, Richard Horne
In this paper we compare and contrast chorus, electron cyclotron harmonics (ECH), and Z mode emissions observed at Jupiter and Saturn and relate them to recent work on electron acceleration…Iodine emissions from the sea ice of the Weddell Sea
27 November, 2012 by Howard Roscoe
Iodine compounds were measured above, below and within the sea ice of the Weddell Sea during a cruise in 2009, to make progress in elucidating the mechanism of local enhancement…Read more on Iodine emissions from the sea ice of the Weddell Sea
Automated ice-core layer-counting with strong univariate signals
22 November, 2012 by Eric Wolff, Liz Thomas
We present an automated process for determining the annual layer chronology of an ice-core with a strong annual signal, utilising the hydrogen peroxide record from an Antarctic Peninsula ice-core as…Read more on Automated ice-core layer-counting with strong univariate signals
Long-term trends in geomagnetic daily variation
2 November, 2012 by Emma Woodfield
Long-term changes in the magnetic environment of the Earth are of interest to those studying climate change. To this end we examine long-term changes in daily variation as derived from…Read more on Long-term trends in geomagnetic daily variation
Geomagnetic and Solar Variability and Natural Climate Change
24 October, 2012 by Mark Clilverd
The Earth's magnetic field varies over many time scales. Whilst the slow secular variation of the strength and direction of the field over years to centuries is governed by processes…Read more on Geomagnetic and Solar Variability and Natural Climate Change
A new 100-m Digital Elevation Model of the Antarctic Peninsula derived from ASTER Global DEM: methods and accuracy assessment
18 October, 2012 by David Vaughan
A high resolution surface topography Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is required to underpin studies of the complex glacier system on the Antarctic Peninsula. A complete DEM with better than 200m…Ocean circulation beneath Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica from in situ observations
16 October, 2012 by Emily Venables, Keith Makinson, Keith Nicholls
Hot-water drilled access holes were used to obtain oceanographic data from beneath two sites on Larsen C Ice Shelf, one in the north and one in the south. At both…Read more on Ocean circulation beneath Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica from in situ observations
Possible dynamical mechanisms for Southern Hemisphere climate change due to the ozone hole
1 October, 2012 by Andrew Orr, Scott Hosking, Thomas Bracegirdle, Tony Phillips
The authors report a hypothesis for the dynamical mechanisms responsible for the strengthening of the Southern Hemisphere circumpolar winds from the lower stratosphere to the surface due to the ozone…Global model of lower band and upper band chorus from multiple satellite observations
1 October, 2012 by Nigel Meredith, Richard Horne
Gyroresonant wave particle interactions with whistler mode chorus play a fundamental role in the dynamics of the Earth’s radiation belts and inner magnetosphere, affecting both the acceleration and loss of…Read more on Global model of lower band and upper band chorus from multiple satellite observations
Tropical daytime lower D-region dependence on sunspot number
1 October, 2012 by Mark Clilverd
Observed phases and amplitudes of VLF radio signals propagating on (near) tropical all-sea paths, both short, ∼300 km, and long, ∼10 Mm, are used to find daytime parameter changes for…Read more on Tropical daytime lower D-region dependence on sunspot number
Can we predict the duration of an interglacial?
24 September, 2012 by Eric Wolff
Differences in the duration of interglacials have long been apparent in palaeoclimate records of the Late and Middle Pleistocene. However, a systematic evaluation of such differences has been hampered by…Read more on Can we predict the duration of an interglacial?
Topological isomorphisms of human brain and financial market networks
15 September, 2012
Although metaphorical and conceptual connections between the human brain and the financial markets have often been drawn, rigorous physical or mathematical underpinnings of this analogy remain largely unexplored. Here, we…Read more on Topological isomorphisms of human brain and financial market networks
Humpback whales wintering at Pitcairn Island, South Pacific
1 September, 2012 by Catharine Horswill, Jennifer Jackson
Here we present the first documentation of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Pitcairn Island region. Land-based surveys were conducted from Pitcairn Island from June 2007 to August 2007 in…Read more on Humpback whales wintering at Pitcairn Island, South Pacific
Rates of assay success and genotyping error when single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping in non-model organisms: a case study in the Antarctic fur seal
1 September, 2012 by Jaume Forcada, Melody Clark
Although single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are increasingly being recognized as powerful molecular markers, their application to non-model organisms can bring significant challenges. Among these are imperfect conversion rates of assays…Carbon isotope evidence for recent climate-related enhancement of CO2 assimilation and peat accumulation rates in Antarctica
1 September, 2012 by Dominic Hodgson, Peter Convey
Signy Island, maritime Antarctic, lies within the region of the Southern Hemisphere that is currently experiencing the most rapid rates of environmental change. In this study, peat cores up to…Subglacial melt channels and fracture in the floating part of Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica
1 September, 2012 by Adrian Jenkins, David Vaughan, Hilmar Gudmundsson, Hugh Corr, Pierre Dutrieux
A dense grid of ice-penetrating radar sections acquired over Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica has revealed a network of sinuous subglacial channels, typically 500 m to 3 km wide, and…Seasonal inflow of warm water onto the southern Weddell Sea continental shelf, Antarctica
1 September, 2012 by Keith Makinson, Keith Nicholls
To capture the austral summer to winter transition in water mass properties over the southern Weddell Sea continental shelf and slope region, 19 Weddell seals were tagged with miniaturized conductivity–temperature–depth…Mapping unstable manifolds using drifters/floats in a Southern Ocean field campaign
1 September, 2012 by Emily Shuckburgh
Ideas from dynamical systems theory have been used in an observational field campaign in the Southern Ocean to provide information on the mixing structure of the flow. Instantaneous snapshops of…Read more on Mapping unstable manifolds using drifters/floats in a Southern Ocean field campaign
Climate-induced change in biogenic bromine emissions from the Antarctic marine biosphere
25 August, 2012 by Andrew Clarke, Terri Souster, Hugh Venables, Michael Meredith, Terri Souster
Climate change and human activities are expected to have a major impact on the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems and the biogeochemical cycles they mediate in the coming years.…Estimating the frequency of extremely energetic solar events, based on solar, stellar, lunar, and terrestrial records
9 August, 2012 by Eric Wolff
The most powerful explosions on the Sun – in the form of bright flares, intense storms of solar energetic particles (SEPs), and fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – drive the…A global picture of the first abrupt climatic event occurring during the last glacial inception
4 August, 2012 by Emilie Capron
The orbital-scale transition from the last interglacial to glacial climate corresponds to the progressive organization of global millennial-scale climate variability. Here, we investigate the structure and the global fingerprint of…Foraging strategies of male Adélie penguins during their first incubation trip in relation to environmental conditions
1 August, 2012 by Andrew Meijers
Knowledge of habitat use by top marine predators in response to environmental conditions is crucial in the current context of global changes occurring in the Southern Ocean. We examined the…Regulation of Virus Neutralization and the Persistent Fraction by TRIM21
1 August, 2012 by Rosie Williams
Despite a central role in immunity, antibody neutralization of virus infection is poorly understood. Here we show how the neutralization and persistence of adenovirus type 5, a prevalent nonenveloped human…Read more on Regulation of Virus Neutralization and the Persistent Fraction by TRIM21
An examination of inter-hemispheric conjugacy in a subauroral polarization stream
1 August, 2012 by Mervyn Freeman
During geomagnetically disturbed conditions the midlatitude ionosphere is subject to intense poleward directed electric fields in the dusk-midnight sector. These electric fields lead to the generation of a latitudinally narrow…Read more on An examination of inter-hemispheric conjugacy in a subauroral polarization stream
Slow arm regeneration in the Antarctic brittle star Ophiur crassa (Echinodermata, Ophiuroidea)
19 July, 2012 by Terri Souster, Melody Clark, Terri Souster
Regeneration of arms in brittle stars is thought to proceed slowly in low temperature environments. Here a survey of natural arm damage and arm regeneration rates is documented in the…Description and quantification of pteropod shell dissolution: a sensitive bioindicator of ocean acidification
1 July, 2012 by Geraint Tarling, Sophie Fielding
Anthropogenic ocean acidification is likely to have negative effects on marine calcifying organisms, such as shelled pteropods, by promoting dissolution of aragonite shells. Study of shell dissolution requires an accurate…Mindanao current/undercurrent in an eddy-resolving GCM
29 June, 2012 by Pierre Dutrieux
Analysis of results from an eddy-resolving general circulation model showed two subsurface velocity cores in the mean within the depth range between 400 and 1000 m below the Mindanao Current…Read more on Mindanao current/undercurrent in an eddy-resolving GCM
Controls on the tropospheric oxidizing capacity during an idealized Dansgaard-Oeschger event, and their implications for the rapid rises in atmospheric methane during the last glacial period
28 June, 2012 by Eric Wolff
The ice core record reveals large variations in the concentration of atmospheric methane, [CH4], over the last 800 kyr. Amongst the most striking natural features are the large, rapid rises…Rapid subglacial erosion beneath Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica
28 June, 2012 by Andy Smith, Tom Jordan
We present measurements of ice thickness, gravimetry and surface elevation on Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica, separated by a period of 49 years. At one station, on the main trunk…Read more on Rapid subglacial erosion beneath Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica
Volcanic synchronisation between the EPICA Dome C and Vostok ice cores (Antarctica) 0–145 kyr BP
8 June, 2012 by Eric Wolff
This study aims at refining the synchronisation between the EPICA Dome C (EDC) and Vostok ice cores in the time interval 0–145 kyr BP by using the volcanic signatures. 102…Jets and topography: jet transitions and the impact on transport in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current
1 June, 2012 by Jean-Baptiste Sallee
The Southern Ocean’s Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) naturally lends itself to interpretations using a zonally averaged framework. Yet, navigation around steep and complicated bathymetric obstacles suggests that local dynamics may…Results of the Marine Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project, MISMIP
30 May, 2012 by Hilmar Gudmundsson, Richard Hindmarsh, Richard Hindmarsh
Predictions of marine ice-sheet behaviour require models that are able to robustly simulate grounding line migration. We present results of an intercomparison exercise for marine ice-sheet models. Verification is effected…Read more on Results of the Marine Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project, MISMIP
Precipitating radiation belt electrons and enhancements of mesospheric hydroxyl during 2004–2009
16 May, 2012 by Mark Clilverd
Energetic particle precipitation leads to enhancement of odd hydrogen (HOx) below 80 km altitude through water cluster ion chemistry. Using measurements from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS/Aura) and Medium Energy…QBO modulation of traveling planetary waves during northern winter
16 May, 2012 by Hua Lu, Ingrid Cnossen
This study analyzes geopotential height data from the ERA-40 and ERA-Interim reanalyses for the period of 1958–2009 to provide some new insights on the stratospheric Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) modulation of…Read more on QBO modulation of traveling planetary waves during northern winter
Research priorities for seabirds: improving conservation and management in the 21st century
8 May, 2012 by Richard Phillips
Seabirds are facing a growing number of threats in both terrestrial and marine habitats, and many populations have experienced dramatic changes over past decades. Years of seabird research have improved…Modeling the properties of plasmaspheric hiss: 2. Dependence on the plasma density distribution
1 May, 2012 by Richard Horne
Wave propagation plays an important role in linking the chorus source in the plasma trough region and the hiss emission in the plasmasphere. We investigate the dependence of plasmaspheric hiss…Modeling the properties of plasmaspheric hiss: 1. Dependence on chorus wave emission
1 May, 2012 by Richard Horne
There is increasing evidence that plasmaspheric hiss is formed by the evolution of a portion of chorus waves that are excited in the plasmatrough and propagate into the plasmasphere. Comparison…Read more on Modeling the properties of plasmaspheric hiss: 1. Dependence on chorus wave emission
Ionospheric scintillation over Antarctica during the storm of 5-6 April 2010
1 May, 2012 by David Maxfield, Michael Rose
On 5 April 2010 a coronal mass ejection produced a travelling solar wind shock front that impacted the Earth's magnetosphere, producing the largest geomagnetic storm of 2010. The storm resulted…Read more on Ionospheric scintillation over Antarctica during the storm of 5-6 April 2010
Atmosphere-ionosphere conductivity enhancements during a hard solar energetic particle event
1 May, 2012
On 20 January 2005, a solar energetic particle (SEP) event caused the largest recorded solar proton ground level event since 1956. Serendipitously, a balloon-borne experiment intended to measure effects of…Trend and abrupt changes in long-term geomagnetic indices
1 May, 2012 by Hua Lu, Mark Clilverd
Advanced statistical methods are employed to analyze three long-term time series of geomagnetic activity indices (aa, IHV, and IDV) together with sunspot number (Rz) to examine whether or not the…Read more on Trend and abrupt changes in long-term geomagnetic indices
Estimating long-term survival temperatures at the assemblage Level in the marine environment: Towards macrophysiology
11 April, 2012 by Lloyd Peck, Michael Thorne, Simon Morley
Defining ecologically relevant upper temperature limits of species is important in the context of environmental change. The approach used in the present paper estimates the relationship between rates of temperature…Albedo of the ice covered Weddell and Bellingshausen Seas
11 April, 2012 by Alexandra Weiss, John King, Thomas Lachlan-Cope
This study investigates the surface albedo of the sea ice areas adjacent to the Antarctic Peninsula during the austral summer. Aircraft measurements of the surface albedo, which were conducted in…Read more on Albedo of the ice covered Weddell and Bellingshausen Seas
A compilation of parameters for a krill-fishery predator model of the Scotia Sea and Antarctic Peninsula (working paper version)
2 April, 2012 by Sally Thorpe, Simeon Hill
We describe the compilation and derivation of parameters for use in krill-fishery-predator models of the Scotia Sea – Antarctic Peninsula region. The primary aim is to provide input for the…Reference observations for validating and tuning operating models for krill fishery management in Area 48
2 April, 2012 by Simeon Hill
In 2007 WG-SAM defined a set of reference observations for validating and tuning proposed models to evaluate krill catch allocation options for Area 48 (the SAM calendar). The observations, which…Longitudinal surface structures (flowstripes) on Antarctic glaciers
30 March, 2012 by Hilmar Gudmundsson
Longitudinal surface structures (“flowstripes”) are common on many glaciers but their origin and significance are poorly understood. In this paper we present observations of the development of these longitudinal structures…Read more on Longitudinal surface structures (flowstripes) on Antarctic glaciers
Factors influencing the stable carbon isotopic composition of suspended and sinking organic matter in the coastal Antarctic sea ice environment
27 March, 2012 by Andrew Clarke
A high resolution time-series analysis of stable carbon isotopic signatures in particulate organic carbon (δ13CPOC) and associated biogeochemical parameters in sea ice and surface waters provides an insight into the…Near-surface climate and surface energy budget of Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctic Peninsula
27 March, 2012 by John King
Data collected by two automatic weather stations (AWS) on the Larsen C ice shelf, Antarctica, between 22 January 2009 and 1 February 2011 are analyzed and used as input for…Persistent influence of ice sheet melting on high northern latitude climate during the early Last Interglacial
14 March, 2012 by Emilie Capron
Although the Last Interglacial (LIG) is often considered as a possible analogue for future climate in high latitudes, its precise climate evolution and associated causes remain uncertain. Here we compile…Observations of Thermohaline Convection adjacent to Brunt Ice Shelf
1 March, 2012 by Keith Makinson, Keith Nicholls
Observations were made of ocean microstructure and horizontal currents adjacent to Brunt Ice Shelf in the southeastern Weddell Sea. Periods of in situ supercooled water extending as deep as 65…Read more on Observations of Thermohaline Convection adjacent to Brunt Ice Shelf
The annual and longitudinal variations in plasmaspheric ion density
1 March, 2012 by Mark Clilverd
This paper shows that at solar maximum, equatorial ion densities at L = 2.5 are substantially higher at American longitudes in the December months than in the June months. This…Read more on The annual and longitudinal variations in plasmaspheric ion density
On the nature of a short-period mesospheric gravity wave propagation over Halley, Antarctica
1 March, 2012
As part of a collaborative program between British Antarctic Survey and Utah State University, measurements were made using an all-sky airglow imager located at the U.K. Halley Station (76°S, 27°W)…The existence of the edge region of the Antarctic stratospheric vortex
27 February, 2012 by Emily Shuckburgh, Howard Roscoe
New evidence from models, ozone measurements and balloon trajectories is presented that confirms the existence of a broad cohesive region of air at the edge of the Antarctic stratospheric vortex…Read more on The existence of the edge region of the Antarctic stratospheric vortex
Southern Ocean Deep Benthic Biodiversity
17 February, 2012 by Andrew Clarke, Eugene Murphy, Katrin Linse, Nadine Johnston
The deep sea is the largest environment on the planet, the least well known and one of the least studied. It contains extremely large habitats, and millions of km2 of…Combined THEMIS and ground-based observations of a pair of substorm-associated electron precipitation events
1 February, 2012 by Mark Clilverd, Neil Cobbett
Using ground-based subionospheric radio wave propagation data from two very low frequency (VLF) receiver sites, riometer absorption data, and THEMIS satellite observations, we examine in detail energetic electron precipitation (EEP)…Towards orbital dating of the EPICA Dome C ice core using δO2/N2
31 January, 2012 by Emilie Capron
Based on a composite of several measurement series performed on ice samples stored at −25 °C or −50 °C, we present and discuss the first δO2/N2 record of trapped air…Read more on Towards orbital dating of the EPICA Dome C ice core using δO2/N2
Basal crevasses in Larsen C Ice Shelf and implications for their global abundance
24 January, 2012 by Ed King
Basal crevasses extend upwards from the base of ice bodies and can penetrate more than halfway through the ice column under conditions found commonly on ice shelves. As a result,…Read more on Basal crevasses in Larsen C Ice Shelf and implications for their global abundance
Summertime NOx measurements during the CHABLIS campaign: can source and sink estimates unravel observed diurnal cycles?
19 January, 2012 by Anna Jones, Eric Wolff, Howard Roscoe
NOx measurements were conducted at the Halley Research Station, coastal Antarctica, during the austral summer period 1 January–10 February 2005. A clear NOx diurnal cycle was observed with minimum concentrations…Long-Term Survival of Hydrated Resting Eggs from Brachionus plicatilis
9 January, 2012 by Michael Thorne, Melody Clark
Several organisms display dormancy and developmental arrest at embryonic stages. Long-term survival in the dormant form is usually associated with desiccation, orthodox plant seeds and Artemia cysts being well documented…Read more on Long-Term Survival of Hydrated Resting Eggs from Brachionus plicatilis
Flexural controls on late Neogene basin evolution in southern McMurdo Sound, Antarctica
1 January, 2012 by Tom Jordan
The basins of southern McMurdo Sound have evolved under the influence of lithospheric flexure induced by the loads of the Erebus Volcanic Province. To characterise these basins, it is important…Read more on Flexural controls on late Neogene basin evolution in southern McMurdo Sound, Antarctica
INTERACT Station Catalogue
1 January, 2012
INTERACT: International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic. The INTERACT network is a one-stop shop for access to research infrastructures in the Arctic and mountain areas of…The Southern Ocean Observing System: Initial science and implementation strategy
1 January, 2012 by Michael Meredith
Executive Summary The Southern Ocean provides the principal connection between the Earth’s ocean basins and between the upper and lower layers of the global ocean circulation. As a result, the…Read more on The Southern Ocean Observing System: Initial science and implementation strategy
Seasonal and spatial dynamics of iron availability in the Scotia Sea
1 January, 2012
The Southern Ocean is the world's largest high nutrient low chlorophyll (HNLC) region. However, satellite images highlight several areas associated with island chains and shallow topographic features which display high…Read more on Seasonal and spatial dynamics of iron availability in the Scotia Sea
Halogen activation via interactions with environmental ice and snow in the polar lower troposphere and other regions
1 January, 2012 by Anna Jones
The role of ice in the formation of chemically active halogens in the environment requires a full understanding because of its role in atmospheric chemistry, including controlling the regional atmospheric…Evolutionary geographic relationships among orthocladine chironomid midges from maritime Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands
1 January, 2012 by Peter Convey
Two species of chironomid midges are currently described in the genus Belgica Jacobs, 1900. Belgica antarctica Jacobs, 1900 is endemic to parts of the maritime Antarctic, and Belgica albipes (Séguy,…Species tree of a recent radiation: The subfamily Delphininae (Cetacea, Mammalia)
1 January, 2012 by Jennifer Jackson
Lineages undergoing rapid radiations provide exceptional opportunities for studying speciation and adaptation, but also represent a challenge for molecular systematics because retention of ancestral polymorphisms and the occurrence of hybridization…Read more on Species tree of a recent radiation: The subfamily Delphininae (Cetacea, Mammalia)
Fitting Euphausia superba into Southern Ocean food-web models: a review of data sources and their limitations
1 January, 2012 by Geraint Tarling, Simeon Hill
This paper aims to provide the overview needed to include krill in food-web models and to guide modellers to key sources of data. It describes the strengths of each method…Variable food absorption by Antarctic krill: Relationships between diet, egestion rate and the composition and sinking rates of their fecal pellets
1 January, 2012 by Paul Geissler, Sophie Fielding
The kinetics of food processing by zooplankton affects both their energy budgets and the biogeochemical fate of their fecal pellets. We sampled 40 schools of krill across the Scotia Sea…An overview of Southern Ocean zooplankton data: abundance, biomass, feeding and functional relationships
1 January, 2012 by Peter Ward
There is an enormous amount of data on Southern Ocean (SO) zooplankton, mostly on their distribution with a minority addressing rate processes. This review aims to summarise these data and…The consolidation and bond strength of rafted sea ice
1 January, 2012
The consolidation and bond strength of rafted sea ice were investigated through a series of experiments undertaken in the Ice Physics Laboratory at the UCL. To simulate a section of…Read more on The consolidation and bond strength of rafted sea ice
Cross-hemisphere migration of a 25 g songbird
1 January, 2012
The northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) is a small (approx. 25 g), insectivorous migrant with one of the largest ranges of any songbird in the world, breeding from the eastern Canadian…The Dynamic Mosaic Disturbance and Development of Antarctic Benthic Communities
1 January, 2012 by Andrew Clarke, David Barnes, Eugene Murphy, Nadine Johnston
The continental shelf is the platform for many of the planet’s most productive ecosystems but it is exposed to high disturbance. At high latitudes, massive grounded ice sheets have extended…Read more on The Dynamic Mosaic Disturbance and Development of Antarctic Benthic Communities
Advances in the in-field detection of microorganisms in ice
1 January, 2012 by David Pearce
The historic view of ice-bound ecosystems has been one of a predominantly lifeless environment, where microorganisms certainly exist but are assumed to be either completely inactive or in a state…Read more on Advances in the in-field detection of microorganisms in ice
The Northern Black Swift: Migration path and wintering area revealed
1 January, 2012
Winter ranges have been identified for most neotropical migrant bird species, those that spend the winter months in Central and South America and summer months in North America. Published accounts…Read more on The Northern Black Swift: Migration path and wintering area revealed
Extensive dissolution of live pteropods in the Southern Ocean
1 January, 2012 by Eugene Murphy, Geraint Tarling, Hugh Venables, Peter Ward, Sophie Fielding
The carbonate chemistry of the surface ocean is rapidly changing with ocean acidification, a result of human activities. In the upper layers of the Southern Ocean, aragonite—a metastable form of…Read more on Extensive dissolution of live pteropods in the Southern Ocean
Population dynamics and biogeochemical significance of Limacina helicina antarctica in the Scotia Sea (Southern Ocean)
1 January, 2012 by Geraint Tarling, Sophie Fielding
Limacina helicina antarctica is a common part of the Southern Ocean zooplankton community but little is known about its life cycle. Here we determine the population structure and standing stock…The global distribution of pteropods and their contribution to carbonate and carbon biomass in the modern ocean
1 January, 2012 by Geraint Tarling
Pteropods are a group of holoplanktonic gastropods for which global biomass distribution patterns remain poorly described. The aim of this study was to collect and synthesise existing pteropod (Gymnosomata, Thecosomata…The biology, ecology and development of fishery management advice for the anomuran crabs at South Georgia (CCAMLR Subarea 48.3)
1 January, 2012 by Mark Belchier
This review summarises the available information on the biology and ecology of the lithodids at South Georgia and provides an overview of the development of a management regime for them.…Inland thinning of West Antarctic Ice Sheet steered along subglacial rifts
1 January, 2012 by Andy Smith, David Vaughan, Ed King, Fausto Ferraccioli, Hamish Pritchard, Robert Larter
Current ice loss from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) accounts for about ten per cent of observed global sea-level rise1. Losses are dominated by dynamic thinning, in which forcings…Read more on Inland thinning of West Antarctic Ice Sheet steered along subglacial rifts
The formation of nonzonal jets over sloped topography
1 January, 2012 by Emma Boland, Emily Shuckburgh
Coherent jets are ubiquitous features of the ocean’s circulation, and their characteristics, such as orientation and energetics, may be influenced by topography. In this study, the authors introduce a large-scale,…Read more on The formation of nonzonal jets over sloped topography
Detection and attribution of Antarctic climate change
1 January, 2012 by Thomas Bracegirdle
The current understanding of climate changes that have occurred in the last 50 years over Antarctica is presented with a focus on: (i) a summer warming of the eastern Antarctic…Read more on Detection and attribution of Antarctic climate change
The reliability of Antarctic tropospheric pressure and temperature in the latest global reanalyses
1 January, 2012 by Gareth Marshall, Thomas Bracegirdle
In this study, surface and radiosonde data from staffed Antarctic observation stations are compared to output from five reanalyses [Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR), 40-yr ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-40), ECMWF Interim…Where might we find evidence of a Last Interglacial West Antarctic ice sheet collapse in Antarctic ice core records?
1 January, 2012 by Eric Wolff
Abundant indirect evidence suggests that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) reduced in size during the Last Interglacial (LIG) compared to the Holocene. This study explores this possibility by comparing,…Permo-Carboniferous conglomerates in the Trinity Peninsula Group at View Point, Antarctic Peninsula : sedimentology, geochronology and isotope evidence for provenance and tectonic setting in Gondwana
1 January, 2012
Field observations from the Trinity Peninsula Group at View Point on the Antarctic Peninsula indicate that thick, southward-younging and overturned clastic sedimentary rocks, comprising unusually coarse conglomeratic lenses within a…Cellular biomarkers to elucidate global warming effects on Antarctic sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri
1 January, 2012 by Lloyd Peck
Global warming is a reality and its effects have been widely studied. However, the consequences for marine invertebrates remain poorly understood. Thus, the present study proposed to evaluate the effect…Tropospheric clouds in Antarctica
1 January, 2012 by Thomas Lachlan-Cope
Compared to other regions, little is known about clouds in Antarctica. This arises in part from the challenging deployment of instrumentation in this remote and harsh environment and from the…Regional imprints of millennial variability during the MIS 3 period around Antarctica
1 January, 2012 by Emilie Capron
The climate of the last glacial Marine Isotopic Stage 3 (MIS3) period is characterized by strong millennial-scale variability with a succession of Dansgaard–Oeschger events first identified in Greenland ice cores…Read more on Regional imprints of millennial variability during the MIS 3 period around Antarctica
Particle Acceleration in the Presence of Weak Turbulence at an X-Type Neutral Point
1 January, 2012
We simulate the likely noisy situation near a reconnection region by superposing many 2D linear reconnection eigenmodes. The superposition of modes on the steady state X-type magnetic field creates multiple…Read more on Particle Acceleration in the Presence of Weak Turbulence at an X-Type Neutral Point