Archives: Publications
Influence of sea‐ice‐derived halogens on atmospheric HOx as observed in springtime coastal Antarctica
30 August, 2019 by Anna Jones, Neil Brough
We present first observations of OH and (HO2 + RO2) carried out in Antarctica outside the summer season. Measurements were made over 23 days in spring at the coastal Antarctic…Temporal variability in foraminiferal morphology and geochemistry at the West Antarctic Peninsula: a sediment trap study
30 August, 2019 by Michael Meredith, Victoria Peck
The West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) exhibits strong spatial and temporal oceanographic variability, resulting in highly heterogeneous biological productivity. Calcifying organisms that live in the waters off the WAP respond to…
Organic compounds in a sub-Antarctic ice core: A potential suite of sea-ice markers
28 August, 2019 by Amy King, Liz Thomas, Sarah Jackson
Investigation of organic compounds in ice cores can potentially unlock a wealth of new information in these climate archives. We present results from the first ever ice core drilled on…Read more on Organic compounds in a sub-Antarctic ice core: A potential suite of sea-ice markers
Reframing the carbon cycle of the subpolar Southern Ocean
28 August, 2019 by Michael Meredith
Global climate is critically sensitive to physical and biogeochemical dynamics in the subpolar Southern Ocean, since it is here that deep, carbon-rich layers of the world ocean outcrop and exchange…Read more on Reframing the carbon cycle of the subpolar Southern Ocean
The response of the ionosphere-thermosphere system to the August 21, 2017 solar eclipse
28 August, 2019 by Ingrid Cnossen
We simulated the effects of the 21 August 2017 total solar eclipse on the ionosphere‐thermosphere system with the Global Ionosphere Thermosphere Model (GITM). The simulations demonstrate that the horizontal neutral…Read more on The response of the ionosphere-thermosphere system to the August 21, 2017 solar eclipse
Thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence measured in marine sediments indicate precipitation changes over northeastern Brazil
28 August, 2019 by Kira Rehfeld
Marine sediment cores offer a great number of proxies for reconstructions of past environmental conditions, such as ocean temperature, salinity, primary productivity, stratification of the upper water column and continental…Characteristics of relativistic microburst intensity from SAMPEX observations
26 August, 2019 by Mark Clilverd
Relativistic electron microbursts are an important electron loss process from the radiation belts into the atmosphere. These precipitation events have been shown to significantly impact the radiation belt fluxes and…Read more on Characteristics of relativistic microburst intensity from SAMPEX observations
The penultimate deglaciation: protocol for Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP) phase 4 transient numerical simulations between 140 and 127 ka, version 1.0
22 August, 2019 by Emilie Capron
The penultimate deglaciation (PDG, ∼138–128 thousand years before present, hereafter ka) is the transition from the penultimate glacial maximum (PGM) to the Last Interglacial (LIG, ∼129–116 ka). The LIG stands out as…Sustained Antarctic Research: A 21st Century Imperative
22 August, 2019 by David Vaughan, Lloyd Peck
The view from the south is, more than ever, dominated by ominous signs of change. Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are intrinsic to the Earth system, and their evolution is…Read more on Sustained Antarctic Research: A 21st Century Imperative
Investigating an unusually large 28-day oscillation in mesospheric temperature over Antarctica using ground-based and satellite measurements
16 August, 2019 by Tracy Moffat-Griffin
The Utah State University (USU) Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (AMTM) was deployed at the Amundsen‐Scott South Pole Station in 2010 to measure OH temperature at ~87 km as part of…
Southern Hemisphere atmospheric blocking in CMIP5 and future changes in the Australia‐New Zealand sector
16 August, 2019 by Thomas Bracegirdle
Many general circulation models fail to capture the observed frequency of atmospheric blocking events in the Northern Hemisphere; however, few studies have examined models in the Southern Hemisphere and those…
Semiautomated detection and mapping of vegetation distribution in the Antarctic environment using spatial-spectral characteristics of WorldView-2 imagery.
15 August, 2019 by Peter Convey, Peter Fretwell
Effective monitoring of changes in the geographic distribution of cryospheric vegetation requires high-resolution and accurate baseline maps. The rationale of the present study is to compare multiple feature extraction approaches…West Antarctic ice loss influenced by internal climate variability and anthropogenic forcing
12 August, 2019 by Adrian Jenkins, Paul Holland, Thomas Bracegirdle
Recent ice loss from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet has been caused by ocean melting of ice shelves in the Amundsen Sea. Eastward wind anomalies at the shelf break enhance…Solar Cell Degradation due to Proton Belt Enhancements During Electric Orbit Raising to GEO
8 August, 2019 by Alexander Lozinski, Richard Horne, Sarah Glauert
The recent introduction of all‐electric propulsion on geosynchronous satellites enables lower‐cost access to space by replacing chemical propellant. However, the time period required to initially raise the satellite to geostationary…
A Framework for the Development, Design and Implementation of a Sustained Arctic Ocean Observing System
8 August, 2019 by Jeremy Wilkinson
Rapid Arctic warming drives profound change in the marine environment that have significant socio-economic impacts within the Arctic and beyond, including climate and weather hazards, food security, transportation, infrastructure planning…
Delivering sustained, coordinated and integrated observations of the Southern Ocean for global impact
8 August, 2019 by Andrew Meijers, Michael Meredith
The Southern Ocean is disproportionately important in its effect on the Earth system, impacting climatic, biogeochemical and ecological systems, which makes recent observed changes to this system cause for global…
Spatial pattern of accumulation at Taylor Dome during Marine Isotope Stage 4: stratigraphic constraints from Taylor Glacier
8 August, 2019 by Thomas Bauska
New ice cores retrieved from the Taylor Glacier (Antarctica) blue ice area contain ice and air spanning the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5–4 transition, a period of global cooling and…
Compensating Changes in the Penetration Depth of Pulse-Limited Radar Altimetry Over the Greenland Ice Sheet
7 August, 2019 by Robert Arthern
Changes in firn properties affect the shape of pulse-limited radar altimeter echoes acquired over the polar ice sheets. We apply a waveform deconvolution model to CryoSat-2 low-resolution mode echoes to…
A rare observation of group prey processing in wild leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx)
5 August, 2019 by James Robbins
Cooperative feeding is often observed among predators with strong social bonds; however, it is unexpected in solitary predators. During 2016, several mass predation events were witnessed in St Andrews Bay…Read more on A rare observation of group prey processing in wild leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx)
Global patterns of species richness in coastal cephalopods
2 August, 2019
Within the context of global climate change and overfishing of fish stocks, there is some evidence that cephalopod populations are benefiting from this changing setting. These invertebrates show enhanced phenotypic…Read more on Global patterns of species richness in coastal cephalopods
Salt-enrichment impact on biomass production in a natural population of peatland dwelling Arcellinida and Euglyphida (testate amoebae)
1 August, 2019 by Bianca Perren, Dominic Hodgson, Stephen Roberts
Unicellular free-living microbial eukaryotes of the order Arcellinida (Tubulinea; Amoebozoa) and Euglyphida (Cercozoa; SAR), commonly termed testate amoebae, colonise almost every freshwater ecosystem on Earth. Patterns in the distribution and…Additive traits lead to feeding advantage and reproductive isolation, promoting homoploid hybrid speciation
1 August, 2019 by Richard Phillips
Speciation through homoploid hybridization (HHS) is considered extremely rare in animals. This is mainly because the establishment of reproductive isolation as a product of hybridization is uncommon. Additionally, many traits…A comprehensive large-scale assessment of fisheries bycatch risk to threatened seabird populations
1 August, 2019 by Andrew Wood, Deborah Pardo, Richard Phillips, Thomas Clay, Thomas Clay
1.Incidental mortality (bycatch) in fisheries remains the greatest threat to many large marine vertebrates and is a major barrier to fisheries sustainability. Robust assessments of bycatch risk are crucial for…
Modeling the influence of the Weddell Polynya on the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf cavity
1 August, 2019 by Adrian Jenkins, Dave Munday, Kaitlin Naughten, Keith Nicholls, Paul Holland, Ruth Mugford
Open-ocean polynyas in the Weddell Sea of Antarctica are the product of deep convection, which transports Warm Deep Water (WDW) to the surface and melts sea ice or prevents its…Read more on Modeling the influence of the Weddell Polynya on the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf cavity
Turbulence observations beneath Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica
1 August, 2019 by Keith Nicholls, Peter Davis
Increased ocean‐driven basal melting beneath Antarctic ice shelves causes grounded ice to flow into the ocean at an accelerated rate, with consequences for global sea level. The turbulent transfer of…Read more on Turbulence observations beneath Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica
Observations of surface mass balance on Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica, and the effect of strain history in fast-flowing sections.
1 August, 2019 by Robert Arthern, Rebecca Tuckwell, Robert Mulvaney
Surface mass balance (SMB) is the net input of mass on a glacier's upper surface, composed of snow deposition, melt and erosion processes, and is a major contributor to the…
Consistent multidecadal variability in global temperature reconstructions and simulations over the Common Era.
1 August, 2019 by Kira Rehfeld
Multidecadal surface temperature changes may be forced by natural as well as anthropogenic factors, or arise unforced from the climate system. Distinguishing these factors is essential for estimating sensitivity to…
Substorm ‐ Ring Current Coupling: A comparison of isolated and compound substorms
1 August, 2019 by Mervyn Freeman
Substorms are a highly variable process, which can occur as an isolated event or as part of a sequence of multiple substorms (compound substorms). In this study we identify how…Read more on Substorm ‐ Ring Current Coupling: A comparison of isolated and compound substorms
Direction of arrival assessment in airborne ice-sounding synthetic aperture radar
1 August, 2019 by Hugh Corr
We propose an algorithm to evaluate the direction of arrival (DoA) estimation in the cross-track dimension of an airborne pulsed ice-sounding synthetic aperture radar (SAR), formed by a non-linear array.…Read more on Direction of arrival assessment in airborne ice-sounding synthetic aperture radar
Altitudinal gradients in Magellanic sub-Antarctic lagoons: the effect of elevation on freshwater macroinvertebrate diversity and distribution.
29 July, 2019 by Peter Convey
Background. The study of altitudinal gradients provides insights about species diversity, distribution patterns and related drivers. The Magellanic sub-Antarctic ecoregion has a steep elevational gradient, peaking at around 1,000 m…
Lack of long-term acclimation in Antarctic encrusting species suggests vulnerability to warming
29 July, 2019 by Leyre Villota Nieva, Lloyd Peck, Melody Clark
Marine encrusting communities play vital roles in benthic ecosystems and have major economic implications with regards to biofouling. However, their ability to persist under projected warming scenarios remains poorly understood…
Timescales of Birkeland Currents driven by the IMF
28 July, 2019 by Mervyn Freeman, Rob Shore
We obtain current densities from the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment (AMPERE), alongside By and Bz from the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) for March 2010. For each AMPERE…Read more on Timescales of Birkeland Currents driven by the IMF
Southern Ocean circulation and frontal dynamics from Cryosat-2 a long-track radar altimetry
24 July, 2019 by Erik Mackie
The Southern Ocean is a climatically important region, and its large-scale circulation influences climate and climate change globally. Through the uptake of carbon and heat from the atmosphere, and through…
Habitat partitioning in Antarctic krill: Spawning hotspots and nursery areas
24 July, 2019 by Geraint Tarling, Simeon Hill
Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, have a circumpolar distribution but are concentrated within the south-west Atlantic sector, where they support a unique food web and a commercial fishery. Within this sector,…Read more on Habitat partitioning in Antarctic krill: Spawning hotspots and nursery areas
Rapid electron acceleration in low density regions of Saturn’s radiation belt by whistler mode chorus waves
23 July, 2019 by Emma Woodfield, Richard Horne, Sarah Glauert
Electron acceleration at Saturn due to whistler mode chorus waves has previously been assumed to be ineffective; new data closer to the planet shows it can be very rapid (factor…Spatial variation in the responses of the surface external and induced magnetic field to the solar wind
23 July, 2019 by Mervyn Freeman, Rob Shore
We analyse the spatial variation in the response of the surface geomagnetic field (or the equivalent ionospheric current) to variations in the solar wind. Specifically, we regress a reanalysis of…Heterozygosity at neutral and immune loci is not associated with neonatal mortality due to microbial infection in Antarctic fur seals
22 July, 2019 by Jaume Forcada
Numerous studies have reported correlations between the heterozygosity of genetic markers and fitness. These heterozygosity–fitness correlations (HFCs) play a central role in evolutionary and conservation biology, yet their mechanistic basis…Rapid iceberg calving following removal of tightly packed pro-glacial mélange
19 July, 2019 by Irena Vankova
Iceberg calving is a major contributor to Greenland’s ice mass loss. Pro-glacial mélange (a mixture of sea ice, icebergs, and snow) may be tightly packed in the long, narrow fjords…Read more on Rapid iceberg calving following removal of tightly packed pro-glacial mélange
Sex differences in migration and demography of a wide-ranging seabird, the northern gannet
18 July, 2019 by Richard Phillips
Marine vertebrates show a diversity of migration strategies, including sex differences. This may lead to differential demography, but the consequences of such between-sex variation are little understood. Here, we studied…
Past water flow beneath Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers, West Antarctica
17 July, 2019 by James Kirkham, Kelly Hogan, Robert Larter
Outburst floods from subglacial lakes beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet modulate ice flow velocities over periods of months to years. Although subglacial lake drainage events have been observed from satellite…Read more on Past water flow beneath Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers, West Antarctica
Segmented flow coil equilibrator coupled to a proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer for measurements of a broad range of volatile organic compounds in seawater
16 July, 2019 by Anna Jones
We present a technique that utilises a segmented flow coil equilibrator coupled to a proton-transferreaction mass spectrometer to measure a broad range of dissolved volatile organic compounds. Thanks to its…Statistical characteristics of ionospheric hiss waves
16 July, 2019 by Richard Horne
In this study, we use the observations of electromagnetic waves by DEMETER satellite to investigate propagation characteristics of low altitude ionospheric hiss. In an event study, intense hiss wave power…Read more on Statistical characteristics of ionospheric hiss waves
Subglacial geology and geomorphology of the Pensacola‐Pole Basin, East Antarctica
16 July, 2019 by Fausto Ferraccioli, Tom Jordan
The East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) is underlain by a series of low‐lying subglacial sedimentary basins. The extent, geology and basal topography of these sedimentary basins are important boundary conditions…Read more on Subglacial geology and geomorphology of the Pensacola‐Pole Basin, East Antarctica
A new vent limpet in the genus Lepetodrilus (Gastropoda: Lepetodrilidae) from Southern Ocean hydrothermal vent fields showing high phenotypic plasticity
16 July, 2019 by Katrin Linse
The recently discovered hydrothermal vent ecosystems in the Southern Ocean host a suite of vent-endemic species, including lepetodrilid limpets dominating in abundance. Limpets were collected from the chimneys, basalts and…Generation of the Mt Kinabalu granite by crustal contamination of intraplate magma modelled by Equilibrated Major Element Assimilation with Fractional Crystallisation (EME-AFC)
16 July, 2019 by Alex Burton-Johnson
New geochemical data are presented for the composite units of the Mount Kinabalu granitoid intrusion of Borneo and explore discrimination between crustal- and mantlederived granitic magmas. The geochemical data demonstrate…Effects of VLF transmitter waves on the inner belt and slot region
16 July, 2019 by Johnathan Ross, Mark Clilverd, Nigel Meredith, Richard Horne, Sarah Glauert
Signals from very low frequency (VLF) transmitters can leak from the Earth‐ionosphere wave guide into the inner magnetosphere, where they propagate in the whistler mode and contribute to electron dynamics…Read more on Effects of VLF transmitter waves on the inner belt and slot region
Near real-time measurement of snow water equivalent in the Nepal Himalayas.
16 July, 2019 by James Kirkham
Seasonal snow is an important component of the Himalayan hydrological system, but a lack of observations at high altitude hampers understanding and forecasting of water availability in this region. Here,…Read more on Near real-time measurement of snow water equivalent in the Nepal Himalayas.
Is reproductive strategy a key factor in understanding the evolutionary history of Southern Ocean Asteroidea (Echinodermata)?
16 July, 2019 by Chester Sands
Life traits such as reproductive strategy can be determining factors of species evolutionary history and explain the resulting diversity patterns. This can be investigated using phylogeographic analyses of genetic units.…
Evidence for a lava lake on Mt. Michael volcano, Saunders Island (South Sandwich Islands) from Landsat, Sentinel-2 and ASTER satellite imagery
15 July, 2019 by Alex Burton-Johnson, Peter Fretwell
Mt. Michael is an active stratovolcano on Saunders Island in the South Sandwich Islands; a remote, oceanic island arc in the southern Atlantic Ocean, bordering the Southern Ocean. The arc…
Abrupt mid-Holocene ice loss in the western Weddell Sea Embayment of Antarctica
15 July, 2019 by Joanne Johnson
The glacial history of the westernmost Weddell Sea sector of Antarctica since the Last Glacial Maximum is virtually unknown, and yet it has been identified as critical for improving reliability…Read more on Abrupt mid-Holocene ice loss in the western Weddell Sea Embayment of Antarctica
Geochronology and geochemistry of the northern Scotia Sea: a revised interpretation of the North and West Scotia ridge junction
15 July, 2019 by Alexander Tate, Alex Burton-Johnson, Philip Leat, Teal Riley
Understanding the tectonic evolution of the Scotia Sea is critical to interpreting how ocean gateways developed during the Cenozoic and their influence on ocean circulation patterns and water exchange between…An investigation of VLF transmitter wave power in the inner radiation belt and slot region
15 July, 2019 by Johnathan Ross, Mark Clilverd, Nigel Meredith, Richard Horne
Signals from man‐made Very Low Frequency (VLF) transmitters, used for communications with submarines, can leak into space and contribute to the dynamics of energetic electrons in the inner radiation belt…Degradation of internal organic matter is the main control on pteropod shell dissolution after death
10 July, 2019 by Clara Manno, Victoria Peck
The potential for preservation of thecosome pteropods is thought to be largely governed by the chemical stability of their delicate aragonitic shells in seawater. However, sediment trap studies have found…
Summer surface melt thins Petermann Gletscher Ice Shelf by enhancing channelized basal melt
9 July, 2019 by Keith Nicholls
Increasing ocean and air temperatures have contributed to the removal of floating ice shelves from several Greenland outlet glaciers; however, the specific contribution of these external forcings remains poorly understood.…
Holocene break-up and reestablishment of the Petermann Ice Tongue, Northwest Greenland
9 July, 2019 by Kelly Hogan, Keith Nicholls
Over the last decade, two major calving events of the Petermann Ice Tongue in Northwest Greenland have led to speculation on its future stability and contribution to further Greenland Ice…Read more on Holocene break-up and reestablishment of the Petermann Ice Tongue, Northwest Greenland
On the identity of Navicula gottlandica (Bacillariophyta), with the description of two new species Navicula eileencoxiana and Navicula bergstromiana from the Australo-Pacific region
9 July, 2019 by Dominic Hodgson
During the past two decades, the subantarctic diatom flora has been the subject of several detailed taxonomic revisions, resulting in the description of a large number of new species. During…The Source Regions of Whistlers.
4 July, 2019 by Mark Clilverd
We present a new method for identifying the source regions of lightning‐generated whistlers observed at a fixed location. In addition to the spatial distribution of causative lightning discharges, we calculate…Quantifying supraglacial debris thickness at local to regional scales
3 July, 2019 by Michael McCarthy, Michael McCarthy
Supraglacial debris thickness is a key control on the surface energy balance of debris-covered glaciers, which are common in temperate mountain ranges around the world. As such, it is an…Read more on Quantifying supraglacial debris thickness at local to regional scales
Morphological and geological features of Drake Passage, Antarctica, from a new digital bathymetric model
3 July, 2019 by Alexander Tate, Elanor Gowland, Philip Leat, Robert Larter, Teal Riley
The Drake Passage is an oceanic gateway of about 850 km width located between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula that connects the southeastern Pacific Ocean with the southwestern Atlantic Ocean.…
Sea salt aerosol production via sublimating wind-blown saline snow particles over sea ice: parameterizations and relevant microphysical mechanisms
2 July, 2019 by Anna Jones, Markus Frey, Xin Yang
Blowing snow over sea ice has been proposed as a significant source of sea salt aerosol (SSA) (Yang et al., 2008). In this study, using snow salinity data and blowing…Scaling of size, shape and surface roughness in Antarctic krill swarms
2 July, 2019 by Geraint Tarling
Antarctic krill are obligate swarmers and the size and shape of the swarms they form can have a major influence on trophic interactions and biogeochemical fluxes. Parameterizing variability in size…Read more on Scaling of size, shape and surface roughness in Antarctic krill swarms
Rapid mixing and exchange of deep-ocean waters in an abyssal boundary current
2 July, 2019 by Povl Abrahamsen, Christian Buckingham, Keith Nicholls, Michael Meredith
The overturning circulation of the global ocean is critically shaped by deep-ocean mixing, which transforms cold waters sinking at high latitudes into warmer, shallower waters. The effectiveness of mixing in…Read more on Rapid mixing and exchange of deep-ocean waters in an abyssal boundary current
Impact of ocean acidification and high solar radiation on productivity and species composition of a late summer phytoplankton community of the coastal Western Antarctic Peninsula
1 July, 2019 by Michael Meredith
The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP), one of the most productive regions of the Southern Ocean, is currently undergoing rapid environmental changes such as ocean acidification (OA) and increased daily irradiances…Education and outreach by the Antarctic Treaty Parties, Observers and Experts under the framework of the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings
1 July, 2019 by Linda Capper
The development of formal discourse about education and outreach within the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM), and the influence of major international activities in this field, are described. This study…Interplanetary magnetic field control of polar ionospheric equivalent current system modes
1 July, 2019 by Mervyn Freeman, Rob Shore
We analyse the response of different ionospheric equivalent current modes to variations in the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) components By and Bz. Each mode comprises a fixed spatial pattern whose…
Spatial and temporal dynamics of Antarctic shallow soft-bottom benthic communities: ecological drivers under climate change
1 July, 2019 by Belinda Vause, David Barnes, Lloyd Peck, Melody Clark, Simon Morley
Background: Marine soft sediments are some of the most widespread habitats in the ocean, playing a vital role in global carbon cycling, but are amongst the least studied with regard…Zooplankton and micronekton respond to climate fluctuations in the Amundsen Sea polynya, Antarctica
1 July, 2019 by Sophie Fielding
The vertical migration of zooplankton and micronekton (hereafter ‘zooplankton’) has ramifications throughout the food web. Here, we present the first evidence that climate fluctuations affect the vertical migration of zooplankton…Modelling Groundwater – Surface Water Interactions Under Climate Change Scenarios: insights from Axios Delta, Greece.
1 July, 2019 by Scott Hosking
Competing multi-sectorial water demands as well as demands for ecosystem services in coastal aquifers exert significant pressures to local water resources. Climate change is already altering spatiotemporal rainfall and runoff…Antarctica: the final frontier for marine biological invasions
1 July, 2019 by Arlie McCarthy, Kevin Hughes, Lloyd Peck
Antarctica is experiencing significant ecological and environmental change, which may facilitate the establishment of non‐native marine species. Non‐native marine species will interact with other anthropogenic stressors affecting Antarctic ecosystems, such…Read more on Antarctica: the final frontier for marine biological invasions
The fossil record of durophagous predation in the James Ross Basin over the last 125 million years
30 June, 2019 by Alice Pullen, Alistair Crame
We review the evidence for predation of shelly benthic prey over 125 million years of earth history in the James Ross Basin, Antarctica (~65°S). Although poor in the Early Cretaceous…Paleobiological significance of the James Ross Basin.
30 June, 2019 by Alistair Crame
The extensive Late Mesozoic–Early Cenozoic sedimentary succession exposed within the James Ross Basin, Antarctica has huge potential to enhance paleobiological investigations into both the marine and terrestrial fossil records. In…Read more on Paleobiological significance of the James Ross Basin.
A validation of ERA5 reanalysis data in the southern Antarctic Peninsula – Ellsworth Land region, and its implications for ice core studies
29 June, 2019 by Claire Allen, Dieter Tetzner, Liz Thomas
Climate reanalyses provide key information to calibrate proxy records in regions with scarce direct observations. The climate reanalysis used to perform a proxy calibration should accurately reproduce the local climate…Generation of EMIC Waves and Effects on Particle Precipitation During a Solar Wind Pressure Intensification With Bz>0.
29 June, 2019 by Richard Horne
During geomagnetic storms, some fraction of the solar wind energy is coupled via reconnection at the dayside magnetopause, a process that requires a southward interplanetary magnetic field Bz. Through a…The Antarctic Peninsula under a 1.5°C global warming scenario.
28 June, 2019 by David Vaughan, Gareth Marshall, Peter Convey
Warming of the Antarctic Peninsula in the latter half of the 20th century was greater than any other terrestrial environment in the Southern Hemisphere, and obvious cryospheric and biological consequences…Read more on The Antarctic Peninsula under a 1.5°C global warming scenario.
Structure, variability, and mean-flow interactions of the January 2015 quasi-two-day wave at middle and high southern latitudes
27 June, 2019 by Andrew Kavanagh
The structure, variability, and mean-flow interactions of the quasi-2-day wave (Q2DW) in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere during January 2015 were studied employing meteor and medium-frequency radar winds at eight…
First ground-based conjugate observations of Stable Auroral Red (SAR) Arcs
20 June, 2019 by Tracy Moffat-Griffin
During the geomagnetic storm of 1 June 2013 all‐sky imagers located at geomagnetically conjugate locations at Millstone Hill, USA (42.6 o N, 71.4 o W, 50.9o mag lat) and at…Read more on First ground-based conjugate observations of Stable Auroral Red (SAR) Arcs
Mechanistic insight into the uptake and fate of persistent organic pollutants in sea ice
18 June, 2019 by James France
The fate of persistent organic pollutants in sea ice is a poorly researched area and yet ice serves as an important habitat for organisms at the base of the marine…
Will giant polar amphipods be first to fare badly in an oxygen-poor ocean? Testing hypotheses linking oxygen to body size
17 June, 2019 by Simon Morley
It has been suggested that giant Antarctic marine invertebrates will be particularly vulnerable to declining O2 levels as our ocean warms in line with current climate change predictions. Our study…
Physiological diversity, biodiversity patterns and global climate change: testing key hypotheses involving temperature and oxygen
17 June, 2019 by Simon Morley
Documenting and explaining global patterns of biodiversity in time and space have fascinated and occupied biologists for centuries. Investigation of the importance of these patterns, and their underpinning mechanisms, has…The Iceland Greenland Seas Project
17 June, 2019 by Alexandra Weiss, James Pope, Thomas Bracegirdle, Thomas Lachlan-Cope
A coordinated atmosphere-ocean research project, centered on a rare wintertime field campaign to the Iceland and Greenland Seas, seeks to determine the location and causes of dense water formation by…
The influence of substorms on extreme rates of change of the surface horizontal magnetic field in the United Kingdom
17 June, 2019 by Mervyn Freeman
We investigate how statistical properties of the rate of change R of the surface horizontal magnetic field in the United Kingdom differ during substorm expansion and recovery phases compared with…
EMIC waves converted from equatorial noise due to M/Q=2 ions in the plasmasphere: Observations from Van Allen Probes and Arase
16 June, 2019 by Richard Horne
Equatorial noise (EN) emissions are observed inside and outside the plasmapause. EN emissions are referred to as magnetosonic mode waves. Using data from Van Allen Probes and Arase, we found…
Phased response of the subpolar Southern Ocean to changes in circumpolar winds
16 June, 2019 by Michael Meredith, Paul Holland
The response of the subpolar Southern Ocean (sSO) to wind forcing is assessed using satellite radar altimetry. sSO sea level exhibits a phased, zonally coherent, bi‐modal adjustment to circumpolar wind…Read more on Phased response of the subpolar Southern Ocean to changes in circumpolar winds
Multi-spectral and multi-instrument observation of TIDs following the Total Solar Eclipse of August 21, 2017
14 June, 2019 by Ingrid Cnossen
Wave‐like structures in the upper atmospheric nightglow brightness were observed on the night of 22 August 2017, approximately 8 hr following a total solar eclipse. These wave‐like perturbations are signatures…Individual spatial consistency and dietary flexibility in the migratory behaviour of northern gannets wintering in the Northeast Atlantic.
12 June, 2019 by Richard Phillips
Migration is a fundamental behavioural process prevalent among a wide variety of animal taxa. As individuals are increasingly shown to present consistent responses to environmental cues for breeding or foraging,…Scientific Drilling of Lake Sediments at Darwin Crater, Tasmania
12 June, 2019 by Dominic Hodgson
A 70 meters long continental sediment record was recovered at Darwin Crater in western Tasmania, Australia. The new sedimentary archive includes a pre-lake deposit and the complete lake sediment succession…Read more on Scientific Drilling of Lake Sediments at Darwin Crater, Tasmania
Assessment of sub-shelf melting parameterisations using the ocean–ice-sheet coupled model NEMO(v3.6)–Elmer/Ice(v8.3)
12 June, 2019 by Adrian Jenkins
Oceanic melting beneath ice shelves is the main driver of the current mass loss of the Antarctic ice sheet and is mostly parameterised in stand-alone ice-sheet modelling. Parameterisations are crude…Important At-Sea Areas of Colonial Breeding Marine Predators on the Southern Patagonian Shelf
11 June, 2019 by Iain Staniland, Norman Ratcliffe, Philip Trathan, Victoria Warwick-Evans
The Patagonian Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem supports high levels of biodiversity and endemism and is one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world. Despite the important role marine…Sex-specific effects of fisheries and climate on the demography of sexually dimorphic seabirds
11 June, 2019 by Andrew Wood, Deborah Pardo, Jaume Forcada, Louise Ireland, Richard Phillips
1.Many animal taxa exhibit sex‐specific variation in ecological traits, such as foraging and distribution. These differences could result in sex‐specific responses to change, but such demographic effects are poorly understood.…Distribution of the genus Boeckella (Crustacea, Copepoda, Calanoida, Centropagidae)at high latitudes in South America and the main Antarctic biogeographic regions
10 June, 2019 by Peter Convey
Copepods are present in numerous aquatic environments, playing key roles in food webs, and are thought to be useful indicators of environmental change. Boeckella is a calanoid copepod genus distributed…
Back to the Future: Using long-term observational and paleo-proxy reconstructions to improve model projections of Antarctic climate
7 June, 2019 by Liz Thomas, Louise Sime, Thomas Bracegirdle
Quantitative estimates of future Antarctic climate change are derived from numerical global climate models. Evaluation of the reliability of climate model projections involves many lines of evidence on past performance…Deploying an AUV beneath the Sørsdal Ice Shelf: Recommendations from an expert-panel workshop
6 June, 2019 by Jeremy Wilkinson
To support future scientific missions beneath Antarctic ice shelves, the Antarctic Gateway Partnership, a special research initiative of the Australian Research Council, is trialling its Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, nupiri muka,…