23 July, 2025 by Chester Sands
Our knowledge of biogeographic patterns and processes in the deep sea has been limited by the lack of integrated datasets that cover its vast extent1. Here we analyse a new…Read more on Spatiotemporal faunal connectivity across global seafloors
21 July, 2025 by Andrew Orr, Scott Hosking, Marc Girona-Mata, Tony Phillips
This study introduces a novel approach to post-processing (i.e. downscaling and bias-correcting) reanalysis-driven regional climate model daily precipitation outputs that can be generalised to ungauged mountain locations by leveraging sparse…18 July, 2025 by Peter Convey
Inferring general biogeographic patterns in the sub-Antarctic region has been challenging due to the disparate geological origins of its islands and archipelagos—ranging from Gondwanan fragments to uplifted seafloor and more…Read more on Tracing the biogeographic history of the world’s most isolated insular floras
18 July, 2025 by David Pearce, Peter Convey
Colonization of remote ecosystems by new microorganisms poses a significant threat to the diversity and function of native microbial communities. In the polar regions, including Antarctica, airborne microbial communities are…Read more on Daily turnover of airborne bacterial communities in the sub-Antarctic
18 July, 2025 by Federico Covi
Refreezing is a critical component of the mass balance of glaciers in Svalbard, yet the processes and changes under a warming climate are not fully understood. Here, we investigate changes…17 July, 2025 by James Kirkham
Based on a regional 3D seismic data set and a small high‐resolution 3D seismic data set (~40 km 2 ) we have mapped a buried glacially eroded trough on the…17 July, 2025 by Jasmine Lee, Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
This report presents outcomes from the international workshop "Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBV) Framework for Terrestrial Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Ecosystems," held in Cambridge, UK, from 18–20 September 2024, with significant online…16 July, 2025
This thesis addresses several key questions aimed at understanding host-microbial and host-helminth dynamics within Southern Ocean penguin populations. The overall thesis aim is to characterise microbial and helminth diversity in…16 July, 2025 by Tracy Moffat-Griffin
The mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) comprise a highly variable region that forms the transition region between the middle and upper atmosphere. The variability of this region is driven by…16 July, 2025 by Claire Allen, Dieter Tetzner, Liz Thomas
In recent decades, the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds have strengthened and migrated south, attributed to greenhouse gas emissions and stratospheric ozone depletion. However, the onset and acceleration of these drivers…16 July, 2025 by Jeremy Wilkinson
Antarctic sea ice has seen recent rapid declines in extent, but it remains unclear whether this isaccompanied by thinning. Due to the relative abundance and complexity of overlying snow on…16 July, 2025 by Xu Zhang
The interhemispheric relation of deep-water ventilation and surface-ocean productivity may have played a prominent role in past atmospheric CO2 regulation. However, how these processes vary on orbital-millennial timescales remains poorly…16 July, 2025 by Maximilian Lowe, Tom Jordan, Teal Riley
The Antarctic Peninsula is a unique sector of the circum-Pacific continental margin arc where subduction ceased due to a series of ridge-trench collisions, preserving a relatively un-deformed magmatic arc. This…16 July, 2025 by Teal Riley
The Antarctic Peninsula preserves a long history of Late Paleozoic and Mesozoic magmatism that reflects dynamic processes along the southwestern Gondwanan convergent margin. Granitoid magmatism is widespread across the Peninsula…Read more on Age and geology of granitoids in northeast Palmer Land, Antarctic Peninsula
15 July, 2025 by Andy Smith, David Vaughan
Since the 1990s, satellites have shown accelerating ice-loss driven by ocean change in the neighbouring glacier basins that drain more than one-third of West Antarctica into the Amundsen Sea. The…15 July, 2025 by Joseph Ulanowski
A new modular multi-sensor aerological dropsonde system for high and fast-flying research aircraft has been developed for studying atmospheric processes. This new system allows us to drop release containers with…Read more on A new versatile dropsonde for atmospheric soundings – the KITsonde
14 July, 2025 by Kaitlin Naughten
The Amundsen Sea region in Antarctica is a critical area for understanding future sea level rise due to its rapidly changing ice dynamics and significant contributions to global ice mass…13 July, 2025
Despite growing awareness of the importance of researcher diversity, barriers to inclusion and equity persist in science and at academic conferences. As hosts of the 37th International Ethological Congress, “Behaviour…11 July, 2025 by Tom Jordan
Antarctic bed topography influences how the overlying ice sheet responds to climate change and provides a record of long-term glacial history. However, knowledge of the processes that governed the development…10 July, 2025
Human activities are affecting marine biodiversity globally by accelerating extinction rates, altering ecosystem conditions and changing community structures. These changes can only be understood through establishing the ecosystem state prior…9 July, 2025 by Martin Collins, Mark Belchier
Humans have transformed ecosystems through habitat modification, harvesting, species introduction, and climate change. Changes in species distribution and composition are often thought to induce biotic homogenization, defined as an increase…Read more on Marine communities do not follow the paradigm of increasing similarity through time
9 July, 2025 by Peter Convey
Antarctica is characterized by extreme conditions including low temperatures, strong winds, desiccation, high UV radiation, high salinity, freeze-thaw cycles and pH variations. As a result, the resident diversity is dominated…8 July, 2025 by Adriana Giles, Alice Clement, David Barnes, Simon Morley
The physical environment of nearshore Southern Ocean (coastal Antarctica) is altering rapidly in response to climate change, but also has other long cyclicity due to El Nino Southern Oscillation and…8 July, 2025 by Richard Phillips
Incidental capture (bycatch) of seabirds in longline and trawl fisheries is one of the main threats to many albatrosses and large petrels. The White‐chinned Petrel ( Procellaria aequinoctialis ) has…7 July, 2025 by Andrew Meijers, Dani Jones
In the South Pacific Subantarctic mode water (SAMW) formation region, central and eastern pools of SAMW have been found to be linked to winter mixed-layer thicknesses that vary strongly interannually…Read more on Local versus far-field control on South Pacific Subantarctic mode water variability
4 July, 2025 by Ella Gilbert
Surface meltwater is predicted to become increasingly important for Antarctic mass loss as atmospheric temperatures rise, due to its potential to influence ice dynamic, hydrofracture and radiative processes. However, our…2 July, 2025 by Jaume Forcada
Comparative studies of microbial communities occupying different body sites in wild vertebrates are scarce, but they are crucial for advancing our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary factors shaping animal…2 July, 2025 by Peter Convey
Fjords in the Arctic are changing rapidly due to multiple factors including increasing air temperatures, the influx of Atlantic Water (Atlantification), sea-ice loss, retreat of tidewater glaciers, increased freshwater discharges,…2 July, 2025 by Peter Convey
The flexibility of movement behaviour was investigated in the non-native carabid beetle, Merizodus soledadinus, by comparing individuals from well-established populations (residents) to those at the invasion front (dispersers) in the…2 July, 2025 by Simon Morley
Subtidal marine ectotherm physiological responses vary with ocean warming. Predicting these responses is important for ecosystem assessments to inform management and conservation strategies. Falkland Islands coastal species representing different mobility,…2 July, 2025 by Alex Brisbourne, Alvaro Arenas Pingarron, Carlos Martin Garcia, Alvaro Pingarron Arenas
Ice crystal orientation fabric strongly affects the viscous deformation of glacier ice. A popular technique to investigate ice fabric is radar polarimetry, often analysed using the coherence method. However, in…1 July, 2025 by James Smith
This paper presents new marine geophysical data and radiocarbon dated sediment cores to reconstruct the maximum extent of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS) during the last glaciation and the…1 July, 2025 by Anna Belcher
Oceanic mesoscale structures, such as eddies, play a fundamental role in ocean circulation, ocean biogeochemical cycles and plankton ecology. They cause lateral and vertical advection, as well as interact with…1 July, 2025 by Peter Convey
Polar regions are heavily impacted by climate change. Yet, vulnerability assessments suggest little concern about heat-related challenges for polar terrestrial ectotherms. These conclusions are based, however, on assumptions and extrapolation…Read more on Polar ectotherms more vulnerable to warming than expected
1 July, 2025 by George Day
Migratory birds are inherently vagile, a strategy that may reduce the impacts of habitat loss and fragmentation on genetic diversity. However, specialist resource requirements and range-edge distribution can counteract these…1 July, 2025 by Louise Sime, Paul Holland
We present the first CMIP6-era multi-model intercomparison of the Southern Ocean (SO) temperature and sea-ice response to substantial Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) weakening. Results are based on analysis of…1 July, 2025 by Peter Convey
Aim: To integrate the historical and contemporary connectivity of Branchinecta gaini (B. gaini), in order to better predict future distribution changes within its fragmented, dynamic and isolated habitat range. Location:…1 July, 2025 by Hugh Venables
The ocean contributes to regulating atmospheric CO2 levels via the biological carbon pump (BCP). One critical aspect of the BCP is the depth at which sinking particulate organic carbon (POC)…1 July, 2025 by Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand
Mass loss from polar ice sheets is poorly constrained in estimates of future global sea-level rise. Today, the marine-based West Antarctic Ice Sheet is losing mass at an accelerating rate,…30 June, 2025 by Xu Zhang
Proxy-based reconstructions and climate model simulations of Holocene global annual mean temperatures exhibit divergent trends, leading to the well-known “Holocene temperature conundrum (HTC)”. This discrepancy is most pronounced in the…30 June, 2025 by Ashley Bennison
Determining the distribution and population size of marine species is crucial for conservation and management. However, for many species, the abundance and at sea distribution are poorly known because of…28 June, 2025 by Adrian Fox, Ashley Bennison, Jamie Coleman, Louise Ireland, Martin Collins, Nathan Fenney, Philip Hollyman, Philip Trathan
Drones are being increasingly used to monitor wildlife populations; their large spatial coverage and minimal disturbance make them ideal for use in remote environments where access and time are limited.…28 June, 2025 by Bianca Perren, Claire Allen, Dieter Tetzner, Dorothea Moser, Jack Humby, Liz Thomas, Shaun Miller
The Southern Hemisphere westerly winds (SHWWs) (45–65°S) are important regulators of the Southern Hemisphere climate. The scarcity of observational records at the core of the wind belt hinders our understanding…27 June, 2025
The advent of artificial intelligence as a scientific tool is driving a new demand for multidisciplinary data analyses that crosscuts scientific domain boundaries. Developing interoperable solutions to data delivery enables…27 June, 2025 by Kevin Newsham, Peter Convey
A unifying feature of the deciduous and evergreen shrubs contributing to the greening of the Arctic landmass—the process known as shrubification—is that their roots consistently form ectomycorrhizal or ericoid mycorrhizal…Read more on Mycorrhizal symbioses and Arctic shrubification
20 June, 2025 by Peter Convey
Earth's polar regions are experiencing significant climate change, impacting global oceanographic and weather patterns. Arctic “greening” is well studied, but a debate has emerged about whether similar trends are occurring…19 June, 2025 by Richard Horne, Sarah Glauert
A large proton belt enhancement occurred on 24 March 1991 following an interplanetary shockthat impacted the dayside magnetopause at ∼03:40 UT. Its formation was measured by the proton telescopeaboard CRRES…18 June, 2025 by Liz Thomas, Roseanne Smith, Siobhan Johnson
Marine-sourced fatty acids provide a promising new suite of proxies for past sea-ice reconstructions, validated using ice cores from Bouvet Island, Greenland, and Alaska. Despite showing great potential as a…18 June, 2025 by Claire Waluda, Derren Fox, Jaume Forcada, Michael Dunn, Stacey Adlard, Timothy Morley
The temporal abundance of Antarctic seals is known to be influenced by variation in the sea ice environment, itself affected by temperature and daylight cycles across seasons. However, the sensitivity…18 June, 2025 by Hugh Venables, Michael Meredith
Sea-air exchange of carbon dioxide in the Southern Ocean is strongly seasonal, with ocean uptake in summer, which is partly offset by carbon dioxide outgassing in winter. This seasonal balance…Read more on Sea ice controls net ocean CO2 uptake by regulating wintertime stratification
16 June, 2025 by Hamish Pritchard
Cryosphere degradation and vegetation dynamics due to climate change on the Tibetan Plateau profoundly impact runoff and water security downstream, yet their contributions remain largely unquantified. Here, we quantify the…15 June, 2025 by Rhiannon Jones
The high-latitude oceans are regions of high mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation, especially in the form of methylmercury (MeHg), which is of great concern in terms of human and ecosystem health. In…15 June, 2025 by Michael McCarthy, Michael McCarthy
Rock debris partially covers glaciers worldwide, with varying extents and distributions, and controls sub‐debris melt rates by modifying energy transfer from the atmosphere to the ice. Two key physical properties…14 June, 2025 by Nigel Meredith, Pak Yin Lam, Peter Kirsch, Richard Horne, Sarah Glauert
Increases in the flux of high energy electrons in the Earth's radiation belts cause satellite charging which can lead to an electrostatic discharge, anomalies and disruption to service. For geostationary…Read more on Satellite Internal Charging for a Reasonable Worst‐Case
12 June, 2025 by Michael Meredith
The Western Antarctic Peninsula is undergoing rapid environmental change. Regional warming is causing increased glacial meltwater discharge, but the ecological impact of this meltwater over large spatiotemporal scales is not…11 June, 2025 by Christopher Auckland
Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) is the densest oceanic water mass and plays a pivotal role in regulating the overturning within the Southern Ocean and beyond. Over the past three decades…11 June, 2025 by Alison Cleary, Geraint Tarling
Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba (Dana i Am J Sci Arts Ser 2(9):129–133, 1850), are both central ecosystem components in the Southern Ocean, and the target of a growing commercial fishery.…Read more on Antarctic Krill with parasites grow slower than uninfected peers
10 June, 2025 by Martin Collins
Large-scale biodiversity assessments and conservation applications require integrated and up-to-date datasets across regions. In the oceans, monitoring is fragmented, which affects knowledge exchange and usage. Among existing monitoring programs, scientific…10 June, 2025 by Thomas Bauska
Using high-precision ice core measurements of CO 2 , δ 13 C–CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O, this study provides carbon isotope constraints on a sizeable,…10 June, 2025 by Aliaksandra Skachkova, Connor Bamford, Jaume Forcada, Philip Trathan, Peter Fretwell
Emperor penguin populations are predicted to decline rapidly over the current century owing to habitat loss in Antarctica arising from warming oceans and loss of seasonal sea ice. Previous work…Read more on Regional emperor penguin population declines exceed modelled projections
5 June, 2025 by Andrew Orr
The snow and glaciers of the Peruvian Andes provide vital water supplies in a region facing water scarcity and substantial glacier change. However, there remains a lack of understanding of…Read more on Thin and ephemeral snow shapes melt and runoff dynamics in the Peruvian Andes
5 June, 2025 by Richard Phillips
The polar sea-ice zones are highly productive and seasonal habitats that support large populations of vertebrate predators. In the Antarctic, snow petrels ( Pagodroma nivea ) are regarded as highly…5 June, 2025 by Martin Collins
Research on the direct effects of capture and tagging on post-release behaviour is typically limited to short-term deployments. To investigate the initial and longer-term behavioural responses to capture and tagging,…5 June, 2025 by Andrew Wood, Ashley Bennison, Janet Silk, Philip Trathan, Richard Phillips
The recent Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) sets ambitious goals but no clear pathway for how zero loss of important biodiversity areas and halting human-induced extinction of threatened species will…3 June, 2025 by Simon Morley
1. Ectotherms given time to acclimate to warmer environments, habitats or experimental treatments tend to tolerate higher maximum temperatures, but only slightly higher. This means warmer acclimated organisms live closer…Read more on Heat limits scale with metabolism in ectothermic animals
1 June, 2025 by Markus Frey, Shaun Miller
Photochemical release of iodine from snow has been suggested as a source of reactive iodine to the Arctic atmosphere, however understanding of the underlying mechanism and potential source strength is…1 June, 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 June, 2025 by David Barnes
Blue Carbon (BC) refers to Nature-Based Solutions in marine environments that aim to reduce greenhouse gases through carbon sequestration using natural processes. Much of the BC focus to date has…Read more on Blue Carbon in an eastern boundary Upwelling Zone – A case study in Namibia
1 June, 2025
Sporadically genetic material that originates from an organelle genome integrates into the nuclear genome. However it is unclear what processes maintain such integrations over evolutionary time. Recently it was shown…1 June, 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 June, 2025 by Katherine Turner
Despite the increased awareness and action towards Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI), the glaciological community still experiences and perpetuates examples of exclusionary and discriminatory behavior. We here discuss the challenges…1 June, 2025
Haplotype-resolved chromosomal reference genomes are increasingly available for many fungi, offering insights into the evolution of pathogenic and symbiotic lifestyles. However, these resources remain scarce for ectomycorrhizal fungi, which play…1 June, 2025
Brachiopods have been employed for environmental and climatic reconstructions in the near and geological past. Traditionally, one datapoint is obtained per shell, providing time‐averaged bulk signals. However, brachiopods also have…Read more on Brachiopods as archives of intrannual, annual, and interannual environmental variations
1 June, 2025 by Aaron Hendry, Mark Clilverd
In early May 2024 ∼6 Coronal Mass Ejections were launched toward the Earth in shortsuccession. This triggered the G5 “Gannon” geomagnetic storm lasting from ∼17 UT on 10 May 2024…30 May, 2025 by Michael Meredith, Rhiannon Jones
Iron is an essential micronutrient for phytoplankton and plays an integral role in the marine carbon cycle. The supply and bioavailability of iron are therefore important modulators of climate over…30 May, 2025 by Markus Frey, Xin Yang
Discussion paper.28 May, 2025 by Dominic Hodgson, Teal Riley
Detrital zircon U-Pb and Lu-Hf data from the youngest (upper Permian) sedimentary succession of the Falkland/Malvinas Islands is used to constrain depositional age, provenance and palaeogeography, and test the Natal…28 May, 2025 by Ellen Bowler, James Byrne, Scott Hosking, Jeremy Wilkinson, Martin Rogers, Rachel Cavanagh, Tom Andersson
Every autumn on the south coast of Victoria Island (Nunavut, Canada), endangered Dolphin and Union (DU) caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus x pearyi) wait for sea ice to form before continuing…24 May, 2025 by Huw Griffiths, Rowan Whittle, Tasnuva Khan
Coexistence of ecologically similar taxa can contribute considerably to local biodiversity patterns. Deep water Southern Ocean benthic communities provide a unique setting to investigate coexistence mechanisms due to the relatively…23 May, 2025 by Anna Jones, Evelyn Workman, Freya Squires, Katrin Linse
The Southern Ocean's role in the global methane (CH4) cycle remains uncertain due to limited measurement data from this remote region. It is unclear if the Southern Ocean acts as…Read more on Methane Emissions and Dynamics in the Weddell and Scotia Seas
22 May, 2025 by Richard Phillips
The trophic ecology of the Endangered sooty albatross (SA, 4 populations) was investigated using the concept of isotopic niche as a proxy of the trophic niche, and its isotopic metrics…22 May, 2025 by Kevin Hughes
With biodiversity loss escalating globally, a step change is needed in our capacity to accurately monitor species populations across ecosystems. Robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) offer technological solutions that may…21 May, 2025 by Melody Clark
Genomic data are lacking for most Antarctic marine invertebrates, predicating our ability to understand physiological adaptation and specific life-history traits, such as longevity. The environmental stress response of the Antarctic…21 May, 2025 by Jaume Forcada
Single-use plastics (SUPs) are indispensable in laboratory research, but their disposal contributes substantially to environmental pollution. Consequently, reusing common SUP items such as microtitre plates represents a promising strategy for…20 May, 2025
Under the current climate crisis, marine heatwaves (MHW) are expected to intensify and become more frequent in the future, leading to adverse effects on marine life. Here, we aimed to…17 May, 2025 by Anne-Pia Marty, Lloyd Peck, Melody Clark
The Antarctic seabed harbors significant biodiversity, and almost 90% of oceanic environments are permanently below 5 °C (i.e., deep sea and polar regions). However, organisms whose entire lifecycle occurs around…15 May, 2025 by Mervyn Freeman
The enhanced variation of the magnetic field during severe to extreme geomagnetic storms induces a large geoelectric field in the subsurface. Grounded infrastructure can be susceptible to geomagnetically induced currents…14 May, 2025
Apex predators play a key role in maintaining ecosystem structure and functions (Ripple et al., 2014; Estes et al., 2016; Enquist et al., 2020). They exert top-down control on food…14 May, 2025
Despite their relative rarity, atmospheric rivers are key contributors to the surface mass balance of Antarctica. However, the future role of atmospheric rivers in modulating Antarctic sea-level contributions is a…14 May, 2025 by Andrew Fleming, Dave Munday, Povl Abrahamsen, Emma Young, Hugh Venables, Alexander Brearley, Kate Hendry, Michael Meredith
Mixing of the ocean around Antarctica is a key process that exerts influences over large scales and in multiple ways. By redistributing heat in the ocean, it exerts strong influences…Read more on Polar Ocean Mixing by Internal Tsunamis (POLOMINTS)
10 May, 2025 by Josephine Anselin, Keith Nicholls, Pierre Dutrieux
Using radar data from the Beardmore Glacier grounding zone, we image a narrow subglacial channel (300-500 m wide) that reaches a height of 200 m above the ambient ice-shelf draft.…8 May, 2025 by Pierre Dutrieux
The ice streams feeding the Dotson and Crosson ice shelves are some of the fastest changing in West Antarctica. We use satellite observations to measure the change in ice speed…3 May, 2025 by Emma Woodfield
This study uses the Versatile Electron Radiation Belt code to model Saturn's radiation belt environment, investigating electron acceleration, loss, and transport mechanisms. The simulations consider various physical processes, including convection…Read more on Electron Acceleration and Zebra Stripe Formation in Saturn’s Radiation Belts
2 May, 2025 by Jose Marques Queiros, Mark Belchier, Philip Hollyman
Food-webs are a major component of ecosystems and determinant for their functioning and structure. The food chain length (FCL) is a key feature of food-webs and it is crucial for…2 May, 2025 by Jasmine Lee
Glaciers and glacially influenced ecosystems host unique biodiversity spanning all kingdoms of life, but glaciers are retreating as the global climate warms, threatening specialist species, ecosystem functions and stability. We…Read more on Impacts of deglaciation on biodiversity and ecosystem function