1 July, 2017 by Amelie Kirchgaessner, John King, Jenny Turton
The ice shelves on the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) have been disintegrating for over two decades. Surface melting induced by föhn winds has been proposed as a…1 July, 2017 by Ed King, Hamish Pritchard, Kelly Hogan, Robert Larter
Ice stream bed topography contains key evidence for the ways ice streams interact with, and are potentially controlled by, their beds. Here we present the first application of two–dimensional Fourier…1 July, 2017 by Emma Young
Commercial fisheries data, collected as part of an observer programme and covering the period 1997–2014, were utilized in order to define key reproductive traits and spawning dynamics of the Patagonian…1 July, 2017 by Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, James Smith, Robert Larter, Stephen Roberts
Glaciological and oceanographic observations coupled with numerical models show that warm Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) incursions onto the West Antarctic continental shelf cause melting of the undersides of floating ice…Read more on West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreat driven by Holocene warm water incursions
1 July, 2017 by Elisabeth Biersma, Jennifer Jackson, Katrin Linse, Peter Convey
A bipolar disjunction is an extreme, yet common, biogeographic pattern in non-vascular plants, yet its underlying mechanisms (vicariance or long-distance dispersal), origin and timing remain poorly understood. Here, combining a…Read more on Global biogeographic patterns in bipolar moss species
1 July, 2017 by Richard Phillips
In seabirds, the extent of population genetic and phylogeographic structure varies extensively among species. Genetic structure is lacking in some species, but present in others despite the absence of obvious…1 July, 2017 by Robert Mulvaney
Reproducible climate reconstructions of the Common Era (1 CE to present) are key to placing industrial-era warming into the context of natural climatic variability. Here we present a community-sourced database…Read more on A global multiproxy database for temperature reconstructions of the Common Era
1 July, 2017 by Nigel Meredith, Richard Horne
Relativistic electrons (E > 500 keV) cause internal charging and are an important space weather hazard. To assess the vulnerability of the satellite fleet to these so-called “killer” electrons, it…1 July, 2017 by Peter Convey
Tropical estuaries often have a low buffering capacity and may experience acidification, both naturally through microbial degradation and run-off from acid sulphate soils (ASS), or from various anthropogenic sources. Here,…30 June, 2017 by Peter Convey
Cryptobiosis is a reversible ametabolic state of life characterized by the ceasing of all metabolic processes, allowing survival of periods of intense adverse conditions. Here we show that 1) entire…Read more on Moss survival through in situ cryptobiosis after six centuries of glacier burial
28 June, 2017 by Andrew Orr, Gareth Marshall, James Pope, Paul Holland, Tony Phillips
We assess the impact of El Niño-induced wind changes on seasonal West Antarctic sea ice concentrations using reanalysis data and sea ice observations. A novel ice budget analysis reveals that…Read more on The impacts of El Niño on the observed sea ice budget of West Antarctica
27 June, 2017 by Andrew Orr, Constantino Listowski, Pranab Deb
A better understanding of regional-scale precipitation patterns in the Himalayan region is required to increase our knowledge of the impacts of climate change on downstream water availability. This study examines…27 June, 2017 by Chester Sands, David Barnes
High latitude benthos are globally important in terms of accumulation and storage of ocean carbon, and the feedback this is likely to have on regional warming. Understanding this ecosystem service…Read more on Functional group diversity is key to Southern Ocean benthic carbon pathways
22 June, 2017 by Andy Smith, David Vaughan
Constraining how much and how fast the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) will change in the coming decades has recently been identified as the highest priority in Antarctic research (National…22 June, 2017 by Mark Clilverd
This paper describes the recommended solar forcing dataset for CMIP6 and highlights changes with respect to CMIP5. The solar forcing is provided for radiative properties, namely total solar irradiance (TSI),…20 June, 2017 by Peter Convey
The type strain Planococcus donghaensis JH1T is a psychrotolerant and halotolerant bacterium with starch-degrading ability. Here, we determine the carbon utilization profile of P. donghaensis JH1T and report the first…Read more on Complete genome sequence of Planococcus donghaensis JH1T, a pectin-degrading bacterium
16 June, 2017 by Alex Burton-Johnson
A new method for modelling heat flux shows the upper crust contributes up to 70% of the Antarctic Peninsula's subglacial heat flux, and that heat flux values are more variable…13 June, 2017 by Xin Yang
Atmospheric chemistry and transport of mercury play a key role in the global mercury cycle. However, there are still considerable knowledge gaps concerning the fate of mercury in the atmosphere.…13 June, 2017 by Hugh Corr
The Institute Ice Stream (IIS) in West Antarctica may be increasingly vulnerable to melting at the grounding line through modifications in ocean circulation. Understanding such change requires knowledge of grounding-line…13 June, 2017 by Michael Meredith
The coastal ocean of the climatically-sensitive west Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing changes in the physical and (photo)chemical properties that strongly affect the phytoplankton. Consequently, a shift from diatoms, pivotal in…5 June, 2017 by Dominic Hodgson, Peter Convey
Recent climate change on the Antarctic Peninsula is well documented [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], with warming, alongside increases in precipitation, wind strength, and melt season length [1, 6, 7],…Read more on Widespread biological response to recent rapid warming on the Antarctic Peninsula
1 June, 2017 by David Barnes
Little is known about colonization of remote island coasts by marine invertebrates, other than corals. The structure of hard substrata assemblages was investigated across Ascension Island's littoral zone in comparison…Read more on Marine colonization and biodiversity at Ascension Island and remote islands
1 June, 2017 by Jonathan Watkins, Mark Belchier, Ryan Saunders
Myctophid fish play an important role in the Southern Ocean pelagic food web. The lanternfish Krefftichthys anderssoni is one of the most common myctophids in the region, but its ecology…1 June, 2017 by Philip Trathan
Quantification of the physical and biological environmental factors that influence the spatial distribution of higher trophic species is central to inform management and develop ecosystem models, particularly in light of…1 June, 2017 by Liz Thomas
Antarctic sea ice has shown an increasing trend in recent decades, but with strong regional differences from one sector to another of the Southern Ocean. The Ross Sea and the…1 June, 2017 by Peter Convey
Historical views have characterized Antarctica as a frozen desert with low diversity, although recent studies suggest that this may not be true for microscopic organisms. For microbes, assessing endemism in…1 June, 2017 by Kevin Hughes, Susie Grant
Globally, few protected areas exist in areas beyond the jurisdiction of a single state. However, for over 50 years the Antarctic protected areas system has operated in a region governed…1 June, 2017 by Jeremy Wilkinson
Arctic sea ice has displayed significant thinning as well as an increase in drift speed in recent years. Taken together this suggests an associated rise in sea ice deformation rate.…Read more on Thin ice and storms: Sea ice deformation from buoy arrays deployed during N-ICE2015
1 June, 2017 by Iain Staniland
Conditions experienced during the nonbreeding period have profound long-term effects on individual fitness and survival. Therefore, knowledge of habitat use during the nonbreeding period can provide insights into processes that…1 June, 2017 by Peter Convey
In this study we used a polyphasic taxonomy approach to analyse three bacterial strains coded L10.10T, A4R1.5 and A4R1.12, isolated in the course of a study of quorum-quenching bacteria occurring…Read more on Pseudomonas versuta sp. nov., isolated from Antarctic soil
1 June, 2017 by Clara Manno, Geraint Tarling, Jessie Gardner, Victoria Peck
The impact of anthropogenic ocean acidification (OA) on marine ecosystems is a vital concern facing marine scientists and managers of ocean resources. Euthecosomatous pteropods (holoplanktonic gastropods) represent an excellent sentinel…Read more on Shelled pteropods in peril: Assessing vulnerability in a high CO2 ocean
1 June, 2017 by Ed King, Michael McCarthy, Hamish Pritchard, Michael McCarthy
Supraglacial debris thickness is a key control on the surface energy balance of debris-covered glaciers, yet debris thickness measurements are sparse due to difficulties of data collection. Here we use…Read more on Ground-penetrating radar measurements of debris thickness on Lirung Glacier, Nepal
1 June, 2017 by Richard Phillips
Given the potential role of telomeres as biomarkers of individual health and ageing, there is an increasing interest in studying telomere dynamics in a wider range of taxa in the…1 June, 2017 by Peter Convey
Snow melt in the Antarctic Peninsula Region has increased significantly in recent decades, leading to greater liquid water availability across a more expansive area. As a consequence, changes in the…Read more on Microbes influence the biogeochemical and optical properties of maritime Antarctic snow
1 June, 2017 by Robert Arthern
Evolution of cold dry snow and firn plays important roles in glaciology; however, the physical formulation of a densification law is still an active research topic. We forced eight firn-densification…Read more on Firn Model Intercomparison Experiment (FirnMICE)
1 June, 2017 by Sandra McInnes, Sandra McInnes
The origin of the Antarctic continental extant fauna is a highly debated topic, complicated by the paucity of organisms for which we have clear biogeographic distributions and understanding of their…1 June, 2017 by Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, James Smith
Subglacial lakes are widespread beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet but their control on ice-sheet dynamics and their ability to harbour life remain poorly characterized. Here we present evidence for a…Read more on Evidence for a palaeo-subglacial lake on the Antarctic continental shelf
1 June, 2017 by David Barnes, Geraint Tarling
Most of Earth’s surface is blue or white, but how much of each would depend on the time of observation. Our planet has been through phases of snowball (all frozen),…1 June, 2017 by Sandra McInnes, Sandra McInnes
This paper is the fourth monograph in a series that describes the global records of limno-terrestrial water bears (Tardigrada). Here, we provide a comprehensive list of non-marine tardigrades recorded from…Read more on Annotated zoogeography of non-marine Tardigrada. Part IV: Africa
1 June, 2017 by Emilie Capron
The Last Interglacial (LIG, ~129-116 thousand years Before Present, hereafter ka) represents an ideal case study to understand the climate mechanisms at play under a warmer-than-present climate. However a spatio-temporal…1 June, 2017 by Emilie Capron
Polar ice cores provide exceptional archives of past environmental conditions. The dating of ice cores and the estimation of the age-scale uncertainty are essential to interpret the climate and environmental…1 June, 2017 by Emma Woodfield
We present Jovian auroral observations from the 2014 January Hubble Space Telescope (HST) campaign and characterize the auroral second oval feature with particular attention to the response to hot plasma…1 June, 2017 by Mark Clilverd
It is well known that auroral patterns at the substorm recovery phase are characterized by diffuse or patch structures with intensity pulsation. According to satellite measurements and simulation studies, the…Read more on Energetic electron precipitation and auroral morphology at the substorm recovery phase
1 June, 2017 by Keith Nicholls
Polar oceans are poorly monitored despite the important role they play in regulating Earth’s climate system. Marine mammals equipped with biologging devices are now being used to fill the data…Read more on Marine mammals exploring the oceans pole to pole: a review of the MEOP Consortium
1 June, 2017 by Chester Sands
The Antarctic Polar Front (APF) is one of the most well-defined and persistent oceanographic features on the planet and serves as a barrier to dispersal between the Southern Ocean and…1 June, 2017
Malcolm Roy Clarke (1930–2013) was a British teuthologist who made an important contribution to marine science in the Azores archipelago (Portugal). Malcolm started doing research in the Azores from 1980s…Read more on The role of Malcolm Clarke (1930–2013) in the Azores as a scientist and educationist
1 June, 2017 by Chester Sands, David Barnes, Elanor Gowland, Oliver Hogg, Peter Enderlein, Simon Morley
Recent studies have improved our understanding of nearshore marine ecosystems surrounding Ascension Island (central Atlantic Ocean), but little is known about Ascension's benthic environment beyond its shallow coastal waters. Here,…26 May, 2017 by Dani Jones
Ksionzek et al. (Reports, 28 October 2016, p. 456) provide important data describing the distribution of dissolved organic sulfur (DOS) in the Atlantic Ocean. Here, we show that mixing between…23 May, 2017 by Xin Yang
An environmental scanning electron microscope was used for the first time to obtain well-resolved images, in both temporal and spatial dimensions, of lab-prepared frost flowers (FFs) under evaporation within the…11 May, 2017 by Hamish Pritchard
The high mountains of Asia—encompassing the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush, Karakoram, Pamir Alai, Kunlun Shan, and Tian Shan mountains—have the highest concentration of glaciers globally, and 800 million people depend…Read more on Asia’s glaciers are a regionally important buffer against drought [Retracted article]
6 May, 2017 by Brent Minchew
The increase in maritime traffic, particularly the transport of hazardous and noxious substances (HNSs), requires advanced methods of identification and characterization in environmental chemical spills. Knowledge about HNS monitoring using…4 May, 2017 by Elisabeth Biersma, Peter Convey
The development of evidence-based international strategies for the conservation and management of Arctic ecosystems in the face of climate change is hindered by critical knowledge gaps in Arctic floristic diversity…Read more on Future directions and priorities for Arctic bryophyte research
1 May, 2017 by Hugh Venables, Michael Meredith
The Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is a highly productive marine environment that is undergoing rapid change, with consequences for productivity and total ecosystem carbon cycling. We present continuous underway O2/Ar…1 May, 2017 by Andrew Clarke, Hugh Venables, Michael Meredith
The Southern Ocean is a key region for silica (Si) cycling, and the isotopic signatures established here influence the rest of the world's oceans. The climate and ecosystem of the…1 May, 2017 by Andrew Clarke, Hugh Venables, Michael Meredith
Nutrient supply, uptake and cycling underpin high primary productivity over the continental shelf of the west Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). Here we use a suite of biogeochemical and isotopic data collected…1 May, 2017 by Michael Meredith
Rapid climatic changes in the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) have led to considerable changes in the meteoric freshwater input into the surrounding ocean, with implications for ocean circulation, the marine…1 May, 2017 by Hugh Venables, Michael Meredith
The silicon isotope composition (δ30Si) of dissolved silicon (DSi) and biogenic silica (BSi) provides information about the silicon cycle and its role in oceanic carbon uptake in the modern ocean…1 May, 2017 by Hugh Venables, Michael Meredith
The Western Antarctic Peninsula warmed significantly during the second half of the twentieth century, with a concurrent retreat of the majority of its glaciers, and marked changes in the sea-ice…1 May, 2017 by Hugh Venables, Michael Meredith
Barium cycling in the ocean is associated with a number of processes, including the production and recycling of organic matter, freshwater fluxes, and phenomena that affect alkalinity. As a result,…Read more on Coastal barium cycling at the West Antarctic Peninsula
1 May, 2017 by Hugh Venables, Michael Meredith
The Western Antarctic Peninsula has recently undergone rapid climatic warming, with associated decreases in sea ice extent and duration, and increases in precipitation and glacial discharge to the ocean. These…1 May, 2017 by Hugh Venables, Alexander Brearley, Michael Meredith
Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) intrudes from the mid-layers of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current onto the shelf of the western Antarctic Peninsula, providing a source of heat and nutrients to the…1 May, 2017 by Hugh Venables, Michael Meredith
The carbon cycle in seasonally sea-ice covered waters remains poorly understood due to both a lack of observational data and the complexity of the system. Here we present three consecutive…Read more on The seasonal cycle of carbonate system processes in Ryder Bay, West Antarctic Peninsula
1 May, 2017 by David Barnes
There are a number of remote archipelagos distributed between 45 and 60 °S. The biota of these islands provide useful information to describe and understand patterns in biodiversity and biogeography…1 May, 2017 by Hugh Venables, Mairi Fenton, Michael Meredith
The polar oceans are particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification; the lowering of seawater pH and carbonate mineral saturation states due to uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). High spatial variability…1 May, 2017 by Gary Llewellyn
The AisaOWL is a recent-to-market thermal hyperspectral instrument. As such, there is little information about the sensor performance in the literature. The sensor covers the 7.6-12.6 μm part of the…1 May, 2017 by Hugh Venables, Alexander Brearley, Michael Meredith
The ocean-to-atmosphere heat budget of the West Antarctic Peninsula is controlled in part by the upward flux of heat from the warm Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) layer that resides below…Read more on Controls on turbulent mixing on the West Antarctic Peninsula shelf
1 May, 2017 by Deborah Pardo
Climate changes include concurrent changes in environmental mean, variance and extremes, and it is challenging to understand their respective impact on wild populations, especially when contrasted age-dependent responses to climate…1 May, 2017 by Kelly Hogan
Wahlenbergfjorden is a fjord situated in the western part of Nordaustlandet in northern Svalbard. It leads into the 400 m deep Hinlopen Strait located between Nordaustlandet and Spitsbergen. High-resolution multibeam…1 May, 2017 by Paul Holland
We use borehole optical televiewing (OPTV) to explore the internal structure of Larsen C Ice Shelf (LCIS). We report a suite of five ~90 m long OPTV logs, recording a…Read more on Ice and firn heterogeneity within Larsen C Ice Shelf from borehole optical televiewing
1 May, 2017 by Dag Arne Lorentzen, Lisa Baddeley
Observations of multiple equatorward propagating arcs driven by a resonant Alfvén wave on closed field lines are presented. Data sets from the European Incoherent Scatter Svalbard Radar (ESR) and Meridian…1 May, 2017 by Richard Horne
The role of plasma waves in shaping the intense Jovian radiation belts is not well understood. In this study we use a realistic wave model based on an extensive survey…28 April, 2017 by Alex Brisbourne, Andy Smith, Carlos Martin Garcia, Emma Smith
Here we present new measurements of an anisotropic ice fabric in a fast moving (377 ma−1) ice stream in West Antarctica. We use ∼6000 measurements of shear wave splitting observed…Read more on Ice fabric in an Antarctic ice stream interpreted from seismic anisotropy
24 April, 2017 by Xin Yang
Current understanding of mercury (Hg) behavior in the atmosphere contains significant gaps. Some key characteristics of Hg processes, including anthropogenic and geogenic emissions, atmospheric chemistry, and air–surface exchange, are still…20 April, 2017 by Adrian Jenkins
Pine Island Ice Shelf, in the Amundsen Sea, is losing mass because of warm ocean waters melting the ice from below. Tracing meltwater pathways from ice shelves is important for…Read more on Glacial meltwater identification in the Amundsen Sea
18 April, 2017 by Carlos Martin Garcia, Hilmar Gudmundsson
Knowledge of the ice thickness distribution of glaciers and ice caps is an important prerequisite for many glaciological and hydrological investigations. A wealth of approaches has recently been presented for…1 April, 2017 by Gareth Marshall, Scott Hosking, John Turner, Thomas Bracegirdle, Tony Phillips
We investigate variability and trends of the Southern Hemisphere quasi-stationary planetary waves over 1979–2013 using the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Interim reanalyses. The effects of tropical and…1 April, 2017 by Peter Convey
As High Arctic environments are particularly sensitive to global and regional climate changes, a growing number of studies have focused on that region. It has been shown that living and…1 April, 2017 by Michael Thorne
The Antarctic nematode, Panagrolaimus sp. DAW1 (formerly called Panagrolaimus davidi), is the best documented example of an organism able to survive intracellular ice formation in all of its compartments. Not…Read more on Molecular snapshot of an intracellular freezing event in an Antarctic nematode
1 April, 2017 by Gareth Marshall, Hua Lu, John Turner
The effects of solar activity on the stratospheric waveguides and downward reflection of planetary waves during northern early to mid- winter are examined. Under high solar (HS) conditions enhanced westerly…1 April, 2017 by Geraint Tarling, Gabriele Stowasser, Martin Collins, Ryan Saunders
The biomass of mesopelagic fish in the Southern Ocean is one of the largest of any ocean region and is dominated (both in terms of diversity and biomass) by myctophids…1 April, 2017 by Claire Allen, Dominic Hodgson, Louise Ireland, Peter Fretwell, Stephen Roberts
Changes in penguin populations on the Antarctic Peninsula have been linked to several environmental factors, but the potentially devastating impact of volcanic activity has not been considered. Here we use…Read more on Past penguin colony responses to explosive volcanism on the Antarctic Peninsula
1 April, 2017 by Richard Phillips
We investigated the physiology of two closely related albatross species relative to their breeding strategy: black-browed albatrosses (Thalassarche melanophris) breed annually, while grey-headed albatrosses (T. chrysostoma) breed biennially. From observations…Read more on Costs of reproduction and carry-over effects in breeding albatrosses
1 April, 2017 by Kelly Hogan
Observations of subglacial landforms yielding the configuration and dynamics of former ice-flows have for the first time been made in Rijpfjorden and Duvefjorden, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard, using sub-bottom acoustic, swath-bathymetric data…1 April, 2017 by Richard Phillips
Bycatch in longline fisheries is a major contributor to the global decline of albatrosses. Sexual segregation at sea often leads to unequal overlap with different fisheries, resulting in sex-biased bycatch,…1 April, 2017 by Peter Convey
Three sympatric springtail species, from the South Shetland Islands archipelago in the maritime Antarctic, are analysed here in a common biogeographic and evolutionary framework. This study was designed to compare…1 April, 2017 by Andrew Kavanagh, Jade Reidy, Jade Reidy
This paper presents observations of polar cap auroral features on 19 January 2008, evaluated using multiple instruments with near-simultaneous observations in both hemispheres. Analysis of the features indicates that there…1 April, 2017 by David Pearce, Peter Convey
A taxonomic study was performed on a novel Gram-stain-positive, coccus-shaped, orange-pigmented motile bacterium, designated as strain L10.15T. The organism was isolated from a soil sample collected in Lagoon Island (close…Read more on Planococcus versutus sp. nov., isolated from soil
1 April, 2017 by Brent Minchew
Ocean tides influence the flow of marine-terminating glaciers. Observations indicate that the large fortnightly variations in ice flow at Rutford Ice Stream in West Antarctica originate in the floating ice…Read more on Tidal modulation of ice shelf buttressing stresses
31 March, 2017 by Derren Fox, Geraint Tarling, Philip Trathan, Stacey Adlard
Knowledge about sexual segregation and gender-specific, or indeed individual specialization, in marine organisms has improved considerably in the past decade. In this context, we tested the “Intersexual Competition Hypothesis” for…28 March, 2017 by Peter Convey
The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, adopted under the auspices of the Convention on Biological Diversity, provides the basis for taking effective action to curb biodiversity loss across the planet by…Read more on Antarctica and the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020
24 March, 2017 by Anna Belcher, Clara Manno, Geraint Tarling, Peter Ward
The faecal pellets (FP) of zooplankton can be important vehicles for the transfer of particulate organic carbon (POC) to the deep ocean, often making large contributions to carbon sequestration. However,…17 March, 2017 by Dominic Hodgson, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand
The history of glaciations on Southern Hemisphere sub-polar islands is unclear. Debate surrounds the extent and timing of the last glacial advance and termination on sub-Antarctic South Georgia in particular.…16 March, 2017 by Rosie Williams, Robert Arthern
We use an ice sheet model with realistic initial conditions to forecast how the Amundsen Sea sector of West Antarctica responds to recently observed rates of submarine melting. In these…Read more on The sensitivity of West Antarctica to the submarine melting feedback