1 January, 2005
An autonomous Doppler sodar wind profiling system has been designed, built, tested, and then deployed for 2 years at a remote site in Coats Land, Antarctica. The system is designed…Read more on An autonomous Doppler Sodar wind profiling system
1 January, 2005
The upper Ordovician succession of Jordan was located ~60°S, less than 100 km from the Hirnantian ice sheet margin. New graptolite dates indicate glaciation ended in Jordan in the late…1 January, 2005 by Hilmar Gudmundsson
The sensitivity of Vatnajökull ice cap, Iceland, to perturbations in equilibrium line altitude (ELA) is analyzed by performing a series of model experiments using a shallow ice approximation (SIA) flow…1 January, 2005 by Lloyd Peck
The escape swimming performance of the Antarctic scallop, Adamussium colbecki, was measured in animals acclimated for 6 weeks to –1, 0 or 2°C and tested at –1.5 to +1.5°C. Clap…1 January, 2005 by David Barnes
Body size in animals varies with many parameters, amongst them taxonomic affiliation, lifestyle and ambient environment oxygen levels. Size has considerable implication to possibilities for animals; for example, parasites need…Read more on Body and resource size at the land–sea interface
1 January, 2005 by David Barnes
In earth's history, having two frozen polar regions is unusual. Not only do these regions experience extreme light climates and associated primary productivity, but freezing sea temperatures and seasonally intense…Read more on Life, death and fighting at high latitudes: a review
1 January, 2005 by David Barnes, Peter Milner, Peter Milner
Organisms have travelled the Atlantic Ocean as neuston and have rafted on natural marine debris for millions of years. Shipping increased opportunities for marine organism travel mere thousands of years…1 January, 2005 by David Barnes, Lloyd Peck
The physiology of many organisms in many places varies with seasonality of environment characteristics. Polar marine environments are amongst the least and most seasonal. For example, sea temperature varies byRead more on Extremes of metabolic strategy in Antarctic Bryozoa
1 January, 2005 by David Barnes
The Scotia Arc links Patagonia to the Antarctic Peninsula. This island chain has changed considerably since Antarctica’s geographic and thermal isolation from other land and water masses. Now its rates…1 January, 2005 by David Barnes
A generation of people have now grown up thinking that shorelines strewn with anthropogenic artefacts is normal. Yet this pehnomenon is just a few decades old and aesthetics and beach…Read more on Remote islands reveal rapid rise of Southern Hemisphere sea debris
1 January, 2005 by David Barnes, Peter Convey
High southern latitude island environments are unusual in having relatively low or, in some cases, no non-indigenous species (NIS). Here we describe the accidental transport and survivorship of moths (Lepidoptera,…Read more on Odyssey of stow-away noctuid moths to southern polar islands
1 January, 2005 by David Barnes
Polar shores probably represent the most dynamic and extremely disturbed environments on the globe. Nevertheless intense battles amongst sessile organisms for space are commonplace on hard substrata, mainly between fast-growing…Read more on Bipolar patterns of intraspecific competition in bryozoans
1 January, 2005 by David Barnes
High polar communities tend to be young because of the frequent and intense impact of ice (scour), so colonisation patterns are particularly important. Yet, despite a wealth of studies at…Read more on Low colonisation on artificial substrata in arctic Spitsbergen
1 January, 2005 by Dominic Hodgson, James Smith
This paper presents preliminary relative sea level curves for the Marguerite Bay region and for the South Shetland Islands. The Marguerite Bay curve is constrained by both new and previously…1 January, 2005 by Dominic Hodgson, Stephen Roberts
The recent collapse of several Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves has been linked to rapid regional atmospheric warming during the twentieth century. New high-resolution lake sediment records of Holocene ice-shelf behavior…Read more on Early Holocene retreat of the George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula
1 January, 2005 by Eric Wolff, Robert Mulvaney
An updated compilation of published and new data of major-ion (Ca, Cl, K, Mg, Na, NO3, SO4) and methylsulfonate (MS) concentrations in snow from 520 Antarctic sites is provided by…1 January, 2005
Small metazoans such as marine nematodes are increasingly identified using both molecular and morphological techniques. Formalin is the preferred fixative for morphological analysis but specimens become unsuitable for molecular study…1 January, 2005 by Robert Larter
The risks posed by a range of acoustic scientific instruments were assessed by the construction of matrices of scale and likelihood. We recognized six levels of impact ranging from none…1 January, 2005
We review current knowledge and understanding of the biology and ecology of the calanoid copepod Calanus helgolandicus in European waters, as well as provide a collaborative synthesis of data from…Read more on An overview of Calanus helgolandicus ecology in European waters
1 January, 2005
Non-destructive photographic techniques are valuable for surveying benthic epifauna in sensitive areas. Inherent in these techniques, however, are selectivity biases related to the scale at which surveys are conducted. Such…1 January, 2005
Recruitment is a principal factor determining the establishment, diversity and persistence of assemblages in marine benthic ecosystems. Despite considerable research in temperate and tropical latitudes, however, almost nothing is known…Read more on Seasonality of recruitment in Antarctic sessile marine benthos
1 January, 2005 by David Pearce, Melody Clark
A monophialidic species of Paecilomyces was isolated from the Antarctic springtail Cryptopygus antarcticus in the peninsular Antarctic. The fungus emerged through the carapace of dead arthropods during incubation at 4oC,…1 January, 2005
Molecular data has been used in fungal systematics since the 1970s, and its rate of incorporation has increased significantly in recent years. In phylogeny molecular data has already been used…Read more on The impact of molecular data in fungal systematics
1 January, 2005
The copepod Boeckella poppei is a major species in high latitude lakes of the Southern Hemisphere. In such lakes the reduced diversity of metazoans contrasts with a rich microbial assemblage,…1 January, 2005
New collections of plant material from the Merrick and Sweeney Mountains provide further evidence of Jurassic floral diversity in the Antarctic Peninsula. Eighteen taxa are recognised, including sphenophytes (Equisetum), ferns…Read more on Macrofossil floras of the Latady Basin, Antarctic Peninsula
1 January, 2005
Six new records of ferns from the late Albian flora of Alexander Island, Antarctic Peninsula, provide further evidence for a widespread Cretaceous Austral flora. Phyllopteroides antarctica sp. nov. is the…1 January, 2005
Based on the temporal distribution, abundance, and taxonomic composition of wood floras, four phases of vegetation development are recognized through the Cretaceous to Early Tertiary of the Antarctic Peninsula: (1)…1 January, 2005
Araucarian conifers are an important component of Cretaceous through Paleogene floras in the Antarctic Pensinsula. A well-preserved Eocene petrified trunk from Seymour Island, Antarctica reveals the growth form and bark…1 January, 2005 by Melody Clark
Twenty-one members of the secretin family (family 2) of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) were identified via directed cloning and data-mining of the Fugu Genome Consortium database, representing the most comprehensive description…Read more on The secretin G-protein-coupled receptor family: teleost receptors
1 January, 2005
Empirical determination of the scaling properties and exponents of time series presents a formidable challenge in testing, and developing, a theoretical understanding of turbulence and other out-of-equilibrium phenomena. We discuss…1 January, 2005
Recently, Portelli et al (2003), Phys. Rev. Lett. 90 104501 have semi-numerically obtained a functional form of the probability distribution of fluctuations in the total energy flow in a model…1 January, 2005 by Gareth Chisham, Mai Mai Lam, Mervyn Freeman
The open-closed magnetic field line boundary (OCB) is best measured at the foot points of the boundary in the Earth's ionosphere where continuous and extensive spatiotemporal measurements can be made.…1 January, 2005 by Gareth Chisham, Mervyn Freeman
Determining reliable proxies for the ionospheric signature of the open-closed field line boundary (OCB) is crucial for making accurate measurements of magnetic reconnection. This study compares the latitudes of spectral…1 January, 2005 by Gareth Chisham
Gareth Chisham describes a new method for remotely sensing reconnection in the magnetosphere. This article is based on his poster, which won a 2005 Rishbeth Prize.1 January, 2005 by Andrew Clarke, Dominic Hodgson, David Barnes
The traditional view of Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean as an isolated system is now being challenged by the recent discovery at the Antarctic Peninsula of adult spider crabs…1 January, 2005 by Mark Clilverd
The robustness of the aa geomagnetic index is of critical importance to the debate about the previously reported doubling of the solar coronal magnetic field in the last 100 years,…1 January, 2005 by Mark Clilverd
We have modeled the effects of the Sodankylä Ion Chemistry model (SIC) electron density profiles on VLF propagation across the southern polar region during the first few days of the…Read more on Modeling a large solar proton event in the southern polar atmosphere
1 January, 2005
Dried monolayers of Chroococcidiopsis sp. 029, a desiccation-tolerant, endolithic cyanobacterium, were exposed to a simulated martian-surface UV and visible light flux, which may also approximate to the worst-case scenario for…Read more on Effects of a simulated Martian UV flux on the cyanobacterium, Chroococcidiopsis sp. 029
1 January, 2005 by Martin Collins
Body size trends across environmental gradients are widely reported but poorly understood. Here, we investigate contrasting relationships between size (body mass) and depth in the scavenging and predatory demersal ichthyofauna…1 January, 2005 by Martin Collins
A new species of cirrate octopod, Opisthoteuthis borealis sp. nov. is described from specimens caught at depths of 957–1321 m off the coast of Greenland. Opisthoteuthis borealis sp. nov. is…Read more on Opisthoteuthis borealis: a new species of cirrate octopod from Greenland waters
1 January, 2005 by Peter Convey
No Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) are known to be residents of South Georgia. This paper presents new records of three lepidopterans on the island. Two, Agrotis ipsilon (Noctuidae) and Plutella…Read more on Recent lepidopteran records from sub-Antarctic South Georgia
1 January, 2005 by Peter Convey, Sandra McInnes, Sandra McInnes
We describe a terrestrial faunal community including only Tardigrada and Rotifera, present on inland nunataks of Ellsworth Land, Antarctica (∼75°–77° S, 70°–73° W). The fauna is exceptional in its simplicity,…Read more on Exceptional tardigrade-dominated ecosystems in Ellsworth Land, Antarctica
1 January, 2005
Many phyla of marine invertebrates are difficult to identify using conventional morphological taxonomy. Larvae of a wider set of phyla are also difficult to identify as a result of conservation…1 January, 2005 by Adrian Fox, David Vaughan
The continued retreat of ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula has been widely attributed to recent atmospheric warming, but there is little published work describing changes in glacier margin positions.…Read more on Retreating glacier fronts on the Antarctic Peninsula over the past half-century
1 January, 2005
Background Animal mitochondrial genomes are physically separate from the much larger nuclear genomes and have proven useful both for phylogenetic studies and for understanding genome evolution. Within the phylum Arthropoda…Read more on The complete mitochondrial genome of the stomatopod crustacean Squilla mantis
1 January, 2005
Ian Crawford and Charles Cockell report on a wide-ranging RAS Discussion Meeting putting the broad scientific case for people in space, at the Linnean Society on 10 December 2004. Despite…Read more on The scientific case for human space exploration
1 January, 2005 by Janet Silk, Richard Phillips, Vsevolod Afanasyev
Although albatrosses are paradigms of oceanic specialization, their foraging areas and migration routes when not breeding remain essentially unknown. Our continuous remote tracking of 22 adult gray-headed albatrosses for over…Read more on Global circumnavigations: tracking year-round ranges of nonbreeding albatrosses
1 January, 2005
The biologically damaging solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation (quantified by the DNA-weighted dose) reaches the martian surface in extremely high levels. Searching for potentially habitable UV-protected environments on Mars, we considered…Read more on Radiative habitable zones in martian polar environments
1 January, 2005 by Howard Roscoe
Here we present an operational method to improve accuracy and information content of ground-based measurements of stratospheric NO2. The motive is to improve the investigation of trends in NO2, and…1 January, 2005
We describe in situ observations on nesting by the Scotia Sea (or blackfin) icefish Chaenocephalus aceratus (Lönnberg) that constitute the first substantive evidence of egg brooding and parental care by…1 January, 2005
Joint inversion of isochron and flow line data from the flanks of the extinct West Scotia Ridge spreading center yields five reconstruction rotations for times between the inception of spreading…1 January, 2005
With proposals that micro-miniaturised Raman spectrometers could soon be part of a suite of analytical instrumentation on the surface of Mars, it is critically important to examine the spectral information…1 January, 2005
We present a new European Mars mission proposal to build on the UK-led Beagle2 Mars mission and continue its astrobiology-focussed investigation of Mars. The small surface element to be delivered…Read more on Vanguard — a European robotic astrobiology-focussed Mars sub-surface mission proposal
1 January, 2005 by Geraint Tarling
A biophysical model of the Irish Sea was produced to predict net horizontal movement of key taxa including small copepods (Acartia, Pseudocalanus), large copepod species (Calanus finmarchicus and C. helgolandicus),…1 January, 2005
Geological and geophysical data from the NE Antarctic Peninsula continental shelf are used to reconstruct the glacial history, flow-dynamics and sedimentation of the Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet (APIS) along its…1 January, 2005 by Howard Roscoe
An offline 3D chemical transport model (CTM) has been used to study the evolution of the Antarctic ozone hole during the sudden warming event of 2002 and to compare it…1 January, 2005 by Fausto Ferraccioli, Philip Leat
Determining the location and geometry of possible subglacial rifts in western Dronning Maud Land is a key element to address processes leading to early Gondwana break-up. However, previous geophysical investigations…1 January, 2005 by Fausto Ferraccioli, Philip Leat, Teal Riley
The Jutulstraumen ice stream in western Dronning Maud Land may conceal a Jurassic continental rift. Delineating the geometry and the magmatic patterns of this inferred glaciated rift in East Antarctica…1 January, 2005
Depleted mantle model ages derived from granitoids of the Lassiter Coast Intrusive Suite, sampled over a wide geographical area in eastern Ellsworth Land, Antarctica, cluster between 1000 Ma and 1200…1 January, 2005
Granulite-facies metamorphism affecting the Slishwood Division was extreme. Three samples yielded P–T conditions of 15.8, 14, 14.9kbar at 810, 750 and 880°C, respectively. Four Sm–Nd mineral isochrons, defined by granulite-facies…1 January, 2005
A set of polymerase chain reaction primers were designed, which amplify a c. 1 kb fragment of the 18S ribosomal DNA gene, and are specific to the phylum Nematoda. These…Read more on Nematode-specific PCR primers for the 18S small subunit rRNA gene
1 January, 2005 by Eugene Murphy, Jaume Forcada, Philip Trathan
Climate variability has strong effects on marine ecosystems, with repercussions that range in scale from those that impact individuals to those that impact the entire food web. Climate-induced changes in…Read more on The effects of global climate variability in pup production of Antarctic fur seals
1 January, 2005
We investigated trophic ecology variation among colonies as well as sex- and age-related differences in the diet of the southern giant petrel Macronectes giganteus, a long-lived seabird that is sexually…1 January, 2005
In this report daily ground-based measurements of vertical profiles of CO and H2O from 2002 are used to trace the vertical movement of air caused by the seasonally varying mean…1 January, 2005 by Adrian Fox, David Vaughan
In recent decades, several ice shelves along the Antarctic Peninsula have diminished in size as a result of climate warming. Using aerial photographic, satellite and survey data we document a…Read more on The retreat of Jones Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula
1 January, 2005 by Peter Convey
Alien microbes, fungi, plants and animals occur on most of the sub-Antarctic islands and some parts of the Antarctic continent. These have arrived over approximately the last two centuries, coincident…Read more on Biological invasions in the Antarctic: extent, impacts and implications
1 January, 2005 by Andrew Clarke
The bathyal West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) shelf experiences intense seasonal variability in primary production, with summer phytoplankton blooms yielding intense pulse of phytodetritus to shelf sediments. Echinoderms form a conspicuous…1 January, 2005
Placopsis antarctica, which is apparently endemic to antarctic regions south of lat. 60°S (South Orkney Is, South Shetland Is and the Antarctic Peninsula), is described. Details of its morphology, anatomy,…Read more on A new species of Placopsis (Agyriaceae: Ascomycota) from Antarctica
1 January, 2005
Vahlkampfia signyensis n. sp. was isolated from two soil sites at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, maritime Antarctic. Trophozoites of the species had a typical vahlkampfiid morphology, showed eruptive movement…1 January, 2005 by Richard Horne, Sarah Glauert
We present a new computer code (PADIE) that calculates fully relativistic quasi-linear pitch angle and energy diffusion coefficients for resonant wave-particle interactions in a magnetized plasma. Unlike previous codes, the…Read more on Calculation of pitch angle and energy diffusion coefficients with the PADIE code
1 January, 2005
The two sibling species of giant petrels (northern Macronectes halli and the southern M. giganteus), the dominant scavengers of the sub-Antarctic and Antarctic environment, are one of the best examples…Read more on Differences in foraging behaviour and feeding ecology in giant petrels
1 January, 2005
Macaroni penguins were implanted with data loggers to record heart rate (fH), abdominal temperature (Tab) and diving depth during their pre-moult trip (summer) and winter migration. The penguins showed substantial…Read more on Do seasonal changes in metabolic rate facilitate changes in diving behaviour?
1 January, 2005
Penguins are major consumers in the marine environment. However, like many top predators, very little information exists on their foraging behaviour outside the breeding season. We investigated the foraging behaviour…Read more on Behavioural flexibility during year-round foraging in macaroni penguins
1 January, 2005
In the eighteenth century, James Hutton came up with a theory that revolutionized the science of geology, ‘The present is a key to the past’. But could the past also…Read more on The climate of the future: clues from three million years ago
1 January, 2005
Abstract not available for this article.1 January, 2005
Traditional reconstructions of sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) produced by the Pliocene Research Interpretations and Synoptic Mapping (PRISM) Group indicate that mid-Pliocene surface ocean temperatures were unchanged or slightly cooler than modern…1 January, 2005 by Jonathan Shanklin
A medium frequency spaced-antenna radar has been operating at Rothera station, Antarctica (67° S, 68° W) for two periods, between 1997-1998 and since 2002, measuring winds in the mesosphere and…1 January, 2005 by Simeon Hill
The South Georgia population of mackerel icefish (Champsocephalus gunnari) is exploited by both a fishery and predators, including gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua). Because considerable uncertainty surrounds recent estimates of stock…1 January, 2005 by Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand
Upper Quaternary marine sediments recovered from the West Antarctic continental margin are characterized by a distinct lithological succession allowing the reconstruction of past environmental changes. Massive, homogenous diamictons were deposited…1 January, 2005
The ‘Moult Rate’ (MR) method has been used widely to derive stage-specific growth rates in juvenile copepods. It is the most common field-based method. Unfortunately, the equation underlying the method…1 January, 2005 by Dominic Hodgson, Peter Convey
We studied the fossil remains of the common Antarctic oribatid mites, Alaskozetes antarcticus and Halozetes belgicae, in sediment cores from two lakes in adjacent catchments on Signy Island, South Orkney…1 January, 2005 by Dominic Hodgson
Little is known about the response of terrestrial East Antarctica to climate changes during the last glacial–interglacial cycle. Here we present a continuous sediment record from a lake in the…1 January, 2005 by Dominic Hodgson
Elevated ultraviolet irradiance (UVR, 280–400 nm) damages DNA and induces reorganisation within biological communities at the Earth's surface. Southern high latitude aquatic ecosystems may be particularly susceptible because of low…Read more on Late Pleistocene record of elevated UV radiation in an Antarctic lake
1 January, 2005
Novel observations collected from video, acoustic and conductivity sensors showed that Antarctic fur seals consistently exhale during the last 50–85% of ascent from all dives (10–160 m, n>8000 dives from…1 January, 2005 by Nigel Meredith, Richard Horne, Sarah Glauert
Electron acceleration inside the Earth's magnetosphere is required to explain increases in the ∼MeV radiation belt electron flux during magnetically disturbed periods. Recent studies show that electron acceleration by whistler…Read more on Timescale for radiation belt electron acceleration by whistler mode chorus waves
1 January, 2005 by Nigel Meredith, Richard Horne, Sarah Glauert
The Van Allen radiation belts are two regions encircling the Earth in which energetic charged particles are trapped inside the Earth's magnetic field. Their properties vary according to solar activity…Read more on Wave acceleration of electrons in the Van Allen radiation belts
1 January, 2005
Fossil soils are present within mid-Cretaceous fluvial sediments of the Fossil Bluff Group, Alexander Island, Antarctica. The palaeosols contain in situ fossil trees and rooted plants. These palaeosols are typically…1 January, 2005 by David Barnes
Variation in gonadal somatic indices (GSI) and fatty acid signatures of 2 contrasting Scottish west coast populations of the echinoid Psammechinus miliaris were examined. P. miliaris was sampled from both…Read more on Gonad fatty acids and trophic interactions of the echinoid Psammechinus miliaris
1 January, 2005 by Kevin Hughes
The majority of coastal Antarctic research stations discard untreated sewage waste into the near-shore marine environment. However, Antarctic solar conditions are unique, with ozone depletion increasing the proportion of potentially…Read more on Effect of Antarctic solar radiation on sewage bacteria viability
1 January, 2005 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
The populations of two non-native Dipterans have been established at two Antarctic research stations since at least 1998. Both belong to Sciaridae ("black fungus midge"), and have been determined to…Read more on Alien fly populations established at two Antarctic research stations