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Good things don’t come in threes for Antarctic sea ice As this month marks the third consecutive summer with extremely low sea-ice cover around Antarctica, new statistical research points to fundamental changes taking place in the polar Southern Ocean. Antarctic sea ice reached its summer minimum area of 1.97 million km2 on 18 February, the third […]

MISO investigates how the Southern Ocean is responding to climate change The recently returned MISO voyage (Multidisciplinary Investigations of the Southern Ocean) was a 2-month journey along the edge of Antarctica on the RV Investigator. The scientists on-board gathered one of the most comprehensive datasets collected on the Southern Ocean. This included measurements of iron

Breaking ice and visiting volcanoes A wrap-up of the EASI-3 RV Polarstern voyage: East Antarctic Ice Sheet instability and its interaction with changes in the Southern Ocean By Katharina Hochmuth “Almost 42 years old and RV Polarstern is still up for new ports (like Hobart), the uncharted waters of East Antarctica and more scientific adventures”.

Windblown dust from land boosts productivity in the Southern Ocean A ground-breaking study led by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes in collaboration with ACEAS, the University of Tasmania and CSIRO estimates that windblown dust from continents fuels a third of phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean. Dr Jakob Weis, lead author of

ACEAS in Vienna Four ACEAS researchers attended the  General Assembly 2024 of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) last month in Vienna from 14–19 April. In amongst the 18,896 presentations given across 1,044 sessions: The annual EGU General Assembly is Europe’s largest and most prominent geosciences event. It attracts geoscientists from all over the globe, covering

Heavy water: how melting ice sheets and pumped groundwater can lower local sea levels – and boost them elsewhere Bernhard Staehli/Shutterstock Rebecca McGirr, Australian National University; Anthony Purcell, Australian National University; Herbert McQueen, Australian National University, and Paul Tregoning Imagine you’re standing near the edge of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, gazing out over the ocean, when the

New research reveals Australia may be severely underestimating bushfire risk  A study of sea salt in Antarctic snowfall reveals why Australia could be underprepared for bushfire seasons. Climate scientists have warned that Australia could be facing bushfires that are even more devastating than the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires. Their warning is based on a new

How to drill an ice shelf – and why A key activity of last summer’s Denman Terrestrial Campaign (2023/24) was using a hot water drill on the Shackleton ice shelf to try and reach the ocean below. Why? The Denman Glacier is one of the fastest retreating glaciers in Australian Antarctic Territory. It’s fate depends

The dawn of the Antarctic ice sheets Scientists have achieved a world first, combining unique geological samples from the seafloor with sophisticated modelling to reveal the origins of the Antarctic ice sheet. Global warming is affecting today’s Antarctic ice sheet. The ‘eternal’ ice is melting faster than predicted—but more in West Antarctica than East Antarctica.

Antarctica’s coasts vulnerable to hitchhiking pests and pollution New ocean models reveal how Antarctica’s unique ecosystems could be threatened by the arrival of non-native marine species and marine pollution from other continents. In a new study published in Global Change Biology, scientists suggest that floating objects can reach Antarctic waters— by hitching a ride on