NEWS

Read the latest ACEAS news as we seek to uncover the mysteries of East Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, and better understand emerging climate risks.

Fishing for a glacier's secrets

Fishing for
a glacier's
secrets

It’s an ice fishing trip like no other.

A five-metre long drill. More than a kilometre of line. On a glacier tongue over an unmapped ocean. The mission: to suspend a string of sensors under the ice that will monitor the temperature, salinity and currents of the ocean below, every hour for the next few years.

How to drill an ice shelf — and why

How to drill
an ice shelf
— and why

Christmas Day 2023. While many of us are at the beach or around the barbie, a plucky team of four scientists and a polar field guide pitch their tents at what must be the world’s most remote campsite: the Shackleton ice shelf.

Study of ancient collision zone reveals origins of enormous hidden mountain range in East Antarctica

13 May 2025

Study of ancient collision zone reveals origins of enormous hidden mountain range in East Antarctica Australian researchers have discovered how a large mountain chain resembling the European Alps and buried deep below the East Antarctic ice sheet, grew and partly collapsed more than half a billion years ago. Formed by an ancient collision of two […]

Satellite observing breakthrough for monitoring the movement of Antarctic dense water

23 Apr 2025

Satellite observing breakthrough for monitoring the movement of Antarctic dense water Ocean modelling researchers have discovered a reliable and long-term new method to capture the formation and export of dense water around the Antarctic coast. Dense water is formed as sea ice freezes, producing vast amounts of salty water that sinks. Being able to monitor […]

All part of the process: biology meets chemistry off an ice shelf

23 Apr 2025

All part of the process: biology meets chemistry off an ice shelf By Delphine Lannuzel and Pauline Latour, with the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership (AAPP) During the Denman Marine Voyage, we’re combining biology and biogeochemistry to study phytoplankton either side of the Denman Glacier and the Shackleton Ice Shelf. We’re investigating why the west is […]

Antarctica’s hidden threat: meltwater under the ice sheet amplifies sea-level rise

08 Apr 2025

Antarctica’s hidden threat: meltwater under the ice sheet amplifies sea-level rise Author: Chen Zhao, University of Tasmania and Ben Galton-Fenzi, Australian Antarctic Division *This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Louie Lee, Shutterstock One of the biggest challenges in predicting Antarctica’s deeply uncertain future is understanding exactly […]

Sand-sized fossils hold secrets to the history of climate change

21 Mar 2025

Sand-sized fossils hold secrets to the history of climate change Author: Yuhao Dai, Australian National University *This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Between 18,000 and 11,000 years ago, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere suddenly shot up. This caused rapid global warming, the mass […]