Polarstern heads south to uncover East Antarctic mysteries Dr Rachel Barrett (University of Kiel) with Dr Katharina Hochmuth aboard the RV Polarstern before its departure from Hobart. Image: Jodi Fox. February marked many momentous occasions for Antarctic science, including the first visit to Australia for the Alfred Wegner Institute’s RV Polarstern. A range of events […]

Past patterns of ice sheet melt reveal worrying clues for future sea level rise Researchers studying the climate of the Last Interglacial have discovered a co-dependent relationship between Antarctic ice sheet melt and ocean warming that reinforces itself. The findings suggest East Antarctica might be even more vulnerable today than scientists previously thought, with a […]

Climate drivers are behind Antarctic melt that caused recent sea level rise A team of researchers has revealed that climate variability—specifically the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Southern Annular Mode—played a significant role in the changes observed in the Antarctic Ice Sheet over the past 20 years. Professor Matt King, Director of the […]

40,000 years of sea ice dynamics unearths future clues A team of researchers has found that a decline in sea ice cover off East Antarctica at the end of the last ice age led to major climate warming and caused the Southern Ocean’s ´control valve´ to open and release carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. […]

Travel award takes Antarctic studies to Europe Earlier this year, ACEAS PhD student Josef Bisits received the Michael Tallis PhD research travel award, which allowed him to attend a prestigious summer school and an international conference in July for his area of research: physical oceanography.  “Being from Australia it can be difficult to cultivate working […]