SEARCH
Ocean currents Image: Kathy Gunn checking the Argo signal before deployment. Photo: A. Post Dr Kathy Gunn (Physical Oceanographer, CSIRO) As early as the 1960s, over 165,000 marked bottles were strategically released to measure the speed and direction of ocean currents. Less strategically, a cargo ship accidentally spilled almost 30,000 bath toys (mostly rubber ducks) […]
Sea2SchoolAu – virtual ship tours! Have you or your kids ever wondered what scientists do on a research ship? Why is it important to study the oceans around Antarctica? Unfortunately we can’t take you on the voyage or even a tour of the ship in person, but modern satellite and internet technology does allow us […]
Cape Darnley – What’s in a name? Have you ever been curious about the names of places around the coast of Antarctica? Many of these places were named by early explorers in the early 20th Century to honour important people who had funded or supported these voyages of discovery. Cape Darnley, for instance, was named […]
What you need to know about Antarctic Bottom Water The science team onboard the RV Investigator in Fremantle. Image: Aero Leplastrier. BY DR ALIX POST, GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR HELEN BOSTOCK, THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND AND MATT MARRISON, CSIRO A team of scientists is plumbing the depths in East Antarctica to increase our understanding of […]
Southern Ocean holds deep clues to ancient carbon tipping points The Amundsen Sea from aboard RV Polarstern. Photo: Katharina Hochmuth. Researchers have found a long-searched for giant carbon reservoir buried in the Southern Ocean between Tasmania and Antarctica. The reservoir is the result of a dramatic carbon drawdown 34 million years ago that transitioned Earth […]
Deep ocean currents around Antarctica headed for collapse, study finds Under a high emissions scenario, the collapse would stagnate the bottom of the world’s oceans. Photo credit: 66 north on Unsplash The deep ocean circulation that forms around Antarctica could be headed for collapse, say scientists. Such decline of this ocean circulation will stagnate the bottom of the […]
On Thin Ice: A science briefing about changes in Antarctic sea ice The Australian Antarctic Program Partnership (AAPP) and the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS) have released a report on sea ice changes in Antarctica. Antarctic sea ice provides many services for our planet. It is a cooling sunshade, an insulating blanket, a unique habitat, […]
Antarctica’s heart of ice has skipped a beat. Time to take our medicine By Edward Doddridge, University of Tasmania This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The rhythmic expansion and contraction of Antarctic sea ice is like a heartbeat. But lately, there’s been a skip in the […]
Seals to gather intel on the Southern Ocean Elephant seals are the ultimate divers—travelling long distances, and diving to 1500m depths. They are crucial to gathering knowledge on the Southern Ocean’s role in the global climate system. Photo: Clive McMahon, IMOS and SIMS. The first ARC Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS) project drawing […]
New map unlocks deep digital data of Antarctica’s history By GNS Science It’s not just ice out there. 0.5% of the surface of Antarctica is exposed geology which can tell us a lot about the history – and the future – of the continent. GeoMAP Antarctica is the first detailed digital database that collates all […]