ACEAS generates new knowledge about East Antarctica and the Southern Ocean
From 2026 to 2028 our national research program is focussed on the globally significant Denman–Shackleton glacier system, which has the potential to contribute up to 1.5 metres to global mean sea level if fully melted.
Our research priorities over this period leverage previous national investments and fill critical Antarctic science gaps by advancing research across four integrated themes.
Theme 1: Basal Controls on Denman Ice Dynamics
What are the basal boundary conditions that govern Denman Glacier dynamics across past, present and future timescales?
Theme 1 integrates new geophysical and geological data from the Denman Terrestrial Campaign and Denman Marine Voyage with existing knowledge to deliver improved constraints on subglacial trough geometry, ice-bed properties, geothermal heat production, crust-mantle structure and glacial isostatic adjustment.
Theme 2: Meltwater, Nutrients, and Ecosystem Response
What are the sources, pathways, and biological utilisation of meltwater- and sediment-derived elements and nutrients, through the water column, into marine ecosystems and higher trophic levels?
Theme 2 integrates measurements from sediment cores, pore waters, seawater and biological samples and images collected during the Denman Marine Voyage with existing data and samples to resolve how subglacial meltwater, sedimentary processes, and ocean circulation regulate nutrient supply and marine productivity. Together, these activities provide a system-wide understanding of how marine ecosystems in the Denman-Shackleton region respond to ice-sheet change.
Theme 3: Denman Climate Variability and Change
What are the patterns and drivers of interannual to multi-millennial variability in ocean and ice conditions in the Denman system, and what does this imply for sensitivity over coming decades and centuries?
Theme 3 combines ocean-ice shelf modelling, analysis of observations made during the Denman Marine Voyage, ocean temperature and sea-ice variability, and paleoclimate records to explain why the Denman region experiences extreme warm and cold states and what this implies for future melt sensitivity.
Theme 4: Denman In Context: across systems and timescales
What are the East Antarctic and Southern Ocean system-level patterns, processes, and drivers across timescales, and critical ice-ocean-atmosphere-ecosystem Earth interactions, that the Denman system is part of? How does the Denman system influence, and respond to, broader Antarctic and Southern Ocean systems?
Theme 4 ensures that Denman-focused findings are placed in a broader East Antarctic and Southern Ocean context. It draws together terrestrial, marine, and modelling results into internally consistent, system-level interpretations of the Denman glacial system and its connections to regional and circum-Antarctic processes.
By integrating Denman-specific results with broader Antarctic and Southern Ocean science, Theme 4 enables synthesis across space, time and disciplines. Synthesis activities translate findings into high-impact publications and underpin policy-relevant outputs.
ACEAS research program is funded by the Australian government and helps to deliver the Australian Antarctic Science Decadal Strategy 2025–2035.
Prior to mid-2026, ACEAS’s research program was supported by $25M of Australian Research Council (ARC) funding and university contributions. This previous research program formally commenced in late 2021 and ran until June 2026.
Click on the tiles below to learn more about our previous research priorities, known as ‘Programs’, from 2021–2026.