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The Southern Ocean is one the most significant regions on earth for regulating the build up of anthropogenic carbon in the atmosphere, and the capacity for carbon uptake in the region could be altered by climate change.
The major aim of this project is to study the diversity of Antarctic microalgae and how they adapt to impacts and environmental stress such global warming, increased UV radiation and nutrient enrichment, in comparison with tropical and temeperate species.
This project examines the interactions and feedback between marine polar plankton and global climate through the use of biogeochemical and global climate models.
We investigate how the ocean basins surrounding Antarctica became wider and deeper over time as the Gondwanaland super-continent drifted apart.
The historical gravity record in Antarctica is now over 40 years old. When combined with new precision gravity data there is potential for gravity to determine uplift to a precision of about 2 mm/yr which is similar to that determined with GPS observations.
A hydrographic section between Perth and Antarctica will be carried out, repeating a transect first occupied 10 years ago. By comparing the two sections, we will detect changes in ocean climate and in the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the sea.
Hydrocarbon contamination poses a major threat to Antarctic and subantarctic ecosystems because these products are persistent and toxic.
Across the Southern Ocean populations of albatrosses and giant petrels have declined as a result of interactions with fishing operations. In 2003 it was estimated that around 250,000 albatrosses and petrels have been killed on longlines in the Southern Hemisphere in the last three years alone.
The formation of Subantarctic Mode and Antarctic Intermediate Water leads to the export of heat and freshwater by the Southern Ocean and the transmission of climate change signals throughout the interior of the ocean.
Seaweeds are vital to coastal Antarctic marine ecosystems, providing shelter and food to many organisms. This laboratory-based study assesses the effects of contaminants on Antarctic macroalgae using chlorophyll fluorescence techniques.