Latest updates
Phytoplankton are the building block of, and thus the main determinant of, the productivity of Southern Ocean pelagic ecosystems, and play an important role in regulating climate.
Investigators study how production and degradation of trace gases in the ocean affect ozone-depletion. These “natural” compounds make up about 25% of the ozone depletion attributed to halocarbons such as chlorofluorocarbons.
The proposal focuses on the functioning of the biological carbon pump in the Southern Ocean.
This project involves field trialling of software written as part of ASAC project 1212 (2000-2001) to determine sea-ice thickness in real-time from ship-borne electromagnetic induction measurements.
Key information will be obtained on squid biology in three main areas:
Antarctica is considered the most remote ecosystem in the world and yet recent studies have discovered high infection rates for some common poultry diseases in penguins.
Detecting climate change in the atmosphere is difficult because of the atmospheres energetic natural variability. The slow response of the ocean makes it a sensitive indicator of climate change.
Our objective is to determine if a newly discovered virus found in southern elephant seals is also present in other seals and also birds from the Antarctic and therefore to assess whether any of these other species are at risk of disease from the virus.
Geological evidence from the Framnes Mountain, East Antarctica, will reveal changes in ice thickness from the Last Glacial Maximum 20,000 years ago to the present.
The Antarctic Circumpolar Wave is a mode of high latitude variability involving the atmosphere, ocean and sea ice. Some research indicates it has a period of about 5 years but the robustness and persistence has yet to be fully established.