Latest updates
The Australian Research Council Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science is a collaboration between Australian universities, government agencies and international institutions.
This program aims to deliver unprecedented research capability for securing Antarctic environments in the face of uncertain change.
Climate records at Law Dome provide a unique record of climate variability and change. These are high-resolution ice core records where the detailed seasonal variations in chemical and physical properties are well-preserved, making these records suitable for calibration with meteorological data.
Robust sea level records are critical for a wide variety of scientific, economic and social purposes.
Antarctic terrestrial and marine ecosystems are subject to human disturbance at global, regional and local scales. As human activity in Antarctica increases alongside a changing climate, so does potential for environmental impacts.
The main atmospheric greenhouse gases, gas isotopes and aerosols will be measured at Casey, Mawson and Macquarie Island. The data will continue the most extensive atmospheric composition observational network in the region, starting in the 1980s.
Ice-free regions in Antarctica are increasingly the focus of scientific research, infrastructure development, and tourism. They provide important habitats for wildlife but are highly vulnerable to disturbance from foot or vehicle traffic and other inadvertent damage to fragile polar landforms.
Long-term monitoring is essential to accurately assess the status and trends of long-lived seabirds and marine mammals. At least 29 native vertebrate species breed on sub-Antarctic World Heritage listed Macquarie Island (25 bird, 4 mammal).
Populations rise to the challenge of changing environments through a blend of adaptation and dispersal. The signals of these processes are captured in the genetic diversity of populations and how this is structured across a species range.
Metocean dynamics of the Antarctic Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) is a topic of challenge and significance. The wave forecast has to accommodate multiple physical mechanisms of wave-ice interactions, depending also on complex mechanical properties of ice.