Publications database

Antarctic ice-free coastal environments, like the Vestfold Hills (East Antarctica), are shaped by a complex interplay of physical processes. This study synthesizes new data and existing research from the Vestfold Hills across marine, terrestrial and cryosphere science, meteorology, geomorphology…

Net sea-ice extent (SIE; the area enclosed by greater than 15% sea-ice concentration) and sea-ice area (SIA; the product of sea-ice extent and concentration) were well below average or at record-low levels throughout 2023 (Fig. 6.11a).

Overview of past and future climate change in Australia's area of responsibility in Antarctica, sub-Antarctic islands and Southern Ocean, and impacts of Antarctic changes upon the Australian mainland.

Surface melt on the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) occurs primarily on the low-elevation coastal margins, especially on the Antarctic Peninsula and on the ice shelves surrounding the continent.

The retreat of Antarctic ice shelves due to calving and the subsequent reduction in buttressing of the Antarctic Ice Sheet are of major concern for future sea-level rise. Sudden…

Net sea-ice extent (SIE) and sea-ice area (SIA) were well below or at record-low levels for all of 2022 (based on satellite passive-microwave ice concentration data since 1979 when the near-homogenous satellite record began; Cavalieri et al. 1996). Indeed…

Antarctic sea ice plays a crucial role in the global climate system and is highly sensitive to climate change and variability (Walsh 1983; Liu et al. 2002; Roach et al. 2020). Sea ice seasonally covers a vast area of the high-latitude Southern Ocean each year…

Antarctic sea ice plays a pivotal role in the global climate system. Forming a highly reflective, dynamic, and insulative blanket that varies seasonally in its areal coverage from ~3 × 106 km2 to ~19–20 × 106 km2, sea ice and its snow cover strongly modifies ocean…

Net sea ice areal extent was well above average during the first few months of 2015 (Fig. 6.8a). Monthly record extents were observed in January (7.46 × 106 km2), April (9.06 × 106 km2), and May (12.1 × 106 km2).

Antarctic sea ice performs important roles in the climate system through the formation of dense oxygen rich Antarctic Bottom Water (Johnson 2008) and modulating fluxes across the ocean/atmosphere interface within the high southern latitudes (Bourassa et al. 2013).

Both net sea ice extent (SIE) and area (SIA) were close to the 1981–2010 average for January through August 2016, after which there was a dramatic departure from the mean through to the end of the year (Fig. 6.8a). Maximum net SIE peaked on 31 August (18.44 × 106 km2)…

The Maud Rise polynya is a persistent area of open water within the sea ice cover of the Southern Ocean, which overlies an area of elevated topography called Maud Rise (66°S, 3°E) located in the eastern sector of the Weddell Sea (Fig. SB6.1a).

Overall Antarctic sea ice extent in the 2016 spring attained a record minimum for the satellite period (1979–2016), presenting an abrupt departure from the record maxima in previous years and the slight upward trend since 1979.

Contrasting regional changes in Southern Ocean sea ice have occurred over the last 30 years with distinct regional effects on ecosystem structure and function.

Investigating ecological relationships between predators and their environment is essential to understand the response of marine ecosystems to climate variability and change. This is particularly true in polar regions, where sea ice (a sensitive climate variable)…

Over the past 37 years, satellite records show an increase in Antarctic sea ice cover that is most pronounced in the period of sea ice growth. This trend is dominated by increased sea ice coverage in the western Ross Sea, and is mitigated by a strong decrease in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas.

In 2012, Antarctic sea-ice coverage was marked by weak annual-mean climate anomalies that consisted of opposing anomalies early and late in the year (some setting new records) which were interspersed by near-average conditions for most of the austral autumn and winter. Here…

Snow on Antarctic sea ice plays a complex and highly variable role in air-sea-ice interaction processes and the Earth's climate system. Using data collected mostly during the past 10 years, this paper reviews the following topics:

Antarctic sea ice plays a pivotal role in the global climate system. Forming a highly-dynamic reflective and insulative blanket that varies seasonally from ~3 to ~20 × 106 km2, sea ice and its snow cover strongly modify ocean–atmosphere fluxes and interaction processes (Bourassa et al. 2013).

During 2021, and following on from 2020, net Antarctic sea ice coverage continued to exhibit strong variability (Fig. 6.11a), with distinct regional and seasonal contributions (Fig. 6.11b). The year began with below-average overall sea ice extent (SIE) in January through February (Fig. 6.11a)…

Estimates of the distribution and density of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba Dana, 1850) were derived from a large-scale survey conducted during the austral summer in the Southwest Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean and across the Scotia Sea in 2018–19, the '2018–19 Area 48 Survey'.

The SCAR Krill Action Group (SKAG) provides a conduit for science to feed into the management of the Antarctic krill fishery, as well a more general forum to promote collaboration, help early career researchers, improve understanding of krill biology and ecology, and facilitate information exchange.

Sea ice is a key habitat in the high latitude Southern Ocean and is predicted to change in its extent, thickness and duration in coming decades. The sea-ice cover is instrumental in mediating ocean…

Estimates of the distribution and density of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba Dana, 1850) were derived from a large-scale survey conducted during the austral summer in the Southwest Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean and across the Scotia Sea in 2018–19, the ‘2018–19 Area 48 Survey’.