News & information on Antarctica & the Southern Ocean

Science and Research in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean


CSIRO RV Investigator to study underwater volcanoes in Southern Ocean

A CSIRO Marine National Facility research vessel has departed from Fremantle in Western Australia and headed to the remote subantarctic islands to research the link between active volcanoes on the seafloor and the mobilisation of iron which enriches and supports life in the Southern Ocean.… Read more »

Flying lab to study how the Southern Ocean absorbs carbon

A team of scientists supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) will be taking off in a specially-modified Gulfstream V jet this month as they survey remote parts of the Southern Ocean.… Read more »

Prof Rob DeConto explains how polar ice sheet movements can help to predict future sea level rise [video]

Rob DeConto, Professor of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, explains his research on ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland, and how these can predict future sea level rise.… Read more »

Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica - the canary in the mine for climate change? [Video]

The Pine Island Glacier, one of the major glaciers draining the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, is rapidly thinning and, at 3mm per decade, is currently the single biggest contributor to sea level rise. The head of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Professor Jane Francis, discusses the iSTAR programme undertaken by BAS which seeks to gain a better understanding of the complexities of this relatively fast moving and thinning glacier, as well as the overall stability of the entire Ice Sheet.… Read more »

Prof Tim Naish of the Antarctic Research Centre explains how Antarctica's history is relevant in predicting future sea levels [Video]

Prof Tim Naish, Director of the Antarctic Research Centre at Victoria University of Wellington, explains how the geological record in Antarctica is relevant in predicting future sea-levels.… Read more »

Dr Steve Rintoul on thermal expansion and melting Antarctic ice shelves [video]

Dr Steve Rintoul of the CSIRO explains the part ocean thermal expansion has to play in rising sea levels, the interaction between oceans and ice shelves, and how Antarctic Bottom Water is warming.… Read more »

Type-C Killer whales commute long distances from Antarctica to temperate zones

A team led by Regina Eisert of Gateway Antarctica at New Zealand's Canterbury University, has found that Type-C Killer Whales travel great distances from the Ross Sea to waters north of New Zealand.… Read more »

Prof Jonathan Bamber on changing Antarctic Ice Sheets and rising global sea levels [video]

Five of the world's leading scientists on Antarctica and the Southern Ocean present the latest findings on the changing Antarctic Ice Sheets and the impact on global sea levels.… Read more »

Monitoring Life in the Dry Valleys

Researchers from the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) flew drones with special cameras over the Taylor Dry Valley in Antarctica to study microbial life.… Read more »

Antarctic seals may use Earth's magnetic field to navigate while hunting

Scientists believe they have found the reason that Weddell seals are so adept at finding breathing holes while hunting beneath Antarctica’s ice – they use the Earth’s magnetic field as a natural GPS… Read more »