Search

The circulation of the Southern Ocean connects ocean basins, links the deep and shallow layers of the ocean, and has a strong influence on global ocean circulation, climate, biogeochemical cycles and the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Processes that act on local and regional scales, which are often mediated by the interaction of the flow with topography, are fundamental in shaping the large-scale, three-dimensional circulation of the Southern Ocean. Recent advances provide insight into the response of the Southern Ocean to future change and the implications for climate, the carbon cycle and sea-level rise., Author(s): Stephen R. Rintoul [sup.1] Author Affiliations:(1) CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, Centre for Southern Hemisphere Ocean Research, Hobart, AustraliaMain The ocean circles the [...]

The article discusses the scientific publishing contributions of North America to the Nature Index database in 2014. Topics cited include the region's article and weight fractional count, the pattern of top five institutions' relative subject area distribution and collaborativeness and top three country collaborations, the initiative of the Canadian government to launch the Canadian High Arctic Research Station, and percentage of life science research in the U.S.

The surprise discovery of ancient crustaceans and a tardigrade emerged from a rare mission to drill into a lake sealed off by a kilometre of ice.The surprise discovery of ancient crustaceans and a tardigrade emerged from a rare mission to drill into a lake sealed off by a kilometre of ice., Author(s): Douglas FoxAuthor Affiliations:EXCLUSIVE: Tiny animal carcasses found in buried Antarctic lake Researchers used a hot-water drill to bore through a kilometre of ice, creating a portal with a diameter [...]

Antarctica. The word conjures up images of mountains draped with glaciers, ferocious seas dotted with icebergs and iconic species found nowhere else. The continent includes about onetenth of the planet's [...]

This article discusses climate change research being carried out in the North Polar region. Measurements of ice coverage in the Arctic Ocean are described. The research project described is the Circumpolar Flaw Lead System Study on the icebreaker ship Amundsen. The glaciological aspect of this study focuses on the relationship between polar winds, patterns of melting and the rotation of the polar icecap as a whole. Flaw leads are fissures in the ice created by wind, which are thought to be an ideal place to study the difference between sunlight absorption rates for ice and ocean, or the ice-ocean albedo. Research into the ecosystemic impacts of polar ice melting in flaw leads is also explored.

A geological record reveals that the Aurora sector of the Antarctic Ice Sheet showed contrasting responses to past periods of atmospheric warmth. The findings might help to predict the ice sheet's response to modern warming. A geological record reveals that the Aurora sector of the Antarctic Ice Sheet showed contrasting responses to past periods of atmospheric warmth. The findings might help to predict the ice sheet's response to modern warming., Author(s): Sarah Greenwood Author Affiliations: Antarctic ice dynamics in warm climates Some numerical models suggest[sup.1] [sup.,] [sup.2] that melting of the Antarctic Ice Sheet will cause global sea level to [...]

Pat Wongpan explains why polar research must incorporate diverse views, including those of Indigenous peoples and communities affected by climate change. Pat Wongpan explains why polar research must incorporate diverse views, including those of Indigenous peoples and communities affected by climate change., Author(s): Virginia Gewin Author Affiliations: Polar research should include Indigenous perspectives Pat Wongpan, a sea-ice researcher, makes thin sections of the substance in a cold room at Hokkaido University, Japan. [...]

Presents evidence that the most recent `Heinrich layers,' deposited between 14,000 and 70,000 years ago, record marked decreases in sea surface temperature and salinity, decreases in the flux of planktonic foraminera to the sediments and short-lived, massive discharges of icebergs originating in Canada. The Laurentide ice sheet; More.

Presents the entire set of scanning multichannel microwave radiometer observations of Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice extent and enclosed open water. Also gives the results of an analysis of the full data set based on band-limited regression.

Author(s): Brendan GogartyAuthor Affiliations:Glacier geoengineering needs lawyers too Antarctic geoengineering proposals would not 'require global consent' as Moore et al . state, but instead would need the approval of the [...]

Author(s): Sammie Buzzard, Joseph Cook, Alexey MaslakovAuthor Affiliations:Arctic collaboration transcends political tensions Of all world regions, the Arctic is the most sensitive to climate change and drives feedbacks that amplify [...]

Presents results from a new deep ice core drilled at the summit of the Greenland ice sheet. Depositional environment and flow pattern of the ice that are ideal for core recovery and analysis; Obtaining high-resolution continuous time series of climate-related parameters; Interstadial episode; Ice core data, including ice-sheet thickness, accumulation rate and mean air temperature; More.

Presents an analysis of measurements of the subsurface ice thickness (draft) of sea-ice around the North Pole made from 1977 to 1990. Changes in the thickness of polar sea-ice and their potential to provide a signal of climate change; More.

A brand-new research vessel is buoying the hopes of US oceanographers. In the first week of June, the University of Alaska Fairbanks plans to take possession of the RV Sikuliaq, [...]

The article offers news briefs on various topics. According to the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, the sea ice in Arctic region reached its lowest level with 4.76 million square kilometers on September 10, 2010. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) revealed the termination of Professional Laboratory and Research Services' operation after the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals exposed the mistreatment of laboratory animals through an undercover video.

The Antarctic ozone hole is beginning to recover [...]

NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has sent back the first images ever taken from orbit around Mercury. The very first image (pictured) shows a bright, rayed crater named Debussy near the planet's [...]

Almost five years after watching a launch failure destroy their ice-measuring satellite, Europe's polar researchers are ready to try again. For scientists hoping to understand how polar ice is reacting [...]

Arctic sea ice has reached its third-lowest level since satellite radar measurements began in 1979. Scientists with the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder announced [...]

The article discusses a study that suggests that increase in vegetation due to increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to Artic warming.

Discusses research which studied how rising levels of greenhouse gases will affect ozone depletion over the Arctic in coming years. Research by Shindell et al in this issue; Prediction that ozone (O3) levels will continue to fall; Impact of greenhouse gas buildup on the stratosphere; Rapid loss of ozone throughout the winter polar vortices; Ozone in the Arctic polar vortex; Cautions about Shindell's hypothesis; Hallmark of Arctic vortex.

Looks at the work of a team of over 30 scientists from eight European nations who were collaborating in the Greenland Ice Core Project (GRIP). Their drilling of an ice core through the deepest part of the Greenland ice sheet; The main aim of GRIP; The history of climate and environmental change through the last glacial cycle; More.

Presents studies of melt layers in two Canadian high-Arctic surface-to-bedrock ice cores. Methods; Results; Discussion.

The article offers the author's insight on the issue of the changes in the Arctic Ocean wherein he states that a maritime regulation must be created to protect the Arctic Ocean and its environment. He mentions that the issue on the decreasing sea ice of the Arctic is true. He suggested that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) must set the standards in the Arctic Maritime Shipping Assessment Report 2009 be mandatory for a standard structural ship sailing in the Arctic.

The article offers information on a research conducted by scholar Michael Winton in which he studied the sea-ice change in the Arctic with the help of climate models.

The article reports that the member countries of the European Union (EU) released a declaration of policy objectives in the Arctic. This comes amid several nations claiming the region, including the United States, Russia and Canada. The EU intends to support climate change mitigation and oil exploration in the area. Further projects promise to monitor sea levels, as well as the loss of sea ice and permafrost.

Discusses a study by J. Clutton-Brocke et. al on the change in shape of the skulls of Arctic wolves. Measurements on museum specimens; Results of the study.

Features the Global Change Programme Office established by the International Arctic Science Committee to coordinate research efforts on environmental changes in the Arctic. Office executives; Location; Human influences on the natural environment.

Reports on an international feasibility study commissioned by the Soviet government to determine the economic and ecological impact if the ice-choked Northern Sea Route to the Arctic is opened. Implications for global warming researchers; Economic importance to Soviets of Northern Sea Route; Possible environmental dangers.

Reports on new proposals to reorganize French polar research. New institute to be set up and committees to be established; Goals.

Reports on Britain's hopes to increase funds to the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) for expanded Arctic research.