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By examining the sedimentary records from two new cores collected from the Sabrina Coast slope, we have developed an age model spanning from the late Pliocene to the present. From multiproxy sediment analyses of the piston and kasten core, PC03, and KC03, collected during the IN2017_V01 survey on the Sabrina Coast (East Antarctica) offshore the Totten Glacier, we here present the outcomes derived within the seismostratigraphic record coupled with the sedimentological, geochemical paleomagnetic, and biostratigraphic contexts. Our results highlight that the area has been affected by recurrent sediment slides facilitated by siliceous deposits, both biogenic and from an unprecedented tephra layer, during some of the major paleoclimatological events of the late Pliocene. Diatoms contributed not only to the biostratigraphic and depositional environmental definition but also to the instability of the slope, together with the tephra layer, as documented offshore the Sabrina–Aurora Basin for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current glacier melt rates in West Antarctica substantially exceed those around the East Antarctic margin. The exception is Wilkes Land, where for example Totten Glacier underwent significant retreat between 2000 and 2012, underlining its sensitivity to climate change. This process is strongly influenced by ocean dynamics, which in turn changes in accordance with the evolution of the ice caps. Here, we present new oceanographic data (temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen) collected during austral summer 2017 offshore the Sabrina Coast (East Antarctica) from the continental shelf break to ca 3000 m depth. This area is characterized by very few oceanographic in situ observations. The main water masses of the study area, identified by analysing thermohaline properties, are the Antarctic Surface Water with potential temperature θ>-1.5 ∘C and salinity S<34.2 (σθ<27.55 kgm-3), the Winter Water with -1.92<θ<-1.75 ∘C and 34.00 ∘C and S>34.5 (σθ>27.7 kgm-3), and Antarctic Bottom Water with -0.50<θ<0 ∘C and 34.6328.30 kgm-3). The latter is a mixture of dense waters from the Ross Sea and Adélie Land continental shelves. Such waters are influenced by the mixing processes they undergo as they move westward along the Antarctic margin, also interacting with the warmer Circumpolar Deep Water. The spatial distribution of water masses offshore the Sabrina Coast also appears to be strongly linked with the complex morpho-bathymetry of the slope and rise area, supporting the hypothesis that downslope processes contribute to shaping the architecture of the distal portion of the continental margin. Oceanographic data presented here can be downloaded from 10.25919/yyex-t381 (CSIRO; Van Graas, 2021). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiolarians (holoplanktonic protozoa) preserved in marine sediments are commonly used as palaeoclimate proxies for reconstructing past Southern Ocean environments. Generating reconstructions of past climate based on microfossil abundances, such as radiolarians, requires a spatially and environmentally comprehensive reference dataset of modern census counts. The Southern Ocean Radiolarian (SO-RAD) dataset includes census counts for 238 radiolarian taxa from 228 surface sediment samples located in the Atlantic, Indian, and southwest Pacific sectors of the Southern Ocean. This compilation is the largest radiolarian census dataset derived from surface sediment samples in the Southern Ocean. The SO-RAD dataset may be used as a reference dataset for palaeoceanographic reconstructions, or for studying modern radiolarian biogeography and species diversity. As well as describing the data collection and collation, we include recommendations and guidelines for cleaning and subsetting the data for users unfamiliar with the procedures typically used by the radiolarian community. The SO-RAD dataset is available to download from 10.1594/PANGAEA.929903 (Lawler et al., 2021). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current glacier melt rates in West Antarctica substantially exceed those around the East Antarctic margin. The exception is Wilkes Land where, e.g., Totten Glacier, underwent significant retreat between 2000 and 2012, underlining its sensitivity to climate change. This process is strongly influenced by ocean dynamics, which in turn changes in accordance with the evolution of the ice caps. Here, we present oceanographic data (temperature, salinity, density, dissolved oxygen) collected for the first time offshore the Sabrina Coast (East Antarctica), from the continental shelf break to ca 3000 m depth during austral summer 2017. The main water masses are identified by analysing thermohaline properties: the Antarctic Surface Water with θ > −1. 5 °C and S < 34.2 (σθ < 27.55 kg m−3), the Winter Water with −1.92 < θ < −1.75 °C and 34.0 < S < 34.5 (27.55 < σθ < 27.7 kg m−3), the modified Circumpolar Deep Water with θ > 0 °C and S > 34.5 (σθ > 27.7 kg m−3), and Antarctic Bottom Water with −0.50 < θ < 0 °C and 34.63 < S < 34.67 (27.83 < σθ < 27.85). The latter in this region is a mixture of dense waters originating from the Ross Sea and Adélie Land continental shelves, and is affected by the mixing process they undergo as they move westward along the Antarctic margin and interact with the locally formed dense waters, and with the warmer and saltier Circumpolar Deep Water. The spatial distribution of water masses offshore the Sabrina Coast also appears to be strongly linked with the complex morpho-bathymetry of the slope and rise area, supporting the hypothesis that downslope processes contribute to shaping the architecture of the distal portion of the continental margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]