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We use ice flow modelling to simulate the englacial stratigraphy of Blåskimen Island, an ice rise in Dronning Maud Land and elucidate the evolution of this data-sparse region. We apply a thermo-mechanically coupled Elmer/Ice model to a profile along flowlines and through the ice-rise summit, where surface mass balance (SMB), flow velocity and ice stratigraphy were recently measured. We conclude that: (i) the ice rise is presently thickening at a rate of 0.5~0.6 m ice equivalent per year (mieq a−1), which is twice an earlier estimate using the field data and the input–output method; (ii) present thickening started 20–40 years in the past, before which the ice rise was in a steady state; (iii) SMB contrast between the upwind and downwind slopes was stronger than the present value by ~23% (or 0.15 mieq a−1) prior to ~1100 years ago. Since then, this contrast has been decreasing overall. We surmise that these SMB changes are likely a result of synoptic-scale atmospheric changes, rather than local atmospheric changes controlled by local ice topography. Our technique effectively assimilates geophysical data, avoiding the complexity of ice flow beneath the ice divide. Thus, it could be applied to other ice rises to elucidate the recent glacial retreat.

In this reported study, a novel high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method was developed for the detection and quantification of the toxic substance di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA) in Antarctic krill. This procedure was based on the extraction of DEHA by ultrasonic solvent extraction with anhydrous ethanol, silica-gel column chromatographic separation, HPTLC detection and quantification using petroleum ether/ethyl acetate/ acetone/glacial acetic acid (29:1:0.5:2d*, v/v/v/v) as the developing solvent and bromine thymol blue solution as the chromogenic agent. The content of DEHA in freeze-dried Antarctic krill was found to be ca. 0.63 ± 0.05 mg/g. The structure of DEHA in the Antarctic krill was subsequently determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and infrared chromatography, which verified the presence of this compound in the krill. The HPTLC method exhibited excellent accuracy, with a recovery of 97.1–101.6% and good precision with a relative standard deviation of 2.47–4.90%. The DEHA in Antarctic krill oil was extracted by n-hexane and detected using the same method described above, which verified that DEHA was also present in krill oil at a concentration of ca. 2.16 ± 0.08 mg/g. The presence of DEHA in kill oil is very concerning because of its demonstrated harmful ecotoxicity, and since Antarctic krill is the key link in the food chain in the Antarctic coastal marine ecosystem. The adverse effects of DEHA on Antarctic krill and the source of DEHA will be explored in future research.

The Inverse Gaussian approximation of transit time distribution method (IG-TTD) is widely used to infer the anthropogenic carbon (Cant) concentration in the ocean from measurements of transient tracers such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). Its accuracy relies on the validity of several assumptions, notably (i) a steady state ocean circulation, (ii) a prescribed age tracer saturation history, e.g., a constant 100% saturation, (iii) a prescribed constant degree of mixing in the ocean, (iv) a constant surface ocean air-sea CO2 disequilibrium with time, and (v) that preformed alkalinity can be sufficiently estimated by salinity or salinity and temperature. Here, these assumptions are evaluated using simulated “model-truth” of Cant. The results give the IG-TTD method a range of uncertainty from 7.8% to 13.6% (11.4 Pg C to 19.8 Pg C) due to above assumptions, which is about half of the uncertainty derived in previous model studies. Assumptions (ii), (iv) and (iii) are the three largest sources of uncertainties, accounting for 5.5%, 3.8% and 3.0%, respectively, while assumptions (i) and (v) only contribute about 0.6% and 0.7%. Regionally, the Southern Ocean contributes the largest uncertainty, of 7.8%, while the North Atlantic contributes about 1.3%. Our findings demonstrate that spatial-dependency of , and temporal changes in tracer saturation and air-sea CO2 disequilibrium have strong compensating effect on the estimated Cant. The values of these parameters should be quantified to reduce the uncertainty of IG-TTD; this is increasingly important under a changing ocean climate.

A climatically induced acceleration in ocean-driven melting of Antarctic ice shelves would have consequences for both the discharge of continental ice into the ocean and thus global sea level, and for the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water and the oceanic meridional overturning circulation. Using a novel gas-tight in situ water sampler, noble gas samples have been collected from six locations beneath the Filchner Ice Shelf, the first such samples from beneath an Antarctic ice shelf. Helium and neon are uniquely suited as tracers of glacial meltwater in the ocean. Basal meltwater fractions range from 3.6% near the ice shelf base to 0.5% near the sea floor, with distinct regional differences. We estimate an average basal melt rate for the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf of 177 ± 95 Gt/year, independently confirming previous results. We calculate that up to 2.7% of the meltwater has been refrozen, and we identify a local source of crustal helium.

There is increasing interest in using higher-trophic level predators as ecosystem indicators because their performance is presumed to be linked to the overall function of the ecosystem that supports them. In the southwest Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) supports huge predator populations as well as a growing commercial fishery. To utilize information from the ecosystem in an adaptive framework for sustainably managing krill catch levels, performance indices of krill predators have been proposed as a proxy for krill abundance. However, there are several potentially confounding sources of variability that might impact predator performance such as the effects of environmental variability and fishing pressure on krill availability at scales relevant to predators. In this context, our study capitalises on the occurrence of an unexpected El Niño event to characterise how environmental variability can drive changes in predator foraging behaviour. We demonstrate a clear link between coastal downwelling and changes in the at-sea habitat usage of chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica) foraging in a local krill fishing area. Penguins tracked from their breeding colonies on Powell Island, Antarctic Peninsula, undertook fewer, longer foraging trips during the downwelling-affected season compared with the season where no such downwelling was detected, suggesting that changes in climate-driven oceanography may have reduced krill availability along the northern shelf of the island. Our study demonstrates that penguin foraging behaviour is modified by scale-dependent processes, which if not accounted for may result in erroneous conclusions being drawn when using penguins as bioindicators of krill abundance.

A likely important feature of the poorly understood aerosol-cloud interactions over the Southern Ocean (SO) is the dominant role of sea spray aerosol, versus terrestrial aerosol. Ice nucleating particles (INPs), or particles required for heterogeneous ice nucleation, present over the SO have not been studied in several decades. In this study, boundary layer aerosol properties and immersion freezing INP number concentrations (nINPs) were measured during a ship campaign that occurred south of Australia (down to 53°S) in March–April 2016. Ocean surface chlorophyll a concentrations ranged from 0.11 to 1.77 mg/m3, and nINPs were a factor of 100 lower than historical surveys, ranging from 0.38 to 4.6 m−3 at −20 °C. The INP population included organic heat-stable material, with contributions from heat-labile material. Lower INP source potentials of SO seawater samples compared to Arctic seawater were consistent with lower ice nucleating site densities in this study compared to north Atlantic air masses.

The contribution of oceanic net community production (NCP) to the observed seasonal cycle in atmospheric potential oxygen (APO) is estimated at Cape Grim, Tasmania. The resulting APONCP signal is compared to satellite and ocean model-based estimates of POC export and NCP across the Southern Ocean. The satellite products underestimate the amplitude of the observed APONCP seasonal cycle by more than a factor of 2. Ocean models suggest two reasons for this underestimate: (1) Current satellite products substantially underestimate the magnitude of NCP in early spring. (2) Seasonal O2 outgassing is supported in large part by storage of carbon in DOC and living biomass. More DOC observations are needed to help evaluate this latter model prediction. Satellite products could be improved by developing seasonally dependent relationships between remote sensing chlorophyll data and in situ NCP, recognizing that the former is a measure of mass, the latter of flux.

Isen i Antarktis smelter ikkje med det første, men store endringar er undervegs i havet. Havvatnet rundt Antarktis er iskaldt, men nå observerer vi at varmare vatn strøymer innunder den flytande delen av is-kappen. Om denne utviklinga ikkje stopper vil meir innlandsis strøyme ut i havet og føre til at havnivået vil stige med fleire meter. Det er langt frå sikkert at dette vil skje, men det er eit veldig viktig klimaspørsmål som vi må forstå betre. Difor har Uni Research med støtte av Forskingsrådet og Polarinstituttet bygd fleire havobservatorium for å kunne gi eit tidleg varsel dramatisk endringar.

The multi-temporal scales of two physical characteristics (areas and occurrence time) of the Ross Sea Polynya (RSP) in Antarctica were analysed using a sea-ice concentration data set (1979–2014) derived from the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer, the Special Sensor Microwave Imager and Sensor Microwave Imager Sounder. Then, the Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) was applied to the data sets to decompose signals into finite numbers of intrinsic mode functions and a residual mode: long time trend. This approach allowed us to understand the long-term variability of the RSP area and occurrence in response to atmospheric forcing through teleconnections between low and high latitudes by comparing the Nino3.4 and Southern Annular Mode (SAM) indices. The nonlinear trend of the RSP areas derived from the EEMD residual had an upward trending shift in the early 1990s and was fairly consistent with the nonlinear trend of Nino3.4. However, the trend of RSP occurrence time progressively increased and had a significant effect on the long time scale. The trend of the RSP area is significantly correlated (+0.98) with the ratio of the trend of the meridional to zonal wind components related with the nonlinearity of Nino3.4, suggesting that meridional wind stress dominated the changes of the polynya area in the Ross Sea. In addition, the nonlinear trends between the SAM and RSP occurrence time show a strong positive correlation, contributing to the earlier onset of polynya expansion and delayed connection with the open ocean owing to enhanced southerly winds.

This study aims to describe the planktonic food web structure with respect to phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a ) and prevailing environmental conditions at the South Subtropical Front (SSTF) and the Polar Front (PF) in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean. Sampling was carried out at each front for 72 hrs, at 6-hr intervals, during the austral summer 2011. Considerable variations were observed in the hydrography between these two fronts. A strong temperature minimum layer was observed at the PF. Although the surface primary production and chlorophyll a values showed similar trends at both the fronts, the water column values of these parameters showed major disparities. The phytoplankton composition also revealed marked difference between the fronts. A deep chlorophyll maximum concordant with the upper limit of the temperature minimum layer was prominent at the PF. The microzooplankton abundance at the SSTF was twice as high as at the PF. The mesozooplankton biovolume and population density also showed considerable variations between these fronts. Noticeable diel variations were observed in the surface mesozooplankton biovolumes at both the fronts and the copepod Pleuromamma gracilis showed active diel vertical migration at SSTF. Both the grazing and senescence indices showed significant variations between these fronts, suggesting a disparity in the ecological efficiency of the two regions. The variability observed in the plankton community structure with respect to the hydrography and the biological components measured suggests that a multivorous food web at the SSTF and a conventional food web at the PF prevailed during the period of study.

Climate change is predicted to affect Southern Ocean biota in complex ways. Euphausiids play a crucial role in the trophodynamics of the ecosystem, and their status under future environmental scenarios is the subject of much concern. Thysanoessa macrura is the most widely distributed, numerically abundant, and ubiquitous euphausiid south of the Polar Front and may be an underappreciated prey species. T. macrura is eurythermic and may be better able to tolerate warming ocean temperatures in comparison to the more stenothermic Antarctic krill Euphausia superba. We use temperature-dependent growth models and biomass per recruit to investigate how the availability of this euphausiid to predators may change under a range of temperature scenarios. We contrast this with the availability of E. superba and find that, under some ranges of temperature change, increasing T. macrura growth may be able to partially compensate for decreasing E. superba growth in terms of biomass available for predators. However, in spite of its considerable biomass, other aspects of this species, such as its size and habitat, may limit its potential to replace E. superba in the diet of many predators. KEYWORDS: Thysanoessa macrura · Euphausia superba · Growth · Temperature · Climate change · Krill predators · Southern Ocean · Euphausiids · Modeling

The Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, the ocean cavity beneath it, and the Weddell Sea that bounds it, form an important part of the global climate system by modulating ice discharge from the Antarctic Ice Sheet and producing cold dense water masses that feed the global thermohaline circulation. A prerequisite for modeling the ice sheet and oceanographic processes within the cavity is an accurate knowledge of the sub-ice sheet bedrock elevation, but beneath the ice shelf where airborne radar cannot penetrate, bathymetric data are sparse. This paper presents new seismic point measurements of cavity geometry from a particularly poorly sampled region south of Berkner Island that connects the Filchner and Ronne ice shelves. An updated bathymetric grid formed by combining the new data with existing data sets reveals several new features. In particular, a sill running between Berkner Island and the mainland could alter ocean circulation within the cavity and change our understanding of paleo-ice stream flow in the region. Also revealed are deep troughs near the grounding lines of Foundation and Support Force ice streams, which provide access for seawater with melting potential. Running an ocean tidal model with the new bathymetry reveals large differences in tidal current velocities, both within the new gridded region and further afield, potentially affecting sub-ice shelf melt rates.

The genesis of phytoplankton blooms and the fate of their biomass in iron-limited, high-nutrient-low-chlorophyll regions can be studied under natural conditions with ocean iron fertilization (OIF) experiments. The Indo-German OIF experiment LOHAFEX was carried out over 40 d in late summer 2009 within the cold core of a mesoscale eddy in the productive south-west Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. Silicate concentrations were very low, and phytoplankton biomass was dominated by autotrophic nanoflagellates (ANF) in the size range 3-10 µm. As in all previous OIF experiments, the phytoplankton responded to iron fertilization by increasing the maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm) and cellular chlorophyll levels. Within 3 wk, chlorophyll levels tripled and ANF biomass doubled. With the exception of some diatoms and dinoflagellates, the biomass levels of all other groups of the phyto- and protozooplankton (heterotrophic nanoflagellates, dinoflagellates and ciliates) remained remarkably stable throughout the experiment both inside and outside the fertilized patch. We attribute the unusually high biomass attained and maintained by ANF to the absence of their grazers, the salps, and to constraints on protozooplankton grazers by heavy predation exerted by the large copepod stock. The resistance to change of the ecosystem structure over 38 d after fertilization, indicated by homogeneity at regional and temporal scales, suggests that it was locked into a stable, mature state that had evolved in the course of the seasonal cycle. The LOHAFEX bloom provides a case study of a resistant/robust dynamic equilibrium between auto- and heterotrophic ecosystem components resulting in low vertical flux both inside and outside the patch despite high biomass levels. KEYWORDS: Antarctic · Protists · Fe-limitation · Si-limitation · Ecology-biogeochemistry relationship · Carbon:chlorophyll ratios · Ecosystem stability

Historien om jakten på blåhvalen, verdens største dyr. Blåhvalen var nær ved å bli utryddet av den moderne hvalfangsten med raske båter, sprenggranater og harpunkanon. Lenge utgjorde Vestfold verdens hvalfangstsentrum, og på det meste forlot ti tusen norske menn familien og dro på hvalfangst i fremmede farvann. Det var et blodslit, og et eventyr. Helt fra starten kom det advarsler om at hvalene kunne bli utryddet. For blåhvalen var det på nære nippet. Underarten i Antarktis, som blir aller størst, regnes fortsatt som kritisk truet. I sluttspillet om blåhvalens skjebne ble Norge utfordret av både Storbritannia og Nazi-Tyskland, Japan og Sovjetunionen, som kastet seg inn i kampen om Sørishavets rikdommer. "Hvaleventyret" er en medrivende historie om blåhvalen og hvalfangsten. Den forteller om hvalenes årlige trekk mellom isen og varmere hav, om hvalfangernes livsfarlige pionerferder i polhavene, og om kampen for å redde de siste blåhvalene.

This paper describes the morphology and histology of abnormal gonads in Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) and the possibility of intersexuality and senescence of some individuals. Two old (approximately 25 years) and large (184–185 cm) specimenswith abnormal gonadswere caught in the Antarctic during commercial fishing for toothfish and studied using histological methods. Although D. mawsoni is well-known and extensively studied, this is the first study dealing with abnormal gonads in the species. The histological analysis revealed that the gonads of the first specimen contained both male and female germ cells (ovotestis), the testicular and ovarian tissues being separated by a thick layer of connective tissue. The female portion was composed of secondary vitellogenic oocytes, primary vitellogenic, cortical alveolar and primary growth oocytes, while the testes contained cysts of spermatogonia and primary spermatocyte. The gonads of the second specimen were small, filiform and showed massive growth of the connective tissue, which occupied almost the entire gonad; a few spermatogonia without visible cystswere found. This study extends our understanding of sexual development in Antarctic toothfish, documenting the possibility of long-term interruptions in the reproductive cycle of this species.

John Maynard Keynes’ activities on the stock market are well known. One company in which he bought stocks was the Hector Whaling Company Ltd., London – a comparatively small and little known company founded in 1928. The director of this company was Rupert Trouton. He had worked with Keynes for the Government during the First World War, was his student at Cambridge, and became a close partner in the City from the 1920s and onwards. The reason why Keynes invested in Hector was obviously his association with Rupert Trouton. The first part of this paper explores briefly the development of the Hector Whaling Company and its origins in Norway. The main part analyses the relationship between Trouton and Keynes. The focus is on their co-operation relating to Hector Whaling, but their relationship regarding various other businesses, as well as on the personal level, is also described. The paper is based on studies of the Keynes archives in Cambridge as well as newly available archives of the Hector company. The analysis provides new insights to the more general question on the motivations and decisions behind Keynes’ stock market investments as well as the internationalization of the whaling industry in the 1920s and 30s.

The diet and feeding strategy of Lepidonotothen nudifrons off the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula, as well as their variation in relation to ontogenetic stage (juvenile– adult) and sampling area, were determined by stomach contents analysis. Additionally, the trophic level of this species was estimated to determine its position within the Antarctic food web. Out of 247 specimens with prey in their stomachs, 144 were caught near the South Shetland Islands and 103 off the Antarctic Peninsula. Ontogenetic changes in the trophic ecology of L. nudifrons were observed in both areas and were mainly related to a decrease of copepods and an increase of euphausiids in the diet. The diet of juveniles from the South Shetland Islands was characterized by the dominance of calanoid copepods, followed by isopods and amphipods, whereas diet off the Antarctic Peninsula was dominated by amphipods and cyclopoid copepods. The diet in adults was dominated by amphipods and euphausiids in both areas. The specialization of individual predators on different prey types was observed when considering the whole population of L. nudifrons, but when ontogenetic stages were considered separately it showed a more mixed feeding strategy, with different dominant prey for each class. Although the trophic level increased with fish size, L. nudifrons can be classified as secondary consumer throughout its lifespan.

The responses of the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) to the 16 September 2015 8.3 (Mw) Chilean earthquake tsunami (>75 s period) and to oceanic infragravity (IG) waves (50–300 s period) were recorded by a broadband seismic array deployed on the RIS from November 2014 to November 2016. Here we show that tsunami and IG-generated signals within the RIS propagate at gravity wave speeds (∼70 m/s) as water-ice coupled flexural-gravity waves. IG band signals show measureable attenuation away from the shelf front. The response of the RIS to Chilean tsunami arrivals is compared with modeled tsunami forcing to assess ice shelf flexural-gravity wave excitation by very long period (VLP; >300 s) gravity waves. Displacements across the RIS are affected by gravity wave incident direction, bathymetry under and north of the shelf, and water layer and ice shelf thicknesses. Horizontal displacements are typically about 10 times larger than vertical displacements, producing dynamical extensional motions that may facilitate expansion of existing fractures. VLP excitation is continuously observed throughout the year, with horizontal displacements highest during the austral winter with amplitudes exceeding 20 cm. Because VLP flexural-gravity waves exhibit no discernable attenuation, this energy must propagate to the grounding zone. Both IG and VLP band flexural-gravity waves excite mechanical perturbations of the RIS that likely promote tabular iceberg calving, consequently affecting ice shelf evolution. Understanding these ocean-excited mechanical interactions is important to determine their effect on ice shelf stability to reduce uncertainty in the magnitude and rate of global sea level rise.