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The first factory ship of the so-called modern era of Antarctic whaling was Admiralen, arriving together with two smaller catcher boats in the South Shetland Islands in January 1906, after a period of whaling in the Falkland Islands. The expedition leader was Alexander Lange, a Norwegian whaler with a long experience from whaling in northern Norway and Spitsbergen. He kept a diary for a considerable period and this covered several whaling voyages. The one dealing with the pioneer Antarctic season of 1905–1906 has been translated from Norwegian into English and is presented here with an introduction that places the expedition into its wider context.

Geodetic measurements of the vertical crustal displacement collocated with absolute gravity changes provide a discriminatory measurement of present-day glacial changes, versus more deeply seated rock motions caused by glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). At the East Antarctic station of Dumont d’Urville, we compare the displacements derived from continuous DORIS (1993.0– 2006.0) and Global Positioning System (GPS) (1999.0–2005.7) data, and observed changes in absolute gravity (2000–2006), with the predicted vertical displacement and change in gravity from GIA modelling. The geodetic results have mutual self-consistency, suggest station stability and provide upper bounds on both GIA and secular ice mass changes. The GIA models tend to predict amplitudes of rock motion larger than those observed, and we conclude that this part of Antarctica is probably experiencing a slight gain in ice mass, in contrast to West Antarctica.

[1] Ground-based accumulation measurements are scarce on the high East Antarctic plateau, but highly necessary for model validation and the interpretation of satellite data for the determination of Antarctic mass balance. Here, we present accumulation results obtained from four shallow firn cores drilled in the Antarctic summer season 2007/2008. The cores were drilled along the first leg of the Norwegian-US IPY traverse through East Antarctica, visiting sites like Plateau Station and Pole of Relative Inaccessibility that have been covered by the South Pole Queen Maud Land Traverses (SPQMLT) in the 1960s. Accumulation has been determined from volcanic chronology established from the conductivity records measured by dielectric profiling (DEP). The Tambora 1815/unknown 1809 double peak is clearly visible in the conductivity data and serves as a reliable time marker. Accumulation rates averaged over the period 1815–2007 are in the range of 16 to 32 kg m−2 a−1, somewhat lower than expected from the SPQMLT data. The spatial pattern is mainly influenced by elevation and continentality. Three of the firn cores show a decrease of more than 20% in accumulation for the time period 1815–2007 in relation to accumulation rates during the period 1641–1815. The spatial representativity of the firn cores is assessed by ground-penetrating radar, showing a rather smoothly layered pattern around the drill sites. Validation of the DEP results is utilized by comparison with chemistry data, proving the validity of the DEP method for dating firn cores. The results help understanding the status of the East Antarctic ice sheet and will be important for e.g. future model-derived estimates of the mass balance of Antarctica.

We present the first data on attendance patterns, at-sea movements and diving behaviour of Antarctic fur seals breeding at Bouvetøya (Bouvet Island), Southern Ocean. While other colonies have been extensively studied, this remote and second largest global population remains relatively unknown. Time depth recorders and satellite relay data loggers were deployed on breeding females during the 2000–2001 and 2001–2002 summers. Attendance and foraging patterns were similar to those observed at colonies in the Scotia Sea region where Antarctic krill is the predominant prey. Early to mid-lactation trips ranged within ~100 km of the island, usually towards the west. The dominant direction shifted later in the season and the range also increased markedly to a peak between early February and early March. Solar elevation influenced arrivals and departures from the island, with most departures occurring around sunset. Diurnal variations in diving behaviour were consistent with the vertical migration of krill. Diving frequency was higher at night and diving effort peaked around morning twilight. Afternoon deep diving was common, suggesting that females might target dense daytime krill aggregations between the photic zone and the thermocline. Trip durations increased throughout early to mid-lactation, peaking in late January to early March, before again decreasing towards the end of lactation. Our results illustrate the substantial variability, both between individuals and within individuals over time, that is likely to reflect variations in prey distribution and in the growth requirements of pups. Such variations need to be taken into account when estimating habitat use and resource utilisation in marine top predators.

Cryoconite holes form on ice due to enhanced ablation around particles deposited on the surface, and are present in the ablation area of glaciers worldwide. Here we investigate the use of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) as a non-destructive method to monitor and map cryoconite holes. We compare GPR data obtained from the Jutulsessen blue ice area in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, with modeled GPR data. The modeled GPR response to cryoconite holes is numerically calculated by solving Maxwell's equations with a 3D Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) scheme. The model includes a realistic shielded bowtie antenna and dimensions and constituent parameters of cryoconite holes excavated in the field. We have performed what-if scenarios with controlled variation of single parameters. We show that GPR can be used to determine the horizontal extent, depth and whether a cryoconite hole is frozen or contains liquid water, information unavailable from visual surface inspection. The cryoconite thickness can, for completely frozen holes, be determined to within a 1/4 of the GPR center frequency wavelength. The exact water content is not readily extractable because the GPR response is influenced by many other factors such as: cryoconite thickness, shape and roughness, as well as antenna ground coupling.

Shipboard hydrography and current profiles collected in 2003 and time series from moored current meters deployed in late 1990s are analyzed to study the variability of mixing in the southeastern Weddell Sea. Profiles of eddy diffusivity Kρ are inferred from fine-scale shear (vertical derivative of horizontal velocity) and strain (vertical derivative of isopycnal displacement) variance using parameterizations which relate the internal wave energy to the dissipation rate at small scales. The highest mixing rates are seen near the bottom where the eddy diffusivities are elevated by 1 order of magnitude from those in the interior and exceed 10−4 m2 s−1. The observations show latitudinal variability in Kρ, particularly near the bottom, where Kρ significantly increases near 74° 28′S, the critical latitude for lunar semidiurnal (M2) tides. In this region, the critical latitude coincides with near-critical topography on the upper continental slope, a situation which favors generation of M2 internal waves. Consistent with the results from fine-scale shear and strain parameterizations, which indicate highest bottom diffusivities near the critical latitude, independent analysis of current time series from moored instruments shows a thickening of the frictional bottom boundary layer near the critical latitude. Semidiurnal tidal dynamics at the upper continental slope together with the critical latitude effects lead to mixing that might significantly affect the regional heat budget and the circulation in the study area.

We use a network of eight ice cores from coastal Dronning Maud Land (DML), Antarctica, to examine the role of the tropical ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) in the temporal variability of δ18O in annual accumulation. The longest record from the S100 ice core covering the period 1737–1999 is used to analyze the teleconnections between the tropical Pacific and coastal DML on decadal scales and longer. A shorter stacked coastal DML δ18O series spanning 1955–1999 is constructed to assess the variability of ENSO teleconnection on interannual scales. Results suggest that, on typical ENSO timescales of 2–6 years, the strength of the teleconnection varies in time, being stronger for years with generally negative phase of the Southern Annular Mode (SAM). On the timescales of approximately two decades (bidecadal), positive isotope anomalies are associated with oceanic warming and a westward sea surface temperature (SST) gradient in the equatorial Pacific. Bidecadal variability in SAM, forced by the tropical Pacific, is proposed as a critical element in the teleconnection. Our analysis suggests that a multidecadal positive trend in the annual mean δ18O values from the analyzed cores can be indicative of the atmospheric warming that begun in this part of the DML already in the 1910s. The trend in δ18O, quantified in terms of long-term surface air temperature (SAT) changes, is consistent with the instrumental data. Yet, we speculate that the accurate estimation of SAT trends requires an assessment of the potential role of secular SAM and sea ice extent changes in shaping the isotopic signal.

In the Southern Ocean near the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) fronts interact with shelf waters facilitating lateral transport of shelf-derived components such as iron into high-nutrient offshore regions. To trace these shelf-derived components and estimate lateral mixing rates of shelf water, we used naturally occurring radium isotopes. Short-lived radium isotopes were used to quantify the rates of shelf water entrainment while Fe/228Ra ratios were used to calculate the Fe flux. In the summer of 2006 we found rapid mixing and significant lateral iron export, namely, a dissolved iron flux of 1.1 × 105 mol d−1 and total acid leachable iron flux of 1.1 × 106 mol d−1 all of which is transported in the mixed layer from the shelf region offshore. This dissolved iron flux is significant, especially considering that the bloom observed in the offshore region (0.5–2 mg chl a m−3) had an iron demand of 1.1 to 4 × 105 mol Fe. Net vertical export fluxes of particulate Fe derived from 234Th/238U disequilibrium and Fe/234Th ratios accounted for only about 25% of the dissolved iron flux. On the other hand, vertical upward mixing of iron rich deeper waters provided only 7% of the lateral dissolved iron flux. We found that similarly to other studies in iron-fertilized regions of the Southern Ocean, lateral fluxes overwhelm vertical inputs and vertical export from the water column and support significant phytoplankton blooms in the offshore regions of the Drake Passage.

Alteration halos with sharp boundaries are flanking pegmatitic veins in high-grade metamorphic and magmatic rocks of Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. These halos are interpreted to represent the damage zone, formed as the wake of the process zone at the tip of the propagating magma-filled fracture and infiltrated by the fluid phase liberated from the crystallizing hydrous melt. On the basis of a set of assumptions, our numerical model explores the time scales of the infiltration processes, taking into account the combined effects of fluid flow, heat transfer, and temperature-dependent decay of interconnected porosity due to microcrack healing. Assuming an initial magma temperature of 700°C, a far field temperature in the host rock of 300°C, an initial porosity range of 0.5–2% in the damage zone, a permeability of 10−16 m2, and a pressure difference of 300 MPa, we find that the fluid infiltration into the damage zone proceeds within seconds to minutes and that the fluid flow contributes significantly to the heat transfer into the host rock. Assuming an initial microcrack aperture of 1 μm, the model predicts that the crack healing time scale is significantly longer than that of fluid infiltration in the case of thin veins with narrow damage zones; in this case, crack healing does not hinder fluid infiltration. Only for thick veins with high heat content and prolonged crystallization history does permeability become reduced by crack healing during progressive fluid infiltration. The results indicate that the formation of the alteration halos flanking pegmatitic veins may be a quasi-instantaneous process on geological time scales.

The atmospheric observatory at the Norwegian Research Station Troll in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, holds, since February 2007, the first all-year Antarctic atmospheric aerosol particle number size distribution measurements. These are colocated with measurements of the aerosol absorption and spectral scattering coefficients. In June 2007, this instrument set observed an aerosol whose properties were indicative of a biomass burning aerosol. These properties included two log-normal size distribution modes with median particle diameters of 0.105 μm and 0.36 μm, sharply falling off to smaller and larger sizes, and peaks in scattering and absorption coefficient. With backward plume calculations of the Lagrangian transport model FLEXPART and the MODIS fire activity product, a source-receptor relationship was established between biomass burning events in Central Brazil and the aerosol seen at Troll. This is the first direct evidence that the Antarctic continent is susceptible to emissions from as far north as Southern tropical latitudes.

We investigated deep water changes in the Southern Ocean during the last glacial inception, in relationship to surface hydrology and global climatology, to better understand the mechanisms of the establishment of a glacial ocean circulation. Changes in benthic foraminiferal δ13C from three high-resolution cores are compared and indicate decoupled intermediate and deep water changes in the Southern Ocean. From the comparison with records from the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, and the Southern Ocean, we show that the early southern deep water δ13C drop observed at the MIS 5.5–5.4 transition occurred before any significant reduction of North Atlantic Deep Water ventilation. We propose that this drop is linked to the northward expansion of poorly ventilated Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) mass in the Southern Ocean. Associated with an early cooling in the high southern latitudes, the westerly winds and surface oceanic fronts would migrate equatorward, thus weakening the upwelling of Circumpolar Deep Waters. Reduced heat brought to Antarctic surface waters would enhance sea ice formation during winters and the deep convection of cold and poorly ventilated AABW.

To inform the future practices to be employed for handling waste water and grey water at the Swedish Antarctic station,Wasa, in Dronning Maud Land, the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat took the initiative to survey the practices of the 28 nations with stations in Antarctica. A questionnaire was sent out to all members of the Antarctic Environment Officers Network during the autumn of 2005. Questions were asked about the handling of waste water and grey water, the type of sewage treatment, and installation and operational costs. The response to the questionnaire was very good (79%), and the results showed that 37% of the permanent stations and 69% of the summer stations lack any form of treatment facility. When waste water and grey water containing microorganisms are released, these microorganisms can remain viable in lowtemperature Antarctic conditions for prolonged periods. Microorganisms may also have the potential to infect and cause disease, or become part of the gut flora of local bird and mammal populations, and fish and marine invertebrates. The results from 71 stations show that much can still be done by the 28 nations operating the 82 research stations in Antarctica. The technology exists for effective waste water treatment in the challenging Antarctic conditions. The use of efficient technology at all permanent Antarctic research stations would greatly reduce the human impact on the pristine Antarctic environment. In order to protect the Antarctic environment from infectious agents introduced by humans, consideration should also be given to preventing the release of untreated waste water and grey water from the smaller summer stations.

The Troll Atmospheric Station in Antarctica (72°01'S, 2°32'E, 1309 m a.s.l.) was established and put into operation in early 2007. The main foci of the measurement programme are pollution and aerosols in the transition zone between the coastal zone and the inland ice plateau, complementing existing observation programmes along the Antarctic coast and on the Antarctic Plateau. After one year of operation, the monitoring programme is fully operative, and a comprehensive set of data is being analysed. As far as comparable data are available, there is satisfactory agreement between previous and new data. Both aerosol data and measurements of pollution indicate the episodic influence of coastal air masses throughout the year. Background values of medium long-lived pollutants such as CO, O3 and Hg are up to 50% lower than at corresponding Arctic sites (depending on the season), but are still significant. Total ozone and UV doses manifest the recurring Antarctic stratospheric ozone hole, which was moderately severe, but very persistent in 2007. Specific episodes of elevated aerosol concentration and mercury activation are currently under detailed investigation, and will be published separately.

The effect of UVR on the viability of the culturable bacterial community fraction (CBC), and two of their isolated components (Arthrobacter-UVvi and Bizionia-UVps), was studied in the top few metres of the water column at Potter Cove, King George Island, Antarctica. Quartz flasks containing CBC from surface waters were exposed to solar radiation at depths of 0, 1 and 3 m. Similar experiments using UVps and UVvi isolates were performed. In some experiments interferential filters were used to discriminate photosynthetic active radiation (PAR), UV-A and UV-B. CBC from depths of 0, 10 and 30 m were also exposed to surface solar radiation. The deleterious effect of UVR was observed at the surface and at a depth of 1 m, but not at a depth of 3 m. Studies with interferential filters showed low bacterial viability values at depths of 0 and 1 m under both UVR treatments. However, under low radiation doses the effect attributed to UV-B was higher than that caused by UV-A. The surface CBC was more resistant to UVR compared with CBC from a depth of 30 m. The results showed that CBC inhabiting waters above the pycnocline (located at a depth of 5–10 m) are more efficiently adapted to UVR than are those from below the pycnocline. The impact of UVR on the marine bacterioplankton studied was only detected in the first metre of the stratified water column of Potter Cove, which has high levels of suspended particulate matter. These results support the evidence for a significant UVR-attenuating effect in the water column of this coastal Antarctic water.

During two decades (1986 - 2008) of geochronological work in Heimefrontfjella, nearly 130 geochronological ages were produced using a wide range of geochronological techniques. The ages fall into four broad age groups from Archaean to Cenozoic times, revealing a long and complex geological history. In general, Heimefrontfjella consists of Mesoproterozoic high grade basement related to the ∼1100 Ma Maud Belt. This basement is overlain by Permo-Carboniferous sedimentary rocks and Jurassic lavas. Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic detrital zircon ages are recorded from meta-sedimentary rocks probably characterizing the foreland of the Maud Belt. The protolith and metamorphic ages of the Mesoproterozoic Maud Belt fall into two groups. An older age group from ∼1200-1100 Ma is related to back-arc and island arc volcanism. High-grade metamorphism in the Maud Belt is dated between 1090-1060 Ma and is thought to reflect continent-continent collision, possibly related to the formation of Rodinia. Regional cooling to below 500-300 °C at ∼1010-960 Ma in part of the mountain range might indicate rifting of Rodinia. The eastern part of the mountain range is overprinted by the ∼600-500 Ma East African-Antarctic Orogen. The orogenic front of this major mobile belt is exposed in the study area as the Heimefront Shear Zone. East of this major lineament all Ar-Ar, K-Ar and Rb-Sr mineral ages are reset to ∼500 Ma. Initial Gondwana rifting affected the area at c. 180 Ma, when the Bouvet/Karroo mantle plume caused dynamic uplift of the area, followed by burial underneath up to 2 km of Jurassic lava. This led to tempering of the basement up to about 100 °C, as indicated by apatite fission track data. The lava pile underwent erosion in Cretaceous time, when renewed rifting affected the region. Latest tectonic movements might be related to Cenozoic ice loading related to the built up of the Antarctic ice sheet.

Discusses scientific work of 1949-52 Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic expedition, with particular reference to international tensions of early Cold War period.

Interactions between the Southern Ocean and the Weddell Sea ice shelves are important both to the Antarctic Ice Sheet and to the production of globally significant water masses. Here we review the interaction between the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf and the shelf sea in which it floats. The continental shelf processes leading to the production of Weddell Sea deep and bottom waters from the original off-shelf source waters are discussed, and a new view is offered of the initial production of High-Salinity Shelf Water. Data from ship-based measurements at the ice front, from glaciological methods, and from measurements made within the sub–ice shelf cavity itself are used to describe the pattern of flows beneath the ice shelf. We also consider the variability observed within the cavity from tidal to interannual time scales and finish with a discussion of future research priorities in the region.

Observations of snow properties, superimposed ice, and atmospheric heat fluxes have been performed on first-year and second-year sea ice in the western Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Snow in this region is particular as it does usually survive summer ablation. Measurements were performed during Ice Station Polarstern (ISPOL), a 5-week drift station of the German icebreaker RV Polarstern. Net heat flux to the snowpack was 8 W m−2, causing only 0.1 to 0.2 m of thinning of both snow cover types, thinner first-year and thicker second-year snow. Snow thinning was dominated by compaction and evaporation, whereas melt was of minor importance and occurred only internally at or close to the surface. Characteristic differences between snow on first-year and second-year ice were found in snow thickness, temperature, and stratigraphy. Snow on second-year ice was thicker, colder, denser, and more layered than on first-year ice. Metamorphism and ablation, and thus mass balance, were similar between both regimes, because they depend more on surface heat fluxes and less on underground properties. Ice freeboard was mostly negative, but flooding occurred mainly on first-year ice. Snow and ice interface temperature did not reach the melting point during the observation period. Nevertheless, formation of discontinuous superimposed ice was observed. Color tracer experiments suggest considerable meltwater percolation within the snow, despite below-melting temperatures of lower layers. Strong meridional gradients of snow and sea-ice properties were found in this region. They suggest similar gradients in atmospheric and oceanographic conditions and implicate their importance for melt processes and the location of the summer ice edge.