The clay mineralogical composition of a 552 cm long sediment core from Lake Terrasovoje in Amery Oasis, East Antarctica, was analysed and compared with that in surface sediments from other locations in the vicinity. The lower part of the sediment core is formed by sub- and proglacial sediments with a dominance of smectite and illite, and lower amounts of kaolinite and chlorite. The upper part of the core is deposited after 12 500 cal yr bp and mainly composed of illite and kaolinite, with low amounts of smectite and chlorite, such as found in samples from rock outcrops and covering sediments throughout Amery Oasis. The clay composition in the lower section of core Lz1005 suggest that the basin of Lake Terrasovoje was filled by a 150–200 m thickened Nemesis Glacier prior to 12 500 cal yr bp rather than by local ice caps.

A marine sediment core collected from the Nordenskjold Basin, to the south of the Drygalski Ice Tongue, provides new sedimentological and chronological data for reconstructing the Pleistocene glacial history and palaeoenvironmental evolution of Victoria Land. The core consists of an over consolidated biogenic mud covered with glacial diamicton; Holocene diatomaceous mud lies on top of the sequence. Radiocarbon dates of the acid insoluble organic matter indicate a pre-Last Glacial Maximum age (>24kyr) for the biogenic mud at the base of the sequence. From this we can presume that at least this portion of the western Ross Sea was deglaciated during Marine Isotope Stage 3 and enjoyed open marine conditions. Our results are consistent with recent findings of pre-Holocene raised beaches at Cape Ross and in the Terra Nova Bay area.

The changes in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current system associated with the Polar, sub-Antarctic and Subtropical Fronts in the Atlantic are examined in a ten-member ensemble using the Community Earth System Model. Results for the ensemble average mean show that the Polar Front at 25°W shifts to the south by 0.8° during 1970–2000 compared to its mean latitude over the period 1050–1950. This shift is significant because it is more than twice the standard deviation of the mean latitude time series during 1050–1950. The shift is caused by a slight southward displacement of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which in turn is caused by a southward shift in the latitude of the maximum zonal wind stress. The sub-Antarctic Front also shows a small southward shift after 1970, with a maximum latitudinal displacement of 0.2°. However, this shift is not significant compared to the standard deviation of the time series during 1050–1950. The Subtropical Front does not change its latitude during 1970–2000 compared to 1050–2000 because there is very little change in the wind-stress curl in the subtropics. Differences in temperature and salinity throughout the water column at 25°W reveal that during 1970–2000 there is freshening of Antarctic Intermediate Water, whereas the Circumpolar Deep Water becomes saltier.

A total of 63 psychrotolerant bacteria exhibiting resistance to various antibiotics, such as ampicillin, streptomycin and/or trimethoprim, were isolated from diverse sites varying in terms of human influence, from obvious presence to probable absence, on Fildes Peninsula (King George Island, South Shetland Islands). The presence of class 1 integrons in some of these antibiotic resistant isolates was further determined. Plasmids from two isolates (HP19 and CN11) were transferred to Escherichia coli DH5α by conjugation. Sequence analysis of the plasmid from the HP19 isolate exhibited high similarity (~99%) to plasmid p34998-210.894kb of Enterobacter hormaechei subsp. steigerwaltii of clinical origin and confirmed the presence of a dfrA14 cassette in a class 1 integron context. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis of five of these psychrotolerant isolates indicated similarity with environmental bacteria previously identified as Enterobacter species. Together, these results confirm that there may be no pristine niches for antibiotic resistance gene dissemination.

Energy from the outer regions of the magnetosphere may be transferred to the polar ionosphere by plasma waves. A magnetometer array operated during the Antarctic winter observed Ultra-Low-Frequency (ULF) plasma waves in the Pc 1–2 (0.1–10.0 Hz) frequency range, propagating parallel to the surface of the Earth in a waveguide or duct centred at ∼300 km altitude in the ionosphere. These compressional fast mode plasma waves most likely originated in the outer magnetosphere as shear mode plasma waves guided along the geomagnetic field. The region of origin in the magnetosphere for the waves is not certain as several widely spaced volumes map along geomagnetic field lines to a relatively close ensemble in the polar ionosphere. This paper compares the direction of propagation for the waves with signatures of magnetospheric regions geomagnetically projecting onto the ionosphere. Regions such as the polar cusp, low latitude boundary layer and mantle were observed by DMSP spacecraft and a SuperDARN high-frequency radar. The most likely region in the polar ionosphere for the fast mode waves to have originated from is equatorwards of the polar cusp, suggesting the field guided waves originated just inside the magnetopause. A case is made for association of the observed Pc1-2 ULF waves with post-noon, field-aligned-current systems driven by reconnection of the solar Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) and the geomagnetic field near the magnetopause.

The density and salinity of High Salinity Shelf Water, a key component of Antarctic Bottom Water emanating from the Ross Sea, are intensified by brine rejection induced by ice formation within the Terra Nova Bay (TNB) polynya. Ocean mooring data from 2007, meteorological observations from automatic weather stations and a satellite-derived history of the opening of TNB polynya delineate variability in water column salinity linked to atmospheric forcing, with a period on the order of 10 days. Lagged correlation analysis indicates that on average salinity response lags the polynya opening by 2 days and the wind forcing by 5 days. We find stronger correlations of salinity with the wind during March through May and with the polynya open-water fraction during June through October, with decreasing lags in the latter period. A one-dimensional mixed-layer model incorporating thermodynamic ice formation captures the oscillations in salinity. A process study shows that the variability in the polynya open-water fraction governs the final salinity attained by the model as well as the salinity cycling. Variability in surface heat fluxes modulates that effect. Our work suggests that there is a more complex relationship between salinity, the polynya open-water fraction, and atmospheric forcing than previously suggested.

The ground temperature down to 60 cm depth in western Dronning Maud Land (WDML), has been recorded since 2009. The study area is situated in a blockfield that comprises a shallow active layer above permafrost. Using ground thermal regimes and regional climate data, the temporal (seasonal and annual) variability of the active layer was characterized. Active layer depth was calculated for each site for five consecutive summers from 2009/10–2013/14, showing interannual variability with no overall trends of decreasing or increasing active layer depth. Particular attention was paid to 2010 as it matched the average for the ground thermal regimes over the six year study period, as well as the interpolation period used by Meteonorm®. Analysis showed significant synchronous relationships of ground thermal regimes with air temperature and incoming radiation. Moreover, a correlation between pressure and measured ground temperature during the transitional season of the Southern Annual Oscillation in May and September was identified.

New cytogenetical data are provided for the three Ranunculus species occurring on Iles Kerguelen. Chromosome morphometrical analysis (idiograms) strongly argues for a relationship between them, with some indications of a more recent origin for R. moseleyi. Aneuploidy was found within the three species for the first time. Whilst only a slight aneuploidy exists in R. pseudotrullifolius and R. moseleyi, R. biternatus shows a tendency to hyperaneuploidy. Vegetative reproduction is likely to increase the number of plants showing such chromosome number irregularities. Aneuploidy could explain some of the differences between the species in ecological tolerance and distributional area.

The surface waters of the Southern Ocean play a key role in the global climate and carbon cycles by promoting growth of some of the world’s largest phytoplankton blooms. Several studies have emphasized the importance of glacial and sediment inputs of Fe that fuel the primary production of the Fe-limited Southern Ocean. Although the fertile surface waters along the shelf of the western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) are influenced by large inputs of freshwater, this freshwater may take multiple pathways (e.g. calving, streams, groundwater discharge) with different degrees of water-rock interactions leading to variable Fe flux to coastal waters. During the summers of 2012–13 and 2013–14, seawater samples were collected along the WAP, near Anvers Island, to observe water column dynamics in nearshore and offshore waters. Tracers (223,224Ra, 222Rn, 18O, 2H) were used to evaluate the source and transport of water and nutrients in coastal fjords and across the shelf. Coastal waters are compared across two field seasons, with increased freshwater observed during 2014. Horizontal mixing rates of water masses along the WAP ranged from 110–3600 m2 s-1. These mixing rates suggest a rapid transport mechanism for moving meltwater offshore.

The directions of strong winds are important for the distribution of marine salt spray, rock weathering, lake chemistry and the distribution of vegetation in Bunger Hills, a coastal ice-free oasis in East Antarctica. Present-day strong winds (> 10 m s−1) dominantly blow from 118 ± 21 degrees true (°T; ± 1 SD). Orientated tafoni (weathering pits) might form in bedrock surfaces by salt and ice crystallization, thermal stress and saltating sand particles, recording the orientation of a strongly directional wind field since the last deglaciation, which commenced > 30 000 years ago. The orientations of these tafoni, at 101 ± 18°T for 686 measurements at 28 sites, are indistinguishable from the direction of modern-day strong winds (> 10 m s−1), indicating that the orientation of the slope of the ice sheet has been stable throughout the last 10 000 years during the Holocene.

Epimeria rubrieques sp. n., belonging to the cold water family Paramphithoidae, occurred relatively often in Agassiz and bottom trawls taken during several German Antarctic Expeditions into the eastern Weddell Sea since 1983. Although this species is very conspicuous because of its long mid-dorsal teeth, bright pink-red colour and large size (up to 70 mm), it has only been recorded in the Weddell Sea. The new species is compared to its closest relatives Epimeria macrodonta and E. similis, and an updated key to the 14 species of Antarctic Epimeria is provided. Observations on the general and feeding behaviour of living specimens of Epimeria rubrieques sp. n. in aquaria showed the species to be an ambush predator and a weakly motile epibenthic walker, which swims only rarely.

Marie Byrd Land is amongst the most inaccessible and least visited regions of Antarctica. It contains a large alkaline volcanic province, with 18 large central volcanoes and numerous small satellitic centres, ranging in age from late Oligocene (c. 28–30 Ma) to Recent (LeMasurier 1990). The volcanic rocks provide an outstanding record of the late Cenozoic glacial and volcanic history of Antarctica. The volcanism has been described within a region-wide model of hot-spot impingent at the base of the crust, widespread eruption of mafic plateau lavas and the sequential release of more evolved magmas from crustal chambers beneath central volcanoes situated along a series of reactivated, orthogonal basement fractures (LeMasurier & Rex 1989). Most of the volcanoes have been studied only on a reconnaissance level.

Two automatic snow stations were deployed for one year (from December 2009–January 2011) in western Dronning Maud Land. The purposes of the experiment were: 1) to build a working snow station to measure the snow surface layer temperature, and 2) to use the data for snow heat and mass balance investigations. The data collection was successful and lasted about 400 days (9 December 2009–21 January 2011). The annual net snow accumulation at snow station 2 (continental ice sheet) was 86 cm (345 mm water equivalent) and at snow station 1 (ice shelf) more than 150 cm. The power spectra revealed daily cycle, synoptic scale variability, and variability in a low-frequency band of 60–120 days at a depth of 54 cm. The snow-air heat flux was estimated from the data, resulting in negative values (from snow to air) during autumn and winter and positive values (from air to snow) in spring and summer. The physical characterization of snow stratigraphy was done during installation and retrieval of the snow stations, including density, hardness (hand test), stratigraphy, and grain size and shape.

Multivariate analysis shows that shells of Notodiscus sp. (Charopidae: Pulmonata) reported from South Georgia are smaller and proportionately taller than, but otherwise similar to, populations of Notodiscus hookeri (Reeve) from Iles Crozet and Iles Kerguelen. The origin of this solitary, and spatially limited, South Georgia population is enigmatic. It is confined to a remarkably small coastal lowland site which was glaciated at Last Glacial Maximum, precluding a Tertiary relict origin, and on the leeward north-east coast, ruling out post-glacial ocean rafting. The site is close to the King Edward Point settlement, yet the absence of any logistics connections with the Iles Crozet or Iles Kerguelen mitigates against anthropogenic introduction. The close proximity of the population to nests of blue-eyed shag (Phalacrocorax atriceps), Dominican gull (Larus dominicanus) and light-mantled sooty albatross (Phoebetria palpebrata) could imply the snail was originally introduced to South Georgia via these ocean transiting seabirds.

Populations of grey petrels have declined globally due to both incidental capture in commercial fisheries and predation by introduced mammals at breeding sites. In the New Zealand region, grey petrels only breed on Campbell and Antipodes islands. Rats were successfully eradicated from Campbell Island in 2001. We assessed the spatial extent and conducted the first quantitative population estimate of the grey petrel population on Campbell Island and surrounding islets. There was an estimated c. 96 pairs (95% CI: 83, 109) of breeding grey petrels from the four colonies. Since work was conducted during the middle of the chick-rearing stage, this is an underestimate of the breeding population. The Campbell Island grey petrel breeding population remains small. Our study provides a baseline for future population estimates of grey petrels on Campbell Island.

Aquatic ecosystems - lakes, ponds and streams - are hotspots of biodiversity in the cold and arid environment of Continental Antarctica. Environmental change is expected to increasingly alter Antarctic aquatic ecosystems and modify the physical characteristics and interactions within the habitats that they support. Here, we describe physical and biological features of the peripheral ‘moat’ of a closed-basin Antarctic lake. These moats mediate connectivity amongst streams, lake and soils. We highlight the cyclical moat transition from a frozen winter state to an active open-water summer system, through refreeze as winter returns. Summer melting begins at the lakebed, initially creating an ice-constrained lens of liquid water in November, which swiftly progresses upwards, creating open water in December. Conversely, freezing progresses slowly from the water surface downwards, with water at 1 m bottom depth remaining liquid until May. Moats support productive, diverse benthic communities that are taxonomically distinct from those under the adjacent permanent lake ice. We show how ion ratios suggest that summer exchange occurs amongst moats, streams, soils and sub-ice lake water, perhaps facilitated by within-moat density-driven convection. Moats occupy a small but dynamic area of lake habitat, are disproportionately affected by recent lake-level rises and may thus be particularly vulnerable to hydrological change.