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Quarterly science bulletin
Edition 6, June 2024
Understanding the consequences of Antarctic change
in this critical decade for climate action
Early next year Australia's national icebreaker RSV Nuyina will undertake its first dedicated marine science voyage, to explore the Denman glacier and Shackleton ice shelf from the sea, after a successful terrestrial campaign this past summer.
We’re on the cusp of realising a long-held dream of many Antarctic scientists to investigate the interactions between ocean, ice, and atmosphere from both land and sea.
The importance of this work is immense. The Denman Glacier is already one of the fastest retreating glaciers in Australian Antarctic Territory. If the Denman were to collapse entirely, it alone could contribute around 1.5 metres to global sea level rise.
By investigating the Denman-Shackleton system and other glaciers and ice shelves, we will be better informed about the susceptibility of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet to a warming climate and the risks of sea level rise (see our special feature).
Denman-Shackleton system, 2020 (photo: NASA Earth Observatory)
Our ambition is for a concerted and coordinated effort to understand the changing state of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, and the implications for the world.
At a recent Senate inquiry I was heartened to see tripartisan support for calls from the University of Tasmania and other research organisations about a second ship for Antarctic and Southern Ocean research, and confirmation of funding in the Federal budget for science voyages on RSV Nuyina.
Reinvigorating a reliable, resilient shipping program means we can increase our science days at sea with certainty, undertake sea-ice voyages all year round, and expand international collaboration.
This will provide the knowledge we urgently need to assess the consequences of change and inform rapid emissions reduction, in this critical decade for climate action.
Welcome to our sixth edition of 'Southern Signals' (archive here), a quarterly bulletin to inform decision-makers, policy-shapers, journalists, the polar research community, stakeholders and the general public about our science and research activities — and why they matter.
Professor Nathan Bindoff
Program leader, Australian Antarctic Program Partnership
University of Tasmania, Hobart
Emergency summit on Antarctica's future
Bringing together Australia's Antarctic and Southern Ocean research community across the full range of disciplines, at the University of Tasmania in Hobart during November this year. Register now!
SPECIAL FEATURE
How to drill an ice shelf — and why
A visually-rich story of how a small team melted a hole through the Shackleton ice shelf in East Antarctica — and what they discovered in the ocean beneath
Of ice and fire: what sea salt in Antarctic snowfall reveals about bushfire risk
“Buried in the ice is a warning: This isn’t just a future risk. We need to plan for bushfire seasons worse than the Black Summer.”
Robots, dust and life in the Southern Ocean
For the first time, a study using robotic floats shows how windblown iron-rich dust from land ‘fertilises’ around a third of phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean and boosts carbon storage
Australian Antarctic scientists in bid for NASA space mission
Satellite proposal to provide unprecedented year-round information about the thickness and roughness of sea ice in extremely high resolution
BY THE NUMBERS...
AAPP publications by project, 2019 to today
SOME RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Our scientists publish more than 100 research papers each year
The role of biota in the Southern Ocean carbon cycle: 20–30% of global carbon export to the ocean
The Australian ice core program – history, context and analysis: 50 years from 1972–2022
Evaluating Southern Ocean clouds: A machine learning approach to improve climate models
Penguins on iceberg (photo: Australian Antarctic Division)
