The Southern Ocean is responsible for the largest fraction of anthropogenic heat and carbon uptake by the global oceans and has therefore played a vital role in moderating the effects of climate change over the past century. The transfer of heat and carbon from the surface to the ocean interior, through a process called ‘ventilation’, is critical to understanding future climate trajectories. Southern Ocean ventilation is controlled by a chain of interconnected mechanisms, including localised subduction, eddy-driven isopycnal mixing, lateral transport from subtropical gyre circulation, and meridional overturning (Morrison et al., 2022). However, projections of future Southern Ocean heat uptake, and the relative contributions from each ventilation mechanism, remain highly uncertain. This research aims to develop a new fundamental understanding of the interconnected ocean processes that govern carbon and heat transfer from the surface to the deep ocean, and will thereby improve constraints on heat uptake. By identifying the relative impact of each ventilation mechanism on mode water formation, this study seeks to explain how circulation, mixing, and subduction processes interact to govern Southern Ocean ventilation.

We are actively developing a new Antarctic deglaciation chronology using in situ cosmogenic ¹⁴C. Because ¹⁴C has a short half-life, it is highly sensitive to millennial-scale ice-sheet changes, particularly Holocene thinning and recent surface exposure. In contrast, ¹⁰Be has a much longer half-life and can retain signals from older exposure episodes, making recent deglaciation more difficult to resolve in some Antarctic settings. Our data show that in situ ¹⁴C can provide younger and more precise constraints on recent ice sheet thinning than those recorded by ¹⁰Be alone. We also demonstrate that calculated ¹⁴C exposure ages are strongly dependent on the assumed production rate, highlighting the importance of understanding ¹⁴C systematics when applying this method to glacial chronologies.
This matters because these ages help determine how much thicker the Antarctic Ice Sheet was in the past, when thinning occurred, and how rapidly ice surfaces lowered. These constraints are essential for testing numerical ice-sheet models. Models that can reproduce past ice-sheet behaviour provide greater confidence when predicting future Antarctic responses to climate forcing.
In this presentation, I will focus on in situ cosmogenic ¹⁴C systematics, including production-rate sensitivity, inheritance, and their influence on exposure ages and Antarctic ice-sheet reconstructions.

Denman Glacier is a vulnerable outlet to the large, marine-based Aurora Subglacial Basin in East Antarctica, containing 1.5 m equivalence of global sea level rise. Denman Glacier is experiencing high rates of melt and grounding line retreat, likely due to incursions of warm Circumpolar Deep Water. Lead (Pb) isotope composition is a powerful and underutilised tool for assessing current and past changes in ice sheet melt and chemical weathering. This study investigates whether Pb isotopes in seawater can be used to trace subglacial meltwater from the Denman Glacier. Nobias PA-1 resin extraction and anion-exchange chromatography are used to resolve the Pb isotope compositions for high-resolution seawater profiles proximal to Denman Glacier. We also present seawater and porewater Pb concentrations to evaluate controls of seawater Pb isotope signatures, constraining endmembers of the Pb isotope system to aid interpretation of Pb isotope records in local sediment cores. Our assessment of seawater Pb isotope compositions as a tracer for subglacial meltwater clarifies the importance of Pb isotopes as a paleoproxy for subglacial melt during past deglacial periods in Antarctica.

The Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT; 1.2 – 0.7 million-years-ago) represents one of the most enduring and enigmatic questions in Earth system science. This shift in glacial cycle pacing and intensity, independent of orbital forcing, suggests a fundamental change in Earth’s climate system. While the definitive cause of the MPT remains debated, an expansion of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is believed to have played a significant role in enabling longer and more intense glacial cycles. We explore the behaviour of the Lambert-Amery glacial system across the MPT through sediment core records from the continental margin off Cape Darnley, East Antarctica, including a new 2.4-million-year (2.4 Ma) continuous sedimentary sequence (04PC02, 15m, -65.5°S, 65.3°E).
This new record suggests greater ice sheet instability in the lead-up to the MPT (from ~1.65 Ma) compared to during it. The pre-MPT period shows increased terrigenous accumulation with evidence of ice-sheet-ocean variability through episodic ice-rafted debris interspersed with carbonate microfossils. These cease into the MPT. In contrast, other core sites in front of the Amery Ice Shelf exhibit increased terrigenous accumulation from the onset of the MPT, interpreted as Amery Ice Shelf expansion. Our new sediment record raises questions regarding this interpretation and the role of ice sheet expansion during the MPT.

Research surveys focused on fish in the remote Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) EEZ were initiated in 1990. While initial surveys were somewhat exploratory in order to ascertain geographic distribution of fish stocks; there has been annual, structured and consistent surveys in place since 2002 (the randomised, stratified trawl survey, RSTS). The regularity and sampling intensity of the RSTS provides novel insights into juvenile toothfish and icefish, the diversity of fish communities within HIMI, as well as temporal and spatial changes and trends. This presentation outlines key results derived from the RSTS as well as direct applications of this survey for monitoring and management.

Around 60% of the ice held within the Wilkes Subglacial Basin is drained by the Cook and Ninnis Glaciers, which are inferred to be sensitive to ocean warming. The COOKIES voyage (IN2026_V01) studied the Cook/Ninnis/Mertz (~150°E) and adjacent Dibble Glacier (~132°E) marine regions to:
a) characterise marine ecosystem composition throughout the past and into the present
b) assess relationships of benthic biodiversity and population genetic signatures with productivity and ice-sheet history,
c) determine the geological and palaeoceanographic conditions that may have influenced the spatial distribution of the Cook region marine life.
We collected bathymetry (multibeam), sub-bottom profile and magnetic data for geomorphological and geodynamic assessment, sediment cores (Multi-, Kasten, Piston Cores) for sedimentological, geochemical, paleontological and genomics investigations, imagery of seafloor biodiversity (deep-towed camera), benthic organisms (epibenthic sled), and physical (CTD, ADCP, Argo floats), chemical (Trace Metal Rosette) and biological oceanography (CTD, underway seawater sampling). The voyage created new seafloor maps spanning 3,490 nautical miles across both slope and shelf in the study region alongside novel imagery of the seafloor biodiversity, acquired the longest piston core on RV Investigator to date (20.5 m), and collected over 300 benthic organisms for population genetic analyses. Our dataset comprises a unique resource of the ice sheet history in the Cook/Ninnis/Mertz and Dibble Glacier region that will inform future research in this area in the years to come.

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) diel vertical migrations seasonally enhance the efficiency of the Southern Ocean biological carbon pump. Krill which consume phytoplankton in epipelagic waters and migrate to depth release particulate and dissolved organic carbon into mesopelagic waters with each migration. Some krill vertical migrations extend to the seafloor, where cameras have observed krill feeding on benthic sediments and detrital material. Consequently, this behaviour may enable the upward transport of benthic material to surface waters upon krill ascent, returning a fraction of previously exported carbon to the epipelagic – known as efflux. Here, we showcase the results of an experiment performed onboard the Denman Marine Voyage, wherein the dissolved and particulate organic carbon released from krill fed phytoplankton or sediments was compared over a 12-hour period. Diet-specific carbon egestion rates were then combined with high-resolution echosounder observations of krill vertical migration to model the potential for carbon efflux via epibenthic vertical migrations in East Antarctica across a season. These results strengthen our understanding of the role krill play in Southern Ocean carbon cycling, particularly with regards to the efficiency of migratory pathways.

High quality seafloor maps are essential for Southern Ocean research and operations, but collecting bathymetric data in Antarctic waters is particularly challenging. Because these datasets contribute to regional compilations such as the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO), users need to understand how acquisition conditions influence the final map products.

This poster presents findings from a review of EM122 and EM712 multibeam data collected by Australia’s icebreaker RSV Nuyina and the Reson Seabat T20 multibeam on the SCT Aurora, south of 60°S. Extreme environmental conditions, transit speed, rapidly deteriorating weather, vessel motion, and limited opportunities for tidal and sound velocity correction are a problem. These factors strongly affect the level of detail in final bathymetric grids and can produce resolution differences that need consideration when interpreting seafloor features. The poster also highlights the AusSeabed Area of Interest tool, which enables researchers and institutions to register mapping priorities and support collaborative survey planning. This work is presented in partnership with the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), reflecting its long-term commitment to systematic Antarctic data collection.

By increasing awareness of these high latitude data characteristics, this work supports the research community in more informed planning and effective use of Antarctic bathymetry.

Tourism in Antarctica has expanded significantly over the past two decades, intensifying concerns about environmental protection and governance oversight. Under Annex I of the Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, all proposed tourism activities are subject to Environmental Impact Assessment to determine whether impacts are “less than minor or transitory.” While Initial Environmental Evaluations are routinely employed, there has been limited empirical scrutiny of how effectively these assessments function in practice or whether they influence environmental management outcomes.
This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the Antarctic tourism EIA system using a modified analytical framework that integrates procedural effectiveness criteria (after Wood) with outcome-oriented, normative, learning, and legitimacy dimensions (after Cashmore). Tourism-related EIAs submitted to the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat between 2015 and 2025 were analysed through qualitative document coding across five dimensions: procedural, substantive, normative, transactive, and legitimacy effectiveness.
The findings reveal consistently strong procedural compliance with Annex I requirements, but weaker substantive and transactive performance, characterised by generic mitigation measures, limited monitoring and auditing, minimal feedback loops, and continued reliance on assumed “minor or transitory” impacts. Effectiveness scores across countries are broadly similar, reflecting a system that prioritises formal compliance over adaptive management, learning, and cumulative impact consideration. The paper argues that the Antarctic EIA system must evolve to remain fit for purpose in a changing tourism context.

Of the 22 species of albatross listed by the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP), only one is listed as of Least Concern. Everyone who travels to Antarctica by sea will have seen albatrosses following the ship and may have noticed the diminishing numbers. It is a horrifying thought that the wandering albatross may be extinct before the end of the 21st century.
World Albatross Day was established by ACAP to raise awareness of the conservation crisis being faced by many species of albatrosses and petrels from fishing operations and from invasive species where they nest.
In this poster I describe how DNA, which comprises four bases: guanine, cytosine, adenine and thymine, which are represented by the letters G, C, A and T respectively, were converted and arranged into a piece of music.
Dr Andrea Polanowski at AAD, kindly provided DNA sequences from six species of albatross. The first piece of music composed from the DNA, The Wanderer, was released in June 2025 with The Sooty to be released this year. My hope is that this music will engage with people emotionally and convey the message that this crisis needs everyone to be aware and help.

The Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) is increasingly challenged by accelerating environmental change, geopolitical tensions, and expanding human activities. It is widely regarded as a successful governance regime—yet effectiveness and adaptiveness are not the same. A regime that has succeeded under stable conditions may still lack the capacity to respond as pressures interact, intensify, and evolve. How well the ATS can adapt to these emerging dynamics remains insufficiently understood.
This study develops an interdisciplinary framework to evaluate the adaptiveness of the ATS under global change, drawing on geopolitical theory, adaptive governance, and spatial governance perspectives. Using a mixed-methods design, it integrates a systematic literature review, an expert survey, institutional document analysis, and GIS-based spatial analysis. Together, these methods examine how governance narratives, institutional responses, and spatial management tools reflect adaptive capacity within the ATS.
By triangulating textual, perceptual, and spatial evidence, the study identifies patterns of alignment and mismatch between governance instruments (such as ASPAs and ASMAs) and evolving environmental and human-activity pressures. It aims to provide an empirically grounded understanding of where the ATS demonstrates adaptive strengths and where institutional and spatial gaps persist—offering a structured basis for strengthening how Antarctic governance anticipates and responds to a rapidly changing world.