The first oceanographic measurements in the Ross Sea were made by its discoverer James Clark Ross, from the Erebus, on 18 January 1841. Since that time its continental shelf, seasonally ice free in most years, has proved a magnet to explorers and scientists, if not to fishermen and tourists. Nevertheless, our knowledge of this environment is rapidly being outpaced by our ignorance of its variability. For example, the Ross Sea contains two of the largest, most persistent polynyas on the Antarctic coastline, but its sea ice extent has increased over recent decades while its salinity has steadily declined. Are regional winds now stronger, the ocean circulation faster, and the ice thinner now than at the time of the IGY? Are its winter polynyas characterized more by upwelling driven by offshore winds, or downwelling due to brine release when sea ice is formed? How are polynya surface layers stabilized and iron-enriched, reportedly enhancing summer productivity, if the ice cover is blown away before it can melt in situ?

Anniversaries punctuate all our lives, providing the semicolons that cause us to pause and think again. Everyone has plenty of personal anniversaries but there are also cultural and institutional ones that we can use as an opportunity to remember but also as a platform to leap forward. How far have we come and where do we want to be in the future? The recent announcement of an International Polar Year (IPY) in 2007 is linked to the fiftieth anniversary of the International Geophysical Year, an event that proved to have such momentous consequences both for Antarctic science and for international politics.

There is a pressing need for region-specific information on the response of polar species to contaminants. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty states “…regular and effective monitoring shall take place to allow assessment of the impacts of ongoing activities, including the verification of predicted impact…”. Although the Treaty only applies to the Antarctic, similar requirements exist for the Arctic; thus, our comments below apply to both polar regions. Without ecotoxicological information all the effort that is directed towards contaminants monitoring is largely meaningless as it does not tell us whether the levels detected pose an environmental risk.

Proposed climate change mechanisms are many and various but generally attributable to our part of the solar system. They usually focus on temperature changes driven either by local processes such as variations in oceanic circulation, or, levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, or by global processes such as variations in received solar energy linked to changes in the parameters of the Earth's rotation and orbit or solar activity. However, two recent papers have suggested that we may need to look outside the Earth System and even outside our local planetary system for the possible origins of climate change, both on a decadal scale and over longer timescales of hundreds of millions of years. In each case, the galactic cosmic ray flux and its potential effects on cloud formation is considered to be the culprit.

Changes in water mass distribution and horizontal circulation due to seasonal influences on the Ross Sea continental shelf are investigated using a circumpolar numerical model. An anticyclonic circulation cell that extends across the open shelf and into the ice shelf cavity is formed in the model. The increased east–west density gradient caused by the strong brine release in the Ross Sea polynya in winter results in an intensification of this anticyclonic cell from 1.5 Sv to 2.5 Sv. This supports the concept of a thermohaline-driven horizontal circulation on the Ross Sea continental shelf. In addition to a temporal change in the circulation strength, the changes in the density structure lead to complex temporal and spatial variability in the circulation around Ross Island. Due to seasonal variation in circulation strength and water temperatures, the area averaged basal melt rate of 25 cm a−1 shows a bimodal seasonal cycle ranging from 20–28 cm a−1, with maxima in March and August.

This review seeks to highlight the potential importance of viruses in Antarctic ecosystems and describe the limited scope of Antarctic virus studies to date, including studies of marine, terrestrial and freshwater communities. Although much of the existing work focuses on the microbial community, there are also studies of virus infection in Antarctic animal and plant populations. We describe methodologies available for the study of viral ecology in the field and in calling for a more intensive research effort discuss how microbial ecology might benefit from the study of viruses in Antarctic ecosystems.

The syntypes of the endemic Southern Ocean octopodid Pareledone polymorpha (Robson, 1930) were re-examined and measurements, counts and indices are presented. The two forms described by Robson, namely oblonga and affinis, are determined to have no taxonomic validity. The species polymorpha shows morphological similarities with Pareledone adelieana (Berry, 1917) but differs in relative arm lengths, sucker counts, external colouration and size at maturity. Both species are transferred to the new genus Adelieledone, which is separated from the genus Pareledone s.s. by the transverse ridges in the ligula groove of the hectocotylus, the sharp tip of the lower beak, the enlarged posterior salivary glands, the absence of stylets and by skin sculpture, especially by the presence of two longitudinal integumentary ridges on the dorsal mantle. A new species, Adelieledone piatkowski, is described from the Antarctic Peninsula. Beak morphology can discriminate the genera in predator studies.

The biogeochemical cycle of lead in the marine coastal environment of Terra Nova Bay has been investigated by determining the lead concentration in a large number of matrices: marine sediments, pack ice, snow, seawater, marine microlayer, aerosol and eight species of marine organisms (the bivalve molluscs Adamussium colbecki and Laternula elliptica, the seastar Odontaster validus, the sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri, the fish Trematomus bernacchii, the seaweeds Iridaea cordata and Phyllophora antarctica, and the nemertine worm Parborlasia corrugatus). The study of solid speciation of sediment showed that the site is not influenced by human activity and is hence suitable to examine natural processes. The concentration values found in the suspended paniculate matter (SPM) of pack ice core, aerosol, marine microlayer and seawater as well as the particulate morphology, investigated by SEM, seem to support the hypothesis that particulate lead is transferred from the atmosphere to the water column through three different mechanisms: (i) release of SPM from the pack ice during its melting, (ii) input from the continental land through wet deposition, (iii) transport by aerosol and marine microlayer. Concentration data both in the whole organism and in some target organs indicated two suitable biomonitor organisms: the bivalva Laternula elliptica (particularly its digestive gland) and the fish Trematomus bernacchii (particularly its bones).

We applied a modified version of the Miami isopycnic coordinate ocean general circulation model (MICOM) to the ocean cavity beneath the Ross Ice Shelf to investigate the circulation of ocean waters in the sub-ice shelf cavity, along with the melting and freezing regimes at the base of the ice shelf. Model passive tracers are utilized to highlight the pathways of waters entering and exiting the cavity, and output is compared with data taken in the cavity and along the ice shelf front. High Salinity Shelf Water on the western Ross Sea continental shelf flows into the cavity along the sea floor and is transformed into Ice Shelf Water upon contact with the ice shelf base. Ice Shelf Water flows out of the cavity mainly around 180°, but also further east and on the western side of McMurdo Sound, as observed. Active ventilation of the region near the ice shelf front is forced by seasonal variations in the density structure of the water column to the north, driving rapid melting. Circulation in the more isolated interior is weaker, leading to melting at deeper ice and refreezing beneath shallower ice. Net melting over the whole ice shelf base is lower than other estimates, but is likely to increase as additional forcings are added to the model.

Downward fluxes of particulate matter were investigated in the polynya of Terra Nova Bay (western Ross Sea) from February 1995 to December 1997. The main biological components were siliceous phytoplankton (diatoms, silicoflagellates and parmales), abundant faecal pellets of several types and zooplankton (mainly shelled pteropods). Vertical fluxes of particles occurred mainly through diatoms and faecal pellets in the first and second part of the summer, respectively. The highest fluxes were recurrently observed in late summer, when faeces contributed up to 100% of organic carbon. Unusually high fluxes were recorded in winter 1995, when faecal pellets accounted for 84.6% of the organic carbon. Peak fluxes were always driven by the sinking of faecal pellets, that hence appear to be the most efficient vector of export in the polynya of Terra Nova Bay. A major flux component was the pteropod Limacina helicina, which repeatedly sank in high amounts after the growing season. In April–June, L. helicina probably transported biogenic carbon to deep layers as a passive sinker. The inclusion of pteropods in flux estimates resulted in values that were up to 20 (for total mass), 25 (for organic matter) and 48 (for carbonate) times higher than the previously measured fluxes. Fluxes are known to be biased by swimmers, but ultimately attention must be paid to a possible erroneous categorization of some zooplankton as swimmers to avoid severe underestimation of fluxes of total mass (up to 95% in our study), organic matter (up to 96%) and carbonate (up to 100%).

We obtained two years (1999–2001) of continuous, high resolution temperature and pressure data at two near-shore shallow water sites in McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea. Contrary to the long-held assumption of constant freezing conditions in the Sound, these records revealed dynamic temperature fluctuations and substantial warming during January to March reaching peak water temperatures of about −0.5°C. They also revealed that excursions above −1.1°C, the equilibrium melting point of ice in Antarctic notothenioid fish, totalled 8–21 days during the summer. Microscopic ice crystals are known to enter these fish but ice growth is arrested by antifreeze proteins. Prior to this study there were no known mechanisms of eliminating accumulated endogenous ice. The warm temperature excursions provide for the first time a possible physical mechanism, passive melting, for ice removal. The continuous records also showed a correlation between tidal pressures and cold temperature episodes, which suggests the influx of cold currents from under the Ross Ice Shelf may provide a mechanism for ice crystal nucleation as the source of the ice in McMurdo Sound fish. The accumulation of anchor ice on one logger caused it to float up which was recorded as a decrease in pressure. This is the first evidence for the time of onset of anchor ice formation in McMurdo Sound.

The ecology of two meltwater streams on King George Island, Ornithologists Creek (with penguin rookeries close to its lower reaches) and Petrified Forest Creek (a highly oligotrophic system), was studied during the 1996–97 summer season. To estimate seasonal productivity of the periphyton and to establish which environmental parameters influenced periphyton growth most strongly, two types of artificial substrata (fibreglass nets – ash-free dry weight (AFDW), and microscope slides – Chlorophyll a (Chl a)) were tested in situ. Thus relative periphyton productivity (RPP) reflects algal colonization and growth as well as losses due to cell mortality and abrasive action of moving sediments. The Petrified Forest Creek was more productive (AFDW = 108.63 μg cm−2 d−1, Chl a = 0.35 μg g cm−2 d−1) than the Ornithologists Creek (AFDW = 69.90 μg cm−2 d−-1, Chl a = 0.26 μg cm−2 d−1). RPP differed both along the streams, and during the season. Significant positive or negative relationships (generalized linear models) were found between RPP and streamwater ‘physico-chemical parameters’ and ‘geomorphological-geographical characteristics’ of the streams' catchments. In addition, in the lower reaches of both streams almost no active colonization or growth was recorded. In the Petrified Forest Creek, the periphyton biomass was so high that mainly passive organic matter deposition occurred. By contrast, in the lower reach of Ornithologists Creek, periphyton colonization and growth was around zero, being negatively influenced by penguin excrement. Ornithologists Creek was richer in nutrients (DIN, DRP), which also fluctuated more widely along its length and throughout the season, than in the Petrified Forest Creek. Parameters associated with the inorganic carbon cycle of the streamwater reflect higher RPP in Petrified Forest Creek. Moreover, RPP was higher in stream reaches with higher amounts of gravel boulders on the bottom.

The composition of suprabenthic Peracarida from a depth between 1 and 1.33 m above the seafloor was investigated. In order to study the abundance and diversity quantitatively, the samples were taken by means of the supranet of an epibenthic sledge off Kapp Norvegia and off the South Shetland Islands. The samples were taken during ANT XVII-3 with RV Polarstern in April and May 2000. These samples of EASIZ III received during the Antarctic autumn are compared with those of EASIZ II taken during the summer. While the autumn samples show far less abundance of all peracarid taxa, the diversity is about twice as high as during summer. In total 115 species of peracarid crustaceans were sampled at six stations yielding 1336 individuals standardized to 1000 m3 hauls. Amphipoda clearly dominated in abundance and diversity.

Spreading and sinking of the Deep Ice Shelf Water (DISW) in the Ross Sea are analysed using in situ observations and the results of a nonlinear, reduced gravity, layered numerical model, which is able to simulate the motion of a bottom trapped current over realistic topography. The model is forced by prescribing thickness and density of the DISW layer at the southern model boundary as well as ambient density stratification above the DISW layer. This density structure is imposed using hydrographic data acquired by the Italian PNRA-CLIMA project. In the model water of the quiescent ambient ocean is allowed to entrain in the active deep layer due to a simple entrainment parameterization. The importance of forcing the model with a realistic ambient density is demonstrated by carrying out a numerical simulation using an idealized ambient density. In a more realistic simulation the path and the density structure of the DISW vein flowing over the Challenger Basin are obtained and are found to be in good agreement with data. It is found that entrainment, which is particularly active in regions of strong topographic variation, significantly influences the pattern followed by the DISW layer. The evolution of the DISW layer beyond the continental shelf, i.e., in a region where the paucity of experimental data does not allow for a detailed description of the deep ocean dynamics, is also investigated.

The brooded embryos and/or juveniles of the sea stars Neosmilaster georgianus (Studer, 1885) and Lysasterias perrieri (Studer, 1885) and the isopod Glyptonotus antarcticus (Eights, 1853) were examined for their acceptability using the sympatric sea star Odontaster validus (Koehler, 1906) as a predator. Organic extracts were prepared from embryos of both sea stars and juveniles of Lyasterias perrieri and Glyptonotus antarcticus and tested in alginate food pellets to confirm whether lack of acceptability was chemically based. We found both intact whole embryos and juveniles of the sea star Neosmilaster georgianus were not acceptable to Odontaster validus. A methanol extract of the embryos was palatable. This could be the result of either the sequestration of deterrent chemicals within embryos or the presence of noxious compounds that were not extractable in methanol. Embryos and juveniles of the sea star Lysasterias perrieri were not acceptable to sea stars. Food pellets containing methanol extracts of unacceptable embryos were deterrent against sea stars, suggesting a chemical defence. Juvenile brooded isopods (Glyptonotus antarcticus) were also found to be unacceptable in sea star feeding bioassays. Significant rejection of alginate pellets containing a lipophilic dichloromethane methanol extract of juveniles indicated that this lack of acceptability was chemically based. Our study provides further support for chemical defences in the offspring of brooding lecithotrophic Antarctic marine invertebrates.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that Deschampsia antarctica Desv., the only grass of the Maritime Antarctic, responds to temperatures higher or lower than its optimum for photosynthesis (13°C), with the accumulation of heat shock proteins. The LT50 was determined in plants acclimated at 4°C (cold-acclimated plants) and in plants grown at 13°C (control plants) by membrane damage and by the activity of respiratory dehydrogenases. The LT50 was 48.3°C in both groups of plants when determined by membrane damage. When the LT50 was determined by the activity of respiratory dehydrogenases, this was, without significant difference, 47.8°C in cold-acclimated plants and 46.5°C in control plants. Western blot analyses were performed to investigate the accumulation of HSP70 at different temperatures. The optimal temperature for HSP70 accumulation was 35°C in cold-acclimated and control plants. Cold-acclimated plants subjected to a thermal stress of 35°C accumulated HSP70 protein more than control plants subjected to 35°C. After eight hours of continuous stress at 35°C, the maximum relative content of HSP70 in cold-acclimated plants was 1.9 fold higher than control plants. The threshold temperature for HSP70 accumulation was lower in cold-acclimated plants than in control plants. It is concluded that D. antarctica is able to tolerate heat stress with an LT50 similar to those of heat tolerant plants and that the cold-acclimated plants accumulate higher levels of HSP70 than those grown at 13°C.

New populations of the two species of calanoid copepods known to inhabit freshwater lakes in East Antarctica, Boeckella poppei (Mrázek, 1901) and Gladioferens antarcticus Bayly, 1994, have recently been discovered. The morphology of the populations of B. poppei showed significant differences, notably a reduction in the armature of the male fifth leg, when compared with typical specimens from the Antarctic Peninsula and South America. Gladioferens antarcticus had previously been recorded from a single lake in the Bunger Hills, but has now been recorded from three further lakes in this region. A recent review of Antarctic terrestrial and limnetic zooplankton suggested that neither of these species can be considered an East Antarctic endemic, with B. poppei being listed as a recent anthropogenic introduction and G. antarcticus a ‘marine interloper’. We conclude differently: B. poppei has been present in isolated populations in East Antarctica for significant lengths of time, possibly predating the current interglacial, while G. antarcticus is a true Antarctic endemic species whose ancestors have been present in the region since before Australia separated from Antarctica.

The native terrestrial food web of sub-Antarctic islands is dominated by decomposers with rare herbivores and almost no predators. As a consequence of increasing human activities, the number of alien plants and invertebrates species, including phytophagous species, has been dramatically rising on these islands. These repeated introductions seem likely to have a great impact on the ecosystem functioning. This is the first detailed study on species diversity, host range and spatial distribution of aphids on French sub-Antarctic islands. Six cosmopolitan and polyphagous aphid species have been recorded on these islands. Five species have been found in the wild where they colonized native and introduced plants, and one species was confined to a glasshouse. Aphids colonized a littoral band and were limited to below 200 m a.s.l. Their spatial distribution is constrained by host plant distribution and temperature. The two dominant species, Myzus ascalonicus and Rhopalosiphum padi, are obligately parthenogenetic in these islands and have been observed to be active on plants during winter. The other species are also presumably obligate parthenogens because of the absence of host plants where sexual reproduction can occur. We suggest that polyphagy and parthenogenesis are major biological traits that influence colonization success by aphids in a sub-Antarctic environment.

Two new ocean tide models for the Ross Sea including the ocean cavity under the Ross Ice Shelf, are described. The optimum model for predicting ice shelf surface height variability is based on assimilation of gravimetry-derived tidal constituents from the Ross Ice Shelf. Synthetic aperture radar interferograms provide an independent test of model performance. The standard deviation of tide height variability is largest under the eastern ice shelf along the Shirase and Siple Coasts, where it can exceed 0.8 m. The maximum peak-to-peak tidal range in this region is ∼3 m. The best predictor for ocean tidal currents north of the ice front is a dynamics-based model that solves the depth-integrated shallow water equations with a linear representation of benthic friction rather than the more usual quadratic form. Tidal currents over the open Ross Sea are dominated by diurnal, topographically trapped vorticity waves. The strongest modelled currents exceed 1 m s−1 at spring tide in a narrow band along the upper continental slope in the north-western Ross Sea. Typical tidal currents in the central continental shelf area of the Ross Sea are 10–20 cm s−1. Under the ice shelf the typical currents are ∼5 cm s−1.