A new species of Antarctoxylon is described from the Coniacian Hidden Lake Formation of James Ross Island as A. mixai Sakala, sp. nov. This angiosperm fossil wood shows a unique combination of features in having indistinct growth ring boundaries, scalariform perforation plates with about 30 bars and rays both narrow (1–6-seriate) and very wide (up to 18-seriate). Its systematic affinities and exact living relative at the specific, generic or even familial level cannot be specified. Along with Weinmannioxylon nordenskjoeldii from James Ross Island and the angiosperm woods from the Williams Point on Livingston Island, this record provides further evidence of the earliest record of arboreal angiosperms in Antarctica.

Several factors threaten populations of albatrosses and giant petrels, including the impact of fisheries bycatch and, at some colonies, predation from introduced mammals. We undertook population monitoring on Gough Island of three albatross species (Tristan albatross Diomedea dabbenena L., sooty albatross Phoebetria fusca Hilsenberg, Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross Thalassarche chlororhynchos Gmelin) and southern giant petrels Macronectes giganteus (Gmelin). Over the study period, numbers of the Critically Endangered Tristan albatross decreased at 3.0% a year. Breeding success for this species was low (23%), and in eight count areas was correlated (r2 = 0.808) with rates of population decline, demonstrating chick predation by house mice Mus musculus L. is driving site-specific trends and an overall decline. Numbers of southern giant petrels were stable, contrasting with large increases in this small population since 1979. Significant population declines were not detected for either the Atlantic yellow-nosed or sooty albatross, however, caution should be applied to these results due to the small proportion of the population monitored (sooty albatross) and significant interannual variation in numbers. These trends confirm the Critically Endangered status of the Tristan albatross but further information, including a more accurate estimate of sooty albatross population size, is required before determining island wide and global population trends of the remaining species.

Terrestrial palynomorphs from the glaciomarine Pagodroma Group provide the first stratigraphically-constrained record of Cenozoic terrestrial vegetation for the northern Prince Charles Mountains, East Antarctica. In general, contemporaneous spores and pollen are extremely sparse, but palynological assemblages of the late middle–late Miocene Fisher Bench Formation and Battye Glacier Formation have relatively more abundant Cenozoic spores and pollen compared with those of the Oligocene Mount Johnston Formation and the Pliocene–early Pleistocene Bardin Bluffs Formation. Spore-pollen assemblages from the Battye Glacier Formation and the Fisher Bench Formation are dominated by Chenopodipollis, with a few other accessory angiosperm and podocarp pollen, pteridophyte and bryophyte spores, and algal cysts, reflecting a low diversity herb-tundra vegetation and a climate similar to the present-day cool to cold sub-Antarctic regions. Reworked Permian–Triassic miospores in Amery oasis (unofficial name) sediments probably indicate local provenance from the Amery Group but Jurassic–Cretaceous and possible early Cenozoic miospores reflect an unknown source.

This paper presents InSAR-derived ice shelf velocities and observations of surface debris deformation on the McMurdo Ice Shelf (MIS). Ice shelf velocities show that the MIS has a low surface velocity, with debris-laden parts of the ice shelf in the area known as the ‘swirls’ averaging speeds of c. 3 m a-1 increasing to c. 16 m a-1 at the ice front. Analysis of the fold patterns within moraine ridges on the ice surface reveals a deformational history inconsistent with the present velocity measurements. Polyphase, isoclinal folding within moraine ridges at the surface are interpreted to have formed through intense deformation by past ice flow in a NNW orientation. The velocities and styles of deformation indicate that the majority of debris on the ice shelf was originally transported into the area by a large and dynamic ice sheet/ice shelf system entirely different to that of the present configuration. Although the age of this event is unknown, it is possible that this debris has been exposed on the surface of the ice shelf since the last glacial maximum.

At-sea behaviour of central-place foraging fur seals and penguins in the Southern Ocean is understudied during the latter stages of parental care and the subsequent pre-moulting period. This biologically important period is costly to investigate due to the risk (or certainty) of losing tracking instruments when the animals moult. Early in this period, parents must meet the increasing demands of larger, more mobile offspring that are still nutritionally dependent and then the parents must recover lost body condition prior to the onset of their annual moult. This study reports late-season, at-sea movement patterns of macaroni penguins, chinstrap penguins and adult female Antarctic fur seals from the subantarctic island Bouvetøya, in relation to remotely-sensed oceanographic features. Foraging trips differing significantly in direction and distance travelled compared to those performed earlier in the breeding season, coincide with the time when offspring would be expected to become independent. On these trips, macaroni penguins moved towards the Polar Front while chinstrap penguins and Antarctic fur seals moved southward. Individuals from all three species appeared to target submesoscale ocean features once they were presumed to have been released from the constraints of feeding their young and were able to travel greater distances from the colony.

Thick successions of turbidites are widespread in the Ross–Delamerian and Lachlan orogens and are now dispersed through Australia, Antarctica and New Zealand. U-Pb detrital zircon age patterns for latest Precambrian, Cambrian and Ordovician metagreywackes show a closely related provenance. The latest Neoproterozoic–early Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks have major components, at c. 525, 550, and 595 Ma, i.e. about 40–80 million years older than deposition. Zircons in these components increase from the Neoproterozoic to Ordovician. Late Mesoproterozoic age components, 1030 and 1070 Ma, probably originate from igneous/metamorphic rocks in the Gondwanaland hinterland whose exact locations are unknown. Although small, the youngest zircon age components are coincident with estimated depositional ages suggesting that they reflect contemporaneous and minor, volcanic sources. Overall, the detrital zircon provenance patterns reflect the development of plutonic/metamorphic complexes of the Ross–Delamerian Orogen in the Transantarctic Mountains and southern Australia that, upon exhumation, supplied sediment to regional scale basin(s) at the Gondwana margin. Tasmanian detrital zircon age patterns differ from those seen in intra-Ross Orogen sandstones of northern Victoria Land and from the oldest metasediments in the Transantarctic Mountains. A comparison with rocks from the latter supports an allochthonous western Tasmania model and amalgamation with Australia in late Cambrian time.

The Wilkes Subglacial Basin (WSB), the largest subglacial basin in East Antarctica, is a topographic depression of continental proportions that lies beneath the East Antarctic continental ice sheet. Discovered by the US Victoria Land Traverse 1959–60, the origin of the WSB and the influence of palaeoclimate on its overlying continental ice sheet have remained uncertain since the time of its discovery. Most explanations of origin favour lithospheric structural control as a function of tectonic activity. Lithospheric flexure due to thermally or isostatically induced uplift of the Transantarctic Mountains was suggested in the 1980s. Lithospheric extension and rifting was proposed in the 1990s. More recent investigations have revealed the presence of fold and thrust belts, casting doubt on flexural and extensional hypotheses as the primary mechanisms, suggesting instead a compressional scenario. While remaining inconclusive, these tectonic mechanisms in one form or another, or in combination, are now believed to have provided the structural control for the origin of the WSB. Not yet comprehensively examined, however, is the role of non-tectonic processes in the formation of the WSB, as they may have influenced the size, configuration, subglacial sedimentation and subglacial topography of the WSB. In this paper we review the tectonic hypotheses and examine post-tectonic climate change along with glacial and marine processes as potentially significant factors in the present condition and configuration of the WSB. In the process, we find that there are a number of features not included in previous investigations that may have been major factors in the modification of the subglacial basin.

During the early Pliocene a dynamic marine-based ice sheet retreated from the Wilkes Land margin with periodic ice advances beyond Last Glacial Maximum position. A change in sand provenance is indicative of a more stable Mertz Glacier system during the Late Pleistocene. East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) dynamics were evaluated through the analysis of marine diamictons from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) site U1358 on the Adélie Land continental shelf. The warmer than present conditions of the early Pliocene coupled with the site's proximity to the landward sloping Wilkes Subglacial Basin provided the rationale for the investigations at this site. Based on visual core descriptions, particle size distributions, and major and trace element ratios, we interpret the origin of lower Pliocene strata by intermittent glaciomarine sedimentation with open-marine conditions and extensive glacial advances to the outer shelf. Heavy mineral analyses show that sand-sized detritus in the lower Pliocene strata was sourced from local intermediate to high-grade metamorphic rocks near Mertz Glacier. In contrast, Pleistocene diamictons exhibit a larger contribution from a prehnite-pumpellyite greenschist facies suggesting supply via iceberg rafting from northern Victoria Land. From this sedimentological evidence, we postulate a shift from a dynamic EAIS margin in the early Pliocene to possible stabilization in the Pleistocene.

Understanding the regional and seasonal distribution of seismic research surveys in the Southern Ocean is essential for assessing their acoustic impact on the marine environment. An analysis of the navigation data and cruise table in the Seismic Data Library System for Cooperative Research (SDLS) shows that a fairly extensive network of seismic lines is now available for the Southern Ocean. However, line spacing ranges from tens to hundreds of kilometres, and some almost unsurveyed areas still exist. The seasonal distribution of the seismic profile lengths shows periods with increased survey activity between 1976/77 and 2001/02, but only moderate levels of activity between 2002/03 and 2010/11. The corresponding line spacing is large, and lines are widely distributed over the Southern Ocean. None of the eight Antarctic regions considered here have experienced seismic survey activity during all summer seasons in the last 35 years. Instead, periods with survey activity are interspersed by periods with no survey activity. The average survey length ranges from ∼2600 km per season off the Antarctic Peninsula to ∼260 km per season off Enderby Land. Compared to the industrial seismic exploration off Norway the acoustic impact of the seismic research activity in the Southern Ocean is at least ∼150 times lower.

Determining the millennial-scale behaviour of marine-based sectors of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is critical to improve predictions of the future contribution of Antarctica to sea level rise. Here high-resolution ice sheet modelling was combined with new terrestrial geological constraints (in situ14C and 10Be analysis) to reconstruct the evolution of two major ice streams entering the Weddell Sea over 20 000 years. The results demonstrate how marked differences in ice flux at the marine margin of the expanded Antarctic ice sheet led to a major reorganization of ice streams in the Weddell Sea during the last deglaciation, resulting in the eastward migration of the Institute Ice Stream, triggering a significant regional change in ice sheet mass balance during the early to mid Holocene. The findings highlight how spatial variability in ice flow can cause marked changes in the pattern, flux and flow direction of ice streams on millennial timescales in this marine ice sheet setting. Given that this sector of the WAIS is assumed to be sensitive to ocean-forced instability and may be influenced by predicted twenty-first century ocean warming, our ability to model and predict abrupt and extensive ice stream diversions is key to a realistic assessment of future ice sheet sensitivity.

The first fossil avian feather from Antarctica is reported here, from the early to middle Eocene Fossil Hill Formation at Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica. Characteristics such as its form, asymmetry of vanes, closed-pennaceous vanes with barbules and a deep ventral groove indicate that the feather was used for flight. The site from which the feather was collected is known to yield a variety of well-preserved trace fossils, palaeobotanical and palaeoenvironmental remains, suggesting a shorebird ecotype for the owner of this feather, certainly belonging to a Neornithes. The continental position, preservation as an external mould and type of feather makes this specimen a novel and an exceedingly rare record.

The diet of Antarctic salps was elucidated by investigating their gut content using automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) and 454-pyrosequencing. Salp samples were collected during the Lazarev Sea Krill Study in the western Weddell Sea (summer 2005–06 and 2007–08, autumn 2004 and winter 2006). Two salp species, Salpa thompsoni and Ihlea racovitzai, both occur in the Southern Ocean and can overlap geographically and seasonally. We provide evidence that, despite the non-selective feeding mechanism, the two co-occurring salp species might have different niches within a habitat. ARISA-patterns of 93 gut content samples revealed strong differences between the two salp species, even at the same sampling site. These differences were confirmed by 454-pyrosequencing of the V4-18S rDNA of ten salps. The pyrosequencing data indicate that flagellates, in particular dinophyceae, constitute a high proportion of the sequence reads identified in the gut content of both salp species. However, within the dinophyceae, differences in the read composition were detected between the two salp species. This supports the findings of a previous study where fatty acid signatures indicate a flagellate-based diet, even though microscopic analyses identified diatoms as the dominant component of salp gut contents.

An ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) network was deployed for 1 month at Deception Island volcano, Antarctica, in early 2005. Although only two volcano-tectonic and three long-period events were observed, the three OBSs located > 2 km apart inside the caldera detected over 3900 events that could not be attributed to known volcanic or hydrothermal sources. These events are found on one instrument at a time and occur in three types. Type 1 events resemble impulsive signals from biological organisms while type 2 and type 3 events resemble long-period seismicity. The largest number of events was observed in a region of volcanic resurgence and hydrothermal venting. All three types occur together suggesting a common cause and they show evidence for a diurnal distribution. The events are most likely to be due to aquatic animals striking the sensors, but a geological source is also possible. In the first case, these signals indicate the presence of a biological community confined to the caldera. In the second case, they imply widespread hydrothermal activity in Port Foster. Future OBS experiments should bury the seismometers, include a hydrophone, deploy instruments side-by-side, or include a video camera to distinguish between biological and geological events.

The recognition of a Mesoproterozoic large igneous province (LIP) across large parts of southern Africa has been strengthened by recent geochronology, geochemistry and petrology. The c. 1100 Ma Umkondo province has been recognized across parts of Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique where tholeiitic sills, dykes and rare lava flows have been correlated into a single magmatic province emplaced in the interval 1108–1112 Ma. The extension of the province into the Dronning Maud Land region of Antarctica has been suggested by several workers, but detailed analyses of geochemistry and petrogenesis are lacking, as are comparative studies. This study investigates 25 dykes and sills of the Borgmassivet intrusions which include several of the major diorite sills of the province, up to 300 m in thickness. The dykes and sills are also considered to be c. 1100 Ma and they were emplaced, in part, synchronously with the Ritscherflya Supergroup sedimentary sequence. The Borgmassivet intrusions are characterized by geochemical signatures that suggest the magmas were either extensively contaminated by continental crust or derived from an enriched lithospheric mantle source, where the enrichment was related to earlier subduction. The limited geochemical range of the Borgmassivet and Umkondo intrusions are probably not consistent with significant levels of crustal contamination. Furthermore, the trace element ratios indicate a source in the sub-lithospheric mantle, followed by gabbroic fractionation and interaction with lithospheric wall rocks.

High temporal resolution (three hours) records of temperature, wind speed and sea level pressure recorded at Antarctic research station Neumayer (70°S, 8°W) during 1982–2011 are analysed to identify oscillations from daily to intraseasonal timescales. The diurnal cycle dominates the three-hourly time series of temperature during the Antarctic summer and is almost absent during winter. In contrast, the three-hourly time series of wind speed and sea level pressure show a weak diurnal cycle. The dominant pattern of the intraseasonal variability of these quantities, which captures the out-of-phase variation of temperature and wind speed with sea level pressure, shows enhanced variability at timescales of ∼ 40 days and ∼ 80 days, respectively. Correlation and composite analysis reveal that these oscillations may be related to tropical intraseasonal oscillations via large-scale eastward propagating atmospheric circulation wave-trains. The second pattern of intraseasonal variability, which captures in-phase variations of temperature, wind and sea level pressure, shows enhanced variability at timescales of ∼ 35, ∼ 60 and ∼ 120 days. These oscillations are attributed to the Southern Annular Mode/Antarctic Oscillation (SAM/AAO) which shows enhanced variability at these timescales. We argue that intraseasonal oscillations of tropical climate and SAM/AAO are related to distinct patterns of climate variables measured at Neumayer.

Surface energy fluxes of the ice sheet close to oases (ice-free land regions) are crucial in the case of retreating ice sheet and growing oasis areas. This study presents a four-year record of the meteorological parameters, radiative and turbulent energy fluxes at the edge of the Antarctic ice sheet, close to Schirmacher Oasis in Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica from March 2007–February 2011. The energy fluxes were analysed for summer season, winter season and transition periods. High katabatic winds were observed during winter (seasonal mean 9.3 m s-1) as compared to other seasons. A high correlation (r2 = 0.89) was observed between the glacier surface temperature and air temperature, and regression relations were obtained for summer, winter and transition periods. The net radiative flux was the main heat source to the glacier during summer (46.8 W m-2) and heat sink during winter (-42.2 W m-2). Sensible heat flux (annual mean 32 W m-2) was the heat source and latent heat flux (annual mean -61 W m-2) was the heat sink to the glacier surface, averaged over all seasons. Comparison with other coastal or dry valley locations in Antarctica show that low humidity (50%), high katabatic winds (8.3 m s-1) and mild surface (-11.4°C) and air temperature (-10.2°C) contribute to high latent heat flux at the present study location.

The meiobenthic community of Potter Cove (King George Island, west Antarctic Peninsula) was investigated, focusing on responses to summer/winter conditions in two study sites contrasting in terms of organic matter inputs. Meiofaunal densities were found to be higher in summer and lower in winter, although this result was not significantly related to the in situ availability of organic matter in each season. The combination of food quality and competition for food amongst higher trophic levels may have played a role in determining the standing stocks at the two sites. Meiobenthic winter abundances were sufficiently high to infer that energy sources were not limiting during winter, supporting observations from other studies for both shallow water and continental shelf Antarctic ecosystems. Recruitment within meiofaunal communities was coupled to the seasonal input of fresh detritus for harpacticoid copepods but not for nematodes, suggesting that species-specific life history or trophic features form an important element of the responses observed.

Glacial till samples collected from beneath the Bindschadler and Kamb ice streams have a distinct U-Pb detrital zircon signature that allows them to be identified in Ross Sea tills. These two sites contain a population of Cretaceous grains 100–110 Ma that have not been found in East Antarctic tills. Additionally, Bindschadler and Kamb ice streams have an abundance of Ordovician grains (450–475 Ma) and a cluster of ages 330–370 Ma, which are much less common in the remainder of the sample set. These tracers of a West Antarctic provenance are also found east of 180° longitude in eastern Ross Sea tills deposited during the last glacial maximum (LGM). Whillans Ice Stream (WIS), considered part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet but partially originating in East Antarctica, lacks these distinctive signatures. Its U-Pb zircon age population is dominated by grains 500–550 Ma indicating derivation from Granite Harbour Intrusive rocks common along the Transantarctic Mountains, making it indistinguishable from East Antarctic tills. The U-Pb zircon age distribution found in WIS till is most similar to tills from the west-central Ross Sea. These data provide new specific targets for ice sheet models and can be applied to pre-LGM deposits in the Ross Sea.