Understanding of glacially driven sedimentary transport systems across the shelf to the slope and subsequently to deep sea sediment bodies along the Pacific continental margin of Antarctic Peninsula is crucial for interpreting ice sheet dynamics. Here we quantify slope-failure frequencies recorded in Pliocene core intervals of ODP Site 1095. We used the relationship between long-term sedimentation rate and marine carbon burial efficiency to calculate glacial or interglacial specific sedimentation rates. Using the decompacted average length of glacial-interglacial cycles it was possible to solve a set of linear equations to derive average half-periods of 61.59 and 59.77 kyr respectively for the time interval 5.8–3.2 Ma. The resulting frequency distribution of slope failures reflects short and rapid but cyclic ice advances every ∼375 years. Short retention times between slope loading and slope failure are supported by biogenic silica dissolution analyses. This study demonstrates the potential of the rise record to improve models of orbitally controlled size variations of the West Antarctic ice sheet and confirms the hypothesis of a highly dynamic ice sheet during the early Pliocene warm period.

Reliably dated surficial deposits for reconstructing palaeoclimate are rare in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. While many tephra have been found and dated, none is well characterized. In the Wright Valley, the Hart Ash is poorly dated and described. This paper reports profiles through tephra, the chemical signature of the glass shards and new high-precision multi-crystal laser fusion of 40Ar/39Ar ages. Major and trace element analyses of glass shards indicate the tephra are phonolitic and most probably sourced from Mount Discovery in the Erebus volcanic province. Two chemically distinct and stratigraphically separate tephra layers within the Hart Ash were found in three closely spaced soil profiles. The complex stratigraphy between these profiles could not be delineated without the geochemistry of the tephra. Importantly, our data suggest that only one tephra may be an in situ fall-out deposit, which gave a robust age of 2.97 ± 0.02 Ma. This new age for the Hart Ash tephra, which is 10 cm thick and is preserved at the current surface, provides a maximum age for surface deposits in the lower Wright Valley. This study highlights that well-characterized tephra enhance stratigraphic correlations in the Dry Valleys and improve the accuracy of palaeoenvironmental interpretations.

The high degree of isolation of Antarctica may well have protected its seals and birds from many of the diseases found in related species outside the continent. Our recent review of diseases in penguins has shown that birds taken into captivity are susceptible to a wide range of diseases, many of which have not been recorded in the wild. The same situation presumably applies to Antarctic seals. Adélie penguins in Antarctica have been shown to have antibodies to Newcastle disease virus, avian influenza virus and the Chlamydia group of bacteria. From this we could infer that wild birds have had contact with these diseases but, in the cases of viral diseases at least, a more likely explanation could be that the antibodies are the result of cross-infection with related but benign viral strains. There is no evidence to date that any major exotic diseases have been introduced into the Antarctic ecosystem. However, unless non-pathogenic strains are present to provide cross-immunity, all birds and seals are likely to be highly susceptible to such introductions.

The geology of the Schroeder Hill region near the head of the Shackleton Glacier, central Transantarctic Mountains, consists of Triassic Fremouw Formation and overlying Falla Formation strata intruded by Jurassic Ferrar Dolerite sills. At ‘Alfie’s Elbow', south-east of Schroeder Hill, upper Fremouw strata are overlain by Upper Cenozoic Sirius Group deposits. These upper Fremouw beds differ from all other examined upper Fremouw strata in the Shackleton Glacier region in being carbonaceous. Quartz-pebble conglomerate characterizes the basal Falla beds, emphasizing a change in provenance. Sirius Group beds occur as a stratigraphic succession draped on modern topography and as structureless sand wedged in modern microtopography. Fremouw beds locally are arched with the fold axis approximately parallel to regional normal faulting related to the uplift and formation of the Transantarctic Mountains.

Antarctic ice-free areas are dominated by wind-dispersed organisms. However, which organisms arrive and circulate in Antarctica and how remain poorly understood. Due to their proximity to South America and less extreme conditions, the South Shetland Islands are likely to receive higher diaspore numbers. One possible consequence of climate change is that newcomers will be able to colonize ice-free areas, altering community compositions and impacting the native biota. We used DNA metabarcoding to identify non-fungal eukaryotic DNA present in the air that could potentially reach and circulate in Antarctica. Air was sampled near the Brazilian Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station on King George Island between December 2019 and January 2020. Sequences representing a total of 35 taxa from 10 phyla and 3 kingdoms were assigned: Chromista (Ciliophora, Cercozoa, Haptophyta and Ochrophyta), Plantae (Chlorophyta, Bryophyta and Magnoliophyta) and Animalia (Mollusca, Arthropoda and Chordata). The most diverse group were the plants (26 taxa), followed by Chromista (6 taxa). The most abundant sequences represented the green algae Chlamydomonas nivalis. The two angiosperm sequences represent exotic taxa; Folsomia is also exotic and was recorded only on Deception Island. Metabarcoding revealed the presence of previously undocumented airborne diversity, suggesting that the Antarctic airspora includes propagules of both local and distant origin.

Located east of the Antarctic Peninsula, Cockburn Island is a small island in the James Ross Archipelago. Studies of mosses on the island are scarce. The oldest studies date from the first half of the nineteenth century to the most recent in 1993. The number of records of mosses is very small due to the difficulty of accessing the area. Here, we report an updated composition of the moss flora of the plateau, in which four new records have been found: Bryoerythrophyllum antarcticum, Ceratodon purpureus, Pohlia wilsonii and Schistidium lewis-smithii. The occurrence of these species on the plateau shows that the ranges of these species have expanded from the Antarctic Peninsula to the east. This collection highlights the need for further research into the dynamics of moss flora in the context of climate change.

Many pycnogonids are ectoparasites of benthic invertebrates. Even gastropods are on their menu (reviewed in Dietz et al. 2018). It is somewhat ironic that a marine gastropod, Dickdellia labioflecta (Dell, 1990), might have reversed this principle. Hedgpeth (1964), Sirenko (2000) and Schiaparelli et al. (2008) observed clutches of eggs and young Dickdellia snails on pycnogonids. Sirenko (2000) suggested that this might be a case of ectoparasitism and not just phoresy.

The concept of the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2008 is of an intensive burst of internationally coordinated, interdisciplinary, scientific research and observations focused on the Earth's Polar Regions. The research will address six themes organized around the environmental status of the Polar Regions and their relationship to change, the links between the poles and the rest of the globe, utilization of the unique features of the regions for science, and the human dimensions of communities in the Polar Regions. IPY will seek to exploit new technological and logistical capabilities, and make major advances in knowledge and understanding. Key objectives are to attract and develop the next generation of polar researchers and engineers, and to engage the interest and involvement of polar residents, and of schoolchildren, the general public, and decision makers, worldwide. The official observing period of IPY 2007–2008 will be from 1 March 2007 until 1 March 2009, under the international oversight of a Joint ICSU-WMO Committee.

The Tertiary stocks (Meander Intrusives) cropping out along the coasts of the Ross Sea were sampled for a palaeomagnetic study during the sixth Italian expedition to northern Victoria Land. Laboratory investigations concerned magnetic mineralogy and remanent magnetization. Minerals of the magnetiteulvöspinel series occur in the rocks from all stocks, with low-Ti titanomagnetite usually prevalent. Haematite and goethite occur in small amounts as alteration products. Large secondary components commonly screen the characteristic remanent magnetization and were removed by thermal or AF demagnetization at temperatures or peak-fields higher than 360°C and 20 mT respectively. A total of 10 VGPs were obtained from radiometrically dated rocks (42–22 Ma); the averaged position (69°S, 334°E; α95=9.9°) is the first middle Tertiary palaeomagnetic pole for East Antarctica, and gives evidence for a reversal in the course of the APW path. This evidence is not substantially altered by a supposed tilt-correction consistent with geophysical and geological models for the uplift of the Transantarctic Mountains. No definite conclusion about relative movements between East Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula can be drawn from the existing palaeomagnetic data.

Invasive alien plants (IAPs) are a significant threat to the biodiversity and ecological functioning of the sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands (PEIs); however, weed biological control has not yet been implemented as a management tool. The PEIs have had 23 alien plants recorded, of which several are considered beyond eradication and therefore could benefit from the release of safe and effective biocontrol agents. We used the South African Biological Control Target Selection (BCTS) system to provide a ranked list of the target species in order of priority for further biocontrol research. The highest-scoring species, and therefore those that should be considered first to be targeted, were Sagina procumbens and Cerastium fontanum. No biocontrol agents for IAPs have been released in any climate with as consistent low temperatures as in the PEIs, so the climatic compatibility of agents will be essential prior to any decision to release. However, with very few native species present on the PEIs, the programmes would involve limited host specificity testing, which would improve the feasibility and speed with which new biocontrol agents could be developed. Biocontrol may offer an environmentally safe and sustainable method of reducing the negative impacts of these priority species and thus warrants further investigation.

The public is worried and so governments - at least the democratic ones - should also be worried. The global environment is changing and the consequences are still not understood. How much is natural and how much anthropogenic? In many cases the changes appear to be for the worse. Scientific opinion, as evidenced through the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is gloomy. By most estimates the rate of change will continue to increase and, if we cannot halt or slow the driving processes major modifications in where and how we live will be essential for survival. How do we know this and what should be done about it?