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The Latest Breaking News from the Southern Ocean

Western Australia’s humpback sightings fell 60%; days later, weakened Southern Ocean seabirds appeared thousands of kilometres away on the country’s east coast

Unusual whale and seabird sightings in the Southern Ocean suggest changing ocean conditions. Marine heat waves are affecting waters around Australia and Antarctica. These warming events disrupt food webs and push marine life off course. Limited monitoring hinders understanding of these significant ecosystem shifts. Better long-term data is urgently needed…

The Times of India

Falls in whale sightings, rare seabirds appearing – is something unusual happening in the Southern Ocean?

In late June, whale watchers in southwest Western Australia sounded the alarm. They had seen far fewer humpback whales at a time when they normally migrate up from the Southern Ocean to calve and feed. Numbers were 60% below normal.

The Conversation

Scientists discovered an underwater city of 60-million fish nests beneath Antarctica's ice shelf

Hidden beneath hundreds of metres of Antarctic ice lies one of the planet's most extraordinary wildlife spectacles. After drilling through the Filchner Ice Shelf, scientists deployed an autonomous underwater robot into the dark waters below, where it revealed what can only be described as an underwater city, a sprawling breeding…

The Times of India

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What the Wandering Albatross Teaches Us About Longevity, Loyalty, and Loss

The numbers behind the longevityA wandering albatross can live past 70 years. Wisdom, a Laysan albatross tracked by the US Geological Survey since 1956, is the oldest known wild bird on record, still breeding in her seventies. The wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) routinely reaches 50 to 60 years in the…

Times Life

Good news for renewables: southern Australia’s offshore winds will stay strong even as the climate changes

If you’ve ever stood on a Victorian beach and felt the wind from the Southern Ocean, you’ll know this is not a gentle force. Whipped up across thousands of kilometres of cold ocean, these winds are relentless and powerful.

The Conversation

Antarctica’s sudden sea ice loss is one of the most extreme and confusing events in the modern climate record. Scientists now know why it's happening.

In 2015, after decades of relative stability, Antarctica's sea ice suddenly began to disappear. Sea ice extent reached a record low in 2023, and scientists have now figured out what happened in that period.

LiveScience

Scientists finally know how old the Twelve Apostles are – and they’re much younger than anyone thought

Every year, millions of visitors stand at the clifftop lookouts along Victoria’s Great Ocean Road and gaze out at the Twelve Apostles. These towering limestone stacks, rising up to 70 metres above the Southern Ocean, are some of Australia’s most recognisable landmarks.

The Conversation

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Antarctic whales’ remarkable comeback is threatened by krill fishing

Huge industrial trawlers are competing for krill – the main food source for whales – in the Southern Ocean, removing vital nutrients from the ecosystem

The Guardian - UK

Southern right whales are having babies less often, but why?

For decades, southern right whales have been celebrated as one of conservation’s success stories.

The Conversation

Is NZ defence and intelligence policy aligning with AUKUS in all but name?

Across the Pacific and the Southern Ocean, New Zealand has been trying to strike a careful balance in its defence and surveillance approach.

The Conversation

Storms in the Southern Ocean are producing more rain – and the consequences could be global

If you ever find yourself on Macquarie Island – a narrow, wind-lashed ridge halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica – the first thing you’ll notice is the wildlife. Elephant seals sprawl across dark beaches. King penguins march up mossy slopes. Albatrosses circle over vast, treeless uplands.

The Conversation

Southern right whales are having fewer calves: what this says about ocean health

Most people are lucky to simply get a glimpse of some fragment of a whale. A subtle puff of mist over the horizon, the curve of a dark smooth back sliding beneath the surface, or for the fortunate, the flash of a tail or the explosive splash of 40 tons…

The Conversation

An underwater observatory keeping the pulse of the Southern Ocean for nearly 30 years yields fresh results

In a world affected by climate change, the Southern Ocean plays an outsized role. It absorbs up to 40% of the human-caused emissions taken up by the oceans while also being home to some of the world’s most vulnerable ecosystems.

The Conversation

Antarctic sea ice collapse linked to a mysterious spike in ocean salt

Satellite imagery has revealed a yet-to-be-explained rise in the Southern Ocean's salinity. It could be a key factor in the decline of the region's sea ice.

LiveScience

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The Conversation

‘Completely unexpected’: Antarctic sea ice may be in terminal decline due to rising Southern Ocean salinity

The ocean around Antarctica is rapidly getting saltier at the same time as sea ice is retreating at a record pace. Since 2015, the frozen continent has lost sea ice similar to the size of Greenland. That ice hasn’t returned, marking the largest global environmental change during the past decade.

International Business Times

Why Krill Conservation is Vital for Preserving the Whale Ecosystem: Exploring Captain Paul Watson's Synergistic Mission

As the founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, Watson has long stood at the frontline of ocean defence and is now bringing his passion and commitment to preserve the heart of the Southern Ocean.

Euronews

Coral gardens and volcano vents: See what scientists found in the icy depths of the Southern Ocean

The mission was so remote that often the closest humans to the vessel were on the International Space Station.

The Conversation

Tiny dips in sea level reveal flow of climate-regulating underwater waterfalls

Beneath the surface of the Southern Ocean, vast volumes of cold, dense water plunge off the Antarctic continental shelf, cascading down underwater cliffs to the ocean floor thousands of metres below. These hidden waterfalls are a key part of the global ocean’s overturning circulation – a vast conveyor belt of…

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The Conversation

Weakening currents in the Atlantic may mean a wetter northern Australia and drier New Zealand

Europe is warmed by heat from ocean currents, which move water from the warm tropics to the colder North Atlantic. Once the warm, salty water from the tropics reach the polar region, they cool enough to sink to the depths and flow back towards the Southern Ocean.

The Independent UK

Past climate change ‘shifts ocean currents and winds in Southern Ocean’

Analysis of global climate patterns from past 1.5 million years reveal links between ocean circulation and climate changes.

LiveScience

Drastic Antarctic sea ice loss could fuel extreme weather in years ahead

Massive reductions in Antarctic sea ice in recent years has been correlated with more stormy days in the Southern Ocean, and could have implications for vital ocean currents.

International Business Times

Freed Activist Paul Watson Vows To 'End Whaling Worldwide'

Animal rights activist Paul Watson, freed this week from detention in Denmark, vowed on Saturday to end whale hunting worldwide and to stop Japan if it tried to resume whaling in the Southern Ocean.

The Independent UK

Dwindling Antarctic sea ice driving more storms, study warns

Record ice loss in 2023 has added up to seven extra storm days per month in some areas

The Guardian - AU

Emperor penguin that travelled 3,000km to West Australian beach begins long journey home

Gus gained 3.5kg during his 20-day stopover before being released back into the Southern Ocean on Wednesday