Knowledge Hub

Explore our repository of research outputs and information.

We aim to share and communicate our research, to benefit New Zealand and the international community. You can browse, filter by category or type, or search by keywords.

Drilling Sea ice 2025 IMG 8596 INGA Smith

Why is Antarctic sea ice so hard to model?

Authors: Andrew Pauling, Inga Smith, Max Thomas
Year Published: 2023
Document Type: Cold Call Articles
Ownership: Antarctic Science Platform
Summary: Climate models struggle to reproduce observed Antarctic sea-ice behaviour, due to the many processes affecting its formation and melt. Models must get these processes right in order to inform us what might happen next.
Weddell seal pups

Sea ice and ecosystems

Authors: Rowan Howard-Williams, Ian Hawes
Year Published: 2023
Document Type: Cold Call Articles
Ownership: Antarctic Science Platform
Summary: Sea ice plays a crucial role in the life cycles of many Antarctic organisms, from the algae at the base of food chains, to seals and penguins at the top.
Antarctic sea ice

The connections between sea ice and climate

Authors: James Renwick
Year Published: 2023
Document Type: Cold Call Articles
Ownership: Antarctic Science Platform
Summary: Antarctic sea ice has an annual seasonal cycle of formation and melting, plus it’s exposed to the winds and storms of the Southern Ocean and to a range of climate influences from near and far.
McMurdo Sound pack ice

Sea ice and ocean circulation

Authors: Rowan Howard-Williams, Denise Fernandez, Craig Stevens
Year Published: 2023
Document Type: Cold Call Articles
Ownership: Antarctic Science Platform
Summary: Formation of Antarctic sea ice affects ocean circulation across the globe. Understanding the mechanisms linking these phenomena is crucially important to understand the impacts of future change in Antarctica.
Emperors and their chicks

Survival of emperor penguins depends on emissions reductions

Authors: Rowan Howard-Williams and Michelle LaRue
Year Published: 2022
Document Type: Cold Call Articles
Ownership: Antarctic Science Platform
Summary: Emperor penguins are an iconic Antarctic species, but their dependence on sea ice means they are expected to be impacted substantially by climate change.
Antarctica image

COP26, the IPCC Report and Antarctic Research

Authors: James Renwick, Nick Golledge and Rowan Howard-Williams
Year Published: 2021
Document Type: Cold Call Articles
Ownership: Antarctic Science Platform
Summary: Key findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report released in August 2021, highlighting Antarctic research and the key role of the continent in Earth’s climate system.
Platelet1

Platelet Ice: A Unique and Fragile Antarctic Ecosystem

Authors: Natalie Robinson and Rowan Howard-Williams
Year Published: 2021
Document Type: Cold Call Articles
Ownership: Antarctic Science Platform
Summary: Just beneath the sea ice of the Ross Sea lies a fragile and largely unexplored world. Thin, delicate ice crystals come together in a layer, which can be several metres thick, attached to the bottom of the sea ice.