Abstract: Investigation of meteorological measurements along a 45 m tower at Dome C on the high East Antarctic Plateau revealed two distinct stable boundary layer (SBL) regimes at this location. The first regime is characterized by strong winds and continuous turbulence. It results in full vertical coupling of temperature, wind magnitude and wind direction in the SBL. The second regime is characterized by weak winds, associated with weak turbulent activity and very strong temperature inversions reaching up to 25 K in the lowest 10 m. Vertical temperature profiles are generally exponentially shaped (convex) in the first regime and ?convex?concave?convex? in the second. The transition between the two regimes is particularly abrupt when looking at the near?surface temperature inversion and it can be identified by a 10 m wind?speed threshold. With winds under this threshold, the turbulent heat supply toward the surface becomes significantly lower than the net surface radiative cooling. The threshold value (including its range of uncertainty) appears to agree with recent theoretical predictions from the so?called ?minimum wind speed for sustainable turbulence? (MWST) theory. For the quasi?steady, clear?sky winter cases, the relation between the near?surface inversion amplitude and the wind speed takes a characteristic ?S? shape. Closer analysis suggests that this relation corresponds to a ?critical transition? between a steady turbulent and a steady ?radiative? regime, with a dynamically unstable branch in the transition zone. These fascinating characteristics of the Antarctic boundary layer challenge present and future numerical models to represent this region in a physically correct manner.

Abstract: Abstract Despite international waters covering over 60% of the world's oceans, understanding of how fisheries in these regions shape ecosystem processes is surprisingly poor. Seabirds forage at fishing vessels, which has potentially deleterious effects for their population, but the extent of overlap and behavior in relation to ships is poorly known. Using novel biologging devices, which detect radar emissions and record the position of boats and seabirds, we measured the true extent of the overlap between seabirds and fishing vessels and generated estimates of the intensity of fishing and distribution of vessels in international waters. During breeding, wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) from the Crozet Islands patrolled an area of over 10 million km2 at distances up to 2500 km from the colony. Up to 79.5% of loggers attached to birds detected vessels. The extent of overlap between albatrosses and fisheries has widespread implications for bycatch risk in seabirds and reveals the areas of intense fishing throughout the ocean. We suggest that seabirds equipped with radar detectors are excellent monitors of the presence of vessels in the Southern Ocean and offer a new way to monitor the presence of illegal fisheries and to better understand the impact of fisheries on seabirds.

Abstract: Microplastics have been reported everywhere around the globe. With very limited human activities, the Arctic is distant from major sources of microplastics. However, microplastic ingestions have been found in several Arctic marine predators, confirming their presence in this region. Nonetheless, existing information for the Arctic remains scarce, thus there is an urgent need to quantify the contamination of marine waters in this part of the world. In this context, we studied microplastic abundance and composition within the zooplankton community off East Greenland. For the same area, we concurrently evaluated microplastic contamination of little auks (Alle alle), an Arctic seabird feeding on zooplankton while diving between 0-50 m. The study took place off East Greenland in July 2005 and 2014, under strongly contrasted sea ice conditions. Among all samples, 97.2 % of the debris found were filaments. Despite the remoteness of our study area, microplastic abundances were comparable to those of other ocean basins, with 0.99 ± 0.62m-3 in the presence of sea-ice (2005), and 2.38 ± 1.11m-3 in the nearby absence of sea-ice (2014). These results suggest that sea ice can represent a sink for microplastic particles, which are subsequently released to the water column upon the melting. Crucially, all birds studied had eaten plastic filaments, and little auks collected significantly higher levels of microplastics compared to background levels with 9.99 and 8.99 pieces per chick meal in 2005 and 2014, respectively. Importantly, we also demonstrated that little auks more often take light colored microplastics, rather than darker ones, strongly suggesting an active contamination with birds mistaking microplastics for their natural prey. Overall, our study stresses the great vulnerability of Arctic marine species to microplastic pollution in a warming Arctic, where sea-ice melting is expected to release vast volumes of trapped debris.

Abstract: Under the framework of the Global Mercury Observation System (GMOS) project, a 3.5-year record of atmospheric gaseous elemental mercury (Hg(0)) has been gathered at Dumont d'Urville (DDU, 66°40′ S, 140°01′ E, 43 m above sea level) on the East Antarctic coast. Additionally, surface snow samples were collected in February 2009 during a traverse between Concordia Station located on the East Antarctic plateau and DDU. The record of atmospheric Hg(0) at DDU reveals particularities that are not seen at other coastal sites: a gradual decrease of concentrations over the course of winter, and a daily maximum concentration around midday in summer. Additionally, total mercury concentrations in surface snow samples were particularly elevated near DDU (up to 194.4 ng L−1) as compared to measurements at other coastal Antarctic sites. These differences can be explained by the more frequent arrival of inland air masses at DDU than at other coastal sites. This confirms the influence of processes observed on the Antarctic plateau on the cycle of atmospheric mercury at a continental scale, especially in areas subject to recurrent katabatic winds. DDU is also influenced by oceanic air masses and our data suggest that the ocean plays a dual role on Hg(0) concentrations. The open ocean may represent a source of atmospheric Hg(0) in summer whereas the sea-ice surface may provide reactive halogens in spring that can oxidize Hg(0). This paper also discusses implications for coastal Antarctic ecosystems and for the cycle of atmospheric mercury in high southern latitudes.