Abstract: To understand fully the risk of biological invasions, it is necessary to quantify propagule pressure along all introduction pathways. In the Antarctic region, importation of fresh produce is a potentially high risk, but as yet unquantified pathway. To address this knowledge gap, >11,250 fruit and vegetables sent to nine research stations in Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands, were examined for associated soil, invertebrates and microbial decomposition. Fifty-one food types were sourced from c. 130 locations dispersed across all six of the Earths inhabited continents. On average, 12% of food items had soil on their surface, 28% showed microbial infection resulting in rot and more than 56 invertebrates were recorded, mainly from leafy produce. Approximately 30% of identified fungi sampled from infected foods were not recorded previously from within the Antarctic region, although this may reflect limited knowledge of Antarctic fungal diversity. The number of non-native flying invertebrates caught within the Rothera Research Station food storage area was linked closely with the level of fresh food resupply by ship and aircraft. We conclude by presenting practical biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of non-native species introductions to Antarctica associated with fresh foods.

Abstract: Solar energetic particles (SEPs) detected in space are statistically associated with flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). But it is not clear how these processes actually contribute to the acceleration and transport of the particles. The present work addresses the question why flares accompanied by intense soft X-ray bursts may not produce SEPs detected by observations with the GOES spacecraft. We consider all X-class X-ray bursts between 1996 and 2006 from the western solar hemisphere. 21 out of 69 have no signature in GOES proton intensities above 10 MeV, despite being significant accelerators of electrons, as shown by their radio emission at cm wavelengths. The majority (11/20) has no type III radio bursts from electron beams escaping towards interplanetary space during the impulsive flare phase. Together with other radio properties, this indicates that the electrons accelerated during the impulsive flare phase remain confined in the low corona. This occurs in flares with and without a CME. Although GOES saw no protons above 10 MeV at geosynchronous orbit, energetic particles were detected in some (4/11) confined events at Lagrangian point L1 aboard ACE or SoHO. These events have, besides the confined microwave emission, dm-m wave type II and type IV bursts indicating an independent accelerator in the corona. Three of them are accompanied by CMEs. We conclude that the principal reason why major solar flares in the western hemisphere are not associated with SEPs is the confinement of particles accelerated in the impulsive phase. A coronal shock wave or the restructuring of the magnetically stressed corona, indicated by the type II and IV bursts, can explain the detection of SEPs when flare-accelerated particles do not reach open magnetic field lines. But the mere presence of these radio signatures, especially of a metric type II burst, is not a sufficient condition for a major SEP event.

Abstract: IUGG 2011 Melbourne Australia.

Abstract: The variability of the freshwater export through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) is analyzed using a hindcast simulation forced by surface atmospheric forcing from the ERA40 reanalysis (1958–2001). Although the two channels representing the archipelago in the model are both sensitive to the along-channel sea surface height (SSH) gradient, they appear to have very distinct behaviors. The outflow to Lancaster Sound is shown to be largely controlled by the magnitude of the upstream SSH gradient across McClure Strait. The gradient shows a close link to the wind stress curl in the western Arctic but also to a large-scale SSH anomaly pattern which has a strong signal over the shelf to the south of McClure Strait. The latter has, however, little statistical connection to the SSH variability in the Beaufort Gyre. By contrast, the outflow through Nares Strait responds preferentially to SSH variations in the northern Baffin Bay which are remotely forced by air-sea heat exchanges in the Labrador Sea. The variability is largely coherent between the two outflows and is controlled by a dipolar atmospheric pattern reminiscent of the North Atlantic/Arctic Oscillation. When entering the subpolar gyre, the CAA freshwater outflow remains confined to the Labrador shelf with little impact on the salinity of the interior Labrador Sea and potentially on the convection. The latter is represented by a distinct mode of salinity variability in the western subpolar gyre which is rather influenced by the variability of the sea ice export through Fram Strait.