Wayne de Jager – Increased Rotational Coupling Between Antarctic Sea Ice and the Atmosphere Over the Last 30 Years
Sebastiaan Swart – The oceans imprint on air sea fluxes: Drivers of turbulent heat flux over the Agulhas Current
Tarron Lamont – Monitoring Western Boundary Current System variability with satellite altimetry
Riesna R. Audh – Rafting of Growing Antarctic Sea Ice Enhances In-Ice Biogeochemical Activity in Winter
Robyn Verrinder – Antarctic MIZ observation platforms: Interdisciplinary approaches to resolve seasonal sea ice variability
Tamaryn Morris – 1. Sustained ocean observations for the Agulhas Current: Realizing the Benefits of Ocean Knowledge through Co-Design. 2. Capturing a cyclonic eddy, and cross-shelf dynamics, in the Agulhas Bight during an early retroflection of the Agulhas Current.
Magata Mangatane – Intercomparison of Antarctic sea-ice thickness estimates from satellite altimetry and assessment over the 2019 data-rich year.
Sharon Nicholson – The seasonal cycle in Southern Hemisphere Africa
Rutger Marquart – Coupled dynamics and thermodynamics modelling of heterogeneous sea ice and ocean waves
Janine Schoombie – Mapping within-island-scale wind variation on Marion Island
Christopher Reason – Multiyear La Niña events, the Mozambique Channel, and rainfall over eastern Africa
Thulwaneng Mashifane – Trait–Based Adjustments: Key to Improving Bloom Seasonal Cycle in the Subantarctic Zone
Sandy Thomalla – VeGAS-pCO2: Versatile glider, atmospheric and ship high precision pCO2 gas flux analyser
Amber Sneddon – Atmospheric River climatology for the South Atlantic Basin based on modern image-processing-based tracking.
Marcel Du Plessis – Storms regulate Southern Ocean summer warming
Sandy Thomalla -Southern Ocean Observing System for sustained and coordinated observations in a changing world
Thomas Ryan-Keogh – How can we effectively manage the impact of climate change on Antarctic ecosystems?
Sandy Thomalla – Climate-driven change to phytoplankton blooms across the global ocean
Nicolette Chang – Investigating Heat and Carbon Exchange in the Southern Ocean: Insights from a Mesoscale-Resolving
Sarah Du Preez – Environmental influence on zooplankton variability around sub-Antarctic Prince Edward Islands
Sarah-Anne Nicholson – The impact of storms on CO2 and heat exchange across the Southern Ocean
Thato Mtshali – Wintertime distribution and mixed layer dissolved iron budget in the south Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean
Miranda Sitofile – The seasonal iron supply in the Southern Ocean
Chris Reason – Interannual and intraseasonal variability in the Southern Hemisphere
High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (H5n1) confirmed on Subantarctic Marion Island
Press Release by the Department of Forestry Fisheries and the Environment: 23 March 2025
The presence of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus on Marion Island has been confirmed. Samples collected between September and December 2024 were all shipped back to mainland South Africa, via the SA Agulhas II, in February 2025. In March, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing confirmed infection in six bird species, comprising Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans), King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus), Brown (Subantarctic) Skua (Stercorarius antarcticus), Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus), Northern Giant Petrel (M. halli) and Sooty Albatross (Phoebetria fusca).
Following an initial suspected HPAI case in a Brown Skua at Marion Island (a bird showing clinical signs of HPAI infection including twitching and tremors) in mid-September 2024, more similar cases were reported in early November and mortalities in multiple species have continued into March 2025, though the overall death rate slowed significantly in January. The reduced mortality rate is promising, but 31 bird species breed on Marion Island and the bird species and age composition varies throughout the year, therefore it is difficult to predict how the outbreak will progress. The potential effects on marine mammals are also of concern but no increased mortality has been reported in any mammal species so far.
Among Wandering Albatrosses, chicks were mostly affected, with at least 150 of approximately 1900 chicks from the 2024 cohort having died. However, adults have been affected worst in other species: at least 80 adult Brown Skuas, and approximately 120 adult King Penguins. Much smaller numbers of affected giant petrels (at least 20 Southern and four Northern) and Sooty Albatrosses (five) have been observed. The deaths of adult seabirds are of greater concern than chicks, because most species only start to breed at 3 to 10 years of age, and most affected species raise at most one chick per year. There are also a multitude of other threats to seabirds, including fisheries bycatch, climate change, plastic pollution and predation by introduced house mice on Marion Island.
Marion Island, along with neighbouring Prince Edward Island, provides critical breeding and moulting grounds for millions of seabirds and marine mammals, including nearly half of the worlds Wandering Albatrosses, hundreds of thousands of penguins, and large numbers of Southern Elephant Seals and Subantarctic and Antarctic Fur Seals. The Archipelago is located in the south western Indian Ocean, about 2000km southeast of Cape Town and halfway between Africa and Antarctica.
Observations of and laboratory test results for HPAI (H5N1) on Marion Island can assist in inferring the potential risk to animals on Prince Edward Island, since they share various ecological characteristics. Visits to Prince Edward Island are limited to one visit every four years, to limit human impacts on the island and preserve its pristine state, and the last survey was undertaken in November 2023.
Having spread around the globe since 2021, HPAI (H5N1) was detected in seabirds and marine mammals in South Georgia, southeast of South America, in October 2023. It reached the Antarctic Peninsula in February 2024 and was detected at the French archipelagos of Crozet and Kerguelen (950 and 2300 km east of Marion respectively) in October and November 2024. The virus can be transported long distances by migrating birds, and the virus moved from South Georgia to the French islands.
The situation on Marion Island is being closely monitored by the field personnel overwintering on the island, who have been trained to recognise possible HPAI signs in birds and seals, and in the necessary monitoring and mitigation methods. They will continue to take all precautions to ensure they do not spread the virus. There are few other disease mitigation tools available in this type of situation.
The HPAI protocol [SANAP Protocol for the Management of Avian Influenza (20 April 2024) PDF – 960.4 KB] that has been implemented on Marion Island was developed by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, the management authority for the Prince Edward Islands, together with Western Cape Veterinary Services, marine ornithologists, marine mammal biologists, disease experts and colleagues overseas with similar experience. Efforts to monitor and hopefully limit the spread of the virus on the island will continue.
On 12 October 2019, the S.A. Agulhas II departed on the first ever cruise to the Marginal Ice Zone during spring. This is a very exciting cruise with 97 participants onboard, representing 17 nationalities and 19 different scientific institutions.
Scientific institutions taking part in this dedicated science expedition, funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) through the National Research Foundation (NRF):
1. University of Cape Town
2. Stellenbosch University
3. South African Weather Service
4. Cape Peninsula University of Technology
5. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
6. Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries
7. BirdLife South Africa
8. Plymouth Marine Laboratory
9. University of Exeter
10. University of Gothenburg, Sweden
11. University of Pretoria
12. University of Brest – LEMAR – IUEM
13. The University of Melbourne, Australia
14. University of Adelaide, Australia
15. Uppsala University, Sweden
16. Alfred Wegener Institute
17. Florida State University
18. New York University Abu Dhabi
19. Old Dominion University
This 47 day long cruise is managed by Dr Thomas Ryan-Keogh (CSIR), Chief Scientist onboard the vessel and by A/Prof Marcello Vichi (UCT) as land-based Chief Scientist.
The participants are distributed over 19 different teams onboard, covering all the aspects of the SCALE science plan:
Team
Lead PI
Onboard Team Leader
BIRDS
Azwianewi Makhado
Derek Engelbrecht
DMS
Tom Bell
George Manville
CO2
Pedro Monteiro
Mutshutshu Tsanwani
GLIDERS
Sarah Nicholson
Pedro Monteiro
Sebastian Swart
Louise Biddle
Josh Huysamen
IRON
Thato Mtshali
Thato Mtshali
METEO
Christo Rautenbach
Marc de Vos
Mardene de Villiers
MICROBIO
Thulani Makalanyane
Jarishma Gokul
NATM
Katye Altieri
Kurt Spence
NOCE
Sarah Fawcett
Raquel Flynn
OCE
Shared
Tommy Ryan-Keogh
PLANKTON
David Walker
Simone Louw
PLASTICS
Peter Ryan
Eleanor Weideman
PRODUCTION
Sandy Thomalla
Tommy Ryan-Keogh
SEAICE
Sebastian Skatulla
Marcello Vichi
Tokoloho Rampai
Amit Mishra
Justin Pead
SEALS
Mia Wege
Marthan Bester
TRACEX
Alakendra Roychoudhury
Susanne Fietz
Jan-Lukas Menzel
VIBRATION
Annie Bekker
Martinique Engelbrecht
WAVE
Alessandro Toffoli
Clare Eayrs
Alberto Alberello
Clare Eayrs
WHALES
Ken Findlay
Elisa Seyboth
Meet Dr Thomas (Tommy) Ryan-Keogh:
Here is a summary of the integrated scientific themes of SCALE:
SEA ICE DYNAMICS AND AIR-SEA-ICE FLUXES
Antarctic sea ice shows a large year to year variability which is not completely captured by forecasting and climate models. Understanding ice mechanics, composition and movement is essential for ice charting and predictive models. The exchange of gases, aerosols, heat and momentum between the atmosphere and ocean through the sea ice is a key factor influencing long-term climate variability and trends. These fluxes are critical to understanding the links between carbon and climate, aerosols and albedo and the influence of terrestrial particles on ocean biogeochemistry.
BIOLOGICAL CARBON PUMP
Changes in climate and sea-ice distribution are likely to affect the composition, abundance, and productivity of phytoplankton, with feedbacks that threaten the ecosystem services they provide, namely sustaining biodiversity, fueling the food web and fisheries, and mediating global climate through an altered efficiency of the biological carbon pump.
PHYSICS TO TOP PREDATORS
The Southern Ocean is subject to strong frontal (meso to sub-mesoscale) activity due to the instability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Nutrient pulses associated with frontal dynamics have the ability to propagate throughout the food chain from lower trophic levels (phytoplankton) to top predators (seabirds and marine mammals). The marginal ice zone environment is an essential habitat for seals and whales throughout the year, and its seasonal variability is a major driver of their feeding behaviour.
DECADAL CHANGES IN OCEAN INTERIOR
The Meridional Overturning Circulation is a global reaching system of surface and deep ocean currents. It is the primary mechanism for the transport and storage of heat, carbon, salt, freshwater and nutrients (including dissolved trace elements) between ocean basins; connecting the surface ocean and atmosphere with the huge reservoir of the deep sea.
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS FOR POLAR ENGINEERING
To advance the scientific basis for ice-going vessels, the S.A. Agulhas II has been the subject of full-scale engineering measurements since 2012. These measurements focus on structural dynamics of the hull and propulsion systems, wave slamming and human comfort. The sensor infrastructure and advanced data analytics position the ship as an ideal platform to explore digital twin technology to assess the state and behaviour of the vessel in near real time within its operational context. These powerful platforms promise to advance education, research, innovation and industrial development related to shipping, oceans and polar research.
To find out more about SCALE (Southern oCean seAsonaL Experiment) and the key research objectives of the cruise – visit www.scale.org.za.
Wayne de Jager – Increased Rotational Coupling Between Antarctic Sea Ice and the Atmosphere Over the Last 30 Years
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