During the Quaternary, the Mac. Robertson shelf of East Antarctica was deeply eroded by glaciers and currents exposing the underlying basement, resulting in a scalped shelf.

Sub-glacial geothermal heat flow is acknowledged to be a critical, yet poorly constrained, boundary parameter influencing ice sheet behaviour (Winsborrow et al 2010). Geothermal heat flow is the sum of residual heat from the formation of the Earth and the natural heat generated within the Earth from the radiogenic decay of the major heat producing elements (HPEs), U, Th and K. Estimates of the sub-glacial geothermal heat flow in Antarctica are largely deduced from remotely-sensed low-resolution datasets such as seismic tomography or satellite-based geomagnetics. These methods provide broad regional estimates of geothermal heat flow reflecting variations in the mantle contribution as a function of thickness of a thermally homogeneous crust. These estimates of sub-glacial geothermal heat flow, although widely utilised in ice sheet modelling studies, fail to account for lateral and vertical heterogeneity of heat production within the crust where HPEs are concentrated and that are known to significantly impact regional geothermal heat flow values. Significant variations in regional geothermal heat flow due to heterogeneous crustal distribution of HPEs have been recognised within southern Australia (e.g. McLaren et al., 2006), a region that was connected to east Antarctica along the George V, Adélie and Wilkes Lands coastline prior to breakup of Gondwana. The South Australian Heat Flow Anomaly (SAHFA; e.g. Neumann et al., 2000) is characterized by surface heat flows as high as 126 mWm-2, some '2-3 times' that of typical continental values, due to local enrichment of HPEs. The SAHFA forms part of a once contiguous continental block called the Mawson Continent, a now dismembered crustal block that is known, from geological and geophysical evidence, to extend deep into the sub-glacial interior of the Antarctic. It is highly probable that the high geothermal heat flow characteristics of the SAHFA also extend into the sub-glacial hinterland of Terra Adélie and George V lands, a possibility that has not been previously considered in ice sheet studies. In order to account for the occurrence of several sub-glacial lakes in Adélie Land, Siegert & Dowdeswell (1996) concluded that 'a further 25-50 mWm-2 of equivalent geothermal heat' was required over the assumed local geothermal heat flow of ca. 54 mWm-2. Although that study concluded that the additional heat required for basal melting was derived from internal ice deformation, they also acknowledged the possible role of variations in geothermal heat flow, and now that the SAHFA is well characterised, this is a possibility that appears very likely.

Frank Stillwell was a member of Douglas Mawson's 1911-1914 expedition to Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica. His 1912 diary is being edited for publication. The editor has asked for a text box to be included in the publication that describes aspects of the geomagnetism activities that formed part of the expedition's scientific program.

Cold seeps and hydrothermal vents can be detected by a number of oceanographic and geophysical techniques as well as the recovery of characteristic organisms. While the definitive identification of a seep or vent and its accompanying fauna is seldom unequivocal without significant effort. We suggest an approach to identifying associated VMEs in the CCAMLR region that uses the results of scientific surveys to identify confirmed features while documenting a series of criteria that can be used by fishing vessels to reduce the accidental disturbance of seep communities.

One page article discussing aspects of Australian stratigraphy; this article discusses practical Australian solutions to igneous nomenclature and the indexing of relevant Antarctic units

Less than one year after the spectacular calving of the Mertz Glacier tongue, scientists were collecting the first ever images of the seafloor where the glacier tongue once sat.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development implementation plan requires, by 2012, a representative system of marine protected areas (RSMPA) for the purposes of long-term conservation of marine biodiversity. A great challenge for meeting this goal, particularly in data-poor regions, is to avoid inadvertant failure while giving science the time and resources to provide better knowledge. A staged process is needed for identifying areas in data-poor regions that would enable the objectives to be achieved in the long term. We elaborate a procedure that would satisfy the first stage of identifying a RSMPA, including areas suitable as climate change refugia and as reference areas for monitoring change without direct interference of human activities. The procedure is based on the principles of systematic conservation planning. The first step involves the identification of ecologically-separated provinces along with the physical heterogeneity of habitats within those provinces. Ecological theory is then used to identify the scale and placement of MPAs, aiming to be the minimum spatial requirements that would satisfy the principles for a representative system: comprehensiveness, adequacy and representativeness (CAR). We apply the procedure to eastern Antarctica, a region with spatially-restricted sampling of most biota. We use widely available satellite and model data to identify a number of large areas that are likely to encompass important areas for inclusion in a RSMPA. Three large areas are identified for their pelagic and benthic values as well as their suitability as climate change refugia and reference areas. Four other areas are identified specifically for their benthic values. These areas would need to be managed to maintain these values but we would expect them to be refined over time as more knowledge becomes available on the specific location and spatial extent of those values.

Dense coral-sponge communities on the upper continental slope (570 - 950 m) off George V Land, east Antarctica have been identified as Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems. We propose three main factors governing their distribution on this margin: 1) their depth in relation to iceberg scouring; 2) the flow of organic-rich bottom waters; and 3) their location at the head of shelf cutting canyons. Icebergs scour to 500 m in this region and the lack of such disturbance is a likely factor allowing the growth of rich benthic ecosystems. In addition, the richest communities are found in the heads of canyons which receive descending plumes of Antarctic Bottom Water formed on the George V shelf, which could entrain abundant food for the benthos. The canyons harbouring rich benthos are also those that cut the shelf break. Such canyons are known sites of high productivity in other areas due to strong current flow and increased mixing with shelf waters, and the abrupt, complex topography.

Physical and biological characteristics of benthic communities are analysed from underwater video footage collected across the George V Shelf during the 2007/2008 CEAMARC voyage. Benthic habitats are strongly structured by physical processes operating over a range of temporal and spatial scales. Iceberg scouring recurs over timescales of years to centuries along shallower parts of the shelf, creating communities in various stages of maturity and recolonisation. Upwelling of modified circumpolar deep water (MCDW) onto the outer shelf, and cross-shelf flow of high salinity shelf water (HSSW) create spatial contrasts in nutrient and sediment supply, which are largely reflected in the distribution of deposit and filter feeding communities. Long term cycles in the advance and retreat of icesheets (over millennial scales) and subsequent focussing of sediments in troughs such as the Mertz Drift create patches of consolidated and soft sediments, which also provide distinct habitats for colonisation by different biota. These physical processes of iceberg scouring, current regimes and depositional environments, in addition to water depth, are shown to be important factors in the structure of benthic communities across the George V Shelf. The modern shelf communities mapped in this study largely represent colonisation over the past 8-12ka, following retreat of the icesheet and glaciers at the end of the last glaciation (Harris et al., 2001; Ingólfsson et al., 1998). Recolonisation on this shelf may have occurred from two sources: deep-sea environments, and possible shelf refugia on the Mertz and Adélie Banks. However, any open shelf area would have been subject to intense iceberg scouring (Beaman and Harris, 2003). Understanding the timescales over which shelf communities have evolved and the physical factors which shape them, will allow better prediction of the distribution of Antarctic shelf communities and their vulnerability to change. This knowledge can aid better management regimes for the Antarctic margin.

Processes across the grounding zone are important in understanding the retreat behaviour of ice streams but are poorly understood because of the difficulty of accessing the region. The Antarctic Shelf preserves geomorphic features and sedimentary structures left by ice retreat which can provide insights into processes in and close to the grounding zone. Sidescan sonar records from Prydz Bay image a range of features that reflect changes in processes across the Amery Ice Shelf grounding zone during retreat after the Last Glacial Maximum. The presence of fluted and mega-scale glacial lineations indicates that the ice moved over an unfrozen, deforming bed in the zone up stream of the grounding zone. For most of the Amery Ice Shelf, the inter-flute dunes reflect strong thermohaline circulation in the ice shelf cavity. Sand and gravel recovered in cores from beneath the Amery Ice Shelf indicate significant current speeds, possibly enhanced by tidal pumping. The sea floor in the Lambert Deep on the western edge of the Amery Ice Shelf lacks inter-flute dunes and has a sea floor covered in subglacial features. Transverse steps cutting across flutes indicate the presence of subglacial cavities at the bed between patches of grounded ice as the ice approached the grounding zone. The presence of an esker indicates water flowing in a subglacial tunnel. The polygonal ridges are similar to those formed where surging glaciers have stagnated. This at least implies periods of stagnation before the ice flowing into the Lambert Deep retreated from successive grounding line positions.