The Antarctic surface mass balance has been shown to be sensitive to the impacts of atmospheric rivers (ARs), which bring anomalous amounts of both moisture and heat from lower latitudes poleward. Therefore, describing the characteristics of ARs and their intensity and frequency in the Antarctic regions by applying detection algorithms became a key method to evaluating their impacts on the surface mass balance and melting events. Several intense AR events have influenced Antarctica during the year 2022, and here we report an event with a peak on 10 June 2022 that was detected at 84°S, having a potential impact on West Antarctica. The extreme warm event originated in the Southern Pacific subtropical region and evolved towards the Southern Ocean, crossing the northern Antarctic Peninsula, before reaching as far as most inland regions in Antarctica, different from other typical ARs that are mostly restricted to the continental coast.

Belgica antarctica Jacobs (Diptera: Chironomidae) is the only endemic insect found in the Antarctic Peninsula region and has stimulated considerable research interest. Due to recent rapid changes in regional climate in Antarctica, there is growing interest in studying the responses of this species to environmental changes, in particular at the chromosomal level. Chromosomal inversions are known to play an important role in speciation and adaptation in many insect species, but their frequencies in natural populations are poorly understood. In the current study, we provide the first standard polytene chromosome map for B. antarctica, which will enable the precise location of chromosomal abnormalities in future studies. We further analysed chromosomal polymorphisms in fourth-instar larvae collected from two different locations on Galindez Island, Argentine Islands, western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. We found four previously reported and two new inherited inversions, and we discuss their possible adaptive role in response to environmental stressors in the Antarctic Peninsula region. Our data provide a foundation for future studies exploring the potential role of B. antarctica chromosomal polymorphisms in adaptation to the changing environment.

Fungi are probably the most diverse group of eukaryotic organisms in the Antarctic continent and nearby archipelagos, and they dominate communities in either mild or harsh habitats. However, our knowledge of their global distribution ranges and the temporal origins of their Antarctic populations is rather limited or almost absent, especially for species that do not lichenize. We focused for the first time on elucidating the taxonomic identity and phylogenetic relationships of several Antarctic collections of the deadly fungal Basidiomycota genus Galerina. By using molecular sequence data from the universal fungal barcode and a dataset encompassing 178 specimens, the inferred phylogeny showed that the Antarctic specimens corresponded with the sub-cosmopolitan species Galerina marginata, Galerina badipes and Galerina fallax, and their most closely related intraspecific genetic lineages were from northern Europe and North America. We found that these species probably host Antarctic-endemic intraspecific lineages. Furthermore, our dating analyses indicated that their Antarctic populations originated in the Pleistocene, a temporal frame that agrees with that proposed for the Antarctic colonization of plants such as the grass Deschampsia antarctica, mosses and some amphitropical lichens. Altogether, these findings converge on the same temporal scenario for the assembly of the most conspicuous terrestrial Antarctic plant and fungal communities.

The natural environment in polar regions is being transformed, glaciers are melting and succession of microarthropods is being observed. We tested the hypothesis that habitat conditions, determined by the locality and character of the vegetation cover, play a significant role in such succession. The material for analysis was collected from four localities on King George Island in Antarctica: Arctowski Station, Demay Refuge, Republica del Ecuador Refuge and Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station. From each locality, 30 samples (grasses, lichens, mosses) were collected and 310 508 microarthropod specimens were recorded, with 17 species (1 Mesostigmata, 9 Oribatida, 7 Collembola species) identified. Based on statistical analyses, it was shown that microarthropod communities differ both in individual localities and selected microhabitats. The greatest number of species was reported in the grass turf, while the greatest number of individuals was recorded in mosses. The dominant species at all the localities was Cryptopygus antarcticus antarcticus (299 203 individuals), which was found in greatest numbers in grasses and mosses. In turn, Tullbergia mixta (2485 individuals) was the dominant species of the lichens. Moreover, the following species, new to King George Island, were also identified: Flagrosuctobelba subcornigera, Liochthonius australis, Membranoppia ventrolaminata and Quadroppia monstruosa belonging to Oribatida as well as Archisotoma brucei belonging to Collembola.

More than 60 years since it entered into force in 1961, the Antarctic Treaty is experiencing significant challenges. These challenges also affect its associated instruments known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). These are mostly external dynamics that are increasingly challenging the ATS from outside of the Antarctic region. They encompass a spectrum of issues relating to global legal regimes and to what extent they are applicable in the Antarctic context. Climate change appears to be the most significant of these challenges, as the tangible planetary impacts of global warming and the perception of its urgency and seriousness by states have prompted additional challenges to the ATS. The physical changes that continue to be scientifically unveiled in the Antarctic are manifesting severe impacts on a planetary scale, and this fact has underscored the need for broader and more rapid international engagement within the Antarctic governance discourse. Nevertheless, the existing decision-making mechanisms compounded by the adversarial atmosphere within the ATS due to external factors have become challenges of themselves. Such challenges call for the re-contemplation and reassessment of the legal regime of the Antarctic in general, and the ATS in particular, to find ways forward for an otherwise historically effective international legal system. This paper utilizes both scientific and legal lenses to underscore the urgent need to achieve better communication between the ATS generally, the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings specifically and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change regimes and to overcome the multiple barriers that stand in the way of achieving that objective.

Antarctic research remains an enterprise in which people with certain backgrounds and identities have distinct career advantages over others. In this paper, we focus on barriers to women's participation and success in Antarctic research. Drawing on feminist social science literature on gender inequality in science, we identify two foundational, interrelated factors that have hampered progress across global Antarctic research. We propose that these barriers can be effectively addressed through intersectional approaches to change. We synthesize a broad range of multidisciplinary research on intersectionality in scientific workplaces and apply this literature to the unique institutional, historical and geographical contexts of Antarctic research. We argue that an intersectional lens improves understanding of persistent gender inequalities in Antarctic research, and we offer examples of how intersectionality can be practically applied within Antarctic institutions and communities. By embracing intersectional approaches to change, the Antarctic research community has the opportunity to lead in the advancement of equitable global scientific cultures and to fully realize Antarctica's potential as a place for peaceful, scientific collaboration by and for all humanity - not just a privileged few.