A study of animals visible to the naked eye and living in and on the seabed – the 'macrobenthos' – of the Straits of Magellan and Drake Passage will help scientists understand the biodiversity, biogeography and ecology of the Magellanic region.

By Meijers, A J; Bindoff, N L; Roberts, J L ABSTRACT The large-scale volume, heat, and freshwater ocean transports in the Southern Hemisphere are investigated using time-averaged output from a seasonless, high-resolution general circulation model.

By Iudicone, Daniele; Rodgers, Keith B; Schopp, Richard; Madec, Gurvan ABSTRACT Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) occupies the intermediate horizon of most of the world oceans. Formed in the Southern Ocean, it is characterized by a relative salinity minimum.

New results shed light on how Antarctica became the icy, barren continent that we know today. British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists have discovered that 30-50 million years ago, South America and Antarctica split apart very rapidly. This formed the Drake Passage and resulted in a major global cooling. The findings are published in the latest issue of Earth and Planetary Science Letters.