Ross Sea Science in Action: Updates from the Ross RWG Meeting Series

The Ross Sea Working Group Meeting Series is a dynamic forum that brings together researchers, scientists, and stakeholders with a shared interest in the Ross Sea region. Established a year ago, this meeting series provides a platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange, fostering discussions on scientific advancements, ongoing research, and emerging challenges in this vital Antarctic ecosystem. The meetings are held every two months, alternating between Atlantic and Pacific time zones, ensuring broad participation from the international research community.

One of the key benefits of the Ross Sea Meeting Series is its ability to connect researchers working across disciplines and institutions. The meetings facilitate collaboration, promote interdisciplinary discussions, and provide a space for early-career researchers to engage with leading experts. Participants benefit from exposure to cutting-edge research, opportunities for new collaborations, and insights into logistical and operational aspects of working in the Ross Sea. By fostering an open and inclusive environment, the series has become an essential hub for advancing scientific understanding and supporting coordinated research efforts in the region.

The most recent meeting featured a wealth of new research activities in the region. Craig Stevens presented updates on the 2025 ACTUATE voyage aboard New Zealand’s Tangaroa R/V. The 5.5-week expedition, part of the New Zealand Antarctic Science Platform, focused on hydrography, bottom water monitoring, and benthic surveys. Highlights included the deployment of New Zealand’s first biogeochemical Argo floats in the Ross Sea to measure temperature, salinity, oxygen, and chlorophyll. Moorings placed the previous year near the Ross Ice Shelf were successfully retrieved, yielding valuable data on warm water inflows and meltwater outflows. The team also conducted extensive sampling of benthic communities within the Marine Protected Area (MPA), contributing to biodiversity assessments. The expedition saw participation from researchers from New Zealand, Australia, Italy, India, and the UK, highlighting the collaborative nature of modern Antarctic research. More information here...

Pierpaolo Falco presented the outcomes of Italy’s XL Expedition aboard the R/V Laura Bassi, which took place in January-February 2024 in the Western and Central Ross Sea. Despite extreme cold conditions, the mission completed its objectives ahead of schedule, thanks to improved forecasting and logistical planning. Research focused on physical oceanography, chemical properties, and biological sampling. Key projects included the IBIZA project on iron biogeochemistry, which explored iron-binding ligands and microbial activity, and the GLOB project, which studied water mass exchanges in the Glomar Challenger Basin. A total of 73 CTD/LADCP and 13 clean CTD stations were completed, along with the handling of nine moorings, deployment of gliders and 12 under-ice Argo floats, and continuous bathymetric mapping. 

The Ross Working Group Meetings are held every 2 months and alternate beween Atlantic and Pacific time zones. Updates from activities not present in person at the last meeting in April were able to hand in their updates in text form. 

One of these featured updates was from the ARAON ANA15A cruise to Terra Nova Bay in late 2024. Conducted by KOPRI (Korea), LDEO (USA), and NIWA (New Zealand), the expedition included CTD measurements and the deployment and recovery of moorings along the Drygalski Trough and near the Nansen and Drygalski Ice features. These observations aim to monitor changes in ocean circulation and water mass properties near the ice shelf.

The meeting also included a summary of activities from the International Antarctic Coastal Circumnavigation Expedition (ICCE), which brought together scientists from India, Brazil, Russia, China, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. The expedition circled the Antarctic coast from November 2024 to January 2025, including sampling in the Ross Sea from January 11–15. Activities included vertical profiling, sediment coring, atmospheric observations, and biological and chemical water sampling. Opportunistic work included eDNA sampling, marine mammal observations, and outreach activities. Ongoing efforts focus on data processing, sample analysis, and preparation for collaborative publications.

Finally, the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) announced the launch of the six-year FAST (Forecast of Antarctic Sea-ice Trend) initiative in response to the recent and unprecedented decline in Antarctic sea ice beginning in April 2025, with the support of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea. The project, titled FAST (Forecast of Antarctic Sea-ice Trend), aims to enhance our understanding and predictive capabilities of Antarctic sea ice  changes under a rapidly warming Southern Ocean. The primary objective of FAST is to develop a state-of-the-art sea ice model and an AI-based system for seasonal prediction of Antarctic sea ice. To support these efforts, KOPRI will carry out intensive sea ice and oceanographic observations each year in Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea, utilizing its icebreaker Araon. Observations near the Jang Bogo Station will also be strengthened. FAST is an endorsed project of the WMO/WWRP/PACPS and also welcomes opportunities for collaboration across a range of international programs. Researchers with interests in observation, modeling, or AI applications are warmly invited to contact the Principal Investigator, Dr. Emilia Kyung Jin (jin@kopri.re.kr), for potential collaboration.

Together, these updates reflect the extraordinary diversity of research underway in the Ross Sea and the strength of international partnerships driving Antarctic science forward. As the Ross Sea Working Group Meeting Series enters its second year, it continues to be an essential platform for fostering scientific progress and shared understanding in this globally significant region. 

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