On her first dedicated scientific voyage to Antarctica in March, the Australian icebreaker RSV Nuyina found the area sea-ice free. Scientists were able to reach places never sampled before.

The ocean around Antarctica is changing in unexpected ways. Since 2015, sea ice surrounding the frozen continent has been retreating at a record pace, with losses comparable tothe size of Greenland. What’s more surprising is that new satellite data reveals an unsettling trend: the ocean’s surface is becoming saltier,

Antarctic sea ice extent has fallen dramatically in recent years – the effects include accelerated ocean warming, faster loss of inland ice sheets and severe impacts on wildlife