Welcome to the News and Updates Page!
Dr. Emslie is recording a podcast of short lectures (8-12 min each) titled 'All about Antarctica' that summarize major topics in his undergraduate course, Antarctic Ecology, Geology, History, and Policy so that a reduced version of this class is available to the public. Each podcast below links to an mp3 file for you to listen to them here. It is also available now, with links here, on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and iHeart Radio.
Part I Introduction to Antarctica
Part III Ice Sheet Origins and Modern Cllimate
Part V Ice cores and Atmospheric Science
Part X Penguins and Other Seabirds
Part XI Discovery of Antarctica
Part XIV The International Geophyscial Year
Part XVI Research Stations and Life in the Cold
Part XVII Anthropogenic Impacts
Part XVIII Marine Fisheries and Illegal Fishing
Part XIX Antarctica in the Future
Dr. Emslie and graduate student Kate Sutherland traveled to New Zealand in January 2023 to join Heritage Expeditons for a 28-day trip to the Ross Sea to collect samples and involve passengers in citizen science.
Dr. Emslie spent the 2019-2920 season on a tour ship with Oceanwide Expeditions to the Ross Sea, a 30-day trip, but no blog was possible from the ship.
Follow this link to access his 2017-2018 blog at Carlini Station
Follow this link to access the 2015-2016 blog at McMurdo Station
2013/2014 season was completed with the Argentine Antarctic Program, but no internet updates were possible.
1/14/2011 - Dr. Emslie leaves for Antarctica today. Follow this link to check in with his blog on the notes from the field page.
12/14/2010 - Rebecka leaves for Antarctica today. Follow this link to check in with her blog on the notes from the field page.
11/19/2010 - Mike leaves for Antarctica today. Follow this link to check in with his blog on the notes from the field page.
11/3/2010 & 11/5/2010 - Visiting Gregory Elementry School - Mike and Rebecka will visit 2nd and 4th grade classes at Gregory Elementary school to talk about penguins in Antarctica.
2/10/2010 - End of the 2009-2010 Antarctic field season! - Dr. Emslie has returned from Antarctica. This marks the end of the 2009-10 Antarctica field season. Dr. Emlsie, Dr. Patterson and Mike Polito collected many samples this season and will be spending the spring and summer analyzing theses samples and preparing for next season.
1/7/2010 to 2/10/2010 - Dr. Emslie is in Antarctica!
Dr. Emslie's Antarctic Blog:
Follow along with Dr. Emslie as he leads a team of researchers to the Southern Ross Sea in Antarctica to study penguins, both past and present. Click here to read Dr. Emslie's Blog
12/15/2009 to 1/10/2010 - Mike Polito is in Antarctica!
Mike's Antarctic Blog:
Follow along with Mike Polito as he travels to the Antarctic Peninsula to study penguins, both past and present. Click here to read Mike's Blog
10/30/2009 - "The Antarctic Sun" profiles Dr. Emslie's Antarctic research project in two online articles
Changing Diets:
By studying the tissue remains of penguins in Antarctica, scientists are not only learning more about the modern diet of the continent’s iconic seabird but also what was on the menu thousands of years ago. And that information can provide insight into past climate and penguin behavior, as well as how the species could respond to future climate changes..... Click here to read the full article.
Penguins on the edge:
Location, location, location. For marine ornithologist Steve Emslie, the long-abandoned homes of Adélie penguins in Antarctica are markers in time that help define how far the continent’s ice sheets advanced and retreated for the last 45,000 years..... Click here to read the full article.
8/1/2009 - Xth Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Biology Symposium
Mike attended the Xth Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Biology Symposium from July 26-31, 2009 in Sapporo Japan. While at the meeting, Mike presented a poster on his research using stable isotope analysis to describe the diets of female Adélie penguins during the egg laying. Click here to see Mike’s poster
7/30/2007 - SciencePoles.org interviews Dr. Emslie about his Antarctic research project
Researchers Steven Emslie of the University of North Carolina in Wilmington, and William Patterson of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, studied over 200 fossil eggshell pieces ranging from 100 to 38 000 years old. By comparing the proportion of carbon and nitrogen in the shells with that found in fish and krill, it was possible to see how the bird's diet had evolved over time......Click here to read the full article and interview.
12/8/2003 - Abandoned Penguin Colonies May Help Refine Antarctic Climate Studies
A previously unnoticed cooling trend that persisted for a millennium caused enough ice to build up in Antarctica's Ross Sea that thousands of Adelie penguins abandoned their colonies beginning about 2,000 years ago...... Click here to read the full article.