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.

A sudden salinity spike in the Southern Ocean is accelerating Antarctic ice loss and triggering a dangerous climate feedback loop.

The melting of Antarctica's sea ice has had severe consequences for the Southern Ocean already, from the loss of its habitats to the increase of its sea levels to the intensification of its storms and severe weather. But it turns out that things can always take a turn for the worse.