Antarctica – A window to the far off land

The Antarctic continent and surrounding oceans,which are cold and isolated from human activities,constitute a key region for multidisciplinary investigations.Since the early interest during the International Geophysical Year （IGY） during 1957-1958,numerous scientific studies have so far been carried out in Antarctica by different countries,which have provided important insights into Earth and environmental processes such as regional climate warming and its effect to biodiversity,changes in ice sheet and ocean circulation,ozone depletion,and origin and evolution of continents.The challenge of the next phase of Antarctic research will be to integrate all fields of science into a holistic understanding of Earth and life processes of the Antarctic region.In this thematic issue of Geoscience Frontiers,we assemble a set of scientific papers related to geomorphology,biology,molecular spectroscopy,and geology reflecting the recent research activity in the Antarctic region.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711300008X