The volume highlights developments in our understanding of the palaeogeographical, palaeobiological, palaeoclimatic and cryospheric evolution of Antarctica. It focuses on the sedimentary record from the Devonian to the Quaternary Period. It features tectonic evolution and stratigraphy, as well as processes taking place adjacent to, beneath and beyond the ice-sheet margin, including the continental shelf. The contributions in this volume include several invited review papers, as well as original research papers arising from the International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences in Edinburgh, in July 2011. These papers demonstrate a remarkable diversity of Earth science interests in the Antarctic. Following international trends, there is particular emphasis on the Cenozoic Era, reflecting the increasing emphasis on the documentation and understanding of the past record of ice-sheet fluctuations. Furthermore, Antarctic Earth history is providing us with important information about potential future trends, as the impact of global warming is increasingly felt on the continent and its ocean.

Our appreciation of glaciological processes in Antarctica suffers from a lack of observations in regions where numerical models indicate the ice sheet to be susceptible to ocean and/or atmospheric warming. The solution lies in the use and development of glacier geophysics. In this volume we present a series of papers that demonstrate how geophysics can be deployed in Antarctica to comprehend: (1) boundary conditions that influence ice flow such as subglacial topography, the distribution of basal water and ice-sheet rheology; (2) phenomena that might affect ice-flow processes, such as complex internal ice-sheet structures and the proposition of large stores of hitherto unappreciated groundwater; and (3) how glacigenic sediments and formerly glaciated terrain on, and surrounding, the continent can inform us about past ice-sheet dynamics. The volume also takes a historical view on developments leading to current knowledge, examines active ice-sheet processes, and points the way forward on how geophysics can advance quantitative understanding of Antarctic ice-sheet behaviour.

Gondwana, comprising more than 64% of the present day continental mass, is home to 33% of large igneous provinces (LIPs) and key to understanding the lithosphere–atmosphere system and related tectonics that influenced global climate and sediment production on Earth. Gondwana has many of the largest LIPs, with areas of 200 000 to 2 000 000 km2. Several Gondwana LIPs erupted near active continental margins as well as within continents. The rifting of continents continued even after LIP emplacement or was aborted by a coeval compression and did not open into an ocean. Important contemporary frontiers include understanding significant amounts of synchronous silicic volcanic rocks in mafic LIPs, bringing better stratigraphic constraints supported by precise age dating and volume estimation of LIPs, the possible link between LIP emplacement and biotic crisis, refinement of the existing petrogenetic models and assessing large eruptions and associated societal risk. This volume covers topics on magma emplacements, petrology and geochemistry, source characteristics, flood basalt–carbonatite linkage, tectonics and geochronology of LIPs distributed in Gondwana continents.

This book divides Antarctica into eight ice-free regions and provides information on the soils of each region. Soils have been studied in Antarctica for nearly 100 years. Although only 0.35% (45,000 km2) of Antarctica is ice-free, its weathered, unconsolidated material qualify as “soils”. Soils of Antarctica is richly illustrated with nearly 150 images and provisional maps are provided for several key ice-free areas.

Gullies on Mars resemble terrestrial gullies involved in the transport of abundant material down steep slopes by liquid water. However, liquid water should not be stable at the Martian surface. The articles in this volume present the two main opposing theories for Martian gully formation: climate-driven melting of surficial water-ice deposits and seasonal dry-ice sublimation. The evidence presented ranges from remote-sensing observations, to experimental simulations, to comparison with Earth analogues. The opposing hypotheses imply either that Mars has been unusually wet in the last few million years or that it has remained a cold dry desert – both with profound implications for understanding the water budget of Mars and its habitability. The debate questions the limits of remote-sensing data and how we interpret active processes on extra-terrestrial planetary surfaces, even beyond those on Mars, as summarized by the review paper at the beginning of the book.

Antarctic and Southern Ocean scientific research has produced a wide array of important and exciting scientific advances. Spanning oceanography to tectonics, microbiology to astrophysics, the extreme Antarctic environment provides unique opportunities to expand our knowledge about how our planet works and even the very origins of the universe. Research on the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic ice sheets is becoming increasingly urgent not only for understanding the future of the region but also its interconnections with and impacts on many other parts of the globe. The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) provides U.S. researchers with broad access to the continent and its surrounding ocean. A Strategic Vision for NSF Investments in Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research identifies priorities and strategic steps forward for Antarctic research and observations for the next decade. This survey presents a decadal vision for strategic investments in compelling research and the infrastructure most critical for supporting this research. This report makes recommendations for high-priority, larger-scale, community-driven research initiatives that address questions poised for significant advance with the next decades. This report also outlines a roadmap through which the vision and these priorities can be met.

The mechanisms of magma movement, chemical differentiation and physical development, are derived from the geochemistry of igneous rocks, and from studying exposures of deep magmatic systems that have since solidified and been uplifted and exposed at the Earth's surface. The Ferrar Magmatic System of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica provides an unparalleled example of a complete magmatic-volcanic system exposed in unprecedented detail. This book provides a unique and usual three-dimensional detailed examination of this system, providing insight into many magmatic processes normally unobservable, in particular how basaltic magma moves upwards through the crust, how it entrains, carries and deposits loads of crystals from great depths, and how this all contributes to Earth's evolution. Providing an explanation of how magmatic systems operate and how igneous rocks form, this is an invaluable resource ideal for researchers and graduate students in magma physics, igneous petrology, volcanology, and geochemistry.