Australian Antarctic Division New research showing that ‘supercooled’ Southern Ocean clouds are different from any others on Earth, promises to improve climate and weather forecasting models. It also raises tantalising questions about how microscopic life in the Southern Ocean affects Antarctic climate and weather. The monkey (top) deck of Aurora Australis was fitted out with 64 instruments to measure cloud, aerosol, precipitation and radiation properties during summer 2017-18. Photo: Doug Thost The findings come after an international team conducted four major field campaigns between 2016 and 2018 to measure clouds, aerosols (fine particles), precipitation (rainfall and snowfall), and the state of the atmosphere over the Southern Ocean, from ships, aircraft and a sub-Antarctic island.