Ships, ice cores, and krill surveys are central to Australia's 10-year strategy for monitoring Antarctica, as outlined in a recent presentation at the Australian Antarctic Research Conference at the University of Tasmania. The conference, attended by 400 researchers from around the world, emphasized the importance of scientific voyages in gathering data about the continent and the Southern Ocean. Dr. Patricia Miloslavich, who leads the Australian Antarctic Division's Antarctic Monitoring Program, highlighted that from 1990 to 2026, Australian and international research vessels such as the Aurora Australis, RSV Nuyina, l'Astrolabe, and the CSIRO's RV Investigator made 379 voyages, traveling nearly 2.5 million kilometers (1.6 million miles) and collecting 137 million measurements. These data have provided valuable insights into climate change, showing that both ocean and air temperatures have risen, particularly in the northern regions of the Southern Ocean. Long-term monitoring and advancements in ship design have improved the quality and scope of data collection. One example is the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR), a device towed behind ships that samples plankton on a silk ribbon. The CPR Survey, initiated in 1931 and extended to the Southern Ocean by the Australian Antarctic Division in 1991, has revealed shifts in plankton populations, including a decline in certain species like pteropods and a trend toward smaller zooplankton. These changes can have significant impacts on marine ecosystems and food chains. Improvements in research vessel technology have also enhanced the ability to study delicate marine life. Previously, the Aurora Australis used nets to collect marine organisms, which often damaged fragile specimens. The newer RSV Nuyina uses a wet well system, allowing scientists to study creatures like the sea butterfly (Clio pyramidata) in their natural state. Data collected during resupply voyages, such as atmospheric and oceanographic measurements from RSV Nuyina, are crucial for weather forecasting and climate modeling, feeding into national and global systems like Australia’s ACCESS weather model. Australia’s 10-year monitoring strategy is built around four key science campaigns. These include the Million Year Ice Core (MYIC) project, which aims to extract ice cores to study climate history over millions of years, and the East Antarctic traverse to the MYIC site. In the ocean, the KaKE (krill and krill ecosystems) campaign will assess the health of krill populations in the Mawson region. The Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) voyage will study sea ice conditions during their annual maximum in September, a time when few scientific expeditions have taken place. Finally, the ECCO voyage in 2029–30 will build on previous research and help guide the creation of Marine Protected Areas in East Antarctica. These campaigns are part of the international Antarctica InSync program, which aims to provide comprehensive data to address global issues like climate change and biodiversity loss. The Australian Antarctic Research Conference is expected to be held again in 2028, continuing its role as a key platform for Antarctic science.