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In the extraordinary weather conditions of the austral summer of 2023, fossil mosses thawed out from under the Bellingshausen Ice Dome, King George Island, Southern Shetland Archipelago of maritime Antarctica. At the end of the austral summer, we directly measured greenhouse gas fluxes (CH 4 and CO 2) from the surface of fossil mosses. We showed that fossil mosses were strong emitters of CH 4 and weak emitters of CO 2. The real-time measured CH 4 emissions reached 0.173 μmol m−2 s−1, which is comparable to CH 4 efflux in water bodies or wet tundra in the Arctic. [Display omitted] • Fossil mosses appear from the retreated Antarctic glacier. • Glacier ice in the upper parts of the Bellingshausen Ice Dome emits CH 4 and CO 2. • Fossil mosses thawed out from the retreated Antarctic glacier are the source of CH 4 and CO 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enormous deglaciation in the polar and mountainous regions of the Earth is associated not only with large-scale climatic changes but also with the global transfer of black carbon (BC) microparticles, which accumulate on the surface of glaciers and lead to changes in albedo and the rate of degradation of ice. BC is the product of an incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, volcanic eruptions, and wildfires. The accumulation of organogenic microparticles leads to the formation of cryoconites, which are dust made of a combination of small rock particles and the result of anthropogenic activities (fossil fuel combustion) that play a special role in deglaciation. Here, we describe the content of trace metals and nutrients in accumulation of the BC from glaciers of Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Western Antarctica. The analysis of trace metals concentrations showed that most of the studied elements (Cr, Pb, Zn, Ni) have a volcanic origin; at the same time, Cd and Cu have been accumulated as a result of anthropogenic activity. The content of nutrients in BC are most similar with Technosols, which forms near the scientific station at King George Island. The particles of BC can be translocated into organisms, which could pose a significant risk for living organisms and humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]