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1. SMILE Winter Campaign

   https://doi.org/10.1093/rasti/rzae038  

   Walach, M_-T; Soobiah, Y.; Carter, J_A; Whiter, D_K; Kavanagh, A_J; Hartinger, M_D; Oksavik, K.; Salzano, M_L; Archer, M_O (August 2024, RAS Techniques and Instruments)

   ABSTRACT This white paper is highly topical as it relates to the upcoming solar wind magnetosphere ionosphere link explorer (SMILE) mission: SMILE is a joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences and it aims to build a more complete understanding of the Sun–Earth connection by measuring the solar wind and its dynamic interaction with the magnetosphere. It is a fully funded mission with a projected launch in 2025. This paper outlines a plan for action for SMILE’s first Northern hemisphere winter campaign using ground-based instruments. We outline open questions and which data and techniques can be employed to answer them. The science themes we discuss are: (i) Earth’s magnetosheath, magnetopause, and magnetic cusp impact on the ionospheric cusp region; (ii) defining the relationship between auroral processes, solar wind, and magnetospheric drivers; (iii) understanding the interhemispheric properties of the Earth’s magnetosphere–ionosphere system. We discuss open questions (different to the mission goals) which may be answered using existing ground-based instrumentation together with SMILE data to leverage the maximum scientific return of the mission during the first winter after launch. This paper acts as a resource for planning, and a call to collaborative action for the scientific community. 

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2. Winter Limnology on the Rise

   https://doi.org/10.1002/lob.10643  

   Hampton, Stephanie; Dugan, Hilary; Sadro, Steven; Vick‐Majors, Trista; Ozersky, Ted (August 2024, Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin)
3. Molecular Mechanisms of Winter Survival

   https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-120120-095233  

   Teets, Nicholas M.; Marshall, Katie E.; Reynolds, Julie A. (January 2023, Annual Review of Entomology)

   Winter provides many challenges for insects, including direct injury to tissues and energy drain due to low food availability. As a result, the geographic distribution of many species is tightly coupled to their ability to survive winter. In this review, we summarize molecular processes associated with winter survival, with a particular focus on coping with cold injury and energetic challenges. Anticipatory processes such as cold acclimation and diapause cause wholesale transcriptional reorganization that increases cold resistance and promotes cryoprotectant production and energy storage. Molecular responses to low temperature are also dynamic and include signaling events during and after a cold stressor to prevent and repair cold injury. In addition, we highlight mechanisms that are subject to selection as insects evolve to variable winter conditions. Based on current knowledge, despite common threads, molecular mechanisms of winter survival vary considerably across species, and taxonomic biases must be addressed to fully appreciate the mechanistic basis of winter survival across the insect phylogeny. 

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4. Winter Female Krill Oocyte Size

   https://doi.org/10.15784/601919  

   Bernard, Kim (January 2025, U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) Data Center)

   This dataset contains measurements of the diameter and area of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) oocytes collected from the northern Antarctic Peninsula during the austral winter from 2012 to 2016 (August each year). Female oocytes were examined using the "squash technique" developed by Cuzin-Roudy and Amsler (1991) for assessing ovarian development and sexual maturity. The squash method provides a detailed view of oocyte size, which serves as an indicator of reproductive status and energy allocation during the winter months. Data were collected and processed according to the methods described by Steinke et al. (2024). The dataset includes .csv files containing oocyte diameter and area measurements for individual female krill. These data are valuable for understanding krill reproductive cycles and their ecological responses to environmental variability. Data users should acknowledge the project and grant number, as well as credit Dr. Kim Bernard, Dr. Kirsten Steinke, and Dr. Christian Reiss. The research was conducted in collaboration with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Antarctic Marine Living Resources group. 

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5. Divergence of the diapause transcriptome in apple maggot flies: winter regulation and post-winter transcriptional repression

   https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.140566  

   Meyers, Peter J.; Powell, Thomas H.; Walden, Kimberly K.; Schieferecke, Adam J.; Feder, Jeffrey L.; Hahn, Daniel A.; Robertson, Hugh M.; Berlocher, Stewart H.; Ragland, Gregory J. (August 2016, The Journal of Experimental Biology)