Latest Antarctica Stories
[ Watch the Video ] After discovering an emerging crack that cuts across the floating ice shelf of Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica, NASA's Operation IceBridge has flown a follow-up mission and made the first-ever detailed airborne measurements of a major iceberg calving in progress. NASA's Operation Ice Bridge, the largest airborne survey of Earth's polar ice ever flown, is in the midst of its third field campaign from Punta Arenas, Chile. The six-year mission will yield an...
[ Watch the Video ] Geologist John Goodge looks for clues about Antarctica's past in the 2 percent of the continent that is not covered in ice! The University of Minnesota-Duluth professor has been visiting Antarctica since 1985, finding and studying rocks that help tell the story of how this desolate continent has formed and changed over time. In late 2010 and early 2011, he spent several weeks in the field, with other scientists, visiting a dozen sites along 1,200 miles of...
NOAA researchers offer a novel explanation for why a type of Antarctic killer whale performs a rapid migration to warmer tropical waters in a paper published this month in the science journal Biology Letters. One tagged Antarctic killer whale monitored by satellite traveled over 5,000 miles to visit the warm waters off southern Brazil before returning immediately to Antarctica just 42 days later. This was the first long distance migration ever reported for killer whales. "The whales are...
Scientists with NASA's Operation IceBridge airborne research campaign began the mission's third year of surveys this week over the changing ice of Antarctica. Researchers are flying a suite of scientific instruments on two planes from a base of operations in Punta Arenas, Chile: a DC-8 operated by NASA and a Gulfstream V (G-V) operated by the National Science Foundation and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The G-V will fly through early November. The DC-8, which completed its...
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Scientists with NASA's Operation IceBridge airborne research campaign began the mission's third year of surveys this week over the changing ice of Antarctica. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Researchers are flying a suite of scientific instruments on two planes from a base of operations in Punta Arenas, Chile: a DC-8 operated by NASA and a Gulfstream V (G-V) operated by the National Science Foundation and the...
Op/ed By Kevin Roeten (roetenks@charter.net) How many individuals and corporations have lost money and jobs over theoretical ozone depletion? Why have natural variations never been considered as a possible reason for seasonal ozone loss? With ozone (O3) depletion, millions were (and are) convinced that chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s), and certain brominated compounds (Halons), were responsible. Due to their theorized Ozone Depletion Potential (ODS), the most stable non-toxic refrigerants,...
An Antarctic lake hidden under 1.8 miles of ice in the western region of the continent could reveal what life on Earth looked like a million years ago and could narrow down the search for extraterrestrial life, as well as give scientists clues to future climate impacts, according to a British expedition taking up the study. Expedition members will use hot water to melt down through the nearly 2-mile-thick ice to reach Lake Ellsworth, which has been isolated from the outside world for more...
A team of international researchers, led by NASA scientists, has discovered an unprecedented loss of protective ozone in the atmosphere above the Arctic this year, according to various media reports published on Sunday. That phenomenon, according to an AFP article, has led to the formation of an ozone hole five times the size of the state of California. It marks the first time that ozone loss in the Arctic region has matched ozone loss above Antarctica, both they and Postmedia News are...
LONDON, Sept. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is disappointed but not surprised that Japan's whaling fleet is reportedly planning a return to Antarctica later this year to kill more whales for its dying market. Following Japanese media reports today that whaling will continue with around US$27 million in additional government security budget to protect the fleet, Patrick Ramage, Director of IFAW's Global Whale Program, said: "I'd bet this...
WATERBURY, Vt., Sept. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Quark Expeditions, the leader in polar adventures, has partnered with the United Airlines MileagePlus program to offer one MileagePlus award mile for every $1 spent on an Arctic or Antarctic cruise. With the purchase of a polar expedition departing January 1, 2012 or after, travelers can earn up to 80,000 award miles per calendar year with qualifying purchases. For a limited time, earn double award miles on all February 2012 departures. To...
Latest Antarctica Reference Libraries
Antarctica is the Earths southernmost continent; it contains the geographic South Pole. It’s situated in the Antarctic area of the Southern Hemisphere, almost completely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is bordered by the Southern Ocean. It’s the fifth-largest continent at 5.4 million sq miles. On average, it is the driest, coldest, and windiest continent as well as having the highest average elevation of all the continents. Considered a desert, the annual precipitation is only 8...
The Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii) is a true seal in the Phocidae family, and can only be found on pack ice in Antarctica. This species was formally described by James Clark Ross in 1841, during his British Antarctic Expedition. It is very uncommon to see in its range and rarely leaves the pack ice, with stray individuals occurring off southeast Australia or sub-Antarctic islands. The Ross seal can reach an average length between 5.5 and 6.9 feet, although some females can reach up to 8.2...
The Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) is a large true seal in the Lobodontini tribe. It is native to Antarctica, with its range consisting of a large “ring” that surrounds Antarctica. This seal will spend most of its time in the water instead of on land. The Weddell seal appears on the IUCN Red List with a conservation status of “Least Concern”. It is estimated this seal numbers over 800,000 individuals in the wild. First discovered in 1820s by a British sealing captain...
The Antarctic Silverfish, (Pleuragramma antarcticum), is a member of the Notothenioidei family of fish. It is widely distributed around the Antarctic, but has largely disappeared from the western side of the northern Antarctic Peninsula based on 2010 research funded by the National Science Foundation. It is also found throughout the Southern Ocean. It grows to an average size of 6 inches, but has been known to reach lengths of up to 10 inches. It is usually pink with a silver tint, and...
Cryolophosaurus, meaning "cold crest lizard", is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic Period (Pliensbachian Age). It is known from the Hanson Formation (previously known as the Upper Falla Formation). It was discovered by paleontologist Dr. William Hammer in 1991. It was the first carnivorous dinosaur to be discovered in Antarctica. It was also the first dinosaur from Antarctica to be officially named. Dr. William Hammer and his team unearthed the dinosaur during the...
