Latest Antarctica Stories
Alan McStravick for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online The uncertainty of future sea level rise is getting a little clearer thanks to research being conducted by a team comprised of scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the Alfred Wegner Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and the University of Tromsø. Their study, entitled ‘Grounding-line retreat of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet from inner Pine Island Bay’, is being published in this month’s edition of...
Just back from a grueling effort in Antarctica, Eric Larsen continues his efforts to demonstrate how people can use a bicycle to change lives. Boulder, CO (PRWEB) January 11, 2013 Leaving the edge of the Antarctic continent, Hercules Inlet, on Dec. 20, 2012, polar adventurer Eric Larsen started pedaling his Surly Moonlander ‘Fat Bike’ loaded down with 100 pounds of gear in an attempt to complete the Cycle South expedition, a first ever bicycle traverse of Antarctica to the Geographic...
Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Ranulph “Ran” Fiennes, dubbed by Guinness as “the world’s greatest living explorer,” set sail today for the Antarctic, leading a team of adventurers who want to be the first to cross the vast continent during winter. Fiennes has described the expedition as a trip into the unknown with no chance of rescue if the trek goes awry. Fiennes and crew left Cape Town, South Africa early Monday, cheered off by spectators and a...
Global Wildlife Tour and Travel Company’s Hot List of Where to Be in 2013 Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) December 28, 2012 PlanetWildlife, a leading provider of a wide range of wildlife travel and tours around the world, presents Wildlife’s Hotspots for 2013—a month-by-month directory of what’s happening and when—and itinerary suggestions to inspire nature lovers to experience some of the seminal seasonal events of the natural world. To explore all the ideas and options available,...
[Watch Video: Professor Martin Siegert Calls Off Lake Ellsworth Project] Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online An ambitious expedition to search for life in one of the world’s most remote regions has ended in failure early Christmas morning. Team members from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) called off a project to drill through two miles of Antarctica’s ice sheet to reach Lake Ellsworth due to problems linking boreholes in the ice. With winter fast...
redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online A portion of the Antarctic ice sheet is warming nearly twice as quickly as experts had previously believed, which could increase the region's future contribution to rising sea levels, a team of researchers from the Ohio State University (OSU) has discovered. According to BBC News Environmental Correspondent Matt McGrath, the study authors analyzed temperature records from Byrd Station, a scientific outpost in the center of the...
DEERFIELD, Ill., Dec. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Never before has OREO delivered the world's favorite chocolate sandwich cookie to all seven continents. Until now. As a final hoorah to end its 100th birthday celebration, today OREO surprised scientists living at Palmer Station in the Antarctic Peninsula with a first-of-its-kind delivery -- 5,000 OREO cookies, enough for everyone there to enjoy a twist, lick and dunk. The timing couldn't be more perfect. This special cookie...
[Watch Video: Tractor Train From Union Glacier To Lake Ellsworth] Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Update (Dec. 22, 2012) A long-awaited project to drill through Antarctica’s ice sheet to a deep subglacial lake to look for life has been on hold for the past week due to a malfunction in the drill’s boiler system. The team heading the $12 million operation could only sit patiently in the subzero temperatures of the southern continent as they waited for a...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online The West Antarctica ice sheet is melting faster than expected. An international group of oceanographers led by the University of Gothenburg has published new observations in the journal Nature Geoscience that may improve our ability to predict future changes in ice sheet mass. The water levels of the oceans would be affected globally by a reduction of the ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland, making it problematic that...
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online In 1916, a party led by Ernest Shackleton completed one of the most epic survival adventures, rowing 800 nautical miles through the icy waters of the Southern Ocean and traversing a mountainous, 32-mile section of South Georgia Island, to contact help and assemble a team to rescue the rest of his expedition team that was stranded back on Elephant Island off the coast of Antarctica. In January, a team of British and Australian...
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...
