Latest Polar region Stories

National Science Foundation Although they live in similarly extreme ecosystems at opposite ends of the world, Antarctic insects appear to employ entirely different methods at the genetic level to cope with extremely dry conditions than their counterparts that live north of the Arctic Circle, according to National Science Foundation- (NSF) funded researchers. Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers concluded, "Polar arthropods have developed...

National Science Foundation A century after Western explorers first crossed the dangerous landscapes of the Arctic and Antarctic, researchers funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) have successfully deployed a self-guided robot that uses ground-penetrating radar to map deadly crevasses hidden in ice-covered terrains. Deployment of the robot--dubbed Yeti--could make Arctic and Antarctic explorations safer by revealing unseen fissures buried beneath ice and snow that could...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online A new scientific research facility in Antarctica has now officially opened, helping to bring a modern twist to adventuring to the most southern part of our world. The Antarctic Research Station has opened 100 years after Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctica expeditions, replacing the 20-year-old Halley V facility. The Halley VI Research Station is the sixth to be built on the floating Brunt Ice Shelf, the first station...

Part of NSF's International Polar Year research portfolio, the six-nation study indicates that shallow-water populations have little in common Differing contributions of freshwater from glaciers and streams to the Arctic and Southern oceans appear to be responsible for the fact that the majority of microbial communities that thrive near the surface at the Poles share few common members, according to an international team of researchers, some of whom were supported by the National Science...

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online As climate change tightens its grip on the polar regions, many biologists are investigating how different species that live there are being affected by increasing temperatures and decreasing polar ice. Some arctic crustaceans are showing why they have persisted for millions of years by adapting to the changes in their environment, according to a new report published in the journal Biology Letters by an international team of scientists....

Today the U.S. National Research Council released a synthesis of reports from thousands of scientists in 60 countries who took part in the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-08, the first in over 50 years to offer a benchmark for environmental conditions and new discoveries in the polar regions. University of Massachusetts Amherst geosciences researcher and expert in the paleoclimate of the Arctic, Julie Brigham-Grette, co-chaired the NRC report, "Lessons and Legacies of the IPY 2007-08"...

For the first half of this year's winter, the big news was warm temperatures and lack of snow. Ski resorts were covered in bare dirt, while January temperatures in southern California topped July highs. Then, out of the blue, Europe got clobbered: Over the past two weeks, temperatures in Eastern Europe have nose-dived to -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit). Blizzards and the bone-chilling cold have resulted in the deaths of over 550 people so far, with rooftop-high snow drifts...

LONDON, December 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Discover the secrets of the Earth's polar regions with the eye-opening, mind-blowing and heart-warming documentary series Frozen Planet. You can pick up the whole series of Frozen Planet on DVD [http://www.tescoentertainment.com/store/dvd/frozen-planet/8:786817 ] for GBP21.97 or on Blu-ray for GBP24.97 at Tesco Entertainment Online. Tesco Entertainment Online are also offering customers the chance to get their hands on the Blu-ray...

A new report from a group of multination scientists says that the planet’s Arctic is moving into a warmer phase compared with previous years. And as with most all major environmental changes, there are both winners and losers as temperatures rise. Researchers from 14 nations published the now famous Arctic Report Card on Thursday in which they stated that average air temperatures in the region were significantly elevated in 2011 compared with previous thirty years--on average some 2.5...

Ice and frozen ground at the North and South Poles are affected by climate change induced warming, but the consequences of thawing at each pole differ due to the geography and geology, according to a Penn State hydrologist."The polar regions, particularly the Arctic, are warming faster than the rest of the world," Michael N. Gooseff, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, told attendees today (Aug. 11) at the 96th annual meeting of the Ecological Society of...