Antarctica

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Under Antarctic Glacier, Life Exists Without Light, Oxygen

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered an Antarctic ecosystem of microorganisms cut off from light and oxygen for as many as 2 million years, the Guardian reports. The microbes, living under one-third of a mile of ice, in a 14-degree lake four times as salty as seawater, give researchers clues to how life...

Snapped Antarctica Ice Bridge Stokes Warming Alarm

First break for massive, retreating shelf

(Newser) - A massive 25-mile-long Antarctic ice bridge between a Jamaica-sized ice shelf and an island has broken in what scientists are calling an alarming sign of runaway global warming, the BBC reports. It was the first time the shelf, which has been retreating for years, has lost a link holding it...

Crash Ends Mission to Track Global Warming

Rocket carrying satellite ends up in ocean, sinking $280M project

(Newser) - A rocket carrying a NASA satellite crashed near Antarctica after a failed launch early yesterday, ending a $280 million mission to track global warming from space. The rocket carrying the Orbiting Carbon Observatory blasted off just before 2am from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. But minutes later a cover protecting...

All of Antarctic Is Heating Up, Study Says

Finding debunks perceived cooling in most of continent

(Newser) - Antarctica is warming up after all, scientists say. New research contradicts previous findings that parts of the continent were actually cooling and thus giving ammunition to skeptics of global warming, reports National Geographic. The new study in Nature uses satellite information to fill in spotty weather station data over the...

Melting Ice May Help Soak Up CO2

Icebergs may deposit nourishing iron into ocean, helping carbon-sucking plankton

(Newser) - Melting ice sheets may end up helping the planet battle global warming, the Guardian reports. Scientists say that broken ice in the Antarctic disperses iron, which fertilizes carbon-absorbing plankton and helps reverse some effects of climate change. “We see the rapid ice loss in Antarctica as one obvious sign...

Cruise Ship Stranded in Antarctica

Rescuers race to scene as luxury ship takes on water and leaks fuel

(Newser) - A cruise ship with 122 passengers and crew on board is stranded in Antarctica after cracking into ice, reports the Times of London. The Ushuaia, based out of Argentina, is not thought to be in danger of sinking, but is taking on water and leaking fuel. The crew reported two...

Explorers to Probe Antarctic's Buried Mountains

Scientists stumped by mysterious range as large as the Alps

(Newser) - A unique expedition will explore a mysterious mountain range buried deep within the Antarctic, reports the BBC. Scientists, engineers, and pilots from the US, UK, Germany, Australia, China, and Japan will use ice-penetrating radar and other high tech equipment in a bid to determine how the Gamburtsev mountains—equal in...

Seals Plunge for Climate Data
 Seals Plunge for Climate Data

Aug 17, 2008 1:29 PM CDT

Seals Plunge for Climate Data

Scientists use deep-diving creatures for Antarctic research

(Newser) - Giant seals living in the chilly waters of Antarctica are helping researchers gather important data on climate change, reports Popular Mechanics. The elephant seals, tagged with hat-like sensors, make frequent dives deep into the Southern Ocean and surface with valuable details about water temperature and salinity. The dense waters of...

With 16K Condoms, Antarctic Base Ready for Winter

Polar base all set for lights out

(Newser) - The McMurdo Antarctic station got a vital shipment last month just before the southern winter descended—a year's supply of condoms. Some 16,500 condoms were delivered to the base's 125 staff. Supply flights won't resume until after the sun rises again in August, when the polar station's population begins...

Scientists Thaw Colossal Squid for Probe

Researchers begin thawing 34-foot creature, aim to determine its sex

(Newser) - New Zealand scientists have begun defrosting a colossal squid, caught last year, so they can dissect the little-known species. They aim to start by determining the sex of the 34-foot long animal, a native of Antarctica that weighs half a ton. "They're incredibly rare—this is probably one of...

Fall Out Boy Misses Historic Gig

Bad weather in Antarctica snarls plan to play on all the continents

(Newser) - MTV faves Fall Out Boy won’t be taking its place alongside champion hand-walkers and fingernail-growers in the Guinness Book of World Records, NME reports: Nasty weather has kept the band from traveling to Antarctica, where it was to become the first group to have played on all seven continents....

Antarctic Ice Chunk Collapses
 Antarctic Ice Chunk Collapses 
Mar 25, 2008 5:40 PM CDT

Antarctic Ice Chunk Collapses

Sudden break fuels climate change concerns

(Newser) - A mammoth chunk of ice has collapsed in Antarctica, leaving an ice shelf the size of Connecticut "hanging by a thread" and providing more evidence of global warming, scientists say. The sudden collapse of the 160-square-mile piece of ice threatens the Wilkins ice shelf, which has been in place...

Nations Mull Secret Whaling Compromise

Plan would let Japan hunt legally, but decrease slaughter

(Newser) - Representatives from more than 70 governments gathered last week at a secret meeting in London to hash out a compromise that would allow Japan to resume commercial whaling for the first time in more than 20 years. Pro- and anti-whaling nations discussed plans to lift the worldwide ban on whaling,...

Activists Hurl 'Acid' at Whalers
Activists Hurl 'Acid' at Whalers
Mar 3, 2008 8:46 AM CST

Activists Hurl 'Acid' at Whalers

Action draws condemnation from Japan, Australia

(Newser) - In the latest clash between Japanese whalers and activists in Antarctic waters, members of a militant anti-whaling group threw bottles of a slick, foul-smelling rancid butter concoction onto the whaling fleet's flagship. Japanese officials said three sailors were injured when butyric acid, found in spoiled butter, splashed into their eyes,...

Bizarre Antarctic Sea Life Found
Bizarre Antarctic Sea Life Found
Feb 20, 2008 10:51 AM CST

Bizarre Antarctic Sea Life Found

New species discovered just as they're threatened by global warming

(Newser) - A host of bizarre giant creatures lurk in the little-known waters of Antarctica, the Daily Telegraph reports. Thousands of specimens have been gathered by a mission to study Antarctic marine life before it is wiped out—including giant sea spiders the size of dinner plates, huge sea worms, and mammoth...

Warming Dooms King Penguins
Warming Dooms King Penguins
Feb 12, 2008 4:31 AM CST

Warming Dooms King Penguins

Rising temperatures may drive them to extinction in 20 years

(Newser) - Global warming could drive king penguins into extinction in the next 20 years, a new study warns. Research indicates that a rise in ocean temperature of just 0.47 degrees—well below the forecast—would reduce the animals' critical supply of lantern fish and krill, reports the Los Angeles Times....

Scientists ID Catastrophic Climate Change 'Tipping Zones'

9 danger signs that disaster is inevitable

(Newser) - Scientists have identified nine danger zones where global warming could be pushed past the point of no return within years, the Independent reports. The scenarios include the melting of ice in the Arctic and Antarctic, the collapse of the Indian and West African monsoons, and the death of forests in...

Ancient Antarctic Volcano May Be Linked to Warming

Scientists make 'unique' discovery beneath continent's massive ice sheets

(Newser) - The discovery of what scientists are hailing as the first evidence of a volcanic eruption under Antarctica’s massive ice sheet may be linked to climate change, the BBC reports. British researchers, who discovered evidence of a volcano by analyzing radar data from an air survey, believe the eruption likely...

Judge Bans Japanese Whalers in Aussie Waters

Eco-warriors 'kidnapped,' tied to ship's mast

(Newser) - An Australian judge has banned hunting by Japanese whalers in a large section of their traditional grounds in Australian-claimed waters off Antarctica. The ruling came today just hours after crew members of a militant eco-ship boarded a Japanese whaling vessel in the Southern Ocean to deliver a protest note—then...

Antarctica Speeds Into Trouble
Antarctica Speeds Into Trouble
Jan 14, 2008 11:35 AM CST

Antarctica Speeds Into Trouble

Disturbing new discovery indicates climate change is accelerating

(Newser) - Parts of Antarctica thought to be unaffected by global warming are in fact melting as the temperature of the oceans rises, and in parts of the continent, annual ice loss has jumped 140% in the past decade, new research shows. Satellite mapping shows change on a previously unimagined scale, reports...

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