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☆ As TikToks about Antarctic tourism go viral, some worry about the environmental costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Morgan Sung | Morgan Sung Is A Trends Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The Drake Passage is the body of water between the southernmost tip of Chile and Antarctica's northern peninsula. Travel company Oceanwide Expeditions describes the Drake Passage as a "lively little waterway" and the "gateway to the Antarctic." Many TikTok users expressed fascination with the Antarctic travel content, but were also perplexed with the sudden influx of videos about visiting the largely barren continent. In wake of the influx of travel content about Antarctica, some on TikTok have raised concerns over the environmental impact of Antarctic tourism. In a post responding to Ramos' video about the Drake Passage, TikTok creator jijis.m0m showed screenshots of articles about pollution in Antarctica.

☆ New Zealand Navy idles ships as labour crisis hits
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The bottom line is "workforce issues are impacting ship availability to deliver naval outputs," an August note from the Chief of the Defence Force Air Marshal Kevin Short to the Minister of Defence said. The Defence Force said in May that it would spend 90 million New Zealand dollars ($57 million) over four years to raise the salaries of the lowest-paid workers. Having so few ships available makes it harder for the navy to handle multiple challenges at once, a New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) spokesperson said. New Zealand's Defence Force is also dealing with ageing equipment and a large number of personnel being assigned to border quarantine facilities. Minister of Defence Peeni Henare acknowledged in an email that staff losses were hurting the Defence Force, but said the government was committed to rebuilding it.

CNN —One passenger was killed and four injured when a “rogue wave” hit their cruise ship during a storm earlier this week. The passengers had been taking an Antarctic cruise aboard the Viking Polaris when it was hit by the storm as it sailed towards Ushuaia, Argentina, late on Tuesday evening. The storm caused a giant wave that broke several panes of glass on the cruise ship and these fell onto and killed an American woman. The boat arrived in Argentina Wednesday and had sustained “limited damage” during the incident, Viking Cruises said. The US National Ocean Service describes rogue waves as being “very unpredictable” and says they often come unexpectedly from directions other than prevailing wind and waves.”

One person died and four others were injured after a "rogue wave" hit the Viking Polaris cruise ship while it was sailing toward Ushuaia, Argentina, on Tuesday night, officials said. “It is with great sadness that we confirmed a guest passed away following the incident,” Viking said in a statement Thursday. Rogue waves, or extreme storm waves, are uncommon, unpredictable and "greater than twice the size of surrounding waves," according to the National Ocean Service. “Everything was fine until the rogue wave hit, and it was just sudden. The Viking Polaris’ next departure, the Antarctic Explorer cruise scheduled for Dec. 5-17, was canceled due to the incident.

☆ Investing in Space: Moon rising
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The view of the moon and the Earth from the Orion capsule on Nov. 28, 2022..CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Even one of the more difficult stories of this year – the bankruptcy of Masten – was largely about the moon. With NASA's Orion beaming back stunning images of our planet as it whipped by the moon, I spoke to Airbus Ventures partner Lewis Pinault. The next couple years should see a variety of spacecraft and robots sent to the moon. However the future shakes out, it's clear a lunar economy is no longer fiction.

☆ Scientists accidentally found life under 3,000 feet of ice in Antarctica. 'Never in a million years' would they have expected it, the lead scientist said.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The creatures were found attached to a boulder in the arctic seas under the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf. Experts from the British Antarctic Survey drilled through 2,860 feet of ice before making the discovery. —British Antarctic Survey (@BAS_News) February 15, 2021The Filchner-Ronne ice shelf is a massive floating ice sheet that stretches out from Antarctica. An annotated satellite image of the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf. Google Maps/InsiderThe Filchner-Ronne ice shelf is the second-biggest ice shelf in Antarctica.

A Covid outbreak at an American scientific research station in Antarctica has forced U.S. officials to temporarily halt all travel to the remote outpost. The agency confirmed that 10% of the research station’s population have tested positive for Covid during this recent outbreak. There are 885 people currently living and working at McMurdo Station. Though the station operates year-round, many scientists typically travel to McMurdo in November for field research during Antarctica’s summer season. It’s not yet clear what, if any, impact the outbreak could have on research and operations at the outpost.

☆ At one of Earth's most remote research stations, Covid is still a problem
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

An outbreak of Covid at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica has disrupted life for researchers and support staffers at the southern end of the world. The research station has a population of 885, the statement said, meaning more than 8% of those have tested positive for the coronavirus so far. The outbreak is a reminder that Covid is still a threat to close-knit workplaces and that the virus is still roiling scientific research in remote sites. Because McMurdo is such a remote location, stringent measures were implemented during past field seasons to keep Covid from circulating. “As COVID cases and population at McMurdo Station continue to increase, individuals may be assigned to rooms with COVID positive roommates.”The email encouraged physical distancing and the use of masks.

☆ Ghostly Neutrino Particles Provide a Peek at Heart of Nearby Galaxy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Neutrinos are accelerating toward Earth from the center of a galaxy known as Messier 77, according to a new study. A gigantic observatory buried in the Antarctic ice has helped scientists trace elusive particles called neutrinos back to their origins at the heart of a nearby galaxy—offering a new way to study a supermassive black hole shrouded from view. According to a new study published Thursday in the journal Science, neutrinos are accelerating toward Earth from the center of a spiral-shaped galaxy known as Messier 77, which is about 47 million light years from Earth. There, a matter- and radiation-dense region surrounds a black hole many millions times as massive as our sun.

☆ Fact Check-The Earth is not covered by a dome or ‘firmament’
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Users on social media are saying people on Earth are living under a dome, also called a “firmament,” without providing evidence to support the claim. But the video’s examples offer no proof of humans living under a dome or firmament, while there is ample evidence that no dome exists. “Rocket hitting the flat earth dome”, reads the title of one of the YouTube clips. SIXTY YEARS OF SPACEFLIGHTExperts pointed out that if there were a dome that covered the Earth, astronauts would have encountered it by now. A video provides no evidence that the Earth is under a dome or “firmament”.

☆ New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern makes rare trip to Antarctica
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appeared awestruck Thursday to be standing in the Antarctic hut of explorer Ernest Shackleton. “I think when you’re a kid and you read stories about Shackleton, you’d never imagine you’d have the opportunity to come. So, I feel pretty lucky,” she said from inside the hut that was built more than a century ago. Conservationists say new marine protected areas and rules to prevent overfishing in Antarctica are desperately needed, but that Russia could use its veto-like powers to once again block progress. The motivation for Russia, which did not respond to requests for comment this week, remains unclear.

☆ Climate Change Is Real. Markets, Not Governments, Offer the Cure. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Bret Stephens | Mr. Stephens Is An Opinion Columnist. Mr. Winter Is A Staff Photographer On Assignment In Opinion. | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +32 min

worse-case, highest-carbon-emission scenario.” (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the U.N. body that assesses climate change.) How do we weigh the risks of underreacting to climate change against the risks of overreacting to it? While he’s not an expert on climate change, he has spent decades thinking deeply about every manner of risk. That’s particularly true if climate change is akin to cancer — manageable or curable in its earlier stages, disastrous in its later ones. Maybe, I realized, in assessing my newfound concerns about climate change, my long-held beliefs might provide a solution — look to the market.

☆ NZ's Ardern visits Antarctica to highlight climate change challenges
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WELLINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visited scientists at New Zealand's Scott Base in Antarctica on Thursday, as part of a trip aimed at highlighting climate change challenges, her country's commitment to the continent and the need for regional cooperation. Last year, New Zealand announced it was allocating NZ$344 million($200.72 million) for a rebuild of the base, to support New Zealand's presence there for the next 50 years. "Cooperation in Antarctica and in the Antarctic Treaty System is more important than ever as we tackle the crises of climate change and biodiversity loss," Ardern added. In recent years, both Russia and China have invested in their capability and presence in Antarctica, and Western governments have responded in similar fashion. The impact of climate change on Antarctica has made it a critical location for research.

☆ Emperor penguins are now a threatened species due to climate change, U.S. officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Endangered Species Act. Fish and Wildlife Service said emperor penguins should be protected under the law since the birds build colonies and raise their young on the Antarctic ice threatened by climate change. The agency’s review followed a 2011 petition by the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity to list the bird under the Endangered Species Act. Tuesday’s designation was described as a warning that emperor penguins need “urgent climate action” in order to survive by Shaye Wolf, the climate science director at the Center for Biological Diversity. The 1973 Endangered Species Act is credited with bringing several animals back from the brink of extinction, including grizzly bears, bald eagles, gray whales and others.

☆ Emperor penguins now a threatened species due to climate change, U.S. says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Clark Mindock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Endangered Species Act. Fish and Wildlife Service said emperor penguins should be protected under the law since the birds build colonies and raise their young on the Antarctic ice threatened by climate change. The agency's review followed a 2011 petition by the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity to list the bird under the Endangered Species Act. Tuesday's designation was described as a warning that emperor penguins need “urgent climate action” in order to survive by Shaye Wolf, the climate science director at the Center for Biological Diversity. The 1973 Endangered Species Act is credited with bringing several animals back from the brink of extinction, including grizzly bears, bald eagles, gray whales and others.

☆ Bad weather thwarts New Zealand PM Ardern's Antarctica trip
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Oct 25 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's visit to her country's research station in Antarctica was upended by bad weather that forced the plane she was travelling in to turn back midflight on Tuesday. The C130 Hercules military aircraft carrying Ardern encountered poor weather at McMurdo Sound in Antarctica, the location of several international research stations, according to a government statement. The spokesperson did not say whether the trip would be attempted again once the weather clears. New Zealand is one of seven countries, including Australia, France and Chile, with a territorial claim to Antarctica. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Edmund KlamannOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Don’t Believe the Hype About Antarctica’s Melting Glaciers
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Steven Koonin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Alarming reports that the Antarctic ice sheet is shrinking misrepresent the science under way to understand a very complex situation. The ice sheet holds about 26.5 million gigatons of water (a gigaton is a billion metric tons, or about 2.2 trillion pounds). Much more modest ice loss is normal in Antarctica. The difference between the discharge and addition each year is the ice sheet’s annual loss. That figure has been increasing in recent decades, from 40 gigatons a year in the 1980s to 250 gigatons a year in the 2010s.

☆ 'Doomsday' glacier — which could raise sea levels by several feet if melted — is 'holding on by its fingernails' says new study
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-06 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A body of ice known as the "Doomsday Glacier" could melt faster than predicted, a new study says. The Thwaites Glacier protects the West Antarctic ice sheet, and researchers watch it closely. The melting of the Thwaites Glacier — which is around the size of Florida — could raise sea levels by up to two feet. A 3D-rendered view of the multibeam bathymetry (seafloor shape) colored by depth, collected by Rán across a seabed ridge, just in front of Thwaites Ice Shelf. Rán, a Kongsberg HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicle, amongst sea ice in front of Thwaites Glacier, after a 20-hour mission mapping the seafloor.

☆ Lumea are 5 oceane, nu 4; Oceanul Sudic, recunoscut oficial de National Geographic
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-11 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +2 min

Sursa foto: ShutterstockLumea are 5 oceane, nu 4; Oceanul Sudic, recunoscut oficial de National GeographicNational Geographic Society a anunțat că va recunoaște un nou ocean în zona Antarcticii, crescând astfel numărul total de oceane la nivel global la cinci. Organismul de cartografiere al SUA recunoşte deja Oceanul Sudic ca ocupând acelaşi teritoriu, dar aceasta este prima dată când National Geographic o face. Oceanul Sudic mai poartă numele şi de Oceanul Antarctic sau Oceanul Austral, scrie Mediafax. Încercările de a ratifica graniţele şi numele de Oceanul Sudic la nivel internaţional au fost zădărnicite. În ciuda acestui fapt, Tait a spus că este foarte important ca National Geographic să diferenţieze apele.

Persons: Alex Tait, Tait Organizations: National Geographic National Geographic Society, National Geographic, National Geographic Society, Mediafax, Washington Post Locations: Sudic, SUA

☆ 8 iunie, Ziua Mondială a Oceanului Planetar; 90% din populațiile mari de pești sunt epuizate
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-08 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +2 min

Sursa foto: AFP8 iunie, Ziua Mondială a Oceanului Planetar; 90% din populațiile mari de pești sunt epuizateAnual, la data de 8 iunie, este celebrată Ziua Mondială a Oceanelor, care a fost instituită în anul 1922, de către Organizația Națiunilor Unite, în cadrul summit-ului de mediu dea Rio de Janeiro. O zi pentru protejarea întinderilor de apă care fac ca planeta noastră să fie „albastră”, o zi care sărbătorește resursele pământului și să funcționeze pentru un viitor mai bun. Cu 90% din populațiile mari de pești epuizate și cu 50% din recifele de corali distruse, luăm mai mult din ocean decât poate el susține. Pentru a proteja și conserva oceanul trebuie să creăm un nou echilibru, înrădăcinat în adevărata înțelegere a oceanului și a modului în care umanitatea se raportează la el. Trebuie să construim o conexiune cu oceanul, care să fie incluzivă, inovatoare și informată prin lecțiile din trecut.

Organizations: Ziua Mondială, Organizația Națiunilor Unite, Oceanele, Ocean Locations: de Janeiro, Arctic, Antarctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, Planetar, Insulele Mariane, California, Hawaii

☆ Scientists shot tardigrades out of a gun at more than 2,000 mph to see if the critters could survive
▼ + stars: | 2021-05-22 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tardigrades can survive in extreme environments, but a new study shows they're not indestructible. Scientists found these creatures couldn't survive speeds above 2,000 mph when shot out of a gun. The researchers shot canisters full of tardigrades out of a high-speed gun at various speeds to see whether the creatures could survive the pressure of each resulting impact. After being shot out at speeds under 900 meters per second (about 2,000 mph) — that's faster than your average bullet — the tardigrades could be revived. But if tardigrades can't survive the pressures of a collision with our moon, it's unlikely they could survive a meteorite impact with another planet, the study authors wrote.

Persons: Alejandra Traspas, Traspas, Megumu Tsujimoto, tardigrades Organizations: Service, Queen Mary University, of, NASA Locations: Wall, Silicon, London, Israeli

☆ Cel mai mare aisberg din lume s-a format în largul Antarticii. Acesta are o lungime de 175 de kilometri şi o lăţime de 25 de kilometri
▼ + stars: | 2021-05-20 | by ( Onixmedia Srl | ) diez.md time to read: +3 min

Cel mai mare aisberg din lume s-a format în largul Antarticii. Suprafața aisberguluiNoul aisberg are o lungime de 175 de kilometri şi o lăţime de 25 de kilometri. Prin comparaţie, insula Mallorca – o importantă destinaţie turistică a Spaniei, aflată în Marea Mediterană – are o suprafaţă de 3 640 de kilometri pătraţi. Statul american Rhode Island este şi mai mic în raport cu aisbergul A-76, având o suprafaţă de 2 678 de kilometri pătraţi. Cum a fost detectatA-76 a fost detectat în premieră de British Antarctic Survey şi confirmat de National Ice Center din statul american Maryland, folosind imaginile captate de misiunea Sentinel-1, lansată în cadrul programului spaţial Copernicus şi care constă în doi sateliţi cu orbite polare.

Persons: Copernicus, Ted Scambos, Boulder . Organizations: Reuters, Rhode Island, British Antarctic Survey, National Ice, Universitatea, Boulder . Aisbergurile Locations: Mallorca, Antarctica, AGERPRES, Spaniei, Rhode, Americii de Sud, american Maryland, Universitatea Colorado, Boulder

Oamenii de știință au găsit în Chile fosile ale unei noi specii de mamifer care a trăit în urmă cu 72 de milioane de aniFosile ale unei noi specii de mamifer din Cretacicul Superior, cu o vârstă cuprinsă între 72 de milioane şi 74 de milioane de ani, au fost descoperite în Patagonia de pe teritoriul statului Chile, a anunţat miercuri Institutul Chilian Antarctic (INACH). Descoperirea a fost realizată pe teritoriul unui sit considerat unul dintre cele mai mari rezervoare de fosile de dinozaur din regiune. Noua specie, denumită Orretherium tzen, a fost descoperită în Cerro Guido, din regiunea Magallanes, situată la circa 2.700 de kilometri sud de Santiago de Chile, unde cercetătorii au găsit resturi dintr-o mandibulă cu cinci dinţi consecutivi, notează AFP, citată de digi24.ro. Potrivit cercetătorilor, zona a fost locuită de specii preistorice din America şi Antarctica, care au migrat în urmă cu milioane de ani traversând fâşii de pământ aflate sub ape şi care au ieşit la suprafaţă după scăderea temperaturilor. Specimenul era înrudit cu alte mamifere descoperite în Patagonia de pe teritoriul Argentinei.

Persons: Agustin Martinelli, Alexander Vargas Locations: Chile, Patagonia, Cerro Guido, Magallanes, Santiago, America, Antarctica, Argentinei, Argentina, Gondwana

☆ Fosile ale unei noi specii de mamifer, care a trăit în urmă cu 72 de milioane de ani, descoperite în Chile
▼ + stars: | 2021-04-08 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +1 min

Fosile ale unei noi specii de mamifer din Cretacicul Superior, cu o vârstă cuprinsă între 72 de milioane şi 74 de milioane de ani, au fost descoperite în Patagonia de pe teritoriul statului Chile, au anunţat reprezentanții Institutul Chilian Antarctic, potrivit AFP, citează hotnews.ro. Noua specie, denumită Orretherium tzen, a fost descoperită în Cerro Guido, din regiunea Magallanes, situată la circa 2.700 de kilometri sud de Santiago de Chile, unde cercetătorii au găsit resturi dintr-o mandibulă cu cinci dinţi consecutivi. Descoperirea a fost realizată pe teritoriul unui sit considerat unul dintre cele mai mari rezervoare de fosile de dinozaur din regiune. Potrivit cercetătorilor, zona a fost locuită de specii preistorice din America şi Antarctica, care au migrat în urmă cu milioane de ani traversând fâşii de pământ aflate sub ape şi care au ieşit la suprafaţă după scăderea temperaturilor. Specimenul era înrudit cu alte mamifere descoperite în Patagonia de pe teritoriul Argentinei.

Organizations: Chilian Locations: Patagonia, Chile, Cerro Guido, Magallanes, Santiago, America, Antarctica, Argentinei

☆ Un iceberg uriaș riscă să se ciocnească cu o insulă pe care trăiesc milioane de pinguini
▼ + stars: | 2020-12-11 | by ( ) www.jurnal.md time to read: +1 min

Insula South Georgia, teritoriu al Regatului Unit, este un fost avanpost de vânătoare de balene, devenit zonă marină protejată. Acum, un iceberg de 3.900 de kilometri pătrați, care cântărește sute de miliarde de tone metrice, amenință acest ecosistm. Cu doar 200 de metri adâncime, este relativ subțire pentru un iceberg de mărimea sa, ceea ce crește probabilitatea de fragmentare, spun oamenii de știință. În aceste condiții, A68a riscă să se ciocnească de insulă, unde ar putea afecta viața milioanelor de pinguini, scrie digi24.ro. Avem mai degrabă o abordare de tip „Star Trek” - suntem interesați să studiem efectele”, spune el.

Persons: Norman Ratcliffe Organizations: British Antarctic, Deep Locations: Insula South Georgia, Regatului Unit, Antarctica, British Antarctic Survey

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