Antarctica

• Monday, June 20th 2011 - 06:15 UTC

  Antarctic Treaty half a century celebration this week in Buenos Aires

  

  Signatories of the Antarctic Treaty would celebrate the pact's 50th anniversary here on June 23 while attending the treaty's 34th consultative meeting, Argentine Foreign Ministry said Friday.

• Tuesday, June 14th 2011 - 13:49 UTC

  Antarctica visitors drop 8.3% in 2010/11 and 25% fall for 2011/12 season, forecasts IAATO

  

  The total number of visitors to Antarctica during the 2010/11 season, and traveling with IAATO member-operators, was 33,824. This includes those traveling on traditional expedition ships, yachts, larger cruise-only vessels as well visitors participating in land programs. The overall seasonal results reflect a decrease of 8.3% last year’s total of 36,875 passengers.

• Friday, June 3rd 2011 - 18:01 UTC

  Penguins’ winter huddle clusters are all the time on motion to keep warm

  

  The mystery of how penguins stay warm while they huddle has been revealed by an international team of scientists. Emperor penguins survive the tough Antarctic winters by forming tightly packed clusters - but scientists have pondered how penguins on the outside stay as cosy as those in the centre.

• Wednesday, June 1st 2011 - 09:09 UTC

  South Georgia ordinance gives new powers to protect unique natural environment

  

  Tuesday afternoon on May 31st saw the signing of the Wild Life and Protected Areas Ordinance for the Government of the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI).

• Sunday, May 29th 2011 - 20:05 UTC

  Argentine refurbished ice-breaker should be ready for 2012/13 Antarctic season

  

  The Argentine navy icebreaker “Almirante Irizar” which became an almost total loss in 2007 should be back fully refurbished and operational for the 2012/2013 Antarctic season following an investment of over 100 million US dollars reveals the Buenos Aires press.

• Friday, May 27th 2011 - 08:16 UTC

  South Georgia marine biodiversity richer than the Galapagos Islands

  

  Sea spiders the size of dinner plates and two-meter-long ribbon worms that eat prey several times their own size were among the 1,400-plus species cataloged by the British Antarctic Service in a comprehensive study of marine life around South Georgia Island.

• Monday, May 23rd 2011 - 15:57 UTC

  Next RN Ice patrol in Portsmouth; in June she becomes HMS Protector

  

  The next Royal Navy Ice patrol vessel is expected this week in Portsmouth where she will be taking over the navy’s Antarctic mission in November following the accident suffered by HMS Endurance in 2008.

• Monday, May 23rd 2011 - 00:09 UTC

  Argentina and Chile organize winter land SAR operation in Antarctica

  

  Argentina and Chile Antarctic organizations are planning this year’s edition of the Search and Rescue training operation which is scheduled to take place sometime between August and September in the Antarctic Peninsula

• Sunday, May 22nd 2011 - 22:16 UTC

  Chile plans a museum in Antarctica to honour pioneers and attract tourism

  

  The Magallanes regional authorities in Chile’s extreme south are planning to open a museum in the country’s Arturo Prat Antarctic base. Objects and images of Chile’s national presence on the continent will be on display.

• Tuesday, May 10th 2011 - 20:53 UTC

  Memorials in London, Cambridge and Falklands remember Britons lost in Antarctica

  

  Two memorials dedicated to Britons who lost their lives in the service of science in Antarctica are unveiled this week. Since 1948, a total of 29 people have died in the British Antarctic Territory, one of the most extreme, inhospitable and uncharted places on Earth.