Antarctica

• Saturday, October 21st 2023 - 10:50 UTC

  BAS begins its ambitious 2023/24 Antarctic field season: 60 projects and 600 people

  

  The British Antarctic Survey has announced that the 2023/24 Antarctic field season has started, with over 600 people beginning the journey South to work on over 60 projects on station and in the field. The season of work speaks clearly to the new 10-year science strategy, Polar Science for a Sustainable Planet, making the most of our operational capabilities across BAS five Antarctic stations, aircraft, and research ship.

• Thursday, October 19th 2023 - 08:55 UTC

  Brazilian Navy begins Operation Antarctica 2023

  

  The Brazilian Navy (MB) officially started its Operation Antarctica (OPERANTAR) 2023 last Sunday with the departure of the Oceanographic Support Vessel “Ary Rongel” and the Polar Vessel “Almirante Maximiano”, it was reported. The units will support the Brazilian Antarctic Program (PROANTAR) before returning to the Ilha das Cobras naval base in Rio de Janeiro in April 2024, it was also explained.

• Thursday, October 12th 2023 - 08:30 UTC

  Falklands flagged Sir David Attenborough prepares for its Antarctic summer expedition

  

  Having ended its Arctic expedition, icebreaker Sir David Attenborough has docked in Harwich before it will head off to welcome its new crew and prepare for the austral summer mission in Antarctica. 

• Monday, October 9th 2023 - 09:55 UTC

  Copernicus satellite detected giant hole in ozone layer over Antarctica, three times the size of Brazil

  

  The European Space agency Copernicus Sentinel satellite detected a giant hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica, as part of the EU's Environmental monitoring program. The hole which scientists call an “ozone depleted area” was 26 million square kilometers in size, roughly three times the size of Brazil.

• Wednesday, October 4th 2023 - 10:40 UTC

  Studying the impact of commercial whaling in South Georgia on today's pods

  

  While commercial whaling in the twentieth century killed big whale populations, it also appears to have had a long-term impact on the genetic variety of today's surviving whales, according to a piece by Nature World News extracted from Journal of Heredity.

• Saturday, September 30th 2023 - 08:34 UTC

  IAATO includes geo-fenced protection areas for whales in its Antarctica guidelines

  

  The 2023/24 Antarctica season will see 17 new trial site guidelines including special areas so as to protect whales, according to the latest initiatives by IAATO, reports Sea Trade Cruise News.

• Wednesday, September 20th 2023 - 08:13 UTC

  Brunt Ice Shelf moving faster after calving of giant iceberg

  

  Following the calving of the A-81 iceberg at the end of January 2023, the Brunt Ice Shelf is moving faster than before. It is currently moving approximately 4 meters a day towards the sea, whereas before the calving it moved at an average of between 1-2.5 meters a day.

• Tuesday, September 5th 2023 - 10:36 UTC

  South Georgia celebrates Toothfish Day; marks the end of Dissostichus eleginoides', fishing season

  

  Toothfish Day is a public holiday celebrated in the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It is annually on 4th September, but if that falls on a weekend it may be observed on a weekday.

• Tuesday, September 5th 2023 - 10:15 UTC

  South Georgia Biosecurity Handbook Update Released

  

  The latest version of the Government of South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands Biosecurity Handbook is now available online. The Handbook details the procedures which are in place to help reduce the risk of harmful non-native species and disease entering the Territory, along with the steps in place to detect them and limit their spread should they arrive.

• Wednesday, August 30th 2023 - 08:41 UTC

  Loss of sea ice causes catastrophic breeding failure for emperor penguins

  

  Emperor penguin colonies experienced unprecedented breeding failure in a region of Antarctica where there was total sea ice loss in 2022. The discovery supports predictions that over 90% of emperor penguin colonies will be quasi-extinct by the end of the century, based on current global warming trends.