Antarctica

• Wednesday, April 29th 2009 - 11:50 UTC

  Massive Antarctic ice shelf breaking up into icebergs

  

  A massive Antarctic ice shelf is breaking up and pieces are expected to float away as icebergs over the course of the next few weeks. Scientists estimate the Wilkins Ice Shelf, which was originally about the size of Northern Ireland, had been in place for several hundred years. But satellite images taken over the past week show it has begun collapsing into the ocean as more than half a dozen similar Antarctic ice shelves have already done, said an article posted Tuesday by the European Space Agency on its website.

• Saturday, April 18th 2009 - 13:10 UTC

  Agreement on new limits for Antarctica tourism

  

  Countries with ties to Antarctica have adopted US proposals to limit tourism in the region, in a bid to protect the fragile ecosystem of the continent.

• Thursday, April 16th 2009 - 09:55 UTC

  Climate change threatens Antarctica’s emperor penguins

  

  Polar bears, the poster children for Arctic climate change, are getting competition for the title of climate change casualty from the opposite side of the globe. Antarctica’s emperor penguins may face an equally dire fate. Like polar bears, these birds depend on sea ice for breeding and feeding habitat. Also like polar bears, emperor penguins seem unlikely to adapt to the rapid rate of sea ice extent change, according to a National Academy of Science study released by the National Centre for Atmospheric Research.

• Tuesday, April 7th 2009 - 19:21 UTC

  Antarctic fuel oil ban to impact on Falklands tourism

  

  FALKLANDS, Argentine, and Chilean cruise ship tourism is likely to be negatively impacted as a result of a ban on the use and carriage of Heavy Gas Oil (HGO) in Antarctic waters by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

• Tuesday, April 7th 2009 - 12:00 UTC

  US calls for strict regulation on Antarctic tourism

  

  United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Monday for tighter regulation of Antarctic tourism as delegates from 47 countries began a review conference of the now 50-year-old Antarctic Treaty.

• Monday, April 6th 2009 - 14:41 UTC

  Antartic: Wilkins Ice Bridge Breaks

  

  An ice bridge which held a vast Antarctic ice shelf in place shattered at the weekend and could herald a wider collapse linked to global warming, a leading scientist has warned. “It's amazing how the ice has ruptured. Two days ago it was intact,” said David Vaughan, a glaciologist with the British Antarctic Survey.

• Monday, March 30th 2009 - 11:12 UTC

  “Galtieri didn’t realize we were loosing the war” reveals former Malvinas governor

  

  Retired general and former governor of Islas Malvinas, Mario Benjamín Menendez blamed Argentine Dictator Leopoldo Galtier for the South Atlantic conflict defeat to the British 27 years ago and stated that the former de facto president “didn’t realize we were being defeated”.

• Friday, March 27th 2009 - 06:43 UTC

  Voracious crustaceans terminate Antarctic waters fertilization experiment

  

  A controversial geo-engineering experiment that Greenpeace campaigned against has concluded, and researchers say their findings deal a major blow to the geo-engineering technique known as ocean fertilization.

• Friday, March 27th 2009 - 04:37 UTC

  UK sponsors “Strategic Vision for Antarctic Tourism” on Treaty 50th anniversary

  

  Britain reaffirmed its commitment to preserve Antarctica for peaceful, scientific purposes and anticipated it would be presenting a “Strategic Vision for Antarctic Tourism” to help with conservation of its unique beauty.

• Thursday, March 19th 2009 - 16:40 UTC

  Antarctic ice cap melting much faster than predicted

  

  Two more scientific studies show a large part of the Antarctic ice cap melting at a much faster rate than previously predicted.