Antarctica

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.
Wednesday, August 30th 2023 - 05:39 UTC
British Antarctic Territory £2 coin dedicated to the Venus Glider glacier

Pobjoy Mint has announced the sixth and final release in the 2023 £2 coin series, Venus, issued on behalf of the British Antarctic Territory, featuring the Antarctic glaciers named after planets of the solar system.
Sunday, August 27th 2023 - 14:48 UTC
Emperor penguins in danger due to sea ice melting

According to a peer-reviewed British Antarctic Survey report released late last week, the melting of sea ice might have caused the death of some 10,000 Emperor penguin chicks by the end of 2022.
Saturday, August 26th 2023 - 19:03 UTC
China insists in taking over Rio Grande port in Patagonia as established in a MoU with Tierra del Fuego

One of Buenos Aires' main dailies, La Nacion, is reporting that China will not back down from its port plan in Patagonia, as promised by the regional and national governments. In early June, Argentine Governor of Tierra del Fuego Gustavo Melella revived an old controversy concerning a deal with a Chinese company to build a multipurpose port in Rio Grande
Thursday, August 24th 2023 - 10:20 UTC
Discovery of a new species of Antarctic strawberry feather, a 20 tentacle creature

Researchers have discovered an otherworldly, 20-tentacled creature lurking in the freezing depths of the Antarctic Ocean. Resembling an alien or a Lovecraftian horror, the Antarctic strawberry feather star (Promachocrinus fragarius) is one of four new species of crinoids that scientists found at the bottom of the ocean, reports an article in Live Science.
Tuesday, August 22nd 2023 - 08:18 UTC
The Grytviken Church in South Georgia will celebrate 110 years this Christmas

When the island of South Georgia was a booming whaling station, in the roaring forties, more than a century ago, Grytviken received what was to be the first church established in the Antarctic region. In effect the church was completed in 1913 just on time for the Christmas Day with the first ever ringing of bells occurring on Christmas Eve.
Monday, August 21st 2023 - 10:43 UTC
World scientists call for more research on the Southern Ocean and climate change

Three hundred scientists from 25 nations have met this week in the Antarctic gateway city of Hobart, Australia, for the first-ever international conference of the Southern Ocean Observing System, SOOS.
Thursday, August 17th 2023 - 10:13 UTC
Penguin Propulsion: The Physics Behind the World’s Fastest Swimming Birds

A piece from the American Institute of Physics points out that Gentoo penguins are the fastest swimming birds in the world, and that ability comes from their unique and sophisticated wings.
Monday, August 7th 2023 - 10:49 UTC
Why Antarctic winter ice, the size of Greenland, is missing?

Winter sea ice in the Antarctic is at a historic low, and scientists are working to understand why an area of ice the size of Greenland is missing. Scientists from British Antarctic Survey have been active in the media offering commentary on this extreme event.