Antarctica

• Saturday, January 22nd 2022 - 09:46 UTC

  Researchers detect around 60 million nests of Antarctic icefish in the Weddell Sea, Current Biology report.

  

  Near the Filchner Ice Shelf in the south of the Antarctic Weddell Sea, a research team has found the world’s largest fish breeding area known to date. A towed camera system photographed and filmed thousands of nests of icefish of the species Neopagetopsis ionah on the seabed. The density of the nests and the size of the entire breeding area suggest a total number of about 60 million icefish breeding at the time of observation. These findings provide support for the establishment of a Marine Protected Area in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. A team led by Autun Purser from the Alfred Wegener Institute publish their results in the current issue of the scientific journal Current Biology.

• Saturday, January 15th 2022 - 20:55 UTC

  Falklands' Maritime Heritage Trust resumes search for Shackleton's Endurance

  

  Last week the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust announced the resumption of the search for Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance which lies in deep water beneath the ice of the Weddell Sea. A hundred years after his death Shackleton is still big news and media outlets around the world were quick to pick up on the story.

• Saturday, January 15th 2022 - 09:17 UTC

  HMS Protector has completed her first Antarctic mission of the season

  

  The Royal Navy's only Antarctic research ship has completed her first Antarctic mission of the season – revealing the impact of global warming. HMS Protector is on a five-year mission to support international research into wildlife, the changing climate, and the shifting waters of Antarctica.

• Saturday, January 15th 2022 - 09:14 UTC

  Polar Preet who walked to the South Pole, is back in England and begins training for another Antarctic challenge

  

  A British Army officer who became the first woman of color to complete a solo expedition to the South Pole has been given a hero's welcome on her return to the UK. Captain Preet Chandi was greeted by loved ones and colleagues at Heathrow after finishing the 700-mile trek across the Antarctic.

• Tuesday, January 11th 2022 - 11:42 UTC

  Carmona launches Argentina's Antarctic Annual Plan

  

  In the absence of Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero who had to isolate himself after having been a close contact during last week's Celac Summit of his Bolivian colleague Rogelio Mayta, who tested positive for COVID-19, Malvinas, Antarctica, and South Atlantic Secretary Guillermo Carmona presided over Monday's ceremony where the 2021-2022 Antarctic Annual Plan was launched.

• Thursday, January 6th 2022 - 08:07 UTC

  Sir Ernest Shackleton's legacy, a new era of Antarctic Exploration

  

  One hundred years on from the death of the famous polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, the UK’s new polar research ship, RRS Sir David Attenborough, will be exploring the very same region where his ship, The Endurance, was lost in the pack ice – heralding a new age of Antarctic exploration.

• Tuesday, January 4th 2022 - 05:57 UTC

  Polar Preet has arrived safely at the South Pole, first woman of color to achieve such a feat

  

  A British Army captain has made history by becoming the first woman of color to cross Antarctica unsupported. Captain Harpreet Chandi has arrived safely at the South Pole after a 700-mile trek in 40 days.

• Monday, January 3rd 2022 - 09:50 UTC

  Belgian station in Antarctica hit by COVID-19 infections

  

  Although Project Manager Joseph Cheek said the situation was “not dramatic,” at least 16 of the 25 workers at Belgium's Princess Elisabeth polar station have tested positive for COVID-19 and the whole staff will remain isolated until Jan. 12, it was reported.

• Thursday, December 30th 2021 - 09:50 UTC

  Ushuaia Logistics Pole to compete with Falklands and Punta Arenas as Gate to Antarctica

  

  Argentina's Antarctica Logistics Pole to be built in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, at the current naval base will be totally financed, managed and autonomous, no strings with any of the leading powers in the ice continent and intended to compete with the Falkland Islands and the Chilean complex of Punta Arenas, as the gate to Antarctica.

• Tuesday, December 28th 2021 - 09:43 UTC

  HMS Protector breaks polar record and involved in scientific research on penguins and climate change

  

  Icebreaker HMS Protector has broken a record, becoming the first Royal Navy ship to enter both polar circles within the same year. The Navy's only icebreaker, Protector left Plymouth in August for Antarctica, – her first visit to the frozen continent since 2019.