
Following a highly competitive recruitment process, the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, GSGSSI announced the appointment of Steve Winn as our new Director of Operations.

The Government of New Zealand has halted the Antarctic Patrol Ship Project, citing budgetary shortcomings stemming from expenses incurred in the fight against COVID-19, it was reported.

Meteorologists have registered rare temperatures in Antarctica 30 degrees Celsius above usual figures, which had last been recorded in 1991. Scientists believe that should this situation persist, it would be a clear sign of climate change.

The Royal Navy’s polar research ship HMS Protector found an enormous Antarctic glacier vanishing at an alarming rate. The mighty Sunshine Glacier has shrunk by one-seventh in 20 years – an area the size of more than 130 football pitches has melted away.

Two companies that were still organizing Antarctic cruises, over the weekend and almost coincidentally announced that the current trips would be the last, in effect putting an end to a short season.

Antarctic fish have adapted over millennia to survive in the freezing temperatures of the Southern Ocean but in doing so have lost their ability to grow at rates seen in their warmer water cousins. Researchers have now discovered the cellular causes of this crucial difference between Antarctic and warm water fish.

The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust confirmed on Wednesday that the Endurance22 Expedition has located the wreck of Endurance, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship which has not been seen since it was crushed by the ice and sank in the Weddell Sea in 1915.

Argentine Minister of Defense Jorge Taiana and the governor of Tierra del Fuego province, Gustavo Melella laid the founding stone of the Ushuaia Integral Naval Base, which will replace the current naval base, and will be built in two phases including 15.000 square meters military wharf.

Royal Navy sailors showed their support for and solidarity with the people of Ukraine when they called on one of the nation’s most remote outposts. The Navy’s sole icebreaker HMS Protector dropped in on 21 scientists who maintain the polar research station of Vernadsky in Antarctica to check on their welfare.

In late February, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Halley VI Research Station closed for the 2021/22 season. The season saw some major developments at the station, including several significant improvements and additions to its automated systems.