Antarctica

• Friday, July 9th 2021 - 06:41 UTC

  Ushuaia expects some 68 vessels and 488 calls during the 2021/22 cruise season

  

  As long as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to recede and there are no further new strain surprises, this coming 2021/22 season, the port of Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego province is scheduled to receive some 68 tourism vessels and 488 calls.

• Sunday, July 4th 2021 - 23:00 UTC

  Endurance22: Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust organizes expedition to find and film Shackleton's ship sunk in Antarctica in 1915

  

  The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust (FMHT) is planning an expedition – Endurance22 – to locate, survey and film the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s iconic ship, Endurance, which sank in the Weddell Sea in November 1915.

• Friday, July 2nd 2021 - 09:00 UTC

  Temperature record for Antarctica in 2020, 18,3` Celsius at Argentine station

  

  The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has recognized a new record high temperature for the Antarctic continent of 18.3° Celsius on 6 February 2020 at the Argentine Esperanza station.

• Thursday, July 1st 2021 - 00:20 UTC

  Melt lakes: Scientists detect sudden large Antarctic water mass drains empty

  

  Scientists in Australia and the United States are reporting the sudden loss of a large ice-covered Antarctic lake covering an area of eleven square kilometres. The rare event occurred during the winter of 2019 on Amery Ice Shelf in East Antarctica and was noticed in satellite images the following summer by Dr Roland Warner from the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership at the University of Tasmania.

• Saturday, June 26th 2021 - 09:40 UTC

  HMS Protector makes history: sails further north than any other Royal Navy ship

  

  Icebreaker HMS Protector sailed closer to the North Pole than any other Royal Navy ship in history on her first patrol of the Arctic. The survey and research ship crunched her way through polar ice to within 1,050 kilometres of the top of the world as she gathered data about the ocean and environment.

• Friday, June 25th 2021 - 22:26 UTC

  South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands to become Terrestrial Protected Area

  

  The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) has unveiled plans to designate Terrestrial Protected Areas covering the entire landmass of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, some 3,800km2.

• Thursday, June 10th 2021 - 07:33 UTC

  National Geographic makes it official, Southern Ocean is the fifth ocean

  

  Since National Geographic began making maps in 1915, it has recognized four oceans: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic Oceans. However starting on June 8, World Oceans Day, it will recognize the Southern Ocean as the world’s fifth ocean. This is because the swift current circling Antarctica keeps the waters there distinct and worthy of their own name.

• Wednesday, June 2nd 2021 - 05:20 UTC

  HMS Protector equipped with drones for polar extreme missions

  

  Royal Navy’s Ice Patrol Ship HMS Protector has been assigned two small rotary-wing drones, specially adapted for her unique mission in the polar extremes. Although the Devonport-based survey ship has a large flight deck, with no hangar she cannot take helicopters with her – unlike her predecessor HMS Endurance, which carried two Lynx.

• Saturday, May 29th 2021 - 03:39 UTC

  IAATO Welcomes New Executive Committee Chair

  

  The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) has appointed Executive Committee member Robyn Woodhead to its top spot during this year’s online annual meeting, according to a press release. Woodhead joined the committee in 2017, having been an active member of the organization since 2010.

• Saturday, May 22nd 2021 - 08:58 UTC

  Cruise ships company promises covid-free tours to Patagonia

  

  The cruise ships company Cruceros Australis Friday launched during the International Tourism Fair (FITUR) in Madrid what they announced as “totally safe trips,” such as navigating the virgin landscapes of Patagonia.