Antarctica

Thursday, June 25th 2020 - 05:28 UTC
New members welcomed into responsible tourism fold at 2020 IAATO online annual meeting

Two Operators, five provisional operators, and five new Associates have been welcomed into the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) at the responsible tourism organization's first online annual meeting.
Monday, June 8th 2020 - 08:18 UTC
Kiwi relief operation for a longliner operating in Falklands/South Georgia zone

A New Zealand fishing boat has set off on what is quite possibly the longest and most expensive ride. It's gone to pick up 15 New Zealanders who've been fishing for toothfish halfway around the world off South Georgia.
Monday, June 8th 2020 - 07:25 UTC
End of Antarctic summer season: BAS staff and construction teams finally make it back to the UK

Almost a month after deciding on the repatriation operation, British Antarctic Survey (BAS) research and support teams are returning from Antarctica to UK after a 20-day sea voyage onboard a charter ship and the Royal Research Ship (RRS) James Clark Ross. On Saturday the MS Hebridean Sky arrived at Portsmouth International, and this Tuesday RRS James Clark Ross is expected at Harwich Port.
Monday, May 25th 2020 - 07:16 UTC
South Georgia's new £11million wharf facilities completed in 108 days

Surrounded by spectacular scenery, dominated by mountains and glaciers, construction has completed on a new £11million wharf, dolphin, and slipway to serve the King Edward Point Research Station (KEP), in South Georgia Island.
Friday, May 22nd 2020 - 08:47 UTC
Climate change turning Antarctica “green” as algae blooms proliferate

Antarctica conjures images of an unbroken white wilderness but blooms of algae are giving parts of the frozen continent an increasingly green tinge. Warming temperatures due to climate change are helping the formation and spread of “green snow” and it is becoming so prolific in places that it is even visible from space, according to new research.
Friday, May 15th 2020 - 08:54 UTC
Strict measures among essential personnel even in virus free Antarctica bases

As the planet battles the seemingly inexorable spread of the coronavirus, Antarctica remains the only Covid-19-free continent - thanks in the main to strict security and not a little luck. The natural isolation of the frozen and desolate expanse has been taken to new extremes since the WHO declared a pandemic on March 11.
Friday, May 1st 2020 - 07:18 UTC
Falklands: Stanley airport again winter home for BAS aircraft

Aeroplane spotters in the Falklands will once again have the opportunity to temporarily witness the once familiar sight of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Twin Otter sitting on the Stanley Airport tarmac.
Thursday, April 30th 2020 - 07:55 UTC
Plastic pollution continues to reach sub-Antarctic islands

Food wrapping, fishing gear and plastic waste continue to reach the Antarctic. Two new studies into how plastic debris is reaching sub-Antarctic islands are published in the journal Environment International.
Thursday, April 30th 2020 - 07:30 UTC
Drilling in Antarctica to take bedrock samples from beneath the ice sheet

Two new research projects – in partnership with British Antarctic Survey engineers – will drill deeper than ever before in Antarctica and in space. The first project, called INCISED, is led by the University of Durham, funded by the European Research Council, and has set its sights on the Antarctic. It will drill bedrock from beneath the polar ice sheets, with the goal being to retrieve scientific samples.
Wednesday, April 29th 2020 - 09:36 UTC
Ozone layer hole over the Arctic has closed and has been linked to Europe's warmest winter

The largest hole ever observed in the ozone layer over the Arctic has closed, says Copernicus' Atmospheric Monitoring Service. Scientists spotted signs in late March of a rare hole forming and it was thought to be the result of low temperatures at the north pole.