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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 25th 2019 - 19:15 UTC

Antarctica

  • Thursday, May 10th 2018 - 18:34 UTC

    IAATO’s Responsible Tourism Conference votes new and revised guidelines

    Over 140 people attended the meeting at Newport from May 1-3, representing IAATO member companies and invited stakeholders

    The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) has concluded its 27th annual meeting in Newport, Rhode Island, USA having agreed to strengthen its mission of promoting the practice of safe, environmentally responsible travel to the Antarctic.

  • Wednesday, May 2nd 2018 - 08:13 UTC

    UK-US launch Antarctica research program to predict sea-level rise

    The mission will deploy teams of researchers, using a suite of technologies to investigate changes on the ice and in the ocean.

    A new UK-U.S. Antarctic research program to improve the prediction of future sea-level rise was launched on Monday at British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Cambridge. The £20 million 5-year research collaboration, funded jointly by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), brings together over 100 polar scientists from leading UK and U.S. research organizations.

  • Tuesday, May 1st 2018 - 10:20 UTC

    IAATO reports Antarctica visitors increased 17% in the 2017/18 season over previous year

    Overall, the total number of Antarctic visitors in 2017-2018 was 51,707, an increase of 17% compared to the previous season.

    The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) reported its visitor numbers for the 2017-2018 Antarctic season at the start of its annual meeting in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. IAATO has been monitoring, analyzing and reporting trends since 1991 as part of its commitment to ‘leave only footprints’ through the effective self-management of its activities.

  • Tuesday, May 1st 2018 - 10:05 UTC

    Argentina creates an Antarctica Joint Command, under Defense guidance

    AJC will do the planning, management and execution of the maintenance and functioning of the Argentine bases and stations

    Argentina has created the Antarctica Joint Command, which will operate under the orbit of the Ministry of Defense and be responsible for conducting operations in Antarctica, and areas of interest, in a continuous and permanent way.

  • Wednesday, April 25th 2018 - 09:06 UTC

    Tons of frozen micro-plastics found trapped in the floating ice of the Arctic

    Traces of 17 different types of plastic were found in frozen seawater. Micro-plastics are tiny plastic pieces under five millimeters long.

    Record levels of micro-plastics have been found trapped inside sea ice floating in the Arctic. Ice cores gathered across the Arctic Ocean reveal micro-plastics at concentrations two to three times higher than previously recorded. As sea ice melts with climate change, the plastic will be released back into the water, with unknown effects on wildlife, say German scientists.

  • Thursday, April 12th 2018 - 07:57 UTC

    Icebreaker Irizar returns from its first Antarctica campaign in ten years

    The refurbished Almirante Irizar docked in Buenos Aires, from where it left for Antarctica on 26 December

    Argentina's icebreaker Almirante Irizar is back in Buenos Aires at the end of its first Antarctic campaign in ten years, following the fire that almost knocked the Finnish built vessel out of action. She left on 26 December and completed 107 days in the high seas and Antarctica's ice.

  • Sunday, March 18th 2018 - 10:36 UTC

    Ushuaia at Seatrade in Miami praised for the port services improvements

    “Last season we had 282 cruise calls, and this season we will have some 335, and hopefully by 2020 we are aiming at 430” said governor Bertone

    The port of Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego expects to end the current 2017/18 cruise season with over 339 calls, fifty more than in the previous season, revealed governor Rosana Bertone who attended the SeaTrade International Fair in Miami, the world's major event of the industry.

  • Tuesday, March 13th 2018 - 08:57 UTC

    Argentine icebreaker rescues US scientists stranded in an ice island

    The four scientists and a support staff member, who were conducting research at Joinville Island, were airlifted by helicopter to the Almirante Irizar icebreaker.

    A group of US scientists who were stranded in an ice-bound island off the northeastern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula were rescued on Sunday by an Argentine icebreaker, US and Argentine authorities announced Monday.

  • Friday, March 9th 2018 - 04:38 UTC

    Plan B for RRS James Clark Ross mission to Antarctica Larsen C Ice Shelf

    A team of scientists led by BAS, are travelling on RRS James Clark Ross, but sea ice, 4-5 meters thick, forced the captain to make the decision not to continue

    Heavy sea ice conditions have thwarted a science mission from reaching the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica from which a large iceberg broke off in July 2017. A team of scientists, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), are travelling on board the RRS James Clark Ross. Sea ice, up to 4-5 meters thick, has made progress for the ship very slow and on 28 February) the ship’s captain made the difficult decision not to continue.

  • Wednesday, March 7th 2018 - 09:16 UTC

    NASA satellites help discover super-colony of Adelie penguins in Antarctica Danger Islands

    The group of nine rocky islands, off the northern tip nearest South America, in the northwest Weddell Sea, houses one of Adelie penguin largest colonies in the world

    A thriving “hotspot” of 1.5 million Adelie penguins, a species fast declining in parts of the world, has been discovered on remote islands off the Antarctic Peninsula, surprised scientists. The first bird census of the Danger Islands unearthed over 750,000 Adelie breeding pairs, more than the rest of the area combined, the team reported in the journal Scientific Reports.