Antarctica

• Monday, March 6th 2017 - 10:53 UTC

  UK's Signy Station on South Orkney Islands, hottest place in Antarctica

  

  A World Meteorological Organization (WMO) committee of experts announced on March first, new records for the highest temperatures recorded in the Antarctic Region. The results are part of continuing efforts to expand a database of extreme weather and climate conditions throughout the world.

• Thursday, March 2nd 2017 - 07:31 UTC

  HM Commissioner hosts South Georgia stakeholders on 12-day visit

  

  HM Commissioner for South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands, Colin Roberts CVO, departed this week for a 12-day visit to the UK Overseas Territory accompanied by representatives of some of South Georgia’s key stakeholder organizations. The information was reported in the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Newsletter.

• Sunday, February 26th 2017 - 09:19 UTC

  Argentine-Chilean Antarctic inspectors check BAS Rothera base

  

  A team or Argentine and Chilean experts have visited Czech and British bases in Antarctica as part of the routine inspection of environment and security operations, in the framework of the Antarctic Treaty. The Argentine foreign ministry reported that the inspections took place for the second consecutive year between 19 January and 25 February.

• Thursday, February 23rd 2017 - 08:02 UTC

  Argentina commemorates 113 years in Antarctica

  

  Argentine Antarctica Day was commemorated on Wednesday February 22 with different events recalling the day, 113 years ago when the country's flag was first flown in a met station in Laurie Island, in the south Orkneys. Since then, 1904, Argentina's presence south of 60o. has been uninterrupted, said Argentine defense minister Julio Martínez at the main celebration in the Foreign Affairs ministry.

• Monday, February 20th 2017 - 21:27 UTC

  South Georgia gentoo penguins feed preferably on krill, shows 22 year BAS study

  

  The longest and most comprehensive study to date of what penguins eat is published this month. The study, published in the journal Marine Biology, examines the diets of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) at Bird Island, South Georgia over a 22 year period and is part of a project investigating the Southern Ocean ecosystem and its response to change

• Monday, February 20th 2017 - 20:00 UTC

  Summer sea ice in Antarctica is the lowest on record

  

  This year the extent of summer sea ice in the Antarctic is the lowest on record. The Antarctic sea ice minimum marks the day – typically towards end of February – when sea ice reaches its smallest extent at the end of the summer melt season, before expanding again as the winter sets in. This year, sea ice extent contracted to 2.28m sq km on 13 February, according to data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

• Monday, February 20th 2017 - 19:17 UTC

  New 130 meters long krill fishing vessel to operate in Antarctica

  

  Aker Bio Marine has signed a contract with Vard shipyard to design and construct a modern krill fishing vessel that will operate in the Antarctic. The ship, which is 130m-long, 23m-wide, will be also equipped with environmentally friendly technologies. The hull of the vessel will be built by Vard's Tulcea, Romania, shipyard.

• Monday, February 13th 2017 - 16:41 UTC

  Argentina expects at least 15 million tons of wheat from the 2016/17 crop

  

  Argentine farmers are expected to harvest at least 15 million tons of wheat in the 2016/17 crop year versus 11.3 million in the previous season, Agriculture Minister Ricardo Buryaile said last week. Wheat planting in Argentina expanded dramatically when President Mauricio Macri eliminated export taxes soon after his December inauguration.

• Monday, January 30th 2017 - 09:55 UTC

  New Antarctica record for a cruise vessel

  

  The residential ship, The World, has broken the record for the most southerly navigation reaching 78°43•997´S and 163°41•421´W at the Bay of Whales in Antarctica’s Ross Sea. The World recorded this polar record at 10:41hrs ship’s time on Saturday. Commanded by Captain Dag H. Saevik this is the furthest south any vessel has ever sailed.

• Sunday, January 29th 2017 - 09:57 UTC

  Damaged cruise vessel ready to leave Ushuaia on a piggy-back trip to Europe

  

  A major rescue operation took place in Ushuaia, Argentine Tierra del Fuego when a cruise vessel from National Geographic, which was non operational since limping back from Antarctica a month ago was hauled on to a special tug-carrier and is now preparing for its piggy-back trip to a Dutch ship yard for repairs.