Antarctica

• Thursday, February 18th 2016 - 07:16 UTC

  Russian Patriarch holds mass at the Bellingshausen Antarctic base

  

  Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill on Wednesday served mass at Russia’s Bellingshausen Antarctic station on Waterloo Island and raised a prayer for the entire world. It was the last leg of the Patriarch's Latin American tour that included a meeting with Pope Francis in Cuba, ending a Christianity schism of almost a thousand years.

• Thursday, February 18th 2016 - 06:32 UTC

  Punta Arenas expects to become homeport for an Antarctica cruise line

  

  Punta Arenas in the extreme south of Chile is encouraged by the cruise industry prospects for its port and facilities: this season Norwegian Sun has returned with at least ten calls and for 2016/2017 a line will be cruising to Antarctica with Punta Arenas as a home port.

• Tuesday, February 16th 2016 - 08:30 UTC

  Blocked access to food in Antarctica kills an estimated 150.000 Adelie penguins

  

  Scientists say an estimated 150,000 Adelie penguins have been wiped out on Antarctica's Cape Denison in the five years since a giant iceberg blocked their main access to food. A study recently published in the journal Antarctic Science says the B09B iceberg crashed with the Mertz Glacier Tongue and got stuck in Commonwealth Bay, an area that was rarely covered by sea-ice, making it ideal for Adelie penguin colonies.

• Tuesday, February 2nd 2016 - 06:24 UTC

  IAATO animated briefings for Antarctic visitors

  

  New videos have been developed by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) to brief travelers en route to Antarctica. They reinforce actions visitors need to take to ensure their visit is safe and environmentally sensitive.

• Tuesday, January 26th 2016 - 08:14 UTC

  Shackleton Solo Expeditioner dies in Punta Arenas hospital

  

  Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions, ALE, reports with great sadness the death of polar expeditioner Henry Worsley at a hospital in Punta Arenas, Chile, after complications caused by bacterial peritonitis. Henry returned from Antarctica on January 23 after nearly completing his Shackleton Solo Expedition.

• Friday, January 15th 2016 - 08:06 UTC

  Strong hints of a vast canyon system hidden under the Antarctic ice sheet

  

  A vast, previously unrecognized canyon system could be hidden under the Antarctic ice sheet. Hints of its presence are seen in the shape of the white continent's surface, in a largely unexplored region called Princess Elizabeth Land. If confirmed by a proper geophysical survey - now under way - the winding canyon network would be over 1,000km long and in places as much as 1km deep.

• Wednesday, January 13th 2016 - 04:04 UTC

  IAATO Executive Director and Falklands' resident awarded the Queen's Polar Medal

  

  Dr Kim Crosbie, IAATO Executive Director, and IAATO Member Jérôme Poncet of Golden Fleece Expeditions who is a resident of the Falkland Islands, have been awarded the Queen’s Polar Medal. The announcement was made last week in The London Gazette.

• Thursday, January 7th 2016 - 09:27 UTC

  Uruguay's 2016 Antarctic campaign takes off; ship to deliver 250 tons of fuel and 40 tons of supplies

  

  Uruguayan navy rescue vessel ROU 26 “Vanguardia” left this week from Montevideo for Antarctica loaded with fuel and provisions for the country's scientific base “General Artigas” at King George Island.

• Wednesday, December 30th 2015 - 02:24 UTC

  Russian polar vessel and helicopters will supply Argentine Antarctica bases

  

  For the eighth season, Argentina's Antarctic bases and stations are to be supplied by the Russian polar vessel Vasily Golovnin from Arkadia Ltd. This has been going on since 2007 when the Argentine flagship ice-breaker Almirante Irizar caught fire in the high seas and is still in repairs waiting for the necessary funds.

• Wednesday, December 30th 2015 - 02:22 UTC

  Busy weekend for Ushuaia: 8.000 cruise visitors

  

  Over 8.000 cruise visitors arrived in Ushuaia over the weekend when the Star Princess (2.600 pax), Norwegian Sun (2.400 pax), Infinity (2.400 pax) and the Seabourn Quest coincided in the extreme south port of Argentina in the peak of the Southern hemisphere season.