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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, October 31st 2025 - 08:14 UTC

Antarctica

  • 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.

  • Tuesday, February 27th 2018 - 09:22 UTC

    Climate change will force King Penguins to move after food or face heavy losses

    For most colonies, the length of the summer trips by parents to get food will soon become so long that their offspring could starve while waiting

    Global warming is on track to wipe out 70% of the world's King penguins by century's end, putting the regal birds on a path towards extinction, researchers warned on Monday. As climate change drives away the fish and squid upon which the flightless creatures depend, the penguins must swim further afield to find sustenance for their hungry hatchlings on land.

  • Friday, February 23rd 2018 - 11:20 UTC

    BAS team leaves Falklands to explore Antarctica marine ecosystem hidden for 120.000 years

    The international team left Stanley in the Falkland Islands and will spend three weeks on board the BAS research ship RRS James Clark Ross.

    A team of international scientists led by the British Antarctic Survey set off on Wednesday to explore a mysterious marine ecosystem that has lain hidden under an ice shelf for up to 120,000 years.

  • Tuesday, February 13th 2018 - 09:35 UTC

    SCAR celebrates sixty year of international collaboration in Antarctica

    Since 1958, SCAR has been central in defining the vision and goals of science in Antarctica and has facilitated the implementation of Antarctic science

    The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), has celebrated six decades of successful international collaboration. Since its first meeting in The Hague on February 1958, SCAR has grown an international network of thousands of scientists who share a common ambition to carry out Antarctic science for the benefit of society.

  • Tuesday, February 13th 2018 - 08:30 UTC

    BAS targets Antarctica marine ecosystem under calved iceberg: nine-country team takes off from Falklands

    The international team, from nine research institutes, leaves Stanley on 21 February on board the BAS research ship RRS James Clark Ross

    A team of scientists, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), heads to Antarctica this week (14 February) to investigate a mysterious marine ecosystem that’s been hidden beneath an Antarctic ice shelf for up to 120,000 years. The iceberg known as A-68, which is four times of London, calved off from the Larsen Ice Shelf in July 2017.

  • Monday, January 29th 2018 - 10:22 UTC

    Ozone hole: NASA's satellite confirms 20% less depletion; recovery by 2080

    Antarctic ozone hole forms during September in the South Hemisphere winter as returning sun’s rays catalyze ozone destruction cycles of chlorine and bromine

    Scientists have shown through direct satellite observations of the ozone hole that levels of ozone-destroying chlorine are declining. Measurements show that the decline in chlorine, resulting from an international ban on chlorine-containing man-made chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), has resulted in about 20% less ozone depletion during the Antarctic winter than there was in 2005, the first year that measurements of chlorine and ozone during the Antarctic winter were made by NASA's Aura satellite.

  • Monday, January 29th 2018 - 06:55 UTC

    Punta Arenas reaffirms Antarctica links with two private support vessels

    Betanzos will operate as a scientific support vessel, with sophisticated equipment and a reinforced “ice-class” hull, plus accommodation for 64 people.

    Punta Arenas. Chile seems determined to remain as the main calling point for Antarctica scientific and logistics support. This month two private undertakings were inaugurated which confirmed that determination, one of them is the DAP's MV Betanzos a scientific vessel for Antarctica research, and the second in the Antarctic Warrior, belonging to the Petromar company and which has been conditioned to transport supplies and fuel to Antarctica.

  • Tuesday, January 23rd 2018 - 06:53 UTC

    British Army “Ice Maiden” expedition cross Antarctica in 62 days on muscle power

    Over the last two months the team travelled up to 43kms a day, navigating crevasse fields whilst pulling sledges weighing up to 80kg and battling temperatures as low as -40°C.

    The British Army’s ‘Ice Maiden’ Expedition has become the first all-female team to cross Antarctica using muscle power alone. After spending 62 days on the ice and covering 1700kms, the six soldiers led by Major Nics Wetherill and Major Nat Taylor crossed the finish line at the Hercules Inlet at the weekend (Saturday 20th January).

  • Monday, January 15th 2018 - 09:26 UTC

    Three vessels and Russia's ROV continue search for ARA San Juan, missing since two months

    ”ARA Islas Malvinas has left the naval base of Ushuaia to join the search and is carrying on board the Russian ROV (remotely operated vessel) Panther Plus”

    Argentine navy ARA Islas Malvinas, a vessel normally assigned to patrolling duties in the southern seas and supplying Argentine scientific bases and stations in Antarctica has joined the search for the submarine ARA San Juan with a crew of 44, which has gone missing for two months, since November 15, in the South Atlantic.