Antarctica

• 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.

• Wednesday, December 30th 2015 - 01:01 UTC

  Reclaiming South Georgia from rats: a world leading project

  

  Reclaiming South Georgia is the story of the SGHT Habitat Restoration Project fieldwork that took place on South Georgia in three phases (in 2011, 2013 and 2015). The latest edition of South Georgia Newsletter says that text and photographs tell the story of how this world-leading project baited every square inch of rodent-infested land on the island.

• Tuesday, December 29th 2015 - 07:46 UTC

  New five-year strategy for South Georgia emphasizes environment management

  

  The new five-year Strategy for South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands 2016-2020 was published on 27th November. The Strategy sets out an ambitious agenda to deliver the highest standards of environmental stewardship and governance for the British Overseas Territory, according to the latest South Georgia Newsletter.

• Monday, December 28th 2015 - 08:14 UTC

  Cruise ship troubles cut South Georgia season down to size

  

  A serious fire on board a cruise ship in November led to a large-scale rescue operation off the Falkland Islands and means that three visits to South Georgia in the new year are likely to be cancelled, according to the latest South Georgia Newsletter.

• Monday, November 30th 2015 - 06:36 UTC

  Falklands based British Forces rescue cruise passenger injured in South Atlantic

  

  Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel based in the Falkland Islands have conducted a long range rescue of a British man from a Russian cruise ship. The MV Akademic Sergei Vavilov was visiting South Georgia, 800 nautical miles to the east of the Falklands, when the man was bitten by what is thought to have been a fur seal at Salisbury Plain Beach.

• Thursday, November 26th 2015 - 17:39 UTC

  UK's Cammell Laird will build BAS new £200 million polar research ship

  

  The Birkenhead shipyard Cammell Laird said it saw off competition from Europe and beyond including Korea and Singapore to be selected as the preferred bidder to build a new vessel for the UK-funded Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). The contract was signed last week and it is expected that full production will start in June next year, and on completion the vessel will be operated by NERC’s British Antarctic Survey (BAS).