Antarctica

• Wednesday, October 16th 2013 - 20:38 UTC

  HMS Richmond on south Atlantic patrol visits South Georgia Island

  

  HMS Richmond was on patrol in the South Georgia Maritime Zone at the end of September and came to anchor off Hope Point on the 27th for a three-day visit, reports the September edition of the South Georgia Newsletter.

• Tuesday, October 15th 2013 - 18:15 UTC

  HMS Protector leaves for Antarctica from Portsmouth but will return to Davenport

  

  Royal Navy’s newest ice patrol ship HMS Protector leaves Portsmouth this week on deployment to Antarctica, but she will be returning to Davenport, where she is to be based in the future.

• Thursday, October 10th 2013 - 05:18 UTC

  Scientists find huge water channels flow underneath Antarctica’s ice cap

  

  Channels nearly as tall as the Eiffel Tower gouge into the undersides of floating ice in western Antarctica. The recently discovered channels could influence how quickly Antarctic ice sheets slip into the sea, melt, and contribute to rising sea levels.

• Thursday, October 10th 2013 - 01:25 UTC

  Ice patrol HMS Endurance a complete loss, will be scrapped says MOD

  

  The Royal Navy's former ice patrol ship HMS Endurance is to be scrapped after the Ministry of Defense decided the cost of repairing the vessel, which flooded off the coast of Chile in 2008, was too great.

• Friday, September 27th 2013 - 21:33 UTC

  South Georgia krill could suffer most global warming according to BAS

  

  Modelling of the effects of sea temperature rises in the Southern Oceans indicates that krill in the seas around South Georgia may be the hardest hit of the region by the effects of global warming, reports the August edition of the South Georgia Newsletter.

• Friday, September 20th 2013 - 20:07 UTC

  A ‘message in a bottle’ dropped in South Georgia reaches NZ three years later

  

  A ‘message in a bottle’ dropped just off the north-western end of South Georgia three years ago has washed up on Stewart Island, off the south end of New Zealand - more than half a world away, reports the July edition of the South Georgia Newsletter.

• Wednesday, September 18th 2013 - 00:44 UTC

  South Georgia looking ahead to a promising cruise and visitors’ season

  

  Schedules for the coming tourist season show a significant increase in the number of ships (11%) and visitors planning to visit South Georgia, and a consequent expected increase in tourist numbers (20%), according to the latest South Georgia Newsletter July release.

• Monday, September 16th 2013 - 21:57 UTC

  Spanish scientists discover new marine worm that feeds on whale bones

  

  Spanish scientists from the University of Barcelona and the Oceanographic Institute have discovered in Antarctica a new species of worm, a marine invertebrate which feeds on whale bones. The discovery is in the framework of the Actiquim-II project and the new species was baptized “Osedax deceptionensis”.

• Monday, August 26th 2013 - 08:25 UTC

  Rising sea temperature will reduce krill growth habitat in Antarctica

  

  Antarctic krill are usually less than 6 cm in length, but their size belies the major role they play in sustaining much of the life in the Southern Ocean. They are the primary food source for many species of whales, seals, penguins and fish.

• Monday, August 26th 2013 - 07:40 UTC

  South Georgia releases stamps commemorating former governor Sir Rex Hunt

  

  South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are currently promoting the release of a set of stamps commemorating the life of the former Falklands and dependencies governor Sir Rex Hunt. The release of the stamps on June 11 coincided with a memorial service for Sir Rex Hunt at St Clement Danes, the Central Church of the Royal Air Force, London.