Antarctica

• Tuesday, December 17th 2013 - 17:51 UTC

  West Antarctic ice sheet loss, one of the multi-year projects to be started this year by BAS

  

  With the Antarctic Summer well underway, British Antarctic Territory Commissioner Peter Hayes has sent his well wishes to British Antarctic Survey staff (BAS) working on the continent over the coming months. In a recent letter to UK Base commanders Dr Hayes commented:

• Saturday, December 14th 2013 - 05:56 UTC

  Prince Harry and team of 'Walking with the wounded' reach South Pole

  

  Prince Harry and his fellow adventurers in the Walking With The Wounded expedition have arrived at the South Pole, the organizers have said. The group stood at the bottom of the world at 12:00 GMT Friday after more than three weeks of pulling sleds.

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 09:11 UTC

  Ice loss pushing Antarctica side-wards half an inch per year, according to GPS recordings

  

  Heavy ice loss in West Antarctica has weakened it mantle underneath, allowing the stronger East Antarctica mantle to push it around, according to Ohio State University researchers. The discovery was made after recording GPS measurements, which clearly showed that the West Antarctic bedrock is being pushed at an alarming rate of half an inch per year.

• Wednesday, December 11th 2013 - 03:58 UTC

  IAATO names Amanda Lynnes part-time Operations and Communications Assistant

  

  The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) has announced the appointment of Amanda Lynnes to the part-time position of Operations and Communications Assistant. Amanda is responsible for communicating IAATO’s key messages and will assist in the development of the environmental and operational components of the Association.

• Thursday, November 28th 2013 - 22:36 UTC

  Argentina again contracts Russian vessels and choppers for the Antarctic 2013/2014 season

  

  Argentina has again contracted Russian polar vessel “Vasily Golovnin” for the supply of its Antarctica bases and stations this coming summer season. The 24.4 million dollars package also includes ice-breaker 'Dranitsyn' and two heavy load helicopters Kamov KA32 which will making most the hardest work in the extreme south outposts

• Monday, November 25th 2013 - 19:33 UTC

  Fossils in south Chile reveal close interaction with once connected Antarctica

  

  Three years of study in Patagonia have produced what researchers describe as most important paleontological findings in Chile in the last 10 years. The discovery of leaf and dinosaur fossils in South America has revealed the continent was connected to Antarctica 20 million years more recently than previously believed.

• Thursday, November 14th 2013 - 19:20 UTC

  Two UK scientists keeping track of Manhattan size iceberg moving in the Southern ocean

  

  An Iceberg, the size of Manhattan in area, was derived from the Pine Island Glacier, and is currently moving through the Southern Ocean. To keep track of its movements and melting Professor Grant Bigg of UK's University of Sheffield has been awarded a £50,000 grant from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) for the 6 month project.

• Wednesday, November 6th 2013 - 01:53 UTC

  South Atlantic patrol HMS Richmond calls at Tristan da Cunha doubling the local population

  

  The beauty and ruggedness of the world’s most remote inhabited island has been captured in a series of photos during a recent visit from a Royal Navy warship.

• Sunday, November 3rd 2013 - 12:07 UTC

  Russia, Ukraine, China block plans in CCAMLR to create Antarctica marine reserves

  

  Russia, Ukraine and China are being blamed for a failure of plans to protect almost 3 million square kilometers of ocean in Antarctica. After two weeks of discussions behind closed doors, the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) has failed to come to an agreement on new marine reserves.

• Tuesday, October 29th 2013 - 00:10 UTC

  Ozone hole slightly smaller than average this year, according to NASA

  

  The ozone hole that forms each year in the stratosphere over Antarctica was slightly smaller in 2013 than average in recent decades, according to NASA satellite data. The ozone hole is a seasonal phenomenon that starts to form during the Antarctic spring (August and September). The September-October 2013 average size of the hole was 8.1 million square miles (21 million square kilometers).