Environment

• Tuesday, May 2nd 2017 - 22:31 UTC

  BAS describes how warm, dry winds weaken Antarctic ice shelves

  

  New research describes for the first time the role that warm, dry winds play in influencing the behaviour of Antarctic ice shelves. Making a presentation at a European conference scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) explain how spring and summer winds, known as föhn winds, are prevalent on the Larsen C Ice Shelf, West Antarctica and creating melt pools.

• Thursday, April 27th 2017 - 10:17 UTC

  Argentine Icebreaker Irizar is back undergoing sea trials, readying for Antarctica sailing

  

  Argentina's Navy icebreaker ARA Almirante Irizar is back on sea trials following almost ten years of recovery and refurbishing after she caught fire in 2007 when returning from Antarctica and was considered almost a wreck given the magnitude of the damages experienced.

• Thursday, April 27th 2017 - 09:55 UTC

  Major cruise line fined US$ 40 million for deliberate vessel pollution

  

  A major cruise line with ships that call on the Caribbean will have to pay a US$40 million penalty, the largest-ever for crimes involving deliberate vessel pollution. The sentence has been imposed on Princess Cruise Lines Ltd by US District Judge Patricia Seitz in Miami, for illegally dumping oil-contaminated waste overboard and falsifying official logs to conceal the discharges.

• Wednesday, April 26th 2017 - 08:10 UTC

  Twelve million penguins in Antarctica, according to the 2017 SOAP report

  

  April 25 is World Penguin Day, timed to coincide with the annual northward march to the sea of Antarctic penguins, as autumn edges toward winter in that part of the world. There are 12 million penguins in Antarctica, according to a new report – the inaugural State Of Antarctic Penguins 2017 (SOAP) report – also released on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, April 26th 2017 - 07:45 UTC

  On World Penguin Day scientists call for more protection of Antarctic wildlife

  

  The world needs to do more to protect the Antarctic wilderness and its wildlife, scientists warned Tuesday, as they marked World Penguin Day. The flightless seabirds—a favorite with children for their clumsy, waddling gait—offer a useful yardstick for researchers to judge the health of their habitat

• Tuesday, April 25th 2017 - 06:28 UTC

  Major earthquake rocks Santiago: no human losses, energy and cell phone networks partially down

  

  A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck off the west coast of Chile on Monday, rocking the capital Santiago and briefly causing alarm along the Pacific Coast but sparing the quake-prone nation of any serious damage. The quake was centered about 137 km from Santiago, and some 35 km west of the coastal city of Valparaiso.

• Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 13:00 UTC

  Cruise to assess micro-plastic pollution in Spain's northern waters and sediments

  

  Researchers from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) have started an oceanographic survey to assess micro-plastic contamination in both water and sediments off the coast of Galicia and Cantabria.

• Thursday, April 20th 2017 - 06:33 UTC

  Chubut province declared in state of emergency and agriculture disaster

  

  Chubut province in Argentine Patagonia has been declared in state of emergency and eight of its 16 counties in agriculture disaster as a consequence of torrential rainfall and mudslides which have left huge areas isolateds, or cut off from the communications network.

• Thursday, April 20th 2017 - 01:57 UTC

  Punta Arenas plans to seat a major Antarctica scientific research hub

  

  Chile will build the International Antarctic Center in the southern city of Punta Arenas, meant to become the entering point to the white continent for the world. The Governor of the Magellan region and the Chilean Antarctic, Jorge Flies stated this week that there were 35 projects developing in his jurisdiction, in three important areas.

• Saturday, April 15th 2017 - 09:47 UTC

  Falklands review tourist season and discuss shortcomings and improvements

  

  Falkland Islands Tourist Board chairman Mike Rendell and Interim CEO Steph Middleton welcomed a large group of interested parties to the Chamber of Commerce last week for an informal end of tourist season ‘washup.’ Topics raised ranged from perennial issues such as easy access to the Totem Pole for tourists, to newer developments such as what to do with the new jetty.