Tag: Antarctica

• Wednesday, June 12th 2019 - 09:12 UTC

  Antarctica tour operates announces new restrictions on commercial drone use by visitors

  

  The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators has announced robust new restrictions on commercial drone use in Antarctica. The constraints, voted in at IAATO’s annual meeting in Cape Town, South Africa (April 30 – May 3), mean those using Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for commercial purposes on IAATO vessels will have new restrictions limiting piloting opportunities.

• Wednesday, June 5th 2019 - 09:07 UTC

  Antarctica Tour Operators pledge to turn tide on plastics with new waste reduction guidelines

  

  The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) has pledged to turn the tide on plastics with new guidelines set to reduce single-use plastic use among visitors to the white continent.

• Tuesday, June 4th 2019 - 09:51 UTC

  New wharf for South Georgia: extra berth for polar vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough

  

  An £8.15 million contract to build a new wharf at the remote Sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia is awarded to BAM Nuttall this week. The contract is part of a major investment programme to modernize the UK’s Antarctic infrastructure.

• Tuesday, May 21st 2019 - 09:58 UTC

  Global sea levels rising higher than forecasted because of ice melting in Greenland and Antarctica

  

  Scientists believe that global sea levels could rise far more than predicted, due to accelerating melting in Greenland and Antarctica, The long-held view has been that the world's seas would rise by a maximum of just under a meter by 2100.

• Friday, May 17th 2019 - 09:39 UTC

  IAATO Operators redevelop Ship Scheduler process to prepare for tourism growth

  

  The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) is redeveloping its ship scheduling process, as part of its commitment to ‘leave only footprints’ through the effective self-management of guest activities.

• Friday, May 10th 2019 - 09:50 UTC

  Vital role of penguins and seals poo for Antarctica bio-diversity

  

  For more than half a century, biologists studying Antarctica focused their research on understanding how organisms cope with the continent's severe drought and the coldest conditions on the planet. One thing they didn't really factor in, however, was the role played by the nitrogen-rich droppings from colonies of cute penguins and seals - until now.

• Saturday, May 4th 2019 - 09:52 UTC

  Antarctic Tour Operators introduce mandatory measures to prevent whale strikes

  

  Members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) have unanimously voted in mandatory measures to prevent whale strikes in cetacean-rich Antarctic waters during their annual meeting this year held in Cape Town, South Africa.

• Saturday, March 30th 2019 - 16:14 UTC

  Russia to celebrate 200th anniversary discovery of Antarctica by Bellingshausen

  

  Russia's tall ships are to undertake a round-the-world trip to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Antarctica's discovery by the Bellingshausen-Lazarev expedition, according to official information from Moscow. In effect, 2020 marks the 200th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica by the expedition led by Fabian Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. In honor of this event, plans are underway for the round-the-world sailing of the tall ships Pallada, Sedov and Krusenstern in 2019-2020.

• Tuesday, March 12th 2019 - 08:24 UTC

  Chinese tourists did 150 million outbound trips in 2018

  

  A total of 149.72 million outbound trips were made by Chinese tourists in 2018, up 14.7% from the previous year, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced, Trend reported citing Xinhua.

• Friday, March 8th 2019 - 09:07 UTC

  HMS Protector comes across an iceberg of 11 miles long and five wide

  

  The Royal Navy’s Antarctic patrol ship encountered an iceberg the size of Bristol as she began her final scientific mission of the season. HMS Protector came across the enormous mass of ice and snow – 11 miles long and five wide – as she returned to the frozen continent for the last time this winter – or summer as it is in the Southern Hemisphere.