Antarctica

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Trapped Ships Break Free of Antarctic Ice

Before rescue ship can reach them

(Newser) - Two ships that have been trapped near Antarctica broke free of their icy prisons today—before the US ship coming to rescue them could even arrive. A crack appeared in the ice surrounding the Akademik Shokalskiy and the Xue Long following a change in wind direction, the captain of the...

US Joins in Antarctic Ship Rescue Effort

Coast Guard cutter to aid Russian, Chinese ships

(Newser) - First a Russian ship got trapped in Antarctic ice; then a Chinese ship got stuck trying to rescue it. Finally, passengers on the MV Akademik Shokalskiy were rescued late this week via helicopter while crew members remained. The saga continues amid concerns about the Chinese vessel : Now the US Coast...

52 Rescued From Stranded Antarctic Ship

Ship will now transport them to Tasmania

(Newser) - Help has finally arrived for 52 tourists and scientists who have been trapped on a ship stranded in Antarctic ice since Christmas Eve. A Chinese helicopter has ferried the adventurers in batches to the Aurora Australis ship that will bring them out out of Antarctic waters and to Tasmania by...

Helicopter Rescue Set for Ship Stranded in Antarctica

Chopper will lift 52 scientists, tourists, but leave crew

(Newser) - Passengers on board a research ship that has been trapped in Antarctic ice for more than a week are expected to be rescued by helicopter within hours. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Rescue Coordination Centre said today that weather conditions had improved in the area and rescue operations were...

Rare Photos Found From 1915 Antarctic Expedition

Negatives are discovered frozen in hut's darkroom

(Newser) - Ghostly images of a nearly 100-year-old Antarctic expedition have been rescued from a block of ice and processed for the first time, Guardia reports. They date back to 1915, when an advance team for Sir Ernest Shackleton called the Ross Sea Party arrived to set up supply depots for the...

Icebreaker Trying to Rescue Antarctic Ship Gets Stuck

Chinese vessel is within sight, but it might take another 2 days

(Newser) - The captain of a Chinese icebreaker trying to rescue an icebound vessel in the Antarctic puts it diplomatically to CNN : "The current ice condition is exceeding our capabilities to break through further." In other words, it's stuck, too. The good news is that the Chinese ship is...

Rescue 2 Days Off for Antarctic Cruise Stranded in Ice

Passengers said to be in high spirits nonetheless

(Newser) - An Antarctic adventure cruise has become stuck in ice after a storm, and rescue ships are at least two days away—but to judge from the dispatches from the ship, the people aboard don't seem to mind. The Akademik Shokalskiy sent out a distress call yesterday, News.com.au...

Antarctica May Hold a Stash of Diamonds

Researchers suspect the gem is there, but mining is banned until 2041

(Newser) - As a scramble for the Arctic's resources looms, scientists have spotted evidence of mineral riches at the planet's southern pole. An Australian-led team discovered rocks signaling large diamond deposits on the icy slopes of Mount Meredith, which is located in East Antarctica, the BBC reports. (They didn't...

Satellite Spies Coldest Spot on Earth
 Found: Coldest Spot on Earth 
Dec 10, 2013 5:00 AM CST

Found: Coldest Spot on Earth

'Soul-crushing' -136F recorded in Antarctica

(Newser) - If you're reading this in a spot just below the crest of an ice ridge on the East Antarctic Plateau, you're probably frozen solid by now. Researchers using satellite data say the area is the coldest place on Earth, with a record low of -136 Fahrenheit (-93.2...

Future Nobel? Neutrinos Discovery Heralds 'New Era for Astronomy'

They were found at the South Pole, and they're out of this world

(Newser) - Scientists at the South Pole have found visitors from outside our solar system, but instead of little green men, think "ghostly neutrino particles," in the words of Space.com . Twenty-eight of them to be exact, all detected by a special observatory called IceCube in Antarctica. Ars Technica has...

Live Volcano Found Under Antarctic Ice

It could send yet more ice into ocean if it blows its top

(Newser) - What happens when a huge volcanic eruption happens under a massive sheet of ice? A new discovery means scientists may soon get a chance to find out. Researchers investigating swarms of small earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 in western Antarctica believe they have spotted an active volcano rumbling under almost...

Danger in the Ocean: 270 Sq. Mile Iceberg

 Danger in the Ocean: 
 270-Square-Mile Iceberg 
in case you missed it
Nov 16, 2013 1:04 PM CST

Danger in the Ocean: 270-Square-Mile Iceberg

Chunk of Antarctic ice could threaten shipping

(Newser) - A vast iceberg—described variously as Singapore-sized, bigger than Chicago, a quarter of the size of Rhode Island, or just really, really big—is drifting away from Antarctica and could find its way toward shipping lanes. The 270-square-mile chunk of ice cracked off the Pine Island Glacier in July, Antarctica'...

Truth About Last Ice Age Found in Antarctic Ice

Study: Turns out warming happened around the same time everywhere

(Newser) - December 2011 saw the end of a five-year effort to recover the longest ice core ever drilled by the US. About half of the more than two-mile core, taken from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide, has been now been analyzed, taking scientists back through 30,000 years of annual...

Tests Hint at Fish Miles Below Antarctic Ice

Scientists study RNA at Lake Vostok

(Newser) - A lake nearly 2.5 miles below Antarctica's ice sheet could harbor some surprising organisms—including, perhaps, fish, scientists find. Lake Vostok, some 5,800 square miles in area, is thought to have been closed off from the atmosphere for millions of years, the BBC notes. But rivers below...

Antarctic Melting Fastest in 1K Years
 Antarctic Melting 
 Fastest in 1K Years 
study says
Apr 15, 2013 11:22 AM CDT

Antarctic Melting Fastest in 1K Years

Summers see 10 times the melting of 600 years ago

(Newser) - The Antarctic Peninsula is melting at a rate not seen for a millennium, researchers find. They investigated a 1,200-foot ice core from the peninsula, analyzing sections that had melted and refrozen, al Jazeera reports. The thickness of those layers and the gases held within revealed the extent of the...

In a First, Scientists Track Blue Whales by Song

Researchers able to zero in on mammoth creatures for study

(Newser) - Blue whales may be the planet's biggest creature, but that doesn't mean they're easy to track and study. This should help, however: Australian researchers on the Southern Ocean were able to get around what one called the "needle in a haystack" problem by dropping acoustic buoys...

Unidentified Life Form Found in Antarctic Lake

Isolated for millions of years, bacteria could hold clues about life beyond Earth

(Newser) - It looks like drilling through 2.3 miles of ice may have paid off: The Russian scientists who did just that last year at Antarctica's Lake Vostok say the samples they recovered contain an "unclassified and unidentified" life form, reports the BBC .The bacteria's DNA measured less...

New Zealand Has Another Wayward Penguin

'Happy Feet Jr.' is in rough shape after long journey

(Newser) - Another penguin has managed the amazing feat of washing up on the shore of New Zealand, reports AFP . This one has been named "Happy Feet Jr." after the original wayward penguin who captivated the nation in 2011. The juvenile royal penguin is in bad shape, unfortunately, though for...

Ozone Hole Smallest It's Been in a Decade

Chlorofluorocarbon ban appears to be improving Earth's ozone

(Newser) - One of the most infamous symbols of man's assault on the planet is actually diminishing: The ozone hole over Antarctica was smaller in 2012 than it has been in 10 years, reports LiveScience . Scientists credit the improvement to the worldwide ban on chlorofluorocarbons, which cause the hole to appear...

Kate Upton Freezes for Sake of Sports Illustrated

Cover shot features her in Antarctica, barely clad

(Newser) - For the second year running , Kate Upton graces the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue . And this year, the apparently sadistic SI bosses thought it would be fun to make the 20-year-old stand, in bikini bottoms and an unzipped jacket, in icy Antarctica for the cover shoot. Upton was...

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