Antarctic News Archives - Technology

A collection of older (2003-2004) news items related to technology, computer models and construction used in the Antarctic. All links will take you to sites outside of the PRISM site. Use your back button to return.

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Technology News - 2004

• Dec. 14, 2004 - Electronic Lines On An Epic Voyage... - Scotsman
  Simon Faithfull, an artist, uses a Palm Pilot to draw things that he sees while on an ice-breaker in the Southern Ocean.He then e-mails the drawings to his subscribers.
  
  
• Nov. 25, 2004 - Architects Off To The Antarctic - Guardian Unlimited
  Three teams of British architects and engineers, after being named the finalists in a competition for the British Antarctic Survey, are going to the Antarctic early next year.
  
  
• Oct. 11, 2004 - Antarctic Research Station Takes Shape - Aftenposten
  Norway has begun shipping the components of its first year-round research station in Antarctica. They plan to open in February.
  
  
• Sept 27, 2004 - China To Build 3rd Research Station At Antarctica - China Daily
  China is planning an October expedition to determine a suitable location for a third Chinese research station. They are hoping to be allowed to build somewhere between Dome A and Zhongshan Station. The site would have to be approved by the Antarctic Treaty nations.
  
  
• Sept 16, 2004 - Earth's Best View Of The Stars. - Space Daily
  An unmanned Australian observatory on Dome C in the Antarctic takes great photos of the stars, almost as good as those from the Hubble Space Station.
  
  
• Sept 2, 2004 - Envisat Witnesses Return Of South Polar Ozone Hole - Space Daily
  The ozone hole over the Antarctic has opened again, but it appeared two weeks later than last year's.
  
  
• August 28, 2004 - Space Houses On Earth - ESA
  A home designed by the European Space Agency may serve as the model for the new German Antarctic research station, Neumayer III. (Similar story at CNN with photos).
  
  
• July 9, 2004 - US Satellite to Study Health of Global Atmosphere - VOA
  The AURA satellite is set to launch according to NASA officials. It will monitor the chemistry of the atmosphere and composition from about 50 km above the earth.
  
  
• July 6, 2004 - 'Smart' Satellites That Think For Themselves - Technology Trends
  Software has been written to allow robots the ability to conduct their own scientific exploration. For example, the EO-1 satellite made its own studies of Mt. Erebus, an Antarctic volcano.
  
  
• June 28, 2004 - NASA Spacecraft Detects Volcanic Activity In Antarctica - Space Daily
  The NASA spacecraft, EO-1 , has taken a wonderful photograph of the active volcanic lake in the crater of Mount Erebus in Antarctica. Several photographs were taken after the initial detection of the heat signature. Testing in the Antarctic region will teach the satellite how to recognize other active volcanoes.
  
  
• May 20, 2004 - Icebreakers Polluting Antarctica - The Australian
  High levels of a chemical that sometimes added to marine paint has shown up in Antarctic waters. Some environmentalists want to ban the use of this chemical on ships that travel to Antarctica to protect the marine organisms there.
  
  
• April 20, 2004 - Marine Researchers Fertilize Southern Ocean ... - Science Daily
  Scientists have been fertilizing the Southern Ocean by adding iron to determine the effect of such interventions on phytoplankton. Increasing numbers of phytoplankton can help remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
  
  
• April 12, 2004 - American Pave Road To South Pole- Wired
  After two summers, the ice highway to the South Pole is now 425 miles long. It is due to be completed in 2006.
  
  
• March 4, 2004 - Tumbleweed Rover Goes On A Roll At South Pole - Science Daily
  A pair of rovers that look a lot like beach balls have been launched to move from the South Pole to the coast of Antarctica, taking topographical and meteorological data as they roll along. It is hoped that this rover can eventually be used on Mars. (More information and pictures of the rover from JPL).
  
  
• Feb. 17, 2004 -Satellite Tracking On Heard Island - Australian Antarctic Division
  Satellite tracking and a new video system are being used as part of land-sea research on the marine food web in the Heard Island region. Of particular interest are the dietary needs of penguins and seals.
  
  
• Feb. 2, 2004 - Antarctic Resources At Risk - BBC News
  Life forms, especially microbes, in Antarctic regions are being ruthlessly hunted and harvested in order to profit from them. The possible value of these life forms for new genetic manipulation and in pharmaceutical research has the international community worrying about the environmental consequences of this largely unregulated "bioprospecting". (Similar story at Dawn.com).
  
  

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Technology News - 2003

• Dec. 9, 2003 - ICESat Views Clouds and Ice - NASA
  IceSat is providing wonderful 3-D views of Earth to help scientists better understand how climate is affecting the earth. ICESat uses infrared technology. It is providing a more accurate pictures of polar ice sheets than previous technology.
  
  
• Dec. 8, 2003 - Abandoned Penguin Colonies May Refine Antarctic Climate Studies - NSF
  About 2000 years ago, a cooling trend apparently built up so much ice in the Ross Sea that Adelie penguins abandoned their colonies in that area. Radiocarbon data from abandoned colonies suggest that the current ice-free condition of the area only began about 1000 years ago, and penguin recolonization about 500 years ago.
  
  
• Oct. 6, 2003 - ICEsat's Lasers Measure Ice, Clouds ... - NASA
  NASA's Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation satellite has resumed measurements of the polar ice sheets with the second of its three lasers. (Images from ICEsat)
  
  
• September 14, 2003 - Building On Ice A Challenging Project - NZ Herald
  A construction firm in Christchurch has won the building contract for building a new field store at Scott Station.
  
  
• September 8, 2003 - Oldest Ice Core Promises Climate Revelations - NewScientist.com
  A recently drilled ice core from Dome Concordia has been shown to be at least 750,000 years old. Scientists may be able to extract a climate record that will allow prediction of what the earth's climate might have been like without global warming.
  
  
• August 11, 2003 - NASA Funds Study of Changes In Earth's Glacier Systems - NSIDC News
  University of Colorado scientists have been given a NASA grant to develop a database of information on the world's glaciers. The database will combine historical data and modern measurements to document changes in the glaciers.
  
  
• July 24, 2003 - Antarctic Telescope Delivers First Neutrino Sky Map - Science Daily
  The Antarctic telescope, Amanda II, has produced the first map of the high-energy neutrino sky. This telescope looks down through the earth.
  
  
• May 28, 2003 - Scientists Take Snapshot of Ice Shelves - Computerworld
  British Antarctic Survey scientists who are mapping the ice sheets opt for analogue instead of digital photographs. Current efforts focus on aerial photography of the ice shelves.
  
  
• May 27, 2003 - South Pole Researchers To Grow Own Vegetables - USA Today
  University of Arizona researchers are developing a self-contained greenhouse to grow food for researchers in Antarctica. It will be shipped to the South Pole where it will be a testbed for the feasiblity of similar projects on Mars.
  
  
• May 27, 2003 - Antarctica A Superb Testbed for Hydrogen Power - ABC News
  An Australian researcher is investigating ways to replace or supplement fossil fuel energy supply systems on the frozen continent and has suggested that hydrogen power should be tested here.
  
  
• May 21, 2003 - New Climate Model Predicts Greater 21st Century Warming - Science Daily
  English researchers have been able to develop a climate model that incorporates multiple human and natural factors. It seems to show that global warming may be even greater than previously predicted.
  
  
• May 5, 2003 - New Antarctic Research Lab in New Zealand - Xinhua
  New Zealand has opened a new palaeomagnetic lab in New Zealand to learn more about the process of global climate change.
  
  
• March 14, 2003 - Antarctic Ice Collapse Began End Of Ice Age? - National Geographic
  Computer models indicate that the melting of an enormous ice sheet in Antarctica 14,000 years ago, ultimately led to the end of the last Ice Age.
  
  
• March 25, 2003 - New South Pole Seismic Station... - NSF
  A new seismic observatory at Amundson-Scott South Pole Station is one of the world's quietest and most sensitive. This station is known by station code name "QSPA".
  
  
• March 3, 2003 - Antarctic Time Capsules - Independent.co.uk
  Air bubbles trapped in the ice provide a clue to the climate of long ago when extracted from polar ice cores. Polar scientists from 10 European countries have announced that they have drilled the deepest ice core ever obtained in Antarctica. It is more than two miles long.
  
  
• February 27, 2003 - Alternative Method to Refuel Research Station - Newswise/NSF
  Effects of two years of unusually heavy pack ice are keeping a fuel tanker from reaching McMurdo research station. So fuel lines have been rigged across 3.5 miles of sea ice. The fuel is essential for continued operation of the research station.
  
  
• Feb. 05, 2003 - U.S. Team May Build Antarctic Road to South Pole - USA Today
  The US has begun studying a permanent 1600 km permanent land route to the South Pole from McMurdo Station.Crevasses have already been filled along the route. It is currently envisioned as a trail by which cargo can be transported. (See earlier article in 70South.)
  
  
• Jan. 12, 2003 - Extreme Antarctic Wind to Power Australian Station- Australian Antarctic Division
  Mawson station will soon be getting the needed supplies for a wind turbine. This will be the first attempt by the Australians to provide electricity via wind power.
  
  
  

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