Antarctic News

A collection of news items taken from the world's newspapers that relate to the Antarctic. This site is updated as news items appear in the popular press. All links will take you to sites outside of the PRISM site. Use your back button to return.

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December, 2006


December 13, 2006 - Survey targets 'ghost' mountains - BBC News
Scientists look set to undertake a detailed survey of Antarctica's Gamburtsev mountain range - one of the Earth's most enigmatic mountain groups. "We want to find out what these gigantic mountains are and where they come from; because no-one really knows how they formed," Dr Michael Studinger, a principal investigator on the project, told BBC News.


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November, 2006


November 13, 2006 - Poles apart, and melting - The Sydney Morning Herald
THE volume of ice at both ends of the world appears to be shrinking. Earlier this year a study of Antarctica's ice sheet found it had lost about 152 cubic kilometres of ice a year since April 2002.


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August, 2006


August 1, 2006 - Extreme conditions create rare Antarctic clouds - ABC News Technology and Science section
Antarctica is exhibiting another sign of global warming. Rare clouds seen are a consequence of a temperature drop in the stratosphere which is a result of an increase in global warming. These clouds also indicate that conditions exist in the stratosphere that lead to the destruction of ozone.


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July, 2006


July 19, 2006 - Antarctic researchers risk bone density - ABC
Scientific researchers spending winter in Antarctica might be at increased risk of osteoporosis unless they take vitamin D supplements, new research suggests. A pilot study presented last week at the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research meeting in Hobart, suggests some researchers who spend the winter in Antarctica have low levels of vitamin D, which is making their bones weaker.


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June, 2006


June 29, 2006 - 'Invaders' threaten Antarctica - Scotsman
ANTARCTICA is facing destruction by foreign species of animals, plants and microbes that are hitching lifts on aircraft and ships, scientists have warned. Following the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Edinburgh, 45 countries agreed measures announced yesterday aimed at stopping non-native species from invading what has been called the last great wilderness.


June 13, 2006 - Antarctic luxury cruises 'a disaster waiting to happen' - Scotsman
LARGE luxury cruises into the unchartered waters of Antarctica must be banned to prevent a disaster worse than the Titanic, British diplomats warned yesterday. There has been a recent boom in such trips, but a sinking would cause a humanitarian and ecological disaster, they said. Tourism to the frozen continent has quadrupled, to 32,000 visitors, in the past eight years.


June 2, 2006 - Gigantic Meteor Crater Found in Antarctica - AP
The 300-mile-wide crater lies more than a mile beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and might date to about 250 million years ago -- the time of the Permian-Triassic extinction, when nearly all animal life on Earth became extinct. Its size and location -- in the Wilkes Land region of East Antarctica, south of Australia -- suggest it could have begun the breakup of the Gondwana supercontinent by creating the tectonic rift that pushed Australia northward.


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April, 2006


April 18, 2006 - Scientists unveil world's oldest ice block - Reuters
A million-year-old ice sample drilled from 3 kilometres under the Antarctic and unveiled in Tokyo on Tuesday could yield vital clues on climate change, Japanese scientists said.


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March, 2006


March 22, 2006 - Students Chill Out In Deep Freeze - BBC
A team of three medical students from St. George’s University plans to follow the route of Captain Robert F. Scott to the South Pole. They are currently testing their equipment in a University freezer.


March 21, 2006 - Argentina's Floating Icebergs Worry Farmers Who Fear Flooding - Bloomberg
The Argentinia coast guard says that icebergs were found recently in the ocean near Buenos Aires. These were the largest ever seen in the region and their appearance appears to be related to global warming. Other indicators of global warming in South America are also discussed in this article.


March 15, 2006 - Huge Polar Initiative Announced - BBC
Next year thousands of international scientists will begin the most intensive period of research in the polar regions that has been conducted in about fifty years. The International Polar Year (IPY) will focus on key issues that impact the whole world, not just the poles. CReSIS will be part of this effort.


March 15, 2006 - Voyage of Discovery Finds Tonnes Of Krill - ABC (Australia)
Scientists from Australia's Antarctic Division have found what they believe is a huge population of krill in the south-west of the Indian Ocean.


March 13, 2006 - NASA Puts Its Weight Behind Warming Signs - MSNBC
Following two recent studies on changes to Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, NASA is touting a survey that it says confirms “climate warming is changing how much water remains locked in Earth’s largest storehouses of ice and snow.�


March 8, 2006 - Antarctic Expedition Supports Case for MPA - Scoop
An expedition organized by the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries to study the Balleny Islands archipelago has been completed. Early reports are that the data will provide stronger information to support the proposal for a Marine Protected Area (MPA) around the islands, but the proposal will require approval under the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) and the Antarctic Treaty System before it can proceed. A map showing the location of the Balleny Islands.


March 6, 2006 - Scientists Find Antarctic Ice Shrank Significantly - ENN
A recent NASA survey has determined that the Antarctic ice sheet shrank about 152 km a year over the past three years. This loss was enough to raise sea level 1.2 mm. Similar stories from Newsday and Bloomberg.


March 3, 2006 - Antarctic Project Sparks Concern - Aljazeera
Though the Russians appear poised to drill into buried Lake Vostok in Antaractica, many experts says that the technology that would allow such drilling to proceed without contaminating the lake is not yet available. This lake could preserve life isolated for millions of years.


March 2, 2006 - North Pole Meets South Pole: Ends of Earth Are Melting - ABC (US)
Recent studies have confirmed that the North Pole and the South Pole are melting. This could have impact on coastal cities and villages if the melting of ice shelves speeds up.


March 1, 2006 - Green Light For Antarctic Flights - ABC (Australia)
Australia will soon begin flying from Hobart, Australia into Casey station. The first few flights will be test flights.


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February, 2006


February 28, 2006 - World-Class Ice Core Facility - Scoop (GNS Science)
New Zealand is to get a world-class research laboratory for studying climate history in the Southern Hemisphere. It will be used for storage and analysis of Antarctic and New Zealand glacial ice cores, which are indicators of climate change.


February 27, 2006 - Blue Whales Still Increasing, Study Finds - IOL
The slow but steady comeback of the blue whale is continuing according to scientists working for the International Whaling Commission. This huge creature was driven nearly to extinction by commercial whalers.


February 27, 2006 - Go-ahead For Europe Ice Mission - Tehran Times
The European Space Agency (ESA) has decided to build Cryosat 2 - a satellite to study the earth's ice sheets. The original was lost in the Arctic Ocean last year when the Russian launch rocket blew up.


February 25, 2006 - Mawson Project Creates Buzz In Antarctica - Australian
Restoration work has begun on Mawson's Hut in Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica. This historic artifact was the home to the expedition (1911-1914) by Douglas Mawson in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.


February 22, 2006 - Antarctic Penguin Find Excites Scientists - ABC
Scientists say the discovery of a colony of emperor penguins in Siple Island on the remote west coast of Antarctica is an exciting find. Learn more about Siple Island


February 21, 2006 - Elephant Seals Dive For Science - BBC
Computerized tags that record temperature, depth and salinity have been affixed to the heads of several elephant seals. These data will help researchers better understand the habits of these creatures and the world they live in.


February 21, 2006 - Tough Skin Helps Baby Antarctic Fish - Chicago Sun Times
A team headed by the biologist who discovered that Antarctic fish have antifreeze proteins in their blood, has learned that the baby fish often do not have this protection. The team has suggested that the tiny fish may be protected by a thicker skin or by slow-growing gills.


February 21, 2006 - Scientists Find First Neutrinos in 'IceCube' Project - USA Today
The IceCube project, launched in 2002, to use the Antarctic ice as a huge telescope for finding neutrinos has paid off. A team of scientists from Japan, headed by Shigeru Yoshida, along with investigators from seven other countries has apparently detected its first neutrinos.


February 20, 2006 - Antarctic Enzyme Enters $BN DNA Testing Market - Scoop
An enzyme derived from a micro-organism found in a volcanic vent in Antarctica by New Zealand scientists is being launched onto the billion dollar global DNA extraction market. This enzyme has taken 20 years to come to the market and is important because it extracts DNA from samples much faster than other extraction methods currently available.


February 19, 2006 - Second Failure In Antarctic Quest - BBC
Colin Yeates has been rescued after his small craft was swamped in heavy seas. This ended his second bid to be the first to sail a small craft completely around Antarctica.


February 10, 2006 - Anger Over Whale Pet Food Claims - BBC
Japanese scientists have reacted angrily to media reports that surplus whale meat is being sold as pet food. They say that they sold less than 100 gm of the meat this way. The whale meat is a byproduct of Japanese whale research.


February 7, 2006 - Norwegian Completes Longest Ski Trek: Across Antarctica - Canada.com
Norwegian adventurer Rune Gjeldnes completed a 93-day solo, unsupported trek across Antarctica on Friday, laying claim to two polar skiing records. Not only was it the longest unsupported ski trek, but he is the first person to cross both the Arctic and Antarctic with no outside help.


February 6, 2006 - Russian Icebreaker Escorts Tanker to U.S. Polar Station - Interfax
The Krasin, a Russian icebreaker, has successfully escorted the fuel tanker, H. Gianella, to McMurdo Station through 21 miles of sea ice. waters. A cargo ship had previously been escorted and is being unloaded.


February 6, 2006 - Antarctic Mike On A Sheep's Back - NZ Herald
Antarctic Mike, a resident of San Francisco, has become an advertisement for NZ merino wool. His clothing made of this wool kept him warm and odor-free while running the first Antarctic Ice Marathon.


February 3, 2006 - College Student Went Way South For Winter Break - Virginian Pilot
Jerome Mitchell, an Elizabeth City State University student, headed south for his winter break to work with a group studying global warming, glacial melting and the impact on the world’s sea levels. NOTE: Jerome was part of our PRISM team.


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January, 2006


January 28, 2006 - Japanese Scientists Find Million-Year-Old Ice - USA today
A team of Japanese researchers drilling near the Fuji Dome has recovered what is believed to be the oldest sample of ice ever recovered, possibly dating back 1 million years, officials said Tuesday. The sample was taken from a depth of 9, 9994 feet.


January 27, 2006 - Wearing A Speedo In World's Chilliest Waters - IOL
Lewis Gordon Pugh just a few weeks after his Antarctic swim completed a long-distance swim in the Pacific. This makes him the first person to complete a long-distance swim in all five oceans of the world (the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern Oceans).


January 26, 2006 - Sick Seaman Airlifted From Antarctica - NZ Herald
A Uruguayan crewman is recovering following a rescue mission in Antarctica involving five countries. Uruguay, New Zealand, Italy, and the United States were all involved in treating the man’s illness and ensuring that he was taken to New Zealand for hospitalization


January 25, 2006 - Two Large Lakes Discovered Under Antarctic Ice - Live Science
Antarctica has at least 145 small lakes buried under its ice and one large one called Vostok. Now scientists have found the second and third largest known bodies of subsurface liquid water there.


January 23, 2006 - Robert Hill Reaches Peak of Antarctica's Highest Mountain - Stockhouse
Robert Hill, a man with Chrohn's disease and an colonostomy reached the peak of Vinson Massif, Antarctica's tallest mountain on Jan 19th after an 8 day expedition. He made the climb to prove that people living with intestinal diseases or an ostomy can still live a very full life.


January 20, 2006 - Protestors Dump Dead Whale - Bahrain News
Greenpeace activists parked a 20-tondead whale outside the Japanese embassy in Berlin to protest against the country's whaling program yesterday. Similar story from MSNBC


January 20, 2006 - Australia Hopes To Finish Ice Runway In Antarctica by 2007 - Taipei Times
The largest snow plows ever sent to Antarctica have set sail from Hobart, Tasmania, on a Russian freighter. If all goes according to plan the massive equipment will be unloaded by early February at Australia's Casey base in Antarctica. It will be used to construct an ice runway.


January 19, 2006 - Australia Takes Whaling Concerns Directly To Japan - Scoop
Australia participated in a high-level international delegation representing 17 counties this week to urge the Japanese Government to stop its lethal scientific whaling program.


January 19, 2006 - Hampton Boy's Love Of Penguins Leads To Special Trip - Post-Gazette (PA)
Cronin Wilkes, 7, of Hampton, PA will travel along with his parents to Antarctica with internationally recognized explorer Doug Stoup and his ICE AXE Foundation in February as part of the 2006 Antarctic Peninsula Expedition.


January 19, 2006 - Nurse First Woman Home In Antarctic Marathon - Scotsman
A Scottish nurse, Wendy MacKinnon, has become the first woman to complete a marathon at the South Pole. She was one of 10 finishers and came in fourth.


January 13, 2006 - Greenpeace Abandons Chase - News24
Greenpeace ships that have been harassing Japan's whaling fleet in Antarctic waters for more than three weeks have abandoned their chase and are returning to South Africa to shift the focus to the supermarket.

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