Antarctic News Archive - The environment

A collection of older (2004-20045) news items that relate to the environment of Antarctica and sub-Antarctic islands. All links will take you to sites outside of the PRISM site. Use your back button to return.

Return to Archive Topic List

December, 2005

December 8, 2005 - Old Fridges Delay Closure of Ozone Hole - Guardian Unlimited
Old refrigerators, cars and fire extinguishers are preventing the ozone hole over the Antarctic from closing as quickly as scientists originally estimated. New results suggest that the hole will not disappear completely until 2065 - 15 years later than previous estimates. Similar story from ENN.
December 7, 2005 - A Tour Of The Cryosphere Reveals The Frozen Assets Of Earth - Space Daily
NASA has released two new videos for download that allow people to see the impact of the cryosphere around the world. They used data from satellites to make the videos.

November, 2005

November 21, 2005 - Cracking Up - The Statesman
Overview of the experts opinions about sea level, temperatures and global precipitation organized by global regions.
November 13, 2005 - Race To Save Frozen Clues To Life In Space - Guardian Unlimited
Russian researchers are preparing to tap into buried Lake Vostok in Antarctic in search of climate clues that have been buried for thousands of years. But some other scientists are worried that the technology for doing so is untested and may irrevocably pollute these pristine waters.
November 9, 2005 - Russian Antarctic Expedition To Leave St. Petersburg On Nov. 11 - Interfax
The flagship of the Russian polar flotilla Akademik Fyodorov will leave St. Petersburg on Friday heading for Antarctica. This group will stop at Mirny and Progress research stations as well as three others field stations.
November 8, 2005 - Envisat Shows Behemoth B-15A Iceberg Breaking Up - SpaceDaily
After five years of being the world's largest free-floating object, the B-15A iceberg has broken into smaller pieces off Antarctica's Cape Adare.

October, 2005

October 26, 2005 - Scientists Draft Blueprint To Protect World Oceans - ENN
International scientists are mapping out a plan for a network of marine parks to save the world's oceans from fish stock depletion and growing pollution. This UN-backed plan is scheduled to be unveiled in 2008 and adopted by world governments by 2012.
October 20, 2005 - Ozone Hole Third Largest On Record - Tehran Times
This year's seasonal ozone hole over Antarctica was the third largest on record, but forecasters are uncertain how it will behave in the future, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said. Similar story from The Australian.
October 19, 2005 - Australian Scientists On Antarctic Clean-up Mission - ABC (Australia)
Australia's Antarctic Division is attracting international attention for a waste management project about to get under way on the frozen continent. One of the main projects will involve using water and heat technology to remediate contamination from an old oil spill.
October 18, 2005 - Polar Regions Take Center Stage in Climate Crisis - Planet Ark
World scientists are aiming to spell out in graphic detail the threat of flooding faced by millions of people from America to Asia as global warming melts the polar ice caps. A major coordinated study of the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets intends not only to lay the bald facts before world leaders but offer courses of action. "We want to be more prescriptive," said David Carlson, head of International Polar Year (IPY) starting in March 2007.
October 18, 2005 - Antarctic Ice Melts As Sea Warms But Cause Unknown - ENN
Antarctic ice is melting, adding to the inexorable rise in global sea levels, endangering millions of lives and whole economies, leading British scientists said on Monday. But while the effect is well known after years of monitoring from land and space, the reasons for the sea warming are not. There has been a net loss of mass in Antarctic ice as the gain in landmass was more than offset by loss on the coasts.

September, 2005

September 29, 2005 - Oceans Becoming More Acidic - ABC (Australia)
Scientists are warning that the world's oceans are becoming more acidic as they absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Similar story from The Guardian.
September 29, 2005 - Meteorites Offer Glimpse of the Early Earth. - Space Daily
A special type of meteorite harvested from Antarctica may give clues about the environment in which early Earth formed, according to researchers from Purdue. They have been studying EC meteorites.
September 20, 2005 - UN Reports Near-Record Hold In Ozone Layer - Scoop
The hole in the Antarctic ozone layer is approaching the all-time record of 2003 and it is unclear whether the world will ever attain full recovery of the naturally occurring trace gas that shields it from cancer-causing ultraviolet (UV) radiation, according to the United Nations meteorological agency.

August, 2005

August 31, 2005 - South Pole Ozone Hole Makes Big Comeback - TerraDaily
This season's ozone hole over the Antarctic is ten million square kilometers and is still growing. This is the third largest ozone hole ever measured in August.
August 31, 2005 - Snowball Antarctica - Early Drake Passage Opening Led To Global Change - TerraDaily
British Antarctic Survey scientists have concluded that 30-50 million years ago, South America and Antarctica split apart very rapidly, creating the Drake Passage. This conclusion came from intensive study of the sea bed below the Weddell Sea. They believe that the opening of the Drake Passage could have triggered an abrupt cooling event and the growth of the Antarctic ice sheet.
August 17, 2005 - Sea Ice May Be On Increase In Antarctica - TerraDaily
NASA-funded researchers have developed a new model based on satellite data which improves prediction of precipitation rate. They say this improved model shows that increases in precipitation due to warmer air temperatures may increase sea ice volume in Antarctica. This is the opposite of what has been happening in the Arctic.
August 11, 2005 - An Antarctic Snow Blanket - The Australian
Much of Australia has been coated with an unusual snowfall. The weather bureau there says that the snow due to a cold outbreak traveling from Antarctica.
August 10, 2005 - New Window Into Ancient Ozone Holes - TerraDaily
British researchers have developed a new technique to help them search for ancient ozone holes and study their relationship to mass extinctions. They will analyze fossilized spores and look for ultraviolet-B absorbing pigments.
August 10, 2005 - Aussie Volcano Erupts - The Australian
Satellite images show that a volcano is erupting on Australia's most remote territory, McDonald Island in the sub-Antarctic. This volcano has been dormant for 13 years, having last erupted in 1992.
August 4, 2005 - New Melting Moment - TerraDaily
Analysis of ice cores drilled from the Larson B Ice Shelf just before its collapse in 2002, finds that there no precedent for its collapse in the past 11,000 years. They noted that it had been thinning, but that warmer air temperatures caused the collapse. Experts believe that another ice shelf may collapse in the next two years. Similar story from Australian.

July, 2005

July 29, 2005 - Explaining Antarctica's Strange Megadunes - MSNBC
Huge dunes carved by the katabatic winds in Antarctica can be seen from space but are barely perceptible to ground exploration because they are so large. It appears that these dunes are formed by a different process than sand dunes. More about katabatic winds.

June, 2005

June 30, 2005 - Warmer Air May Cause Increased Antarctic Sea Ice Cover - Terra Daily
A new study shows that, in the Antarctic, increases in precipitation due to warmer air temperatures from greenhouse gas emissions may actually increase sea ice volume in the Antarctic's Southern Ocean.
June 17, 2005 - Antarctica: Polluters To Pay - News 24
A two-week conference on pollution in the Antarctic wrapped up here on Friday, with delegates boasting a major breakthrough on a deal ensuring that polluters in the future will be held accountable for the messes they make in the region.
June 14, 2005 - Antarctic Ice Detachment Studied - The Washington Times
A University of California-San Diego study says Antarctic ice fracturing occurs in episodes and may be tied to changes evolving over seasons. The study wanted to find out how icebergs detach from the main continental ice sheet as a way to determine the future stability of the entire Antarctic ice mass. The findings have been published as papers in Geophysical Research Letters.
June 13, 2005 - Antarctic Scientists Map Ocean Floor Near Palmer Station in Antarctica - Space Daily
Using inflatable boats, a portable depth sounder with GPS, and a REMUS autonomous underwater vehicle, a team of scientists and engineers has created the first detailed, comprehensive chart of the ocean floor around Palmer Station in Antarctica, revealing previously unknown submerged rocks.
June 3, 2005 - Antarctic Workers Sad To See Iceberg Go - ABC
A massive iceberg which has been lodged offshore from Australia's Casey Station in Antarctica is on the move.The iceberg, stretching more than 50 kilometers, has been snagged in Vincennes Bay for the past month. (Map of Australia's Casey Base Station region, Antarctica)

May, 2005

May 22, 2005 - Antarctic Ice Sheet Thickening - ABC
The Antarctic ice sheet appears to be growing in East Antarctica according to a new report in Science magazine. The authors emphasize that their work applies only to the interior and eastern portion of the ice sheet, but say the thickening may help mitigate sea level rise due to melting elsewhere on the continent.
May 17, 2005 - New Collision Looks Imminent for B-15A Iceberg - ESA
A month after its collision with the Drygalski Ice Tongue, the B-15A iceberg seems to be heading directly for the tongue of the Aviator Glacier.

April, 2005

April 21, 2005 - Antarctic Glaciers Show Retreat - BBC
A large-scale study of glaciers, on the Antarctic peninsula, show that nearly 90% of the glaciers are losing mass. This is thought to be due to warming atmosphere, changing ocean currents and water temperatures. Similar story from USA Today.
April 19, 2005 - B-15A Iceberg Collides With Antarctic Ice Tongue - Space Daily
The B-15A Iceberg has collided with the Drygalski Ice Tongue and broken off a 5 km. long section of the ice tongue. A good view of the collision and the resultant break was possible through the use of Envisat's Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar system.
April 4, 2005 - World's Biggest Iceberg Begins Moving... - ENN
The world's largest iceberg, B15A, is now moving out of McMurdo Sound where it had blocked sea access. This is good news for the Adelie penguin breeding colonies where penguins chicks faced starvation as penguin parents had to trek 110 miles across the ice for food. Similar story from News24

March, 2005

March 21, 2005 - Giant Iceberg B-15A Edges Past Floating Ice Pier - Space Daily
The world's largest floating object, an iceberg in McMurdo Sound is moving again. It had been grounded for a few months, but now is being transported close to the end the Drygalski Ice Tongue. Its movements are being watched very carefully.

February, 2005

February 25, 2005 - Antarctic Ice Shelf Retreat Nothing New ... - Space Daily
Scientists have reported that a study of George VI Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula experienced an extensive retreat about 9500 year ago, and that this retreat coincided with a shift of ocean currents that occurred after a long period of warmth. (view map showing George VI Ice Shelf from UNEP Global Environment Outlook)
February 7, 2005 - Antarctica's Ice Seems To Be Safe ... - USA Today
Chilean glaciologists using radar developed at the University of Kansas have found that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet may be thicker than previously thought. In fact it may be hundreds of feet thicker in some areas. They warn that the deeper the ice, the more potential impact on sea level rise should it melt. They say there is some instability in West Antarctica though the temperature seems to be holding steady or cooling in other parts of the continent. Radar developed by the PRISM scientists and the Remote Sensing Lab at the University of Kansas was involved in this study!
February 2, 2005 - Antarctic's Ice Melting Faster - BBC
Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey report that over 13,000 sq. kilometers of sea ice has been lost around the Antarctic peninsula over the past 50 years. This loss is allowing the glaciers to flow into the ocean many times faster than was estimated in most sea-level rise models. PRISM Principal Investigator, Dr. Prasad Gogineni, was invited to give a talk to the British Antarctic Survey on the KU radar work. See similar story from TimesOnline - Britain.

January, 2005

January 5, 2005 - Icebergs In New Zealand Waters For First Time In 57 Years - SpaceDaily
For the first time since 1948, sailors have encountered icebergs in New Zealand waters.
January 3, 2005 - Antarctic May Have Iced Over When Atmosphere Changed - Space Daily
New data from ocean core samples challenges the theory that the Antarctic ice sheet developed because of a shift in ocean currents. Fossils of cold-water plankton have been found in Eocene sediments off the Antarctic coast.

December, 2004

December 11, 2004 - Antarctic 'On The Edge Of Disaster' - Guardian
A British biologist warns that Antarctic animals are quite sensitive to climate change and may become extinct if the waters in the Southern Ocean rise even a "couple of degrees." He explains why.


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Home>Polar News>Antarctic News Archive
			Antarctic News Archive - The environment A collection of older (2004-20045) news items that relate to the environment of Antarctica and sub-Antarctic islands. All links will take you to sites outside of the PRISM site. Use your back button to return. Return to Archive Topic List December, 2005 December 8, 2005 - Old Fridges Delay Closure of Ozone Hole - Guardian Unlimited Old refrigerators, cars and fire extinguishers are preventing the ozone hole over the Antarctic from closing as quickly as scientists originally estimated. New results suggest that the hole will not disappear completely until 2065 - 15 years later than previous estimates. Similar story from ENN. December 7, 2005 - A Tour Of The Cryosphere Reveals The Frozen Assets Of Earth - Space Daily NASA has released two new videos for download that allow people to see the impact of the cryosphere around the world. They used data from satellites to make the videos. November, 2005 November 21, 2005 - Cracking Up - The Statesman Overview of the experts opinions about sea level, temperatures and global precipitation organized by global regions. November 13, 2005 - Race To Save Frozen Clues To Life In Space - Guardian Unlimited Russian researchers are preparing to tap into buried Lake Vostok in Antarctic in search of climate clues that have been buried for thousands of years. But some other scientists are worried that the technology for doing so is untested and may irrevocably pollute these pristine waters. November 9, 2005 - Russian Antarctic Expedition To Leave St. Petersburg On Nov. 11 - Interfax The flagship of the Russian polar flotilla Akademik Fyodorov will leave St. Petersburg on Friday heading for Antarctica. This group will stop at Mirny and Progress research stations as well as three others field stations. November 8, 2005 - Envisat Shows Behemoth B-15A Iceberg Breaking Up - SpaceDaily After five years of being the world's largest free-floating object, the B-15A iceberg has broken into smaller pieces off Antarctica's Cape Adare. October, 2005 October 26, 2005 - Scientists Draft Blueprint To Protect World Oceans - ENN International scientists are mapping out a plan for a network of marine parks to save the world's oceans from fish stock depletion and growing pollution. This UN-backed plan is scheduled to be unveiled in 2008 and adopted by world governments by 2012. October 20, 2005 - Ozone Hole Third Largest On Record - Tehran Times This year's seasonal ozone hole over Antarctica was the third largest on record, but forecasters are uncertain how it will behave in the future, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said. Similar story from The Australian. October 19, 2005 - Australian Scientists On Antarctic Clean-up Mission - ABC (Australia) Australia's Antarctic Division is attracting international attention for a waste management project about to get under way on the frozen continent. One of the main projects will involve using water and heat technology to remediate contamination from an old oil spill. October 18, 2005 - Polar Regions Take Center Stage in Climate Crisis - Planet Ark World scientists are aiming to spell out in graphic detail the threat of flooding faced by millions of people from America to Asia as global warming melts the polar ice caps. A major coordinated study of the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets intends not only to lay the bald facts before world leaders but offer courses of action. "We want to be more prescriptive," said David Carlson, head of International Polar Year (IPY) starting in March 2007. October 18, 2005 - Antarctic Ice Melts As Sea Warms But Cause Unknown - ENN Antarctic ice is melting, adding to the inexorable rise in global sea levels, endangering millions of lives and whole economies, leading British scientists said on Monday. But while the effect is well known after years of monitoring from land and space, the reasons for the sea warming are not. There has been a net loss of mass in Antarctic ice as the gain in landmass was more than offset by loss on the coasts. September, 2005 September 29, 2005 - Oceans Becoming More Acidic - ABC (Australia) Scientists are warning that the world's oceans are becoming more acidic as they absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Similar story from The Guardian. September 29, 2005 - Meteorites Offer Glimpse of the Early Earth. - Space Daily A special type of meteorite harvested from Antarctica may give clues about the environment in which early Earth formed, according to researchers from Purdue. They have been studying EC meteorites. September 20, 2005 - UN Reports Near-Record Hold In Ozone Layer - Scoop The hole in the Antarctic ozone layer is approaching the all-time record of 2003 and it is unclear whether the world will ever attain full recovery of the naturally occurring trace gas that shields it from cancer-causing ultraviolet (UV) radiation, according to the United Nations meteorological agency. August, 2005 August 31, 2005 - South Pole Ozone Hole Makes Big Comeback - TerraDaily This season's ozone hole over the Antarctic is ten million square kilometers and is still growing. This is the third largest ozone hole ever measured in August. August 31, 2005 - Snowball Antarctica - Early Drake Passage Opening Led To Global Change - TerraDaily British Antarctic Survey scientists have concluded that 30-50 million years ago, South America and Antarctica split apart very rapidly, creating the Drake Passage. This conclusion came from intensive study of the sea bed below the Weddell Sea. They believe that the opening of the Drake Passage could have triggered an abrupt cooling event and the growth of the Antarctic ice sheet. August 17, 2005 - Sea Ice May Be On Increase In Antarctica - TerraDaily NASA-funded researchers have developed a new model based on satellite data which improves prediction of precipitation rate. They say this improved model shows that increases in precipitation due to warmer air temperatures may increase sea ice volume in Antarctica. This is the opposite of what has been happening in the Arctic. August 11, 2005 - An Antarctic Snow Blanket - The Australian Much of Australia has been coated with an unusual snowfall. The weather bureau there says that the snow due to a cold outbreak traveling from Antarctica. August 10, 2005 - New Window Into Ancient Ozone Holes - TerraDaily British researchers have developed a new technique to help them search for ancient ozone holes and study their relationship to mass extinctions. They will analyze fossilized spores and look for ultraviolet-B absorbing pigments. August 10, 2005 - Aussie Volcano Erupts - The Australian Satellite images show that a volcano is erupting on Australia's most remote territory, McDonald Island in the sub-Antarctic. This volcano has been dormant for 13 years, having last erupted in 1992. August 4, 2005 - New Melting Moment - TerraDaily Analysis of ice cores drilled from the Larson B Ice Shelf just before its collapse in 2002, finds that there no precedent for its collapse in the past 11,000 years. They noted that it had been thinning, but that warmer air temperatures caused the collapse. Experts believe that another ice shelf may collapse in the next two years. Similar story from Australian. July, 2005 July 29, 2005 - Explaining Antarctica's Strange Megadunes - MSNBC Huge dunes carved by the katabatic winds in Antarctica can be seen from space but are barely perceptible to ground exploration because they are so large. It appears that these dunes are formed by a different process than sand dunes. More about katabatic winds. June, 2005 June 30, 2005 - Warmer Air May Cause Increased Antarctic Sea Ice Cover - Terra Daily A new study shows that, in the Antarctic, increases in precipitation due to warmer air temperatures from greenhouse gas emissions may actually increase sea ice volume in the Antarctic's Southern Ocean. June 17, 2005 - Antarctica: Polluters To Pay - News 24 A two-week conference on pollution in the Antarctic wrapped up here on Friday, with delegates boasting a major breakthrough on a deal ensuring that polluters in the future will be held accountable for the messes they make in the region. June 14, 2005 - Antarctic Ice Detachment Studied - The Washington Times A University of California-San Diego study says Antarctic ice fracturing occurs in episodes and may be tied to changes evolving over seasons. The study wanted to find out how icebergs detach from the main continental ice sheet as a way to determine the future stability of the entire Antarctic ice mass. The findings have been published as papers in Geophysical Research Letters. June 13, 2005 - Antarctic Scientists Map Ocean Floor Near Palmer Station in Antarctica - Space Daily Using inflatable boats, a portable depth sounder with GPS, and a REMUS autonomous underwater vehicle, a team of scientists and engineers has created the first detailed, comprehensive chart of the ocean floor around Palmer Station in Antarctica, revealing previously unknown submerged rocks. June 3, 2005 - Antarctic Workers Sad To See Iceberg Go - ABC A massive iceberg which has been lodged offshore from Australia's Casey Station in Antarctica is on the move.The iceberg, stretching more than 50 kilometers, has been snagged in Vincennes Bay for the past month. (Map of Australia's Casey Base Station region, Antarctica) May, 2005 May 22, 2005 - Antarctic Ice Sheet Thickening - ABC The Antarctic ice sheet appears to be growing in East Antarctica according to a new report in Science magazine. The authors emphasize that their work applies only to the interior and eastern portion of the ice sheet, but say the thickening may help mitigate sea level rise due to melting elsewhere on the continent. May 17, 2005 - New Collision Looks Imminent for B-15A Iceberg - ESA A month after its collision with the Drygalski Ice Tongue, the B-15A iceberg seems to be heading directly for the tongue of the Aviator Glacier. April, 2005 April 21, 2005 - Antarctic Glaciers Show Retreat - BBC A large-scale study of glaciers, on the Antarctic peninsula, show that nearly 90% of the glaciers are losing mass. This is thought to be due to warming atmosphere, changing ocean currents and water temperatures. Similar story from USA Today. April 19, 2005 - B-15A Iceberg Collides With Antarctic Ice Tongue - Space Daily The B-15A Iceberg has collided with the Drygalski Ice Tongue and broken off a 5 km. long section of the ice tongue. A good view of the collision and the resultant break was possible through the use of Envisat's Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar system. April 4, 2005 - World's Biggest Iceberg Begins Moving... - ENN The world's largest iceberg, B15A, is now moving out of McMurdo Sound where it had blocked sea access. This is good news for the Adelie penguin breeding colonies where penguins chicks faced starvation as penguin parents had to trek 110 miles across the ice for food. Similar story from News24 March, 2005 March 21, 2005 - Giant Iceberg B-15A Edges Past Floating Ice Pier - Space Daily The world's largest floating object, an iceberg in McMurdo Sound is moving again. It had been grounded for a few months, but now is being transported close to the end the Drygalski Ice Tongue. Its movements are being watched very carefully. February, 2005 February 25, 2005 - Antarctic Ice Shelf Retreat Nothing New ... - Space Daily Scientists have reported that a study of George VI Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula experienced an extensive retreat about 9500 year ago, and that this retreat coincided with a shift of ocean currents that occurred after a long period of warmth. (view map showing George VI Ice Shelf from UNEP Global Environment Outlook) February 7, 2005 - Antarctica's Ice Seems To Be Safe ... - USA Today Chilean glaciologists using radar developed at the University of Kansas have found that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet may be thicker than previously thought. In fact it may be hundreds of feet thicker in some areas. They warn that the deeper the ice, the more potential impact on sea level rise should it melt. They say there is some instability in West Antarctica though the temperature seems to be holding steady or cooling in other parts of the continent. Radar developed by the PRISM scientists and the Remote Sensing Lab at the University of Kansas was involved in this study! February 2, 2005 - Antarctic's Ice Melting Faster - BBC Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey report that over 13,000 sq. kilometers of sea ice has been lost around the Antarctic peninsula over the past 50 years. This loss is allowing the glaciers to flow into the ocean many times faster than was estimated in most sea-level rise models. PRISM Principal Investigator, Dr. Prasad Gogineni, was invited to give a talk to the British Antarctic Survey on the KU radar work. See similar story from TimesOnline - Britain. January, 2005 January 5, 2005 - Icebergs In New Zealand Waters For First Time In 57 Years - SpaceDaily For the first time since 1948, sailors have encountered icebergs in New Zealand waters. January 3, 2005 - Antarctic May Have Iced Over When Atmosphere Changed - Space Daily New data from ocean core samples challenges the theory that the Antarctic ice sheet developed because of a shift in ocean currents. Fossils of cold-water plankton have been found in Eocene sediments off the Antarctic coast. December, 2004 December 11, 2004 - Antarctic 'On The Edge Of Disaster' - Guardian A British biologist warns that Antarctic animals are quite sensitive to climate change and may become extinct if the waters in the Southern Ocean rise even a "couple of degrees." He explains why.