Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: Antarctica

Antarctica stories: 46 news summaries

1 - 20 of 46 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>

Switch to grid view »

SO LONG, ANTARCTICA

 Giant Iceberg 
 Floats Toward NZ 

Chunk of Antarctica spotted unusually far north

Nov 13, 09 2:56 AM CST
(Newser) - A gigantic iceberg drifting unusually far north has been spotted by Australian researchers off an island south of Tasmania. The chunk of ice, 2,300 feet long and 1,000 feet deep, is floating toward New Zealand and could pose a danger to shipping when it splits into smaller chunks.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Australia • New Zealand • Antarctica • ice shelf • icebergs • Antarctic Ocean

 NASA Mission 
 Monitors Polar Ice 

Antarctica jet filling in for dying satellite

Oct 30, 09 1:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - NASA has begun a mission much closer to home than usual. The agency is flying a DC-8 over Antarctica to track melting glaciers and any subsequent rise in sea levels. Operation Ice Bridge is designed to buttress the work of a fading satellite, ICESat, which is just about spent after... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • NASA • global warming • sea level • Antarctica • satellite • glacier • polar ice caps

MOVIE REVIEW

 Whiteout Leaves Critics Cold 

Antarctic murder mystery a snowy wipeout for Beckinsale

Sep 11, 09 7:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - Antarctica's a great setting for a thriller, say critics, but the new Kate Beckinsale movie Whiteout is too mundane to bear much resemblance to a great thriller.
  • Joe Neumaier, Daily News: Whiteout, based on a graphic novel, has the makings of an enjoyable, cheesy thriller, but then "
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Antarctica • movie review • thriller • Kate Beckinsale

Congressmen Studied Climate Change—on $500K Trip

Lawmakers snorkeled, visited South Pole

Aug 8, 09 8:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - Snorkeling, scuba diving, and penguin-watching were on the agenda when 10 members of Congress went on an 11-day trip to study climate change in early 2008, a Wall Street Journal investigation finds. Lawmakers from both parties, along with six spouses, visited New Zealand, Antarctica, and Australia's Great Barrier Reef on... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • Congress • travel • global warming • Antarctica • Great Barrier Reef

South Pole Doc Who Treated Own Cancer Dead at 57

Disease returned after long remission

Jun 24, 09 9:28 AM CDT
(AP) - Dr. Jerri Nielsen FitzGerald, who diagnosed and treated her own breast cancer before a dramatic rescue from the South Pole, has died at age 57, her husband said today, passing away yesterday at their home in Southwick, Mass. Her cancer had been in remission until it returned in August 2005. More »

MORE ABOUT:
breast cancer • obituary • Antarctica • South Pole

 Glaciers May Vanish 
 in 'Geologic Instant' 

Prehistoric glacier's rapid meltdown could happen again: researchers

Jun 22, 09 5:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - New data about a prehistoric Canadian glacier that rapidly vanished is giving scientists a stronger model to predict the radical effects of climate change. It's very possible that the same conditions could quickly shrink today's larger ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, prompting sea levels to soar in a "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • global warming • study • Greenland • Antarctica • glacier • ice melt • Jakobshavn Glacier

 Radar Reveals 
 Antarctica's 
 Hidden 'Alps' 

Mapping expedition uncovers 'Alps' that show how ice sheet was formed

Jun 4, 09 5:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists using radar to map what lies beneath two miles of Antarctic ice have discovered a landscape similar to Europe's Alpine region, the BBC reports. The sharp peaks and deep valleys surprised researchers who expected the area to have been ground much flatter by shifting ice. Researchers believe the findings... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Antarctica • glacier • glacial period

(Newser) - Emperor penguin droppings are so concentrated that the reddish-brown guano has been spotted from space, reports the Times of London. That's a good thing because it's helping scientists pinpoint colonies of the giant birds in Antarctica and help experts track climate change affects. “The ice gets pretty dirty and... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • global warming • Antarctica • poop • penguins • emperor penguins • guano • droppings

 Antarctic Ice Shelf Crumbles 

Scientists say global warming has made huge Wilkins Ice Shelf unstable

Apr 30, 09 1:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - A huge ice shelf in the western Antarctic has become unstable and is beginning to fracture into icebergs, the Telegraph reports. Images from space show that the Jamaica-sized Wilkins ice shelf has lost 270 square miles of ice in recent weeks. Scientists expect the "fragile and vulnerable" shelf to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • global warming • Antarctica • ice shelf • icebergs • Wilkins Ice Shelf

(Newser) - Nations led by the US have pledged to check the quickly growing Antarctica tourism industry, the BBC reports. Nearly 30 nations signed a treaty to bar ships carrying more than 500 passengers from landing on the continent and to limit the number of people from a ship on shore to... More »

MORE ABOUT:
environment • tourism • Antarctica • safety • cruise ships • ecosystem • Antarctic Treaty

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered an Antarctic ecosystem of microorganisms cut off from light and oxygen for as many as 2 million years, the Guardian reports. The microbes, living under one-third of a mile of ice, in a 14-degree lake four times as salty as seawater, give researchers clues to how life... More »

MORE ABOUT:
evolution • Antarctica • oxygen • microorganisms • freezing temperatures • microbes • outer space • photosynthesis • salt water

 Snapped Antarctica 
 Ice Bridge Stokes 
 Warming Alarm 

First break for massive, retreating shelf

Apr 5, 09 8:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - A massive 25-mile-long Antarctic ice bridge between a Jamaica-sized ice shelf and an island has broken in what scientists are calling an alarming sign of runaway global warming, the BBC reports. It was the first time the shelf, which has been retreating for years, has lost a link holding it... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • global warming • Antarctica • ice shelf • Wilkins Ice Shelf

Crash Ends Mission to Track Global Warming

Rocket carrying satellite ends up in ocean, sinking $280M project

Feb 24, 09 10:50 AM CST
(AP) - A rocket carrying a NASA satellite crashed near Antarctica after a failed launch early yesterday, ending a $280 million mission to track global warming from space. The rocket carrying the Orbiting Carbon Observatory blasted off just before 2am from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. But minutes later a cover protecting... More »

MORE ABOUT:
NASA • global warming • science • space • Antarctica • rocket

All of Antarctic
Is Heating Up, Study Says

Finding debunks perceived cooling in most of continent

Jan 21, 09 6:14 PM CST
(Newser) - Antarctica is warming up after all, scientists say. New research contradicts previous findings that parts of the continent were actually cooling and thus giving ammunition to skeptics of global warming, reports National Geographic. The new study in Nature uses satellite information to fill in spotty weather station data over the... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • global warming • Antarctica • satellite • western Antarctic ice sheet • weather data

 Melting Ice May 
 Help Soak Up CO2 

Icebergs may deposit nourishing iron into ocean, helping carbon-sucking plankton

Dec 7, 08 4:49 PM CST
(Newser) - Melting ice sheets may end up helping the planet battle global warming, the Guardian reports. Scientists say that broken ice in the Antarctic disperses iron, which fertilizes carbon-absorbing plankton and helps reverse some effects of climate change. “We see the rapid ice loss in Antarctica as one obvious sign... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • environment • Antarctica • carbon emissions • icebergs • Antarctic Ocean

 Cruise Ship 
 Stranded in 
 Antarctica 

Rescuers race to scene as luxury ship takes on water and leaks fuel

Dec 5, 08 3:57 AM CST
(Newser) - A cruise ship with 122 passengers and crew on board is stranded in Antarctica after cracking into ice, reports the Times of London. The Ushuaia, based out of Argentina, is not thought to be in danger of sinking, but is taking on water and leaking fuel. The crew reported two... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Argentina • Antarctica • cruise ships • cruises • Antarctic Ocean

 Explorers to 
 Probe Antarctic's 
 Buried Mountains 

Scientists stumped by mysterious range as large as the Alps

Oct 15, 08 6:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - A unique expedition will explore a mysterious mountain range buried deep within the Antarctic, reports the BBC. Scientists, engineers, and pilots from the US, UK, Germany, Australia, China, and Japan will use ice-penetrating radar and other high tech equipment in a bid to determine how the Gamburtsev mountains—equal in... More »

MORE ABOUT:
carbon dioxide • geology • methane • Antarctica • British Antarctic Survey • Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory • Gamburtsev mountains

 Seals Plunge for Climate Data

Scientists use deep-diving creatures for Antarctic research

Aug 17, 08 1:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - Giant seals living in the chilly waters of Antarctica are helping researchers gather important data on climate change, reports Popular Mechanics. The elephant seals, tagged with hat-like sensors, make frequent dives deep into the Southern Ocean and surface with valuable details about water temperature and salinity. The dense waters of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
climate change • global warming • Antarctica • sensors • ocean temperature • scientific research • elephant seals

With 16K Condoms, Antarctic Base Ready for Winter 

Polar base all set for lights out

Jun 11, 08 7:13 AM CDT
(Newser) - The McMurdo Antarctic station got a vital shipment last month just before the southern winter descended—a year's supply of condoms. Some 16,500 condoms were delivered to the base's 125 staff. Supply flights won't resume until after the sun rises again in August, when the polar station's population begins... More »

MORE ABOUT:
birth control • condom • Antarctica • winter • polar region

 Scientists Thaw
 Colossal Squid for Probe 

Researchers begin thawing 34-foot creature, aim to determine its sex

Apr 28, 08 10:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - New Zealand scientists have begun defrosting a colossal squid, caught last year, so they can dissect the little-known species. They aim to start by determining the sex of the 34-foot long animal, a native of Antarctica that weighs half a ton. "They're incredibly rare—this is probably one of... More »

MORE ABOUT:
whale • Antarctica • giant squid • squid • colossal squid • dissection

1 - 20 of 46 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>


from our news partners