British endurance swimmer completes swim under Antarctic ice sheet
ITV, 2020-01-24
A climate change activist has become the first person to swim under an Antarctic ice sheet – wearing just a pair of trunks, cap and goggles. Lewis Pugh, 50, swam for 10 minutes and 17 seconds in the river underneath the melting ice sheet. Mr Pugh, of Plymouth, did the swim as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the climate crisis at the …
Biosecurity an increasing concern in Arctic, Antarctic regions, experts warn
rcinet.ca, 2020-01-24
Eye on the Arctic brings you stories and newsmakers from around the North. As the climate warms, biosecurity issues will become an increasing concern for the polar regions says Kevin Hughes, a researcher at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and lead author of a recent paper on invasive species threats to the Antarctic Peninsula.
Airman dies on deployment to Antarctica
Air Force Times, 2020-01-24
A member of the 109th died Jan. 11 during a deployment to Antarctica. (Courtesy of Dr. Todd Valentic) An airman from the New York Air National Guard died of natural causes Jan. 11 while deployed to Antarctica as part of Operation Deep Freeze. Staff Sgt. George Girtler, 37, of the 109th Airlift Wing at Stratton Air National Guard Base in …
Third grade teacher shares Antarctica trip with her students
Toronto Star, 2020-01-24
Maps of the world cover the walls, next to oversize construction-paper letters reminding students to observe and ask. In one corner, a poster of Antarctica shows a close-up of the massive ice sheet, its namesake peninsula jutting out toward South America. Directions written on a dry-erase board ask students to trace “the route of an explorer …
Lewis Pugh tells of terror as ‘almighty boom’ erupts during Antarctic swim
Times LIVE, 2020-01-24
Capetonian Lewis Pugh completed a swim in an Antarctic lake on Friday to raise awareness of climate change and the need to halt overfishing. On Twitter, he said it was the most beautiful and terrifying swim he had done. Getting ready. Here’s the irony, in order to show the world that Antarctica is heating up, with all the consequences that …
A Climate Time Bomb With Trump’s Name Inscribed
CounterPunch, 2020-01-24
Thwaites, in West Antarctica, is the world’s most dangerous glacier. As of January 15 th, scientists have labeled it: “A Climate Time Bomb.” Thwaites is crumbling apart on the underneath side where warm ocean currents circulate, which is clear evidence that global warming is really, truly hitting its stride even as America, obeying …
New York Airman Dies During Deployment to Antarctica
Military.com, 2020-01-24
An airman from New York died this month in Antarctica while deployed with his Air National Guard unit for Operation Deep Freeze. Staff Sgt. George Girtler IV died of natural causes on Jan. 11 at McMurdo Station, the Air Force said in a statement this week. An obituary for Girtler, 37, said the cause of death was a pulmonary embolism …
Australia bush fires have nearly doubled country’s annual greenhouse gas emissions
Washington Post, 2020-01-24
The smoke plumes from the fires have circled the globe, and have coated glaciers brown in New Zealand, led to reddish sunsets in South America, and may have reached Antarctica. According to the Global Carbon Project, in 2018, Australia emitted 421 million tons of carbon dioxide, making it the 16th-largest emitter worldwide, ranking just above …