Chile combs Antarctic for missing plane with 38 aboard
Houston Chronicle, 2019-12-10
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Searchers using planes, ships and satellites were combing Antarctic seas on Tuesday, hunting for a Chilean Air Force transport plane carrying 38 people that vanished en route to a base on the frozen continent. Seven hours after contact was cut off, the Air Force declared the plane a loss, though there was no sign of …
Chile military plane crashes near Antarctic with 38 on board, hopes of finding survivors
Reuters on MSN.com, 2019-12-10
Chile’s Air Force said on Tuesday one of its cargo planes had crashed with 38 people on board after going missing for more than 12 hours, and said that a rescue team was searching for possible survivors.
The marine geological imprint of Antarctic ice shelves
Nature, 2019-12-10
Reductions in the thickness and extent of Antarctic ice shelves are triggering increased discharge of marine-terminating glaciers. While the impacts of recent changes are well documented, their role in modulating past ice-sheet dynamics remains poorly constrained. This reflects two persistent issues; first, the effective discrimination of …
The Antarctic: Study provides data about the structure of the icy continent
Phys.org, 2019-12-09
The Antarctic is one of the parts of Earth that we know the least about. Due to the massive ice shield, the collection of geophysical information on site is extremely difficult and expensive. Satellite data from the European Space Agency (ESA) has now been used as the basis for new insights on the deep structure of the continent. Scientists …
Antarctic Explorers’ Brains Shrunk During a 14-Month Polar Expedition
Gizmodo, 2019-12-09
Spending over a year in the bleak desolation that is Antarctica might change your brain for the worse, according to new research out this month. It seems to show that polar explorers who lived for 14 months at an Antarctica research station experienced brain shrinkage, likely as a result of their isolation and boredom. But the effects on their …
Seals With High-Tech Hats Are Collecting Climate Data in the Antarctic
Smithsonian Magazine, 2019-12-06
In a paper published this week in Nature Geosciences, a team of climate scientists led by Caltech oceanographer Lia Siegelman used this clever technique to track changes in temperature as the seal swam the icy waters of the Antarctic. With the help of one particularly intrepid female seal, the researchers discovered that heat stored at the …
Research reveals past rapid Antarctic ice loss due to ocean warming
Phys.org, 2019-12-06
New research from the University of Otago has found the sensitive West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapsed during a warming period just over a million years ago when atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were lower than today. Using biomarkers to reconstruct past ocean temperatures, and through ice sheet computer models, the study published in Quaternary …
Lonely Antarctic Expeditions Shrink People’s Brains
Live Science on MSN.com, 2019-12-05
Surrounded by bitter-cold wilderness, the station certainly fits the textbook definition of “isolated.” Before the expeditioners hunkered down for the Antarctic winter, Stahn and his co-authors scanned the subjects’ brains via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which uses a strong magnetic field and radio waves to capture structural images of …
Isolation, monotony change the brain, Antarctic study shows
UPI.com, 2019-12-05
Dec. 5 –Antarctica is one of the loneliest places on Earth. Endless expanses of white give way to almost complete darkness during the long winter months. Companionship is largely limited to those who’ve joined you in these achingly cold wilds. That overwhelming isolation is so great that it appears to cause physical and functional …
The Antarctic: Data about the structure of the icy continent
Science Daily, 2019-12-09
Satellite data from the European Space Agency (ESA) has now been used as the basis for new insights on the deep structure of the continent Antarctica. The Antarctic is one of the parts of earth that we know the least about. Due to the massive ice shield, the collection of geophysical information on site is extremely difficult and expensive.
The Antarctic: Data about the structure of the icy continent
Science Daily, 2019-12-09
Satellite data from the European Space Agency (ESA) has now been used as the basis for new insights on the deep structure of the continent Antarctica. The Antarctic is one of the parts of earth that we know the least about. Due to the massive ice shield, the collection of geophysical information on site is extremely difficult and expensive.
Studies highlight fragility of Antarctic ecosystems
Phys.org, 2019-12-02
Two studies published in a special issue of the journal Science Advances this week highlight the fragility of the Antarctic and its ecosystems in the lead up to the UNFCCC COP25 meeting in Madrid next week. The first study, involving scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS), explores the integration of climate change considerations in the …
Forty years on, New Zealand apologizes for Antarctic plane disaster
Reuters, 2019-11-28
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern apologized on Thursday for the then-government’s handling of a plane crash in Antarctica 40 years ago that took the lives of 257 people in the country’s worst peacetime disaster.
Antarctic ice sheets could be at greater risk of melting than previously thought
Phys.org, 2019-12-02
Heat from the landmass beneath the Antarctic ice sheet is a major contributor to the way that glaciers melt and flow—and their impact on potential sea level rise. Hotter conditions allow …
Antarctica discovery: Scientists peer 200km beneath Antarctic to decipher Earth mystery
Express, 2019-12-10
By analysing the data, researchers will able to determine how sea levels are expected to rise as a result of climate change, which is melting the Antarctic. ESA’s Roger Haagmans noted: “These are important findings also in the context of understanding sea-level change as a consequence of ice loss from Antarctica. “When ice mass is lost …
Scientist anticipates breakthrough in Antarctic search for planet’s oldest ice
Phys.org, 2019-12-02
“Many of the targets that people are interested in are very remote,” Goodge said. “The Antarctic drilling season is about three months a year from November to January. Even in the summer time the surface temp is going to be minus 40 Celsius.” Trapped in the ancient glaciers are tiny air bubbles—time capsules that document changes in …
Commonwealth found guilty of Antarctic pilot David Wood’s 2016 death
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 2019-12-09
But in his decision, Acting Chief Magistrate Glenn Theakston rejected that argument, finding the Commonwealth, through the Australian Antarctic Division, was the subject matter expert on operations in Antarctica. “The AAD was best placed to decide how projects and other operations could be safely conducted,” Mr Theakston wrote. “This extended …
Australian government guilty of Antarctic helicopter pilot’s death
Xinhua, 2019-12-10
Delivering his verdict, Acting Chief Magistrate Glenn Theakston said that the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) was responsible for ensuring Wood’s safety after Comcare argued that the department could have taken five steps to minimise risk. “The AAD was best placed to decide how projects and other operations could be safely conducted …
Commonwealth agency Australian Antarctic Division found guilty of breaches which led to helicopter pilot’s Antarctica death
The Canberra Times, 2019-12-09
Commonwealth prosecutors pursued criminal charges against the Australian Antarctic Division – a division of the federal Department of Environment – and it’s contractor Helicopter Resources, Captain Wood’s employer. They faced three criminal charges each of failing to comply with work health and safety duties which exposed workers to serious …
China’s Antarctic expedition members explore Cosmonauts sea
Xinhua, 2019-12-10
Team members of China’s 36th Antarctic expedition work on China’s polar icebreaker Xuelong 2 in the Cosmonauts sea, Dec. 8, 2019. This is the first time for China’s Antarctic expedition members to explore the Cosmonauts sea. (Xinhua/Liu Shiping)