Anthony Segaert, Editor (Oceania) UPDATE: All 52 passengers of the German ship Akademik Shokalskiy have been rescued and have been taken via helicopter to Australia ship Aurora Australis, the Australian Marine Safety Authority, in charge of the operation, has confirmed. Aurora Australis has advised AMSA that the 52 passengers from the Akademik Shokalskiy are now on board. — AMSA News January 2, 2014 A Chinese helicopter has finally landed on Antarctic ice, rescuing passengers stuck […]
Stefan Timiras, Correspondent (Antarctica) Discovered in 1956 and mapped in 1990, Lake Vostok is one about of the 375 lakes beneath Antarctica’s ice sheets. It is also the largest body of water in the Antarctic, seventh in the world (by volume) and fourth deepest. Its length is about 250 kilometres, width about 50 kilometres; depth averages 344m, although it can be as much as 800m in places. The lake lies under an ice cap about […]
Anissa Katti, Editor (Antarctica) LAKE VOSTOK – Russian scientists have drilled through a buried lake in Antarctica and found the presence of new bacterial life. The Vostok Lake has been buried through sheets and sheets of ice for millions of years. It is the place that has recorded the lowest temperatures on Earth, with -89°C. The isolated, confined and dark environment is prone to the proliferation of bacterial beings. Dr Sergei Bulat, at the […]
Anissa Katti, Editor (Antarctica) WELLINGTON – A Sub-Antarctic Royal was found on Tora beach, in the south of Wellington. The dehydrated and starved bird is currently being cared for in Wellington Zoo. Lisa Argilla, a vet at the zoo, explains: “It’s very weak, doesn’t want to stand. It’s making very small progress every day but it’s still in critical condition.” The Royal was named ‘Happy Feet Junior’. It is only the fourth bird of […]
Anissa Katti, Editor (Antarctica) ANTARTCICA – A new study published in Nature Geoscience shows the Antarctic ice sheet to be warming twice as fast as what was previously established. The first evidence of this amplified melting was first discovered by US scientists during the months of summer in the Southern hemisphere. The consequences may be drastic on the rise of sea levels. Scientists obtained this information from the data available at Byrd Station, […]
Anissa Katti, Editor (Antarctica) ANTARCTICA – As the first drillings to discover life in Lake Ellsworth, take place, the team realizes that they may have a little problem. The aim was to blast the ice-covered surface with a 90°C water boiler. Scientists in Antarctica have noted an issue with a key circuit in the said water boiler failing to start. Operations have been on hold since Saturday, while the team awaits a replacement constituent. […]
Anissa Katti, Editor (Science) ANTARCTICA – It comes to no great surprise that Antarctica remains, to this day, the continent that is suffering most from global warming. Over the past 50 years, meteorological analysis has shown that its temperature has increased by 2°C, which represents practically three times the temperature rise worldwide. Antarctica possesses three plane stations- Casey, Davies and Mawson, taken up mainly by research scientists. The landing strip near Casey has begun […]
Anissa Katti, Editor (Antarctica & Science) SOUTHAMPTON – In the Animal kingdom, breeding is a natural and lengthy process in the reproduction scheme. Scientists at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton have, however, been astonished by Antarctic bivalves alternating between male and female organs during the said period. Although the Lissarca miliaris, a breed of mollusk, have been of interest to scientific study for no less than four decades, their hermaphrodite nature was unknown […]
