Antarctica – News Stories About Antarctica - Page 12

Mar 3, 2008 8:46 AM CST

Activists Hurl 'Acid' at Whalers

Action draws condemnation from Japan, Australia

(Newser) - In the latest clash between Japanese whalers and activists in Antarctic waters, members of a militant anti-whaling group threw bottles of a slick, foul-smelling rancid butter concoction onto the whaling fleet's flagship. Japanese officials said three sailors were injured when butyric acid, found in spoiled butter, splashed into their eyes,...

Bizarre Antarctic Sea Life Found

Feb 20, 2008 10:51 AM CST

Bizarre Antarctic Sea Life Found

New species discovered just as they're threatened by global warming

(Newser) - A host of bizarre giant creatures lurk in the little-known waters of Antarctica, the Daily Telegraph reports. Thousands of specimens have been gathered by a mission to study Antarctic marine life before it is wiped out—including giant sea spiders the size of dinner plates, huge sea worms, and mammoth...

Warming Dooms King Penguins

Feb 12, 2008 4:31 AM CST

Warming Dooms King Penguins

Rising temperatures may drive them to extinction in 20 years

(Newser) - Global warming could drive king penguins into extinction in the next 20 years, a new study warns. Research indicates that a rise in ocean temperature of just 0.47 degrees—well below the forecast—would reduce the animals' critical supply of lantern fish and krill, reports the Los Angeles Times....

Scientists ID Catastrophic Climate Change 'Tipping Zones'

Feb 5, 2008 4:34 AM CST

Scientists ID Catastrophic Climate Change 'Tipping Zones'

9 danger signs that disaster is inevitable

(Newser) - Scientists have identified nine danger zones where global warming could be pushed past the point of no return within years, the Independent reports. The scenarios include the melting of ice in the Arctic and Antarctic, the collapse of the Indian and West African monsoons, and the death of forests in...

Ancient Antarctic Volcano May Be Linked to Warming

Jan 21, 2008 4:03 AM CST

Ancient Antarctic Volcano May Be Linked to Warming

Scientists make 'unique' discovery beneath continent's massive ice sheets

(Newser) - The discovery of what scientists are hailing as the first evidence of a volcanic eruption under Antarctica’s massive ice sheet may be linked to climate change, the BBC reports. British researchers, who discovered evidence of a volcano by analyzing radar data from an air survey, believe the eruption likely...

Judge Bans Japanese Whalers in Aussie Waters

Jan 15, 2008 10:35 AM CST

Judge Bans Japanese Whalers in Aussie Waters

Eco-warriors 'kidnapped,' tied to ship's mast

(Newser) - An Australian judge has banned hunting by Japanese whalers in a large section of their traditional grounds in Australian-claimed waters off Antarctica. The ruling came today just hours after crew members of a militant eco-ship boarded a Japanese whaling vessel in the Southern Ocean to deliver a protest note—then...

Antarctica Speeds Into Trouble

Jan 14, 2008 11:35 AM CST

Antarctica Speeds Into Trouble

Disturbing new discovery indicates climate change is accelerating

(Newser) - Parts of Antarctica thought to be unaffected by global warming are in fact melting as the temperature of the oceans rises, and in parts of the continent, annual ice loss has jumped 140% in the past decade, new research shows. Satellite mapping shows change on a previously unimagined scale, reports...

Greenpeace Ship Scatters Japanese Whalers

Jan 14, 2008 4:04 AM CST

Greenpeace Ship Scatters Japanese Whalers

Hunt for 1,000 whales disrupted in sea chase

(Newser) - The Greenpeace pursuit of Japanese whaling ships continued yesterday after a ship operated by the environmental group earlier chased down and scattered a fleet of six Japanese whaling vessels in the waters off Antarctica. The Japanese fleet plans to hunt down 1,000 whales in what operators call a "...

Risky Showdown Looms as Eco-Ships Near Whalers

Jan 13, 2008 6:00 AM CST

Risky Showdown Looms as Eco-Ships Near Whalers

High noon on high seas as rival vessels battle to save mammoth creatures

(Newser) - Fears of a deadly battle increased yesterday as a Greenpeace ship began to close in on a Japanese whaling fleet intending to kill 1,000 whales. Also steaming through the Southern Ocean off Antarctica was a far more militant "eco ship," planning to ram the whaling vessels. "...

Aussies Chip Airfield Out
of Antarctic Icefield

Jan 11, 2008 9:20 AM CST

Aussies Chip Airfield Out of Antarctic Icefield

Environmental minister on passenger flight

(Newser) - A new runway carved from glacial ice and leveled with lasers will permit regular passenger flights from Australia to Antarctica for the first time, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. An Airbus A319 carrying Aussie scientists and dignitaries made today's inaugural landing on the 2.5-mile-long Wilkins runway, named after Sir...

'Christmas Punch-up'
Rocks South Pole

Dec 27, 2007 5:28 PM CST

'Christmas Punch-up' Rocks South Pole

Two Antarctic workers engage in Yuletide combat

(Newser) - The North Pole is usually abuzz with activity this time of year, but the South Pole was rocked by a "drunken Christmas punch-up," between two men in a remote research station at the bottom of the world. The Guardian reports both men—one with a broken jaw—were...

Antarctica Gets High-Def Map

Nov 28, 2007 1:21 PM CST

Antarctica Gets High-Def Map

Interactive satellite imagery is available free online

(Newser) - A new high-definition, real-color interactive map of Antarctica unveiled yesterday will give a bird's-eye view of the frozen continent, MSNBC reports. But the virtual tour isn't just for pointy-headed scientists—it's also available free online to anyone. Satellite imagery was collected into a 100-billion-pixel database that is zoomable and searchable.

Last Survivors Land in Chile

Nov 25, 2007 6:04 PM CST

Last Survivors Land in Chile

Passengers share harrowing tales

(Newser) - A military plane flew the last 77 survivors of a sunken tour ship to Chile today, BBC reports. Some evacuees had already gone to the capital, Santagios, to return to their home countries. Others gave detailed, personal accounts of the shipwreck, revealing their fears of freezing to death and their...

First Survivors Land in Chile

UPDATED

Nov 24, 2007 3:52 PM CST

First Survivors Land in Chile

Airlift begins to bring them from island to Chilean mainland

(Newser) - An air force plane transported about half of the survivors from yesterday's Antarctic shipwreck to Chile today, BBC reports. The others—79 of the Explorer's 156 passengers—may spend a second night on a remote island due to bad weather. A Chilean air force spokesman said the survivors did "...

New Zealand to Japanese Whalers:
Go Home!

Nov 19, 2007 3:42 AM CST

New Zealand to Japanese Whalers: Go Home!

'Deception' blasted as fleet sails for 'research'

(Newser) - As a Japanese whaling fleet churned to Antarctic waters, a furious New Zealand prime minister today blasted the "deception" of Japan's claim that the killing ships will conduct research rather than commercial whaling. It would be better "if the Japanese stayed home," said Helen Clark. The fleet...

UN Warns of 'Abrupt' Warming

Nov 17, 2007 6:18 AM CST

UN Warns of 'Abrupt' Warming

Earth at 'tipping point' of irreversible catastrophe: UN chief Ban Ki-Moon

(Newser) - The last and most forceful of a series of UN reports on climate change unveiled today urges swift action to avoid "abrupt and irreversible" damage to the environment. Melting glaciers will cause a rapid rise in sea levels, wiping out vulnerable species and destroying water and food supplies for...

China Widens Antarctic Presence

Nov 6, 2007 4:49 PM CST

China Widens Antarctic Presence

The race for the continent's seabed continues

(Newser) - China will build its third Antarctic research facility, expanding its presence on the continent as the international race for rights to the seabed heats up. As melting ice caps open the possibility of mining the seabed, countries including Chile, Argentina, and the UK are scrambling to claim portions of the...

Britain to Claim Antarctic Seabed

Oct 17, 2007 9:28 AM CDT

Britain to Claim Antarctic Seabed

Bid follows this summer's Arctic territory scramble

(Newser) - Britain will submit a claim to the UN for 386,000 square miles of Antarctica, its foreign office said today, joining the international race to grab a piece of the mineral- and oil-rich territory as global warming makes it more accessible. The move violates a 1959 treaty, which Britain signed,...

Arctic Melt Nears 'Tipping Point'

Sep 30, 2007 2:15 PM CDT

Arctic Melt Nears 'Tipping Point'

Bigger, dark sea will melt what's left faster, scientists fear

(Newser) - Arctic ice has shrunk so significantly this past summer that scientists fear the region is at a dangerous "tipping point" that could trigger accelerated melting and dangerous consequences for weather patterns and environments. Ice shrank 20% below 2005’s record low. Scientists theorize that the darker sea holds more...

Frozen DNA
Survives After
8 Million Years

Aug 7, 2007 9:15 PM CDT

Frozen DNA Survives After 8 Million Years

Microorganisms from Antarctica look like Martian data

(Newser) - Scientists have nixed the notion that glaciers are lifeless blocks of ice by thawing chunks containing Antarctic organisms and watching them successfully divide on their own, the Los Angeles Times reports. The study suggests that these microorganisms, ranging from 100,000 to 8 million years old, could yield DNA and...