Antarctica

Earth’s climate is controlled by a complex network of interactions between the atmosphere, oceans, lands, ice and biosphere. Many elements in this system are now being pushed toward tipping points, beyond which changes become self-sustaining, with the whole Earth system potentially shifting to a new steady state.A recent study analyzed…

Mosses, one of the few types of plants living in Antarctica, have a tenuous existence, threatened by advancing glaciers. When glaciers move, they can entomb or cover a plant — starving it of light and warmth. Scientists have discovered that the timing of when a glacier killed a moss, the…

A giant phantom jellyfish (Stygiomedusa gigantea) encountered off the Antarctic Peninsula during a Viking cruise. (Image credit: Antony Gilbert)Rare sightings of giant phantom jellyfish — deep-sea creatures that look like UFO spaceships with thick ribbons streaming from their undersides — have been reported by cruise liner passengers who spotted the…

Mission Blue has announced its latest “Hope Spot” in East Antarctica. The new East Antarctic Hope Spot is home to a myriad of wildlife, including seals, penguins, whales, and toothfish. The presence of sea ice in this area is essential for many species, including Antarctic silverfish and krill, according to…

AnimalsPassengers aboard the National Geographic Endurance came across the fin whales foraging near Antarctica—the biggest congregation of baleen whales seen in more than a century. ByAnnie Roth Published February 21, 2023 • 5 min read Fin whales as far as the eye could see, hundreds upon hundreds of them, shrouding…

Our chance to act on climate change is melting away. February 17, 2023 Read More

Last Updated: February 17, 2023, 06:56 IST Paris, France Greenpeace activist Marcelo Legname floats with a boat at Snow Island, Antarctica, January 30, 2020. Picture taken January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino Much of the Antarctic coast has water that is now without ice, exposing the ice shelves that fringe the…

A pair of studies this week have shed new light on the melting of the Thwaites Glacier, one of Antarctica’s largest and most menacing stretches of ice. Often referred to as the “Doomsday Glacier,” it contains enough ice to raise global sea levels by about 2 feet all on its…

The icefin robot under the ice near McMurdo research station, operated by the US Antarctic Program. Credit: Rob Robbins USAP New data from an international expedition and underwater robot Icefin beneath the remote Thwaites Glacier, nicknamed the Doomsday Glacier, in Antarctica. It is one of the most critical glaciers in…

Caption: Image of Icefin under the sea ice near McMurdo Station captured in 2019. Photo: Rob Robbins, USAP Diver Thwaites Glacier, the largest glacier in West Antarctica, is melting faster in some spots than its shape would at first suggest, new studies show. Why it matters: Thwaites tops the list…