Antarctica

Joshua Bote   | USA TODAY NASA is launching a telescope and a balloon the size of a football stadium into the stratosphere so researchers can study the formation of stars.The telescope, named ASTHROS, measures at 8.4 feet and the balloon carrying the device is 400 feet wide. ASTHROS observes far-infrared light…

The white microbial mats seen here are telltale signs of areas where methane may be released from underground methane deposits. Credit: Andrew Thurber Oregon State University The discovery of the first active methane seep in Antarctica is providing scientists new understanding of the methane cycle and the role methane found…

Home News The site of the methane leak was stained with a white mat of hungry microbes. (Image: © Andrew Thurber, Oregon State University) Just below the freezing Antarctic ice shelves, researchers have discovered a gas leak that could change the region's climate destiny.For the first time, scientists have detected…

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered an active methane seep from Antarctica's sea bed that could shed light on the potent greenhouse gas trapped beneath frozen continent.Marine ecologist Andrew Thurber first glimpsed what a colleague described as a "microbial waterfall" during a dive in the icy waters of the…

The discovery of the first active methane seep in Antarctica is providing scientists new understanding of the methane cycle and the role methane found in this region may play in warming the planet. A methane seep is a location where methane gas escapes from an underground reservoir and into the…

Questions about the stability of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet are a major source of uncertainty in estimates of how much sea level will rise as the Earth continues to warm. For decades, scientists thought the East Antarctic Ice Sheet had remained stable for millions of years, but recent studies…

These days, when I’ve listened in on strangers’ conversations—all properly socially distanced and discretely of course—I’ve heard several fatigued souls talk about how they’d like to get off this planet, or wish the timeline would correct itself. It’s easy to sympathize, we’re living in a world that feels like it…

Environment 15 July 2020 By Adam Vaughan An Antarctic cruise in 2007imageBROKER / AlamyLess than a third of Antarctica is still entirely pristine and free from direct human influence, according to an analysis that scientists say shows the need for greater environmental protections in the remote region. Scientific research on…

In this tour of the microscopic world, explorer and artist Ariel Waldman introduces the charismatic creatures lurking beneath Antarctica's massive ice sheet, the largest on earth. From "cuddly" water bears to geometric algae made of glass, Waldman shows how this seemingly barren landmass is actually a polar oasis of life…

Warm air doesn’t reach Antarctica as easily as the rest of the globe, but a new study has found that not even the South Pole is safe from the influences of human-driven climate change.The study, published Monday in Nature Climate Change, found that, in the last three decades, the region…