The History of Antarctic Exploration
Category: Local News
Megadrought may grip the Southwest
The Southwest and central Great Plains are likely to be hit in coming decades by the most prolonged megadrought in more than 1,000 years, a new climate study predicts. Scientists from NASA, Columbia University, and Cornell University created a long-term climate model after analyzing historical temperature records, carbon dioxide emissions, and drought trends from tree rings.The record shows that the […]
Read more1934 is the hottest year on record
The year 1934 was a very hot year in the United States, ranking fourth behind 2012, 2006, and 1998. However, global warming takes into account temperatures over the entire planet. The U.S.’s land area accounts for only 2% of the earth’s total surface area. Despite the U.S. heat in 1934, the year was not so hot over the rest of […]
Read moreWhen the Red Planet was partly blue
Astronomers have found the strongest evidence yet that ancient Mars had a massive ocean for millions of years— an indication that the Red Planet once had everything necessary to support life. Shortly after Mars formed 4.5 billion years ago, NASA scientists say, the planet was wet, with enough water to cover the entire planet to a depth of about 450 […]
Read moreCleaning Up China’s Dirty Streets
“The Chinese need to learn that public spaces aren’t garbage dumps”, said Raymond Zhou. During a recent national holiday, visitors dropped a staggering 32 tons of litter in Tiananmen Square in just four days. Beijing’s army of street cleaners rushed in and quickly cleaned up the mess. But large areas of the country don’t have those resources, and by the […]
Read moreGlobal Warming: Arctic and Antarctica
Melting ice in the north and south – Artic, Antarctica, North America, South America, Europe, and Asia – are expected to raise the sea levels at an extreme rate. Scientists have been keeping track of the rise since the 1870’s and the sea levels have risen by about 8 inches. If this rise keeps going many of the coastal areas […]
Read more100 Year Old Box of Negatives Found Frozen In Antarctica’s Ice
While restoring one of the exploration huts in Antarctica, Conservators of the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust discovered a 100 year old box that turned out to be a remarkable treasure. It contained 22 never-before-seen cellulose nitrate negatives documenting the life of Antarctic explorers a 100 years back. Preserved in a block of ice, this 100 year old box of negatives […]
Read moreThe Anthropocene: Evidence for a human-driven Earth
The evidence for a new geological epoch which marks the impact of human activity on Earth is now overwhelming according to a recent paper by an international group of geo-scientists. The Anthropocene, which is argued to start in the mid-20th Century, is marked by the spread of materials such as aluminum, concrete, plastic, fly ash and fallout from nuclear testing […]
Read moreAntarctica’s Subterranean Ecosystem
Antarctica’s Subterranean Ecosystem is quite interesting. In Antarctica researchers have found an undersea ecosystem under an iceberg that broke away from the Antarctic Peninsula. They say that Antarctica’s Subterranean Ecosystem has been hidden for over 120 thousand years. As the iceberg moves it will reveal about 2240 square miles of seafloor that has been hidden from light. The scientists will […]
Read moreChurch at the South Pole – A Beacon of Faith
Sophrony Kirilov pulls hard on the strings of the heavy Russian bells from inside the world’s southernmost Eastern Orthodox church, calling to Mass anybody wanting to pray on this remote Antarctic island. The 38-year-old Russian priest is clad in a loose black robe and a vest dotted with patches of penguins and seals, marking his four years of service […]
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