European researchers have once again warned that the thinning of the Antarctic ice shelf means that the flow of glaciers on the frozen continent could accelerate, with a consequent rise in sea levels. They examine, in two separate studies, the increasingly precarious state of some of the ice shelf. When the shelf, consisting of ice floating on the ocean, melts, […]
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You might not be a resident of Antarctica, but “no biggie”, say artists Lucy and George Orta. They’re giving out Antarctica passports, anyway. You can apply for an Antarctica passport online through the Antarctica World Passport program. In 1959 the Antarctic Treaty stipulated that the southernmost continent “shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become […]
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Researchers from Australia, Denmark, Germany, Norway, United Kingdom, and the United States conducted lead concentration measurements of sixteen ice core samples, and found that industrial air pollution has persisted Antarctica since its arrival there in 1889 and remains significant in the current century. Their study was published in Scientific Reports on July 28, and covered in Nevada‘s Review journal. Lead […]
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Durham University, leading a team of international researchers believe they have discovered the largest known canyon on Earth. Utilizing precise satellite data and ground-penetrating radar, they have calculated it to be over 62 miles long and over half a mile deep at some points. More precise measurements will be necessary to confirm these findings, although that will be a difficult […]
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When you travel to Antarctica you are in for a trip of a lifetime. Because of its location you are required to travel with a government scientific program or have a private expedition take you there. The over 50,000 tourists that travel there every year find the sightseeing and wildlife watching most adventurous. Unless you can sail your own boat, […]
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Deep beneath Antarctica’s vast ice sheet lies one of the most mysterious and least explored mountain ranges on Earth—the Gamburtsev Mountain Range. First discovered in 1958 by a Soviet expedition, these peaks, stretching about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) across East Antarctica, remain hidden under more than 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) of ice, making them a scientific enigma. A Subglacial Mountain […]
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The ozone layer over the Arctic Circle developed a giant hole this winter, scientists say. Over the North Pole, 40 percent of the ozone layer has disappeared—a record seasonal loss. Ozone high in the atmosphere shields the Earth from harmful UV rays, and it fluctuates seasonally; usually about 25 percent of the Arctic’s ozone layer fades every winter. In the […]
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According to National Geographic, the coldest place on Earth is the East Antarctic Ice Sheet with temperatures as low as minus 144 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature reading was taken during the polar winter and is the lowest temperature ever recorded on the Earth. Russia’s Vostok Weather Station previously held the record for the lowest recorded temperature. However, that record has […]
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The continued melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet is progressing faster than expected, and the resulting rise in sea levels will have a global impact.The stark new findings point to a potential sea-level rise of up to 10 feet or more in the coming centuries. This increase in the global sea-level will threaten many major cities, including New York, […]
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In southern Australia, it’s raining spiders. Spiders can ride the wind using an ingenious migration technique known as ballooning. Residents of Goulburn, Australia, received a startling demonstration of the phenomenon last week, when hundreds of thousands of tiny spiders descended from the sky on gossamer parachutes. “The whole place was covered in these little black spiderlings, and when I looked […]
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