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Gaping hole larger than the Netherlands opens up in icy sea off Antarctica

Scientists caution that it's too early to involve climate change in this instance.

Another iceberg, quadruple the size of Manhattan, breaks free from Antarctica

Not good. No, not good at all!

Researchers find warm oasis beneath Antarctica's frozen wasteland

You could wear a T-shirt in these caves under the Antarctic.

Untouched 106 year old fruitcake found in the Antarctic -- it's probably still edible

No one touched it for more than a century, not even the penguins.

Scientists find 91 new volcanoes miles beneath Antarctica's thick ice sheet

Exciting but scary news at the same time.

It's so hot that Antarctica is going green, as global warming triggers moss explosion

When we said 'Go green,' this really wasn't what we had in mind.

Antarctica's Blood Falls sheds its secrets

As is often the case, more questions arose after the mystery was solved.

Antarctica is covered in hundreds of meltwater rivers and streams, and we had no idea this was happening

This could have been going for decades but scientists are worried nevertheless.

Thousand-year-old penguin poop points to devastating colony collapse at the hand of volcanic eruptions

Gentoo penguins are prolific poopers, much to the delight of some scientists.

Green ice spotted in Antarctica's Ross Sea triggers new expedition for April

An effect of warming climate, or just a string of coincidences?

In 2015, record temperatures in Antarctica were 17.5°C (63.5°F). Yes, you read that right

Next time you go to Antarctica, pack your shorts.

The surprisingly colorful underwater ecosystem beneath Antarctica's sea ice

Simply stunning!

Startling NASA photo reveals 300-foot-wide rift in Antarctic Ice Shelf

It looks like we're moving closer to a dramatic break-up.

British researchers on the hunt for world's oldest ice

As the Antarctic spring comes to an end and the "summer" enters into force, a team of geoscientists is seeking 1.5-million-year ice.

West Antarctic ice sheet is melting from the inside, signaling an accelerated collapse

The ice shelf is far more fragile than we hoped.

World's largest marine reserve established in the Ross Sea, off the coast of Antarctica

A great victory for wildlife.

Global warming causes plants and soils to 'burp' more CO2

A long-standing assumption that as the planet warms, the biosphere releases more CO2 in a positive feedback loop was confirmed by researchers.

Antarctica could lose 60 percent of its penguins to climate change by the end of the century

Antartica's penguins are in trouble.

Why one pole is melting, while the other is still packed with ice

In the past decade, ice extent at the two poles couldn't be more different. The Arctic has seen its 13 smallest maximum ice extents in the last 13 years, and since 1979 lost 620,000 square miles of winter sea ice cover, an area more than twice the size of Texas. Meanwhile, in Antarctica, ice cover has actually increased despite warming trends

Scientists want you to look at photos of penguins. Yes, really

Antarctic researchers are in need of help - specifically, they need people to study photos of penguins to help them understand how the birds are dealing with climate change.

West Antarctic Ice Sheet might melt faster, adding three extra feet to sea level rise by 2100

A refined model based on equations which accurately reproduced sea level rise events from hundreds of thousands of years ago suggests this massive ice sheet is disintegrating faster then previously thought.

What polar inhabitants want from a climate deal

While the climate talks in Paris are carrying on in full force, it’s important to keep in mind that most of climate change isn’t actually affecting the ones causing it. The polar regions, the south Pacific and small islands are the ones suffering the most. The governments of Nunavut (Canada) and Greenland (Denmark) and the Inuit […]

Shackleton's 1915 expedition to Antarctica showcased in New Photos

n 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole, followed by Scott who died on the return journey. Shackleton searched in his mind for some other daring goal. He finally settled on crossing of the Antarctic continent from coast to coast via the South Pole, a distance of about 1800 miles.

Overall, Antarctica is gaining more ice than it loses, says NASA

Changes in surface height as measured by satellite altimeters suggest the Antarctic peninsula is experiencing a net gain of ice cover. The analysis suggests Antarctic ice sheet showed a net gain of 112 billion tons of ice a year from 1992 to 2001. However, this net gain slowed to 82 billion tons of ice per year between 2003 and 2008. Some parts the peninsula experienced substantial ice cover gain (East Antarctica), while other parts showed evidence of ice discharge (West Antarctica).

King crabs warm up to invade Antarctica

Enticed by warming waters, king crabs might soon make a run for Antarctica's continental shelf where they haven't been seen for at least 10 million years. As such, the fragile wildlife comprised of creatures like sea stars, sea worms, sponges, sea anemones, sea lilies and feather stars - all lacking protection against the crushing claws of the king crab - could face rapid annihilation.

Even more glaciers in Antarctica set to melt in the near future

Just a few days ago were telling you about a huge, 10,000 year old ice shelf that is set to collapse in less than 10 years and now... the same thing is happening again, a bit more to the south.

China develops scientific centers in Antarctica. But why?

China is showing increased interest in Antarctica, developing several outposts and research stations on the frozen continent. But while from a research perspective that may seem interesting and exciting, China's interests seem more strategic than research-focused. Here's why.

Brinicles under Antarctica: the underwater icicles with a touch that spells death

This incredible time-lapse footage was captured by a daring oceanographer for the BBC a while ago, showing for the very first time how a brinicle forms. It's essentially a salt water icicle that gets bigger and bigger as it hits the sea floor, and when it does its icy touch puts life to a halt instantly, like the poor sea urchins and starfish.

First samples collected from under Antarctica’s blood falls

If you've ever visited the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica, then you've likely had a surprise. The cold, frigid white background cut by snowless valleys is marked by the Onyx river, the continent's longest and largest river, which ends with a five-storey-tall waterfall that spills bright blood-red water over an enormous glacier.

How Antarctic octopuses survive in freezing waters

Octopus species that live in ice-cold Antarctic waters employ an unique strategy to transport oxygen to its tissue and survive, according to German researchers. The study suggests the octopuses' specialized pigments, analogous to hemoglobin in vertebrates, are in higher concentration in the Antarctic region than in warmer waters. This would help to explain why octopuses are more adapted to climate change and warming waters

Short-lived chemicals that burn a hole in the ozone layer are on the rise

After scientists discovered a huge hole in the ozone layer above the Antarctic, an emergency UN panel banned the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in 1987. These build up in the atmosphere, react with the triple oxygen molecule and break it down. Since then, ozone has thankfully replenished, thought it might take decades before it reverts to pre-1980 levels. Progress is slow because there are still some plants through out the world who illegally use CFCs (the stuff that used to go into refrigerants or deodorants), but also because there are other ozone-depleting chemicals out there - some recognized, others new and extremely dangerous. One class of chemicals that has been allowed in the industry since the Montreal Protocol, despite the danger it posses to ozone, is made up of so-called 'very short-lived substances' (VSLS) which breakup in under six months. A new study, however, found that these have dramatically increased over the past couple of years and despite their short reaction times, these could prove to be extremely dangerous.

New subglacial lakes discovered in Greenland accelerating melting

Using satellite imagery, scientists have discovered two new subglacial lakes under Greenland's ice sheet bringing the total number to four. The discovery is not well met, however. These lakes are already drained, signaling that climate change is making its way beneath the Greenland ice sheet. The discovery suggests subglacial lakes could increase the sensitivity of ice to climatic change, further accelerating ice melt which can lead to catastrophic floods.

Robot Underwater Gliders show How Antarctic Ice is Melting

Over ninety percent of all the world’s ice is in Antarctica, where it can run 4000-5000 meters deep. Yet, as a result of global warming, the ice sheet is melting at a rapid rate making it the most significant contributing factor to world sea level rise. It’s simple to throw in a label like global warming […]

Notebook Detailing Robert Scott's Pioneering 1910-1913 Trek to the South Pole Discovered in Ice

A notebook that laid under the cover of Antarctic ice for the past 100 years was discovered by Newzealand’s Antarctic Heritage Trust. The notebook belonged to one of the members of Robert Scott’s scientific crew, an English explorer who raced against Roald Amundsen to be the first to reach the South Pole. While Scott eventually […]

Dissecting the colossal squid - this is only the second specimen ever found

Smaller, yet heavier then their legendary brethren, the giant squid, the colossal squid is an elusive animal that lives deep in the Antarctic waters. Scientists have known of their existence since the 1920s, judging from scraps  found inside whales and sucker imprints on whale skin. It wasn’t until 2007 that the first complete specimen was found, […]

Antarctica from Pole to coast, captured in stunning detail

A mosaic of more than 3,150 high-resolution satellite images creates the best continent-wide view since 1997. The result is the one you see below: The over three thousand pictures were taken in the Southern Hemisphere’s autumn of 2008, and tiled together into a coast-to-coast view of the entire continent with its coastal waters. The result is […]

Chile earthquake triggered icequakes in Antarctica

Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world. In 2010, it was struck by a powerful 8.8 earthquake which produced temblors throughout the entire country, as well as in Peru and Argentina. But a new study concluded that its effects were felt even further, in Antarctica, where several seismic stations recorded “icequakes,” probably […]

West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse is irreversible; to cause 10 feet sea level rise

The  West Antarctic Ice Sheet , a massive system of glaciers, is collapsing as a result of glacier melting (global warming). The process is most likely irreversible and cause a global sea lever rise of at least 10 feet, a pair of independent studies conclude. A warmer planet gives way to rising oceans Previously, the two-mile-thick […]

Global warming slows down Antarctica's coldest currents, poses huge threat

Oceanographers believe that Antarctica‘s oceanic waters, which are turning from briny to fresh in recent decades, are causing the shutdown of the Southern Ocean’s coldest, deepest currents. The cold currents, called the Antarctic Bottom Water, are basically cold, briny, underwater rivers flowing from the underwater edge of the Antarctic continent north toward the equator, very […]

East Antarctica is sliding sideways

A song of ice and fire Antarctica is split in two different areas: East Antarctica and West Antarctica – and East Antarctica wears the pants in this relationship: it’s pushing West Antarctica around – literally. Since the Western part is losing weight due to melting and ice loss (billions of tons of ice per year), […]

Antarctic ice is melting 10 times faster than 1,000 years ago

A new study that examined ice core samples found that parts of Antarctica‘s ice are melting at at the highest pace this millennium. The findings put modern global warming into a historical context emphasizing the link between human induced climate change and rapid ice melting in the Arctic, considering it has increased tenfold since the dawn […]

Antarctica in the past: warm and flat, before glaciers shaped it

We have a rather sound image in our heads of Antarctica: cold, barren and damn well inhospitable. Million of years ago before a big freeze turned the continent into a huge popsicle, Antarctica was flat, covered in vegetation and riddled with flowing rivers and life. University of Arizona researchers have sampled key sediments from the Lambert Graben […]

New mineral discovered in 4.5 billion year-old meteorite

Using 21st century nanotechnology, researchers have discovered a new mineral in samples from a meteorite discovered in Antarctica in 1969. The meteorite is 4.5 billion years old and originates from an asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. The new mineral has alluded scientists for some time since its discovery by a Japanese expedition team to Antarctica […]

Microbes found in subglacial Antarctic lake suggest extraterrestrial life is possible

Underneath hundreds of meters of Antarctic ice lie a slew of lakes, completely isolated from the outside world, some for thousand of years. For years, scientists have been trying to imagine what life in such a system might look like, if any. Just recently an US Antarctic expedition found a small body of water huddled in […]

Antarctica was home to a rainforest some 50 million years ago

Scientists who studied sediment cores drilled from the ocean floor off the Antarctic coast, have found on subsequent analysis fossil pollens that came from a tropical forest. Most likely, the continent was covered by rainforest some 52 million years ago. The researchers involved warn however that by the end of the century, ice from the […]

Antarctic rift the size of the Grand Canyon speeds ice sheet melting

Scientists from Britain have found a remote ice rift valley, up to one mile deep, under the ice in Antarctica. The rift is similar in size and depth to the Grand Canyon and because it is direct contact with the warming ocean, it’s been found that it has a significant contribution to the unusual ice sheet melting […]

Iceberg twice the size of Manhattan breaks off Greenland glacier

Researchers at the University of Delaware and the Canadian Ice Service recently reported that an ice island, whose surface is twice that of Manhattan, broke off from Greenland’s Petermann Glacier, one of the two largest glaciers left in Greenland connecting the great Greenland ice sheet with the ocean via a floating ice shelf. The 46-square-mile giant iceberg broke […]

Antarctic plant ecosystem threatened by 'alien' seeds

Antarctica is home to one of harshest environments in the world, but exactly because of this it exhibit a unique set of fauna to the world. As the local arctic climate warms, however, and an increasing number of tourists and scientists are bringing in thousands of seeds, once pristine ecosystems are now at risk. Seeds […]

Subglacial lake surface reached after drilling through 4km of Antarctic ice - 'alien life' expected

It took 30 years, an enormous amount of effort and patience, and drilling through 3,768 meters of thick ice for scientists to finally reach the surface of the Vostok, a unique subglacial lake. Just as large as the great Ontario lake, the Vostok is thought to be 20 million years old, and due to the […]

Glacier in Chile retreats half a mile in a year

According to Chile’s Centre for Scientific Studies (CECs) it seems like an array of glaciers located in the country’s south have shrunk extensively recently. One such glacier, the Jorge Montt, was documented for a whole year by researchers who observed that its rate of shrinkage is the largest in the country, with snout retreating a […]
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