UN chief gives interview from melting Antarctica on eve of global climate summit
On the eve of international climate talks, U_N_ Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited globally-important Antarctica, where ice thatโs been frozen for millions of years is melting due to human-caused climate change, sending the message that โwe absolutely need to act immediately.โ.
Icebreaker leaves Australia after 150 Antarctica trips
HOBART โ The giant orange icebreaker Aurora Australis left Australia for the final time on Saturday after more than 150 trips to Antarctica. The 95-meter (312-foot) Aurora Australis was built in Newcastle north of Sydney and launched in September 1989. It undertook its maiden voyage to Heard Island, an external Australian territory in Antarctica, in 1990. โTo suddenly have that leaving your life, it leaves a bit of a hole.โLawrence was aboard the Aurora Australis when it ran aground near Mawson Station in Antarctica during a blizzard in 2016. The Aurora Australis will be replaced by the $398 million RSV Nuyina, named after a Tasmanian Aboriginal word for southern lights.
First US spring flight to Antarctica aims to keep out virus
Staff board a U.S. Air Force C-17 as they prepare to take the season's first flight to McMurdo Station in Antarctica from Christchurch Airport, New Zealand, Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. The first U.S. flight into Antarctica following months of winter darkness left from New Zealand Monday with crews extra vigilant about keeping out the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)WELLINGTON โ The first U.S. flight into Antarctica following months of winter darkness left from New Zealand on Monday with crews taking extra precautions to keep out the coronavirus. Antarctica is the only continent without the virus, and there is a global effort to make sure incoming scientists and workers donโt bring it with them. The U.S. Air Force flight left from the gateway city of Christchurch carrying 106 passengers and crew, said Tony German, the U.S. Antarctic program's representative in New Zealand.
Antarctica is still free of COVID-19. Can it stay that way?
That world is Antarctica, the only continent without COVID-19. โIโm sure thereโs a lot they can tell us that will help us adapt to the new way of things,โ Taylor said. As a frightened world was locking down in March, the Antarctic programs agreed the pandemic could become a major disaster. To limit contact between Antarctic workers and flight crew, the plane contains a separate toilet facility mounted on a pallet. As colleagues arrive, Heard will leave Antarctica.
Q&A: Emerging picture of virus shows world at critical stage
Troubling outbreaks in South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran have seeded cases elsewhere as travelers bring the virus home with them. With the world at a tipping point, there was hopeful new evidence from China showing that containment is possible. Given the ease of spread, however, the virus could gain footholds around the world and many could die. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus suggests that countries with few cases can take aggressive action now to prevent its spread. In China, 80% of patients are mildly ill when the virus is detected, compared with 13% who already are severely ill.
Vast iceberg bigger than Los Angeles breaks off Antarctic shelf
Australian Antarctic Program(CNN) - A enormous iceberg bigger than Los Angeles or Greater London has separated from the Amery Ice Shelf in Antarctica, the largest to do so in more than half a century. The table iceberg, named D-28 by scientists, broke off the shelf in east Antarctica on September 26. Scientists from the Australian Antarctic Program, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego have watched developments on the ice shelf for almost 20 years, after first spotting a rift developing in the early 2000s. In a statement released by the Australian Arctic Division, she said: "I am excited to see this calving event after all these years. She and her colleagues had been keeping an eye on a nearby location known as "Loose Tooth" since 2002 because of its shape and its precarious attachment to the ice shelf.
Wanted: Design team for building project in Antarctica
The government of New Zealand is looking for a crew to lead the redevelopment of its research headquarters in Antarctica. The government of New Zealand is looking for a crew to lead the redevelopment of its research headquarters in Antarctica. Built in the 1980s, the country's Scott Base consists of 12 structures that officials want replaced by three large, interconnected buildings, plus a separate helicopter hangar. Construction workers could spend a year on siteIt's not clear immediately how long the base construction will take, Shelton told CNN. Scott Base is on a low volcanic headland called Pram Point, about 2,400 miles (3,800 km) south of Christchurch and about 840 miles (1,350 km) from the South Pole.
Supernova dust found in snow from Antarctica
Researchers have found dust from an exploded star, or supernova, in snow from Antarctica, according to a study published this month. (CNN) - Researchers have found dust from an exploded star, or supernova, in snow from Antarctica, according to a study published this month. A supernova occurs when a star explodes and produces clouds or gas and dust enriched with radioisotopes. Koll told CNN that researchers made the discovery after shipping 500 kg (about 1,100 pounds) of snow from Antarctica to a research facility in Munich, Germany. Researchers were able to determine that the most likely source of the iron-60 found in the Antarctic snow was star dust, Koll said.
Antarctica's ice is degrading faster than we thought
These ice sheets have been melting for quite some time, and it doesn't take a degree in physics to understand the risk there: As the floating ice melts, sea levels rise. And rising sea levels are obviously a huge problem. An "instability" in an ice sheet essentially makes it a frozen, ticking time bomb. "If you trigger this instability, you don't need to continue to force the ice sheet by cranking up temperatures. But the Earth and its future generations hopefully won't be, and climate scientists want to keep it that way.