Antarctica, features and articles | Educational Science

Oct 31, 2004

Explorer Calls Route to South Pole 'Terrible' Idea

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) _ New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mount Everest and the first to drive a vehicle to the South Pole, described a U.S. highway to the pole as terrible.'' Work on the 1,020-mile ice highway'' from the Antarctic coast south of New...

Oct 31, 2005

Huge Iceberg Breaks Apart in Antarctica

Capping a 5-year-long saga of destruction, an iceberg about the size of the Hawaiian island of Maui has split into three pieces in the frigid Antarctic, scientists said Friday. The larger iceberg, named B-15A, calved into three smaller icebergs — B-15M, B-15N and B-15P. Two of the larger icebergs (B-15M...

Mar 31, 2005

Antarctic Glaciers Melting Rapidly

A new study of glaciers in a portion of the Antarctic finds 84 percent of them have retreated over the past 50 years in response to a warmer climate. The work was based on 2,000 aerial photos, some taken in the 1940s, and satellite images. The climate in the region...

Feb 28, 2005

World's Largest Floating Object Free Again

An iceberg the size of Luxembourg is adrift again after running aground two months ago, when it blocked sea ice in Antarctica and threatened wildlife. In January the giant frozen block was on a collision course with the Drygalski ice tongue in McMurdo Sound on the Ross Sea. But it...

Jan 31, 2005

New Large Iceberg Breaks off Antarctica

A new iceberg about twice the size of Dallas broke off an Antarctic ice shelf, scientists said Friday. The event is the latest in a series of breakups of the Larsen B ice shelf, which until recent years had endured several millennia without such major change. The breakup has coincided...

Sep 30, 2006

Ozone Hole Breaks Record

During its seasonal peak, the ozone hole set a record this year, scientists reported today. The ozone hole, which covers much of Antarctica, is thought to be caused by human-produced compounds which release chlorine and bromine. Chemical reactions high in the atmosphere cause these gases to destroy ozone. The presence...

Jul 31, 2006

Antarctic Snow Constant for 50 Years

Contrary to expectations, there has been no increase in precipitation over Antarctica in the past half-century. Computer models assessing global climate change call for an increase in Antarctic precipitation as atmospheric temperatures rise. But the most precise record of Antarctic snowfall ever generated shows no change. But it's unclear what...

May 31, 2006

No Quick Fix for the Ozone Hole

The hole in Earth's protective ozone layer won't repair itself until about two decades later than had been expected, scientists announced yesterday. The ozone layer blocks more than 90 percent of the sun's ultraviolet radiation, helping to make life as we know it on Earth possible. For many decades, ozone...

Feb 28, 2006

Antarctica Losing Ice, Contrary to Expectations

Joining the growing list of places on this planet that are melting, Antarctica is losing some 36 cubic miles of ice every year, scientists said today. For comparison, Los Angeles consumes roughly 1 cubic mile of fresh water a year. The south polar region holds 90 percent of Earth’s ice...

Feb 28, 2006

Polar Meltdown Near: Seas Could Rise 3 Feet Per Century

About 130,000 years ago, an ice age ended and there was a period of few centuries before the next one began. During this lull, Earth's temperature warmed, glaciers retreated and ice sheets melted. Sea levels rose by up to 20 feet. Scientists warn that this could happen again—and soon. But...

Dec 31, 2005

Two Large Lakes Discovered Under Antarctic Ice

Antarctica has at least 145 small lakes buried under its ice and one large one called Lake Vostok. Now scientists have found the second and third largest known bodies of subsurface liquid water there. Exotic ecosystems frozen in time may thrive in the lakes, untouched for 35 million years, scientists...

Jan 31, 2007

Strange New Creatures Found in Antarctica

Several strange creatures including a psychedelic octopus have been found in frigid waters off Antarctica in one of the world’s most pristine marine environments. Others resembled corals and shrimps. At least 30 appear to be new to science, said Julian Gutt, chief scientist of an expedition that was part of...

Nov 30, 2008

Antarctica Has More Species than Galapagos

Islands around the Antarctic Peninsula have more known species than the Galapagos Islands and many temperate and tropical regions, a new inventory at the polar region reveals. A team of 23 scientists from five research institutes, including team members from the British Antarctic Survey, undertook the first comprehensive inventory of...

Aug 31, 2008

Biggest Melt Comes From Smallest Glaciers

The big glaciers of Greenland get most of the attention in terms of global warming's impact on melting and rising sea levels, but it's actually the little glaciers that count the most, a new study finds. Satellite observations of the Greenland Ice Sheet indicate that nearly 75 percent of the...

Jun 30, 2008

Antarctic Ice Shelf All But Lost

A vast shelf of ice in Antarctica is hanging on to the continent by a thread and is not expected to survive, scientists announced today. The Wilkins Ice Shelf is experiencing further disintegration that could collapse an ice bridge connecting the shelf to Charcot Island. Since the connection to the...