Antarctica, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 31, 2013

Salty Antarctic Pond May Hold Clues to Water on Mars

Antarctica's bizarre Don Juan Pond is the saltiest natural body of water on Earth — a distinction that keeps the little lake in a fluid state on an otherwise frozen continent. Now researchers have found new evidence about how the pond gets enough salt to stay wet in such a...

Nov 30, 2014

Rapid Warming Hits Antarctica's Shallow Seas

Ocean waters around Antarctica have warmed steadily for the past 40 years, according to a new study. Some shallow areas have also heated more quickly than others, and waters around Antarctica are growing less salty in some regions, researchers reported today (Dec. 4) in the journal Science. The changes have...

Sep 30, 2014

Century-Old Notebook from Legendary Antarctic Expedition Found

Hidden in ice for more than 100 years, the photography notebook of a British explorer on Captain Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated expedition to Antarctica has been found. The book belonged to George Murray Levick, a surgeon, zoologist and photographer on Scott's 1910-1913 voyage. Levick might be best remembered for his...

Feb 28, 2014

The Gorgeous, Dangerous World Below Antarctic Ice (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at Slate. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Rob Robbins and Steve Rupp have been diving under the Antarctic sea ice for a combined 60 years. Hang around their dive headquarters at McMurdo Station and you’ll see rows...

May 31, 2016

Why Rescues in Antarctica Are a Dangerous Business

Winter in Antarctica is lonely. Each year, only a handful of people stay on the continent to keep research stations running. They're mostly on their own — even if they're suddenly grappling with a medical issue. On occasion, though, a serious medical event requires a rescue attempt. The latest is...

Feb 28, 2017

Can Water Naturally Flow Uphill?

Earth's gravity is strong, but can water ever naturally go against it and flow uphill? The answer is yes, if the parameters are right. For instance, a wave on a beach can flow uphill, even if it's for just a moment. Water in a siphon can flow uphill too, as...

Jun 30, 2018

Gravity Waves Ripple Across Antarctica's Skies, and Researchers Think They Know Why

Seven years ago, a group of researchers detected something strange above Antarctica's skies. Large, mysterious ripples were propagating across Earth's atmosphere. These so-called inertia-gravity waves are oscillations of air formed by the force of Earth's gravity and rotation. These waves aren't uncommon and occur frequently in various parts of Earth's...

Apr 9, 2019

The Oldest Ice on Earth May Be Hiding 1.5 Miles Beneath Antarctica

European scientists looking for some of the oldest ice on the planet have homed in on a particular spot in Antarctica, where they will drill more than 1.5 miles (2.7 kilometers) below the surface of the ice. Over the next five years, the Beyond EPICA-Oldest Ice mission will work at...

Apr 30, 2019

Mystery Sea Opened Up During the Antarctic Winter. Now, Scientists Know Why.

A swath of ice-free sea that regularly opens up during the frigid Antarctic winters is created by cyclones. Sea ice in Antarctica is thickest in the winter, so the appearance of open water is perplexing. These open seas are called polynyas. In 2017, scientists spotted one in the Lazarev Sea,...

May 21, 2019

Nearly 25% of West Antarctic Ice in Danger of Collapse

Glaciers and ice sheets in Antarctica have thinned and weakened dramatically over the past quarter-century, leaving 24% of the ice in the western part of the continent seriously weakened and in danger of collapse. In some places on Antarctica, glaciers have thinned by approximately 400 feet (122 meters). This staggering...

May 29, 2019

Ancient Rocky Structure Found Beneath Antarctica. And It's Messing with the Ice.

An ancient rocky structure found at the heart of the Ross ice shelf helps determine where Antarctica's ice melts and where it stays firm and frozen. The structure is an old tectonic boundary, probably formed during the birth of the Antarctic continent or shortly thereafter. According to new research published...

Jun 11, 2019

Mysterious, Gaping Holes in Antarctic Ice Explained

Enormous holes in the Antarctic winter ice pack have popped up sporadically since the 1970s, but the reason for their formation has been largely mysterious. Scientists, with the help of floating robots and tech-equipped seals, may now have the answer: The so-called polynyas (Russian for open water) seem to be...

Jun 28, 2019

'Ghost Base' Perched on a Growing Ice Chasm in Antarctica Is Running on Its Own

A remote science station in Antarctica forced to close over the polar winter by a dangerous ice chasm is completely empty of human life — a ghost base of sorts. Even so, its vital science experiments keep on ticking. It is the first time that important science experiments at the...

Jul 12, 2019

The World's Largest Iceberg Is 2 Years Old Today, and Already Drifting Toward Its Doom

They grow up so fast. The iceberg called A68 — currently the largest iceberg in the world, weighing about 1.1 trillion tons (1 trillion metric tons) — calved off Antarctica's Larsen C Ice Shelf on July 12, 2017, two years ago today. What has this massive, frozen toddler been up...

Jul 22, 2019

Massive Snow Cannons Could Save West Antarctica's Ice Sheet

Antarctica's western ice sheet is in danger of collapsing, but scientists may have an unusual solution: blasting trillions of tons of artificial snow across glaciers with snow cannons. Spraying this artificial blizzard into the coastal area around Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers could stabilize the failing West Antarctic Ice Sheet...