Antarctica, features and articles | Educational Science

Nov 7, 2022

Will Antarctica ever be habitable?

Antarctica is a freezing, inhospitable place, with average winter temperatures that plummet to minus 56 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 49 degrees Celsius), winds that reach 200 mph (321 km/h) and just 6.5 inches (166 millimeters) of annual precipitation. It's no surprise, then, that Earth's southernmost continent is also its least populated,...

Nov 8, 2022

World’s largest iceberg is getting swept away from Antarctica to its doom, satellite image shows

After slowly drifting around Antarctica for more than a year and barely melting, the world's largest iceberg could soon be set on an accelerated course toward its eventual demise, a new satellite image reveals. The gargantuan ice slab, known as A-76A, is around 84 miles (135 kilometers) long and 16...

Nov 17, 2022

Logic-defying 'bottom blooms' could sustain hidden ecosystems in Arctic and Antarctica

Logic-defying phytoplankton blooms have been discovered lurking beneath the ocean's surface in both of Earth's polar regions, two unrelated new studies have revealed. The highly unlikely bottom blooms, which grow near the seafloor in the Arctic and below sea ice in Antarctica, could support hidden ecosystems that scientists know nothing...

Dec 30, 2022

10 amazing discoveries from Antarctica in 2022

Antarctica isn't just the coldest continent; it's the one hiding the most secrets. Because of its remoteness and forbidding climate, there is still a treasure trove of weird and wonderful oddities beneath the ice and waves just waiting to be discovered. And in 2022, scientists hit the jackpot. From secret...

Jan 24, 2023

Widening chasm births Antarctic iceberg larger than Los Angeles

A widening chasm in Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf, which forced Britain's Halley Research Station to be moved to safety several years ago, has finally split in two and birthed a huge iceberg more than 20 miles (30 kilometers) across. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) reported on Monday (Jan. 23) that...

Jan 27, 2023

50 amazing facts about Antarctica

Introduction (Image credit: Shutterstock/sergioluno)The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was minus 128.56 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 89.2 degrees Celsius), registered on July 21, 1983, at Antarctica's Vostok station. It's seriously dry (Image credit: NASA)The Dry Valleys of Antarctica are the driest place on Earth, with low humidity and almost no...

Feb 2, 2023

17-pound meteorite found in Antarctica, likely hidden for millennia, is perfectly intact

Scientists recently scooped up one of the heaviest meteorites ever discovered in Antarctica, as well as four other frozen space rocks that likely crashed into the icy continent thousands of years ago. The researchers found the minihoard of meteorites on the surface of the Nils Larsen blue ice zone near...

Mar 20, 2023

Watch 1st aerial footage of gigantic, breakaway Antarctic iceberg the size of Los Angeles

An enormous iceberg in Antarctica — an ice slab that's so massive, it has a surface area greater than Los Angeles — recently got its first aerial cameo, which showed off its mind blowing size. The ice slab, named A81, was birthed from the Brunt Ice Shelf on Jan. 22...

Apr 18, 2023

Colossal iceberg trapped near Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier' for 20 years is finally on the move

An enormous iceberg that first broke off Antarctica's Doomsday Glacier more than 20 years ago is finally waving goodbye to the icy continent after being freed from the seafloor, which had trapped the ice chunk in place for over a decade. The long-lived berg, known as B-22A, is the largest...

May 20, 2023

Where is the coldest place on Earth?

Earth can get cold. Extremely cold. From the South Pole to the Arctic Circle, temperatures can plummet to bone chilling levels. But what are the coldest temperatures ever recorded? And what are the coldest cities, or the coldest permanently inhabited parts of Earth? In general, Earth's average temperature varies from...

May 24, 2023

Climate change could trigger gigantic deadly tsunamis from Antarctica, new study warns

Climate change could unleash gigantic tsunamis in the Southern Ocean by triggering underwater landslides in Antarctica, a new study warns. By drilling into sediment cores hundreds of feet beneath the seafloor in Antarctica, scientists discovered that during previous periods of global warming — 3 million and 15 million years ago...

May 25, 2023

Antarctic currents supplying 40% of world's deep ocean with nutrients and oxygen slowing dramatically

Deep ocean currents around Antarctica that are vital to marine life have slowed by 30% since the 1990s and could soon grind to a complete halt, a new study finds. These currents, known as Antarctic bottom waters, are powered by dense, cold water from the Antarctic continental shelf that sinks...

Jun 6, 2023

World's largest iceberg is no more after being ripped apart in 'iceberg graveyard'

The world's largest iceberg is no more. The enormous chunk of ice, which was around twice the size of Los Angeles, has fractured into multiple city-size slabs, new satellite images show. The iceberg, known as A-76A, was the largest remaining piece of a Rhode Island-size slab that broke off from...

Jul 4, 2023

Antarctic sea ice reached 'record-smashing low' last month

Antarctic sea ice levels reached record-breaking lows last week — and this extraordinary behavior could mark the start of its long-term decline, scientists warn. As of June 27, the extent of sea ice in Antarctica was nearly 1 million square miles (2.6 million square kilometers) below average for this time...

Jul 31, 2023

Russian scientists have grown watermelons in the coldest place on Earth

Scientists have successfully grown watermelons in an unlikely place: Antarctica. The agricultural feat was part of an experiment at Vostok Station, a year-round Russian research station located at the Pole of Cold, so named because it's classified as the coldest place on Earth, where recorded temperatures once reached a frigid...