Dispute over life in Antarctic lake
CONTROVERSY has erupted over Lake Vostok, one of Earth's last unexplored frontiers, which lies deep under the Antarctic ice. Last week a team of Russian and French scientists claimed the lake is sterile. But American scientists insist that it is a potential source of undiscovered life forms, and are worried that Russian plans to drill right through the ice will contaminate it. ... ...At the heart...Design competition for new Antarctic Research Station
A major international competition to design a new scientific research station at one of the Earth's most extreme environments Antarctica - is launched this week by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Located 10,000 miles from the UK on a 150 m thick floating ice shelf, the new complex will be self-sufficient, able to withstand freezing winter tem...The Hunter's Breath tells a story of adventure and discovery in Antarctica
SANTA CRUZ, CA--In six trips to Antarctica, biologist Terrie Williams endured brutal conditions on the coldest, driest, windiest continent on Earth in order to learn the secrets of the mysterious Weddell seals, the only wild mammals capable of surviving Antarctic winters. In her new book, The Hunter's Breath, Williams interweaves two amazing stories from those expeditions: One is the story of the...Antarctic fish study may aid cardiac research
A species of fish that lives in Antarctic waters may hold clues to climate change and lead to advances in heart medicine. Researchers from the University of Birmingham and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are investigating the behaviour and physiology of the 'Antarctic Cod' (Notothenia coriiceps) which became isolated from its warmer water cousins around 30 million years ago when the Antarctic...A lost world: Two previously unknown dinosaurs discovered in Antarctica
Arlington, Va.-- The National Science Foundation (NSF) invites...members of the news media to hear about the discoveries of...fossils of two dinosaurs believed to be new to science. Against...incredible odds, researchers working in separate sites, thousands...of miles apart in Antarctica recently found what they believe are...the fossilized remains of an early plant-eating dinosaur and a...meat-e...Abandoned penguin colonies may help refine Antarctic climate studies
ARLINGTON, Va.--A previously unnoticed cooling trend that persisted for a millennium caused enough ice to build up in Antarctica's Ross Sea that thousands of Adelie penguins abandoned their colonies beginning about 2,000 years ago, according to newly published research....... Using radiocarbon analyses of abandoned colonies on the Victoria Land coast of the Ross Sea, scientists believe that moder...British Antarctic Survey wins environment award
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS), is winner of a national "Green Apple" Gold environmental award for the successful removal of an old waste dump from Antarctica. ...... The Green Apple Awards were presented at The House of Commons yesterday (6 November) at a prize-winning ceremony hosted by The Rt. Hon. Patricia Hewitt MP, Secretary of State for Trade & Industry and Minister for Women....... Th...Explanation offered for Antarctica's 'blood falls'
COLUMBUS, Ohio Researchers here have discovered that a reddish deposit seeping out from the face of a glacier in Antarcticas remote Taylor Valley is probably the last remnant of an ancient salt-water lake. The lake probably formed as much as 5 million years ago when the sea levels were higher and the ocean reached far inland.... ...Ohio State University scientists reported their conclusions today...Antarctic penguins thrive in ocean 'oases'
NASA satellite data was used for the first time to ...analyze the biology of hot spots along the coast of ...Antarctica. The biological oases are open waters, called ...polynyas, where blooming plankton support the local food ...chain.... ...The research found a strong association between the well being ...of Adelie Penguin populations in the Antarctic and the ...productivity of plankton in the p...Huge iceberg wreaks havoc on Antarctic marine ecosystem, study finds
For the second time in 26 months, a massive iceberg has clogged a large portion of Antarctica's Ross Sea, causing what could turn out to be a devastating loss of penguins and other marine life, according to a NASA-funded study by Stanford scientists. ...Using satellite data, geophysicists Kevin Arrigo and Gert L. van Dijken monitored the movements of a giant iceberg named "C-19," which calved off...Huge Antarctic iceberg makes a big splash on sea life
NASA satellites observed the calving, or breaking off, of one of the largest icebergs ever recorded, named "C-19." ... ...C-19 separated from the western face of the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica in May 2002, splashed into the Ross Sea, and virtually eliminated a valuable food source for marine life. The event was unusual, because it was the second-largest iceberg to calve in the region in 26 mont...Antarctic animals are under threat from illegal fishing
Animals in the oceans surrounding Antarctica are under increasing threat. Fishery management organisations and governments need to do more to eliminate illegal fishing and regulate better legal fishing in Southern Ocean and adjacent areas according to Professor John Croxall speaking today (17 Feb) at a special symposium - Conserving Migratory Marine Organisms: Protecting animals with ocean-sized...Facing extreme ice conditions, coast guard, NSF deploy second icebreaker to Antarctica
Extremely unusual ice conditions at McMurdo Station, the National Science Foundation's (NSF) logistics and science hub in Antarctica, will require two Coast Guard icebreakers to ensure that resupply and refueling ships can reach the station. ... Al Sutherland, ocean projects manager in NSF's Office of Polar Programs, said the ice extends almost three times farther out from the station than...Antarctic ice seals life's fate
Microbes discovered packed in an ice-sealed, briny lake in Antarctica may help advance techniques to search for signs of life locked in the subterranean ice on Mars, and provide a model for what lakes on Earth may have looked like during severe glacial periods. The findings were reported in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of Dec. 16. ......A tea...AAAS at the BA: Whale food, winners and losers in Antarctica and solar insights
...........................9 SEPTEMBER 2002- The latest thinking on the chances of extinction for Antarctic animals in seas and lakes, whale food hiding beneath sea ice, and new insights on the Sun's spin are among the hot topics slated for discussion at today's Frontiers of Polar Science panel, organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), through its journal ......Frozen 'lake' beneath Antarctica ideal to test sterile drilling techniques
Berkeley - Measurements of the ice temperature far below the South Pole suggest that a so-called "lake" discovered at the base of the ice is most likely permafrost - a frozen mixture of dirt and ice - because the temperature is too low for liquid water....... Far from being a disappointment, says a University of California, Berkeley physicist, the permafrost subglacial lake may be ideal for devel...NSF invites media to report on U.S.-sponsored Antarctic research (2002-2003 season)
Application Deadline: Friday, July 5, 2002... ...The National Science Foundation (NSF), manager of the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP), is accepting written applications from professional journalists to visit Antarctica during the 2002-2003 research season (early November through mid-January).... ...NSF annually selects a small group of journalists, representing diverse audiences, to make individua...Massive icebergs may affect Antarctic sea life and food chain
NASA-funded research using satellite data has shown...large icebergs that have broken off from Antarctica's Ross...Ice Shelf are dramatically affecting the growth of minute...plant life in the ocean around the region -- plant life vital...to the local food chain....... Scientists say the icebergs appear to have caused a 40...percent reduction in the size of the 2000-2001 plankton bloom...in one...Icebergs devastating impact on Antarctic marine life revealed by satellite data
For the first time, satellite imagery has allowed scientists to observe how icebergs in a remote corner of Antarctica can disrupt an entire marine ecosystem....... Using data from three orbiting satellites, researchers have been monitoring a Connecticut-size iceberg called B-15 that broke from Antarcticas massive Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000. Within a few months, B-15 had fractured into smaller...'Mercury sunrise' phenomenon found in Antarctica
In just five months during the spring each year, the northernmost coast of Alaska, a region that includes the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, receives more than double the amount of mercury that falls on the northeastern United States in a year. New research now shows a similar phenomenon also occurs each year in the Antarctic the first time its been reported in the South Polar Region. ... ...T...Scientists conduct first DNA field tests on Antarctic soil microbes
Equipped with a portable lab kit, a generator, a small tent, and plenty of warm clothes, an international team of scientists recently conducted genetic tests of the bacteria that thrive in one of the driest, coldest places on Earth Antarcticas Dry Valleys. This is believed to be the first time DNA fingerprinting of soil microbes has been performed in the field on the Earths frozen continent. .....Giant icebergs, unprecedented ice conditions threaten Antarctic penguin colonies
Enormous grounded icebergs and an unprecedented amount of sea ice in Antarctica's Ross Sea have nearly isolated one of the continent's most populous Adelie penguin colonies, making it difficult for the birds to return from their feeding grounds in the open sea, according to researchers funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).... ...The numbers of Adelie penguins at Cape Crozier, about 130...NSF invites media to report on Antarctic GLOBEC research cruise
The National Science Foundation (NSF), which runs the U.S....Antarctic Program (USAP), is accepting written requests from...professional journalists to take part in the Southern Ocean...Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics (SO GLOBEC) research cruise,...which begins in early April 2002....... Only one journalist will be selected for the cruise, which will...be at sea for roughly 45 days. U.S. media...Antarctic mud reveals ancient evidence of global climate change
Scientists concerned about global warming are especially troubled by dramatic signs of climate change in Antarctica - from rapidly melting glaciers to unexplained declines in penguin populations. ... ...Records show that average winter temperatures are 10 degrees higher in parts of Antarctica today than they were 50 years ago. If that warming trend continues, say many climate experts, the vast An...Water, sediments in ice-bound antarctic lakes may harbor unique microorganisms, ecosystems
Liquid lakes buried thousands of meters below the Antarctic ice sheet are likely the home to unique habitats and creatures that thrive in them. Exploration of those lakes will therefore require extreme care and an international cooperative effort, according to a team of authors writing in the Dec. 6 issue of Nature.... ...The pressure exerted by the continent-wide ice sheet together with heat g...Antarctic plants repair themselves
Dutch researchers funded by NWO have studied the effects of the hole in the ozone layer on the vegetation in Antarctica. The repair mechanisms of lichens and mosses appear to be effective even at low temperatures. Nevertheless, the ecology of the Antarctic is still under threat. The rise in temperature caused by the greenhouse effect is doing irreparable damage. ...Between 1997 and 2001, Dutch e...Research season will feature use of sophisticated technologies to map Antarctica
Researchers plan to map the surface of the vast Antarctic ice sheet with airborne radar, measure the movement of the Earth's crust beneath the ice with Global Positioning System transceivers and deploy buoys to explore the waters off the Antarctic Peninsula when the U.S. Antarctic Program's 2001-2002 research season gets underway next month.... ..."For almost 50 years, the United States has been...NU scientist finds answers in Antarctic icefish
BOSTON, Mass. -- Its mid-July and professor Bill Detrich of Northeastern University's department of biology hasn't seen the sun in days. Situated at Palmer Station on the Antarctic Peninsula during the height of the Antarctic winter, he trawls among glaciers and icebergs for the 15 species of icefishes, the only vertebrate taxonomic group that does not produce red blood cells or hemoglobin. ......Antarctic sea urchin shows amazing energy-efficiency in nature's deep freeze
. . Brrrr! How well do you think you would grow if you lived in a freezer? Adam Marsh, a marine biochemist at the University of Delaware, and colleagues Rob Maxson and Donal Manahan from the University of Southern California, have discovered an important reason why the pincushion-like Antarctic sea urchin (Sterechinus neumayeri) can function so well in the polar seas surrounding the Earth...Antarctic remediation underway
. . A joint U.S and New Zealand team has completed an environmental survey of a former Antarctic research station at Cape Hallett and has recommended steps to safeguard penguin chicks at a nearby rookery from melt pools contaminated with oil from an unknown source.. . The team discovered the pools during a site visit in late January, undertaken under the auspices of the....A researcher supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) has published new evidence in the Feb. 27 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that meteorite ALH84001, one of the meteorites retrieved from Antarctica, may contain remnants of primitive life that existed on Mars billions of years ago. Meteorite ALH84001 was discovered through the U.S. Antarctic Program's...Marine biology course uses Antarctica as its classroom
. Commuting to class on the world's southernmost continent isn't easy. But the campus, located a few hundred miles from the South Pole and on the edge of a unique marine ecosystem, offers unparalleled opportunities to explore biology's frigid frontiers.. The National Science Foundation (NSF), which manages the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP), annually opens its facilities at McMurdo Station on...Evidence of bacterial life found in deepest-yet Antarctic ice-core
. Analysis of an Antarctic ice core suggests that bacteria may live in a fresh-water subglacial. lakean extreme environment that may be Earth's closest analog to a frozen moon of Jupiter. Evidence. for the microbial life thousands of meters below the ice sheet is presented in a paper by a team. headed by University of Hawai'i Oceanographer David Karl. The paper is one of two on the subject. app...Bacteria may thrive in Antarctic lake
. . Holds implications for search for life in the solar system . . Two separate investigations of ice drilled at Lake Vostok, a suspected body of subglacial water. deep in the Antarctic interior, indicate that bacteria may live thousands of meters below the ice. sheet. The findings by two National Science Foundation-funded researchers are scheduled for. publication in the Dec....Team led by MSU biologist finds bacteria deep in Antarctic ice
. BOZEMAN, MT--A team led by Montana State University biologist John Priscu has discovered.bacteria. in an ice core drilled from deep within a frozen Antarctic lake.. . The bacteria came from Lake Vostok, a subglacial body of water the size of Lake Ontario.resting. more than two miles under the East Antarctic ice cap.. . "From a biologist's perspective, this is the Holy Grail of lake biology,...Huge Antarctic ice sheet could be in its death throes
.An immense expanse of Antarctic ice that has been receding steadily for 10,000.years poses the most immediate threat of a large sea level rise because of its.potential instability, a new study indicates.. .The West Antarctic Ice Sheet - about 360,000 square miles, or roughly the size.of Texas and Colorado combined - rests on the Antarctic land mass below sea.level, which makes it particularly s...First sea-level photographs released of massive Antarctic iceberg
Available now:Digital photographs taken from the Laurence M. Gould of iceberg B-10-A. Resolution of 300 dpi. Also... available on Betacam SP. ... ......Digital photographs of iceberg B-10-A are available from the National Science...Foundation (NSF). B-10-A is a massive iceberg that is drifting towards South...America from Antarctica and may threaten shipping lanes around Cape Horn...Newly released satellite images of Antarctica a valuable scientific benchmark
. Surveillance satellite images of Antarctica's Dry Valleys region, made.public today [Sept. 14] by President Clinton, will be an important tool for establishing a.baseline to measure environmental fluctuations in one of the harshest.environments on Earth known to harbor life. . "The imagery released today represents a valuable benchmark for studies.of changes in the region," said.... Microbes entirely unknown to science may exist in liquid water in Lake.Vostok, thousands of meters beneath the Antarctic ice sheet. That possibility is.one of several intriguing mysteries that justify undertaking the logistical.challenges of exploring the lake, according to a new report from a workshop.funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).. . The report, "Lake Vostok:.... . .Like many of his students, Robert W. Sanders, a professor of biology at Temple.University, headed south for winter break. However, it was not sun and surf he.was seeking, but slush and ice.. .Beginning in late December, Sanders and colleagues from the Woods Hole.Oceanographic Institution, in Woods Hole, MA, embarked on a two-month trip to.Antarctica aboard an ice-breaking research vessel t...