Antarctica – Page 2 – आवारा मुसाफिर

Record low sea ice cover in the Antarctic

February 11, 2023841 Views

Sea ice extent in the Southern Ocean now the lowest since the beginning of satellite observation forty years ago There is currently less sea ice in the Antarctic than at any time in the forty years since the beginning of satellite observation: in early February 2023, only 2.20 million square kilometres of the Southern Ocean were covered with sea ice. Researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute and the University of Bremen analyse the situation for the Sea Ice Portal. January 2023 had already set a new record for its monthly mean extent (3.22 million square kilometres), even though the melting phase in the Southern Hemisphere continues until the end of February. The current expedition team on board RV Polarstern has just reported virtually ice-free conditions in its current research...

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Ultrarunner makes first running ascent of Antarctica’s Mount Vinson

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

January 19, 2023962 Views

Fernanda Maciel scaled continent's highest peak in record 6h 40m time Brazilian ultrarunner Fernanda Maciel made history on Christmas Eve, 2022 when she scaled one of the legendary 'Seven Summits' in world-record time in the hostile environment of Antarctica – outpacing all known previous climbers with what is believed to be the summit's first running ascent - then launched the dicey descent with barely moments to catch her breath. Fernanda Maciel is seen during the project 7 Summits in the Antarctica on December 20, 2022. Photo: Jordan Manoukian / Red Bull Content Pool Mount Vinson normally requires a minimum of five to seven days to climb via mountaineering or ski mountaineering, but Maciel was determined to ascend by running - an unprecedented attempt. A native of Minas Ger...

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Runners brave the cold for Antarctic Ice Marathon

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 17, 2022752 Views

Courageous runners braved snow and freezing temperatures this week for the Antarctic Ice Marathon, won by Ireland's Sean Tobin who organisers said clocked a record time on the continent. A runner participates in the Antarctic Ice Marathon, in Union Glacier, Antarctica, December 14, 2022. Mark Conlon/Antarctic Ice Marathon/Handout via REUTERS The event, the 17th of its kind, took place on Wednesday at Union Glacier, with more than 60 competitors from 20 nations taking part. Organisers describe it as "the southernmost marathon on Earth". Tobin, 28, ran the traditional marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.22 miles) in 2:53.33. "You just sink (into the snow)... One turn I took, I just went completely legless and hit the ground. I was trying to get up and go again," Tobin sai...

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Emperor penguins now a threatened species due to climate change

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

October 26, 2022887 Views

Antarctica’s emperor penguin is at risk of extinction due to rising global temperatures and sea ice loss, the U.S. government said Tuesday as it finalized protections for the animal under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said emperor penguins should be protected under the law since the birds build colonies and raise their young on the Antarctic ice threatened by climate change. The wildlife agency said a thorough review of evidence, including satellite data from 40 years showed the penguins aren’t currently in danger of extinction, but rising temperatures signal that is likely. The agency's review followed a 2011 petition by the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity to list the bird under the Endangered Species Act. FILE PHOTO: Emp...

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150 whales observed feeding together

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

July 12, 20221141 Views

“I’d never seen so many whales in one place before and was absolutely fascinated watching these massive groups feed,” enthuses Prof Bettina Meyer, a biologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and at the University of Oldenburg as well as the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity, who is a co-author of the current study in Scientific Reports. From March to May 2018, she led an expedition with the research icebreaker Polarstern in the region of the Antarctic Peninsula, during which groups of up to 50 or even 70 fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus quoyi) were observed. Fin whale feeding aggregation at a distance. The horizon is covered by blows of a feeding aggregation numbering approximately 150 fin whales. © BBC T...

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The futuristic South Pole telescope looks far back in time

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

July 6, 2022278 Views

Surveying the cosmos from its isolated position in Antarctica, a collaborative project aims to reveal insights about the universe’s beginnings. In summer at the South Pole, which lasts from November through February, the average temperature is a biting minus 18 degrees F. The sun does not set during this time, making sleep a challenge. The environment is harsh and dry. And the Internet connection at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, when you can access it, is painfully slow. On the other hand, distractions from work are few, and the landscape is stunning. The meals from the onsite kitchen are great. The best part? There’s an unparalleled view of the early universe. The South Pole Telescope is located at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica. The station features ...

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China blocks moves to step up protection of emperor penguins

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

June 5, 2022385 Views

China has blocked efforts to step up protection of emperor penguins that are increasingly threatened by the effects global warming is having on their natural habitat in Antarctica, officials said Friday. Dozens of countries had backed giving the world’s largest penguins special protection status at a 10-day meeting in Berlin of parties to the Antarctic Treaty. The treaty was forged in 1959 to ensure that the continent remains the preserve of science, and free of arms. FILE PHOTO: Crowds of emperor penguins on the ice in Antarctica on Dec. 21, 2005. (Zhang Zongtang/Xinhua via AP) “An overwhelming majority of parties held the opinion that there is sufficient scientific evidence for the species to be put under the special protection,” the German government, which hosted the May 22-J...

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Emperor Penguin at serious risk of extinction due to climate change

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

May 6, 2022471 Views

The emperor penguin, which roams Antarctica's frozen tundra and chilly seas, is at severe risk of extinction in the next 30 to 40 years as a result of climate change, an expert from the Argentine Antarctic Institute (IAA) warned. The emperor, the world's largest penguin and one of only two penguin species endemic to Antarctica, gives birth during the Antarctic winter and requires solid sea ice from April through December to nest fledgling chicks. If the sea freezes later or melts prematurely, the emperor family cannot complete its reproductive cycle. "If the water reaches the newborn penguins, which are not ready to swim and do not have waterproof plumage, they die of the cold and drown," said biologist Marcela Libertelli, who has studied 15,000 penguins across two colonies i...

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World’s largest ice sheet is threatened

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

April 1, 20221119 Views

Warmer summers and meltwater lakes are damaging the fringes A first-of-its-kind study looking at surface meltwater lakes around the East Antarctic Ice Sheet across a seven-year period has found that the area and volume of these lakes is highly variable year-to-year, and offers new insights into the potential impact of recent climatic change on the ‘Frozen Continent’. The research, led by Durham University (UK), used over 2000 satellite images from around the edge of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet to determine the size and volume of lakes on the ice surface, also known as supraglacial lakes, across seven consecutive years between 2014 and 2020. Meltwater lake near Shackleton Ice Shelf, East Antarctica. Photo: David Small, Durham University The study, which involved Newcastle and ...

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Solar energy explains fast yearly retreat of Antarctica’s sea ice

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

March 29, 2022547 Views

In the Southern Hemisphere, the ice cover around Antarctica gradually expands from March to October each year. During this time the total ice area increases by 6 times to become larger than Russia. The sea ice then retreats at a faster pace, most dramatically around December, when Antarctica experiences constant daylight. New research led by the University of Washington explains why the ice retreats so quickly: Unlike other aspects of its behavior, Antarctic sea ice is just following simple rules of physics. The study was published March 28 in Nature Geoscience. A research vessel in Antarctica on June 3, 2017, the first day researchers saw the sun rise above the horizon after weeks of polar darkness. New research shows that solar radiation drives the relatively fast annual retrea...