Two papers released last week in the journal Nature Geoscience provide evidence that warming and melt in West Antarctica are occurring at levels that are highly unusual compared to natural variability…
Antarctica’s delicate marine ecosystems are under threat from climate change and ocean acidification.
wikimedia/Steve Clabuesch
When it comes to climate change, temperature is only part of the story. Climate gases released by human activity are dissolving into the oceans, and the increased levels of CO₂ are making the waters more…
Will the remote continent be spared the devastating impacts of human activity?
Flickr/v1ctor.
With the global population now well over seven billion there are few remaining parts of the world relatively untouched by human activity. We assess the current state and future prospects of five final…
We can learn a lot about the conditions life can endure by looking under the ice of Antarctica.
Eugene Kaspersky
The search for life in extreme environments is an exploration not only of the robustness of earthly life, but also of our origins. And perhaps the biggest question here is whether the earth is a unique…
Failing to reach a decision on protecting Antarctic waters doesn’t mean the process is over.
Dean Lewins/AAP
The annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) wound up in Hobart on Thursday last week without declaring a system of marine protected areas (MPAs…
By studying ice cores, researchers can measure the methane emissions from thousands of years earlier.
Arabani/Flickr
The past is the key to the future. When snow falls on polar ice sheets, in Greenland and Antarctica for example, air is trapped between the snowflakes. Year after year, the snow compacts under its own…
Sea levels are rising globally at record-breaking rates and Antarctica is playing an increasing role.
Matt King
A small slice of Antarctica turns up along your coastline each year.
We’re all glad it’s just a small slice, given Antarctica could deliver a total sea-level rise of 59 metres. That’s not going to happen…
Competing proposals for the Ross Sea could give CCAMLR an excuse to shelve protected areas.
Jacques Descloitres/NASA
This week delegates from around the globe are gathered in Hobart for the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR, pronounced “camel-ar” to those…
For more than three decades Antarctica has experienced the most severe depletion of stratospheric ozone.
NASA Goddard Photo and Video
SAVING THE OZONE: Part two in our series exploring on the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer – dubbed “the world’s most successful environmental agreement”. Yesterday’s article…
The push for World Heritage has noble aims, but when an area is already so well protected, why re-open debate?
AAP
Long-time environmental campaigner Geoff Mosley and former leader of the Greens Bob Brown will host a forum in Hobart on 17 June to discuss their proposal to seek World Heritage listing for Antarctica…
Australia’s newly declared continental shelf may be as big as its land mass, but its not a stealth attack on Antarctica.
AAP
Despite recent commentary in the media, Australia’s proclamation of its extended continental shelf does not represent new “claims” in Antarctica and does not contravene the Antarctic Treaty. With Australia…
All good things must come to an end.
Michael Ashley
Professor Michael Ashley recently returned from Antarctica where he deployed a telescope to one of the most remote locations on Earth – a place known as Ridge A, 850km from the South Pole.
This is the…
You probably wouldn’t try to drive across Antarctica in a regular Hilux.
Michael Ashley
Professor Michael Ashley recently returned from Antarctica where he was deploying a telescope to one of the most remote locations on Earth – a place known as Ridge A, 850km from the South Pole.
This is…
Drilling could provide insights on Jupiter’s moon, Europa.
Shandchem
Late last week the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) announced they had successfully drilled into the elusive sub-glacial Lake Vostok, a body of water lying under nearly 4km of Antarctic…
It’s hard to ignore Antarctica’s natural beauty, especially when ice halos come out to play.
Michael Ashley
Professor Michael Ashley is currently in Antarctica to deploy a telescope to one of the most remote locations on Earth – a place known as Ridge A, some 850km from the South Pole.
This is the fifth instalment…
Everyone is looking at Antarctica right now: attention at last! The 100th anniversary of Douglas Mawson’s landing at Commonwealth Bay in Antarctica arrived and passed without the promised celebration…
Why walk around the South Pole when you can ride?
Michael Ashley
Professor Michael Ashley is currently in Antarctica to deploy a telescope to one of the most remote locations on Earth – a place known as Ridge A, some 850km from the South Pole.
This is the fourth instalment…
As far as workplaces go, you could do worse than the South Pole.
Michael Ashley
Professor Michael Ashley is currently in Antarctica to deploy a telescope to one of the most remote locations on Earth – a place known as Ridge A, some 850km from the South Pole.
This is the third instalment…
When you’re trying to fly to the South Pole, weather-related delays are a frustrating reality.
Michael Ashley
Professor Michael Ashley is currently in Antarctica to deploy a telescope to one of the most remote locations on Earth – a place known as Ridge A, some 850km from the South Pole.
This is the second instalment…
When you plan a six-week trip to Antarctica, the fun starts before you even arrive.
Michael Ashley
We live in a privileged time, when travel around the world is easy and cheap. It’s commonplace for Australians to see Times Square in New York, the Great Wall in China, or trek in Nepal.
But one continent…
4,000 scientists and dodgy internet – what can possibly be done?
Todor Lolovski/Australian Antarctic Division
The information revolution is hurtling towards Antarctica in the shape of a 20 centimetre cube weighing less than 10 kilograms.
It can’t come soon enough. Not because Antarctic scientists (numbering more…
Competing interest make Antartica’s future uncertain.
Martha de Jong Lantink
When does “national interest” equal “national sovereignty”? Apparently when Australia looks south.
That position seems to be emerging from think tanks and senior government officials in the stop/start…
Australia needs a new ice-breaking ship for Antarctic research.
AAP
The recently-released Lowy Institute report, Antarctica: Assessing and Protecting Australia’s National Interests is both timely and likely to stimulate much discussion about Australia’s future presence…
Budgetary constraints and climate change are putting the Antarctic in peril.
AAP
Does Australia have strategic interests in Antarctica? Do we really think of the region as the “common heritage of mankind”?
The Antarctic Treaty states that it is “in the interest of all mankind that…
The Antarctic Treaty protects the continent from competing interests.
AAP
This year marks the 50th year of the Antarctic Treaty, a visionary document that for the first time set out a vision for an entire continent based on peace, science and co-operation.
So how does it hold…
Changes to Antarctica don’t just affect those who live there.
AAP
Changes in the Antarctic go well beyond the immediate region. They affect the whole planet.
Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and the feedbacks between the ice, oceans and atmosphere play a crucial role…
