Antarctica

• Wednesday, October 4th 2023 - 10:40 UTC

  Studying the impact of commercial whaling in South Georgia on today's pods

  

  While commercial whaling in the twentieth century killed big whale populations, it also appears to have had a long-term impact on the genetic variety of today's surviving whales, according to a piece by Nature World News extracted from Journal of Heredity.

• Saturday, September 30th 2023 - 08:34 UTC

  IAATO includes geo-fenced protection areas for whales in its Antarctica guidelines

  

  The 2023/24 Antarctica season will see 17 new trial site guidelines including special areas so as to protect whales, according to the latest initiatives by IAATO, reports Sea Trade Cruise News.

• Wednesday, September 20th 2023 - 08:13 UTC

  Brunt Ice Shelf moving faster after calving of giant iceberg

  

  Following the calving of the A-81 iceberg at the end of January 2023, the Brunt Ice Shelf is moving faster than before. It is currently moving approximately 4 meters a day towards the sea, whereas before the calving it moved at an average of between 1-2.5 meters a day.

• Tuesday, September 5th 2023 - 10:36 UTC

  South Georgia celebrates Toothfish Day; marks the end of Dissostichus eleginoides', fishing season

  

  Toothfish Day is a public holiday celebrated in the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It is annually on 4th September, but if that falls on a weekend it may be observed on a weekday.

• Tuesday, September 5th 2023 - 10:15 UTC

  South Georgia Biosecurity Handbook Update Released

  

  The latest version of the Government of South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands Biosecurity Handbook is now available online. The Handbook details the procedures which are in place to help reduce the risk of harmful non-native species and disease entering the Territory, along with the steps in place to detect them and limit their spread should they arrive.

• Wednesday, August 30th 2023 - 08:41 UTC

  Loss of sea ice causes catastrophic breeding failure for emperor penguins

  

  Emperor penguin colonies experienced unprecedented breeding failure in a region of Antarctica where there was total sea ice loss in 2022. The discovery supports predictions that over 90% of emperor penguin colonies will be quasi-extinct by the end of the century, based on current global warming trends.

• Wednesday, August 30th 2023 - 05:39 UTC

  British Antarctic Territory £2 coin dedicated to the Venus Glider glacier

  

  Pobjoy Mint has announced the sixth and final release in the 2023 £2 coin series, Venus, issued on behalf of the British Antarctic Territory, featuring the Antarctic glaciers named after planets of the solar system.

• Sunday, August 27th 2023 - 14:48 UTC

  Emperor penguins in danger due to sea ice melting

  

  According to a peer-reviewed British Antarctic Survey report released late last week, the melting of sea ice might have caused the death of some 10,000 Emperor penguin chicks by the end of 2022.

• Saturday, August 26th 2023 - 19:03 UTC

  China insists in taking over Rio Grande port in Patagonia as established in a MoU with Tierra del Fuego

  

  One of Buenos Aires' main dailies, La Nacion, is reporting that China will not back down from its port plan in Patagonia, as promised by the regional and national governments. In early June, Argentine Governor of Tierra del Fuego Gustavo Melella revived an old controversy concerning a deal with a Chinese company to build a multipurpose port in Rio Grande

• Thursday, August 24th 2023 - 10:20 UTC

  Discovery of a new species of Antarctic strawberry feather, a 20 tentacle creature

  

  Researchers have discovered an otherworldly, 20-tentacled creature lurking in the freezing depths of the Antarctic Ocean. Resembling an alien or a Lovecraftian horror, the Antarctic strawberry feather star (Promachocrinus fragarius) is one of four new species of crinoids that scientists found at the bottom of the ocean, reports an article in Live Science.