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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, September 21st 2024 - 11:56 UTC

Tag: Antartica

  • Monday, October 15th 2018 - 08:24 UTC

    Preparing Antarctica's Rothera to accommodate the RSS Sir David Attenborough

    The 50-strong team, from construction giant BAM, will spend two Antarctic summers, dismantling the old 60m wharf and building the new 74m one

    An international team of builders is preparing to ship an entire kit of parts from the UK to create a new wharf in the Antarctic. The work is part of the £100m upgrade of the Rothera research station to accommodate its new vessel, the RSS Sir David Attenborough. Almost 4,000 tons of equipment and materials will be shipped 11,000km next month.

  • Friday, September 28th 2018 - 08:07 UTC

    Ushuaia looking ahead to a great 2018/19 Antarctica cruise season

    The Antarctica season will officially take off next 7 October when “Kapitan Khlebnikov” from Quark Expeditions calls at Ushuaia.

    Ushuaia, capital of Tierra del Fuego province in the extreme south of Argentina will again be the main hub for Antarctica cruises with an estimated 284 calls involving 36 vessels, according to the provincial Tourism Institute. Overall Ushuaia will receive 375 calls, (Antarctica and non Antarctica cruises) totaling some 120.000 visitors.

  • Thursday, June 14th 2018 - 07:24 UTC

    Antarctica ice sheet melting faster than expected, adding 0.6mm to sea level every year

    Antarctica stores enough water to raise global sea levels by 58 meters, and has contributed 7.6mm since 1992, according to the research published in Nature.

    The Antarctic ice sheet has lost more than 2,500 billion tons of ice in the past 25 years and nearly half of that has happened since 2012. An international team of polar scientists found that melting in Antarctica has jumped sharply from an average of 76 billion tons per year prior to 2012, to around 219 billion tones each year between 2012 and 2017.

  • Thursday, May 31st 2018 - 08:20 UTC

    Japanese whale hunt slaughters 122 pregnant minke whales

    The latest figures show that of 333 minke Antarctic whales killed last summer, 181 were females. Some 122 females, or 67%, were pregnant.

    More than 120 pregnant whales were slaughtered in the latest Japanese whale hunt in Antarctica's Southern Ocean, new documents show, reigniting calls to step up efforts to stop the annual killing spree. A further 114 immature whales were killed as part of the so-called “scientific” whaling program, according to meeting papers from the International Whaling Commission's scientific committee meeting this month.

  • Thursday, May 10th 2018 - 18:34 UTC

    IAATO’s Responsible Tourism Conference votes new and revised guidelines

    Over 140 people attended the meeting at Newport from May 1-3, representing IAATO member companies and invited stakeholders

    The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) has concluded its 27th annual meeting in Newport, Rhode Island, USA having agreed to strengthen its mission of promoting the practice of safe, environmentally responsible travel to the Antarctic.

  • Thursday, April 12th 2018 - 07:57 UTC

    Icebreaker Irizar returns from its first Antarctica campaign in ten years

    The refurbished Almirante Irizar docked in Buenos Aires, from where it left for Antarctica on 26 December

    Argentina's icebreaker Almirante Irizar is back in Buenos Aires at the end of its first Antarctic campaign in ten years, following the fire that almost knocked the Finnish built vessel out of action. She left on 26 December and completed 107 days in the high seas and Antarctica's ice.

  • Friday, March 9th 2018 - 04:38 UTC

    Plan B for RRS James Clark Ross mission to Antarctica Larsen C Ice Shelf

    A team of scientists led by BAS, are travelling on RRS James Clark Ross, but sea ice, 4-5 meters thick, forced the captain to make the decision not to continue

    Heavy sea ice conditions have thwarted a science mission from reaching the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica from which a large iceberg broke off in July 2017. A team of scientists, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), are travelling on board the RRS James Clark Ross. Sea ice, up to 4-5 meters thick, has made progress for the ship very slow and on 28 February) the ship’s captain made the difficult decision not to continue.

  • Tuesday, February 27th 2018 - 09:22 UTC

    Climate change will force King Penguins to move after food or face heavy losses

    For most colonies, the length of the summer trips by parents to get food will soon become so long that their offspring could starve while waiting

    Global warming is on track to wipe out 70% of the world's King penguins by century's end, putting the regal birds on a path towards extinction, researchers warned on Monday. As climate change drives away the fish and squid upon which the flightless creatures depend, the penguins must swim further afield to find sustenance for their hungry hatchlings on land.

  • Monday, January 29th 2018 - 06:55 UTC

    Punta Arenas reaffirms Antarctica links with two private support vessels

    Betanzos will operate as a scientific support vessel, with sophisticated equipment and a reinforced “ice-class” hull, plus accommodation for 64 people.

    Punta Arenas. Chile seems determined to remain as the main calling point for Antarctica scientific and logistics support. This month two private undertakings were inaugurated which confirmed that determination, one of them is the DAP's MV Betanzos a scientific vessel for Antarctica research, and the second in the Antarctic Warrior, belonging to the Petromar company and which has been conditioned to transport supplies and fuel to Antarctica.

  • Thursday, November 16th 2017 - 09:41 UTC

    Luxury Silver Cloud sets off for Antarctica with a call in the Falklands

    The 514-foot-long, nine-deck-high vessel also has taken aboard 16 motorized Zodiac rafts to land passengers in remote locations as well as 10 kayaks for exploring.

    Luxury line Silversea's 254-passenger Silver Cloud has set sail on its first voyage after a massive makeover designed to turn it into the most elegant polar expedition vessel at sea.