Polar News and Notes Antarctica

Like the other six continents, Antarctica is warming.
A new study using satellite measurements as well as temperature records from weather stations shows that from 1957 to 2006, temperatures across the continent increased on average 0.2 degrees F per decade. This increase is comparable to warming around the world.
Not all parts of Antarctica are warming at […]

Even though they must have known they would be asked about the similarity to the title of a Beatles’ song, British researchers nevertheless painted a new robot submarine bright yellow. Denying the connection, an engineer said yellow makes it easy to spot the robot when it surfaces from under ice shelves in Antarctica. 
The seven-foot robot […]

In late December near McMurdo Station in Antarctica, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) flight-tested a large, pumpkin-shaped, thin-skinned balloon that will someday carry science experiments to the brink of space.  
According to an NSF press release, this 7 million cubic foot balloon is the largest single-cell, super-pressure […]

The January issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears cyberzine is now available!
Polar Mammals was co-produced with the American Museum of Natural History, and includes a wide range of engaging and informative content!
Do you want to know more about polar mammals and the adaptations that help them survive in these cold environments? This […]

News from the polar regions during December 2008 included studies of methane and its role in climate change, new information about the role of polar bears and snowy owls in the Arctic ecosystem, trouble for the Wilkins Ice Shelf and an Antarctic cruise ship, and an astonishing fact about Antarctica’s biological diversity. Missed these stories […]

The world’s largest neutrino telescope is being constructed on and under Antarctica ice. Known as IceCube, the telescope consists of strings of 60 optical detectors, each string more than half a mile long and frozen in the ice. Atop each string is a pair of 600 gallon tanks filled with clear ice and containing two […]

Tonight at 7pm EST we’re having an online chat in the TappedIn online learning community - http://tappedin.org. We’ll be working our way through the December 2008 issue of the Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears online magazine. If you can’t join us, you can still take “our tour” below. We meet the first Thursday of each […]

The European Space Agency reports new rifts on the Wilkins Ice Sheet, which is connected to two islands by a strip of ice. The rifts could cause the largest ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula to destroy the strip, or bridge, of ice that has been preventing the shelf from breaking away.  
Wilkins Ice Sheet, […]

Researchers led by Richard Alley of Pennsylvania State University believe they have a way of predicting how fast “calving events” will occur on an ice shelf. Their model, briefly described in a press release from the university and reported in the November 28 issue of Science, will prove helpful as more “calves,” or icebergs, are […]

Jessica Fries-Gaither will present the workshop “Energy Sources of the Polar Regions” on Saturday, December 6 at the National Science Teachers Association regional conference in Cincinnati, OH. The workshop is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. in Room 211 of the Duke Energy Center. We hope you’ll join us for an interactive session exploring lessons and activities […]