On the surface, NASA’s new satellite imagery appears to drop a bombshell: Antarctica, the icy giant that contains 90% of the globe’s fresh water, has been accumulating ice since 2021. This appears to run counter to the incessant drumbeat of global warming but scientists caution that this is far from a reversal of climate change. ...
Imagine standing on the icy plains of Antarctica, winds howling, temperatures plummeting below freezing—and then, try to picture towering forests, strange ferns, and dinosaurs wandering where only penguins shuffle today. It sounds unbelievable, almost like the setting for a science fiction novel. But scientists have uncovered a dazzling secret: beneath Antarctica’s miles-thick ice lies the ...
A translucent juvenile colossal squid, the legendary “kraken” of Antarctic waters has been captured on video for the first time, solving a century-old marine mystery. The Shot That Rewrote Marine Biology On March 9, 2024, an ROV named SuBastian made history 600 meters deep near the South Sandwich Islands: “This is like finding a unicorn, ...
The discovery of new emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica marks a significant advancement in wildlife research. Using satellite mapping technology, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have located previously unknown colonies, bringing the total known emperor penguin colonies around Antarctica to 66. This discovery is notable as half of these colonies have been identified ...
A groundbreaking expedition to Antarctica’s Denman Glacier has revealed how ancient DNA (aDNA) can help scientists predict the future of Earth’s ecosystems. As climate change accelerates, researchers are turning to genetic material preserved in marine life to reconstruct past environments and anticipate how ecosystems might respond to ongoing environmental shifts. The study, led by Australian ...
The biggest iceberg in the world, a frozen behemoth the size of Cornwall, is breaking into thousands of icy fragments close to South Georgia’s wildlife-rich coastlines. After almost four decades of drifting from Antarctica in 1986, this “megaberg” is finally giving way to warmer temperatures; its soaring cliffs are collapsing in a show both amazing ...
For decades, an invisible force, a strong ocean current, has guarded Antarctica’s icy stronghold as a natural barrier against the invading warmth of northern seas. New studies, however, show this shield is failing and the results could be disastrous. Meltwater from the collapsing ice sheets of the continent is accelerating the little-known but important Antarctic ...
Gargi Chakravorty
