Antarctic

The ongoing discovery of microplastics in remote, seemingly pristine corners of the world continues to add important detail to a troubling picture of widespread pollution, and the latest finding takes the threat into new terrain. In freshly fallen snow in the Antarctic scientists have uncovered the first evidence of microplastics, which presented in even higher concentrations than previously reported in the surrounding seas.As scientists expand the scope of their studies into the spread of plastic waste, tiny fragments of…

Microplastics continue to infiltrate even the most remote parts of Earth. New research has identified tiny bits of plastic in the continent’s snowfall, likely arriving there from local sources, according to the team. These particles could enter the Antarctic food chain, while dark-colored microplastics may even speed up the melting of snow.Researchers from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand analyzed 19samples of freshly fallen snow, taken from the top 2 centimeters (0.78 inches) of the Ross Ice Shelf in…

| Antarctic Press launches another What-If World War 3 series by Motofumi Kobayashi of Cat Sh-t One, Raid On Tokyo, with USSR forces invading Japan… here are the full Antarctic Press Augiust 2022 solicits and solicitations WORLD WAR 3 RAID ON TOKYO #1 (OF 5)ANTARCTIC PRESSJUN221271(W) Motofumi Kobayashi (A) Motofumi KobayashiMore hard-hitting alternate-history action from combat manga master Motofumi Kobayashi (Cat Shit One)!  The abolition of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty leads to incursions by…

Young (blue) and landfast (smooth white) sea ice offshore of New Bedford Inlet, eastern Antarctic Peninsula, as imaged by the Operational Land Imager instrument onboard the USGS/NASA Landsat 8 satellite on 5th March 2017. Credit: Frazer Christie Despite the rapid melting of ice in many parts of Antarctica during the second half of the 20th century, researchers have found that the floating ice shelves which skirt the eastern…

The Antarctic ice is finding its secrets harder and harder to keep.Deep below the ice of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, the largest ice sheet in the world, scientists have confirmed the existence of a huge lake of liquid water.  Researchers have named it Lake Snow Eagle, and believe that sediments within it could contain information about the evolution of the Antarctic ice sheet from its very earliest formation."This lake is likely to have a record of the entire history of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, its initiation over…

The coast of Antarctica’s Princess Elizabeth, near where the ice sheet meets the sea. Newly discovered Lake Snow Eagle lies a few hundred miles inland, under the same ice sheet. Credit: Shuai Yan/UT Jackson School of Geosciences Scientists investigating the underside of the world's largest ice sheet in East Antarctica have discovered a city-size lake whose sediments might contain a history of the ice sheet since its earliest…

Lead author Chloe Gustafson and mountaineer Meghan Seifert install geophysical instruments to measure groundwater below West Antarctica’s Whillans Ice Stream. Credit: Kerry Key/Lamont-Doherty Earth ObservatoryThe study proves the value of electromagnetic techniques in a new polar environment.Researchers have made the first detection of groundwater beneath an Antarctic ice stream. The discovery confirms what scientists had already suspected but had been unable to verify until now.Scientists require data from all parts of…

Lead author Chloe Gustafson and mountaineer Meghan Seifert install geophysical instruments to measure groundwater below West Antarctica’s Whillans Ice Stream. Credit: Kerry Key/Lamont-Doherty Earth ObservatoryPreviously unmapped reservoirs could speed glaciers and release carbon.Many researchers believe that liquid water is a key to understanding the behavior of the frozen form found in glaciers. Meltwater is known to lubricate their gravelly bases and speed up their march toward the sea. In recent years, scientists in…

Survey locations on the Whillans Ice Stream. Electromagnetic imaging stations were set up in two general areas (yellow markings). The team traveled to wider areas to perform other tasks, shown by red dots. Click on image to see a larger version. Credit: Chloe Gustafson Many scientists say that liquid water is a key to understanding the behavior of the frozen form found in glaciers. Melt water is known to lubricate their…