antarctica

In this handout photo provided by the British Antarctic Survey, a view of the A23a iceberg is seen from the RRS Sir David Attenborough, Antarctica, Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. Britain's polar research ship has crossed paths with the largest iceberg in the world in a “lucky” encounter that enabled scientists to collect seawater samples around the colossal berg as it drifts out of Antarctic waters. The British Antarctic Survey said Monday, Dec. 4 that the RRS…

In the Arctic and Antarctica, PSCs appear anywhere between 15 and 25 kilometers (9.3 and 15.5 miles) in the sky during cold winter conditions. They’re most often invisible, but they can be sighted when the sun is angled just right. In these cases, they’re known as mother-of-pearl clouds, on account of their wild coloration: swirls of purple, teal, and yellow. Just like high clouds do elsewhere, they form an insulating layer over the poles, which prevents rapid temperature drops.In the Eocene, the formation of these clouds…

Researchers have refined predictions of Antarctic ice sheet melt and its impact on future sea levels, narrowing the forecasted rise to 5-9 cm by 2100. This more accurate estimate is vital for future policy and planning, especially in coastal and low-elevation regions. (Artist’s concept)An international group of researchers, utilizing historical data gathered from various locations in Australia, has presented the most precise estimate so far of the historical melting of the Antarctic ice sheet, providing a more realistic…

Satellite image of icebergs trapped in fast ice east of East Antarctica’s West Ice Shelf acquired on October 18, 2023, with the Operational Land Imager-2 on Landsat 9.A scientist spotted a jade hue in the sea ice fastened to the coast of East Antarctica.Jan Lieser has analyzed countless satellite images of frozen seawater clinging to the coast of East Antarctica. This ice—known as landfast ice or simply fast ice—regulates the seaward flow of land ice and provides habitat for animals. The ice’s textures can be varied but…

Fig. 1 Locations of deep-sea coral samples. Credit: NIGPAS Subglacial discharge from the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) likely played a crucial role in the loss of ice sheet and the subsequent rise in sea level during the last deglaciation. However, no direct proxy is currently available to document subglacial discharge from the AIS, which leaves significant gaps in our understanding of the complex interactions between subglacial…

Penn State researchers report that reduced sea ice around West Antarctica leads to increased atmospheric moisture and snowfall over the ice sheets, potentially slowing but not stopping sea-level rise. Their study, supported by NASA's Cryospheric Sciences Program and published in Geophysical Research Letters, emphasizes refining climate models to account for these processes and the complex feedback loop between sea ice and atmospheric water vapor. …

Antarctica Scientific Expedition in 2019. Credit: Shuanglin LI The precipitation in West Antarctica, especially around the Antarctic Peninsula, exhibits large variability on the interannual time scale. In recent years, scientific research activities, tourism and fisheries have been experiencing remarkable growth there. Thus, understanding the variability of precipitation in West Antarctica, including the Antarctic Peninsula,…

In a pale world of ice and snow, the last color you expect to see on the horizon is red.In 1911, during a British expedition to Antarctica, researchers were shocked to notice a glacier 'bleeding' from its tongue onto an ice-covered lake.The crimson drool is known as Blood Falls, and it's taken experts more than a century to figure out what is actually causing the eerie coloring.When a team of US scientists took samples from Taylor Glacier's rusty tongue in November 2006 and mid and late November 2018, and analyzed the…

Researchers have found new insights into how water from melting ice could have helped in the formation of ravine-like channels that cut down the sides of impact craters on Mars.Called Martian gullies, which look similar to gullies that form on Earth in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica, are caused by water erosion from melting glaciers. The researchers, published their paper in Science, found that when Mars tilts on its axis to 35 degrees, the atmosphere becomes dense enough for brief episodes of melting to occur at gully…

Ocean bays that pinch West Antarctica are home to two distinct populations of Turquet's octopus (Pareledone turqueti). The shared secrets of their ancestors do not bode well for the future health of our planet.A recent DNA analysis of the two geographically separated octopus populations, published earlier this year ahead of peer review, indicates they were once part of one big family.This "direct historical connection" suggests that around 125,000 years ago, the massive 2.2 million cubic kilometer (530,000 cubic mile)…