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Articles & Interviews

Sciencepoles articles look at key findings from a range of polar science and research fields. Our articles RSS feed will inform you when new articles are published on this website.

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    Kazuyuki Shiraishi on Belgo-Japanese Cooperation in the Dronning Maud Land

    27.01.2010

    Dr. Kazuyuki Shiraishi is Vice Director-General in charge of Antarctic Programs at the Japanese National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) as well as a professor of geology. He has a particular interest in the evolution of continental crusts, especially the Gondwana Supercontinent, which existed between about 550 million and 165…

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    Steven Goderis: Collecting Meteorites in Antarctica with JARE 51

    21.12.2009

    Antarctica is not only a valuable place to conduct research about the Earth, its climate and its geological history; it's also a good place to learn more about our solar system and its history. The massive ice sheet covering Antarctica and the continent's relative isolation from human development make it…

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    CHINARE 26

    08.12.2009

    Following its coverage of the 25th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE 25), SciencePoles caught up with Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration (CAA), to hear about the goals of the 26th CHINARE expedition and China's future polar research plans, including the construction of a new research ice breaker.

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    DAMOCLES Scientists Convene in Brussels

    17.11.2009

    From the 10th to the 12th of November 2009, the DAMOCLES (Developing Arctic Modeling and Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies) project held a symposium in Brussels, Belgium. The symposium gathered more than 150 scientists involved in the EU-funded research project so they could debate and discuss the results of…

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    Igor Krupnik: Documenting Arctic Peoples Knowledge and Use of Sea Ice

    06.10.2009

    Indigenous people who live on the Chukchi Peninsula in the Russian Far East and in Western Alaska have experienced a dramatic shift in their sea ice use and knowledge over the past two generations. Several indigenous languages traditionally spoken in the region are on the decline, and in many communities…

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Latest Pictures

  • The JARE-51/BELARE-SAMBA meteorite search program recovered a possible ureilite of 150-200 g (here next to a Gundam scale model of ~12 cm high). This rare type of meteorite is an achondrite (a stony meteorite from the mantle of a different planetoid), only known through similar Antarctic meteorite recovery programs.
  • Another view on the possible ureilite, in the field it is very difficult to distinguish from more common types of meteorite, such as ordinary chondrites. Ureilites are the third rarest type of meteorite after aubrites and diogenites.
  • Although a rather inauspicious specimen on first looks, this fragment is an iron meteorite originating from the deep core of a former small planet. The fusion crust is not as black as found for other meteorites, while the density is a lot higher.
  • Frontal view on the Shirase, the Japanese icebreaker that transported our team from Australia to Crown Bay, Antarctica where the journey to the eastern Sør Rondane Mountains began.
  • Meteorites and the traps in which they are caught are generally widespread in the Antarctic. To get the highest recovery, snow mobiles are used. For this mission, generally a V-shaped formation was applied with 15 to 25 m between each member of the search party. In this way, the explored surface area can easily reach 15 km2 per day.
  • Two pieces of a fragmented meteorite, exposed to the air long enough to be weathered and broken.

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