SciencePoles news
Recent Polar Science and Climate Change news are featured here. Our news RSS feed will inform you when news are published on this website.
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Stream Water Analysis Helps in Assessment of Permafrost Thaw
07.05.2010
Monitoring changes in permafrost is difficult using current methods. Fortunately, researchers from the University of Michigan have developed a new approach based on the use of chemical tracers in stream water.
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25th Anniversary of Ozone Hole Discovery
07.05.2010
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has commemorated the 25th anniversary of its discovery of the ozone hole over Antarctica. This includes a reflection from one of the original scientsits to have discovered it.
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Antarctic Micrometeorites Provide New Clues to Origins of Organic Molecules on Earth
07.05.2010
In a new analysis published in the journal Science, a French team working at Concordia Station in Antarctica has announced that it has found some well-preserved meteorite samples beneath the surface of the ice sheet. These include so-called micrometeorites — fragments of meteorites about a millimetre across that may contain…
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“Snowball Earth” Caused Major Changes in Past Carbon Cycle
05.05.2010
A new study recently published in the journal Science suggests that an episode known as “snowball earth”, which occurred some 720 million years ago, may have produced a dramatic change in the carbon cycle. This change could have in turn triggered future ice ages.
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Wilkes Land Sediment Cores Help Scientists Understand Past Dramatic Antarctic Climate Change
30.04.2010
A recent research expedition in Antarctic waters could yield critical clues to understand how some 53 million years ago Antarctica switched from a warm, sub-tropical environment to its current icy state. In a mere 400,000 years, concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide on the continent decreased as global temperatures dropped and…
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Antarctic Bottom Water and Its Role in Climate Change
27.04.2010
A team of oceanographers led by Yasushi Fukamachi of Japan's Hokkaido University has found a new factor in climate change as they measured a system of powerful currents off Antarctica according to a new study published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
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Antarctic Research Finds New Mechanism for Nitrous Oxide Production
27.04.2010
New research appearing in the journal Nature Geoscience reports that biogeochemists from the University of Georgia have been able to find a previously unreported chemical mechanism for the production of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas. The discovery, which they made in the saltiest body of water on earth…
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NASA’s Operation Ice Bridge Offers Opportunity for CryoSat-2 Data Verification
27.04.2010
The DC-8 aircraft being used in NASA’s Operation Ice Bridge project (NASA’s six-year field campaign to bridge the gap between ICESat-I and ICSat-II missions) flew directly under CryoSat-2's orbital path as part of a campaign to validate CryoSat-2’s measurements of the ice. As both projects are currently working in the…
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Detecting Neutrinos at McMurdo Station
23.04.2010
During this past Antarctic season, the first prototype for the proposed Antarctic Ross Ice Shelf Antenna Neutrino Array (ARIANNA) of neutrino detectors was successfully installed in Antarctica. A team from Berkley Lab’s Nuclear Science and Engineering Divisions spent nearly two weeks at McMurdo Station installing what they hope will be…
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Study Shows Whales Essential for Fertilization of Southern Ocean
22.04.2010
A new study highlights the important role whales play in the fertilization of the Southern Ocean. Iron, a key element that helps algae grow in the oceans, appears to be found in large amounts in the whales’ fecal matter. After feeding on the iron, these algae die and sink deeper…
