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.

Ozone Hole over Antarctica Slowly Recovering

18.11.2009

In September 2009, the size of the ozone hole over the Earth'ssouthernmost continent reached its springtime peak. It was measured to bethe 10th largest on record, according to researchers from the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Ancient Penguin DNA to Improve Accuracy of Genetic Dating Techniques

16.11.2009

A new study using penguin bones from Antarctica 250 to 44,000 years old might change the face of genetic aging measurement techniques. The study, which involved researchers from Oregon State University (OSU) and was published in the journal Trends in Genetics, indicates existing genetic age measurement techniques might have been…
Greenland Ice Sheet Loss Picking up Speed

16.11.2009

Scientists at the University of Bristol have been able to use both observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Mission (GRACE) satellite and the Regional Atmospheric Climate Model (RACMO2/GR) at high resolution to independently confirm an accelerated mass loss of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Their research, published in Science, shows…
Phytoplankton Trapping CO2 in Open Antarctic Waters

11.11.2009

According to a study conducted by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists and published in Global Change Biology, phytoplankton are starting to flourish in new areas of open water and are trapping an estimated 3.5 million tons of carbon (or 12.8 million tones of CO2 equivalent) each year. While this is…
Disquieting Findings from Analysis of Sediment Core Taken from Northern Antarctic Peninsula

10.11.2009

According to a recent study conducted by researchers from the NationalOceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS) and the University ofSouthhampton's School of Ocean and Earth Science (SEOS), not once in the past 14,000 years has there been a period of warmingand ice loss similar to the one we are currently experiencing, which…
New Virus Species Found Thriving in Antarctic Lakes

09.11.2009

Recently researchers who collected water samples from Lake Limnopolar onLivingston Island near the Antarctic Peninsula were able to sequencethe genomes of previously unstudied viruses. This discovery is changingthe way scientists think about viruses and the role they play inmicrobial systems, according to Antonio Alcami of the Spanish National ResearchCouncil (CSIC)
Ice Conditions in the Fram Strait over the Last 30,000 Years Reconstructed

06.11.2009

A new study, entitled "Variability of sea-ice conditions in the Fram Strait over the past 30,000 years" published in the online edition of Nature Geoscience on October 25th succeeded in reconstructing the ice conditions in the Fram Strait during the past 30,000 years. The study was a collaboration between researchers…
Multiyear Ice in the Arctic Has Practically Vanished

06.11.2009

The vast expanses of multiyear ice that once covered the Arctic Oceanand were a major hindrance in navigating through the Arctic forcenturies has practically vanished according to Canada's Research Chairin Arctic System Science at the University of Manaitoba, David Barber.Barber recently returned from an expedition to find multiyear sea icein…
Last Season for Decade-Long Ice Shelf Project

03.11.2009

This year, Australian researchers will return to the Amery Ice Shelf, the largest ice sheld in East Antarctica, to finish a decade-long project studying the effects of climate change. Known as AMISOR (Amery Ice Shelf Ocean Research), the program for this season will have scientists measuring and sampling through the…
Russian Scientists to Conduct Research to Back Russia’s Arctic Sea Bed Claims

03.11.2009

Moscow is planning extensive scientific research to support its claim on a portion of Arctic Sea bed which it claims to be a prolongation of the Russian continental shelf, which is believed to contain vast oil, natural gas and mineral resources. The Russians commissioned ice-breakers and research vessels with a…