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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A Quest for Ice Worms
06.08.2008
Dan Shain and his biologist colleagues will trek over the glaciers on the south side of the Alaska Range to see if they can find ice worms living in the harsh environment there. Ice worms typically live on warmer glaciers in lower latitudes or near the coast of Alaska, not…
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Surveying Marine Biodiversity in a Polar Sea
31.07.2008
A research cruise within the Scotia Arc region of the South Atlantic Ocean has conducted an unprecedented survey on marine biodiversity. The precious information revealed by these research results will be used as a reference for future scientists investigating marine biodiversity.
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A Big Chunk of Ice Breaks off the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf
30.07.2008
Sattelite pictures show that nearly 20km2 of ice has broken off the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, the largest remaining ice shelf in the Arctic. The sheet is the biggest piece shed by one of Canada's six ice shelves since the Ayles shelf broke loose in 2005 from the coast of…
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Antarctica Icefree Millions of Years Ago
29.07.2008
Scientists from Cardiff University analysed an exceptionally well-preserved fossil discovered in a marine rock in the vicinity of New Zealand. Their results reveal that millions of years ago higher temperatures and warmer seas prevailed worldwide with little or no ice in Antarctica.
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USGS Assessment Report on Oil and Natural Gas Resources within Arctic Circle
25.07.2008
The new U.S. Geological Survey's assesment report concludes that within the boundaries of the Arctic Circle, huge quantities of oil and natural gas are technically recoverable using current technologies and industry practices. Resources are located mainly offshore. It is the first USGS assessment publicly available on petroleum and natural gas…
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NASA Themis Satellites Discover What Powers Aurora Borealis
25.07.2008
The 5 THEMIS Satellites discovered that an explosion of magnetic energy a third of the way to the moon powers substorms causing the sudden increases in the brightness and movement of the Nothern Lights.
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Northern Forest Fires May Overshadow Arctic Warming
23.07.2008
As it is transported to the Arctic, smoke particles may have the surprising effect of cooling the Arctic's surface temperature temporarily, by reducing the amount of solar radiation reaching the surface. The influence of smoke on the Arctic climate is currently being investigated by researchers at the University of Colorado…
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Crustacean Fossil Found in East Antarctica
23.07.2008
Researchers from the University of Leicester, North Dakota State University, the British Geological Survey, Queen Mary University of London, and Boston University have just made a new discovery in East Antarctica: fossil ostracods dating back 14 million years. The presence of ostracods in Antarctica suggests the presence of a high…
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Dead Penguins Found along Brazilian Beaches
22.07.2008
Each year, strong ocean currents in the Strait of Magellan (along the southern edge of the South American continent) bring in large numbers of dead penguins along Rio de Janeiro's tropical beaches. But this year, over 400 baby penguins have been found over the past two months, more than what…
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Icebergs Affect Biodiversity on Antarctic Peninsula
18.07.2008
New data suggests that the Antarctic Peninsula's seabed is going to get hit more frequently by scouring icebergs. This increase in iceberg disturbance on the seabed, which is home to about 80% of all Antarctic life, could have severe effects on the marine creatures living there.
