antarctica Archives

March 7, 2021March 7, 2021 by Matt Williams

Another Big Iceberg Just Broke off from Antarctica

The wing of NASA's DC-8 cuts across the frozen expanse of the Brunt Ice Shelf, with its 100-foot-high cliff face. Credit: Michael Studinger/NASA.

Glaciologists have been closely monitoring ice shelves in Antarctica for signs of cracks and chasms that indicate breakups. The loss of ice around the Earth’s polar regions is one of many consequences of climate change, which is leading to rising ocean levels and various feedback mechanisms. Recently, the ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite witnessed a giant iceberg breaking off from Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf on February 26^th.

The Copernicus Sentinel mission consists of two polar-orbiting satellites that rely on C-band synthetic aperture radar imaging to conduct Earth observations in all weather conditions. In recent years, it has been monitoring the Brunt Ice Shelf for signs of cracks and chasms. According to the images it recently captured, an iceberg larger than New York City broke free and began floating out to sea.

February 4, 2021February 4, 2021 by Evan Gough

It Looks Like Iceberg A-68A is Coming Apart

A-68 iceberg positions as seen by Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission on January 30 2021. Image Credit: ESA

Iceberg A-68A, the massive frigid behemoth posing a threat to South Georgia Island, might be breaking into pieces. Satellite images from the European Space Agency showed large cracks forming in the iceberg.

Now it appears to breaking apart.

December 7, 2020December 7, 2020 by Evan Gough

Iceberg A-68A is Turning. Will it Miss South Georgia Island After All?

The iceberg A-68A floating in open waters about 1050 km from its birthplace. It's been floating for three years. Image Credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2020), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

A massive iceberg named A-68A is on a long journey through the seas near Antarctica. Though largely empty, those waters do host some islands, most notably South Georgia Island. In recent weeks satellite images showed the iceberg heading right for South Georgia.

That upcoming collision could have devastating consequences for wildlife that congregates on the island. But now, it looks like the collision might not happen.

November 18, 2020November 18, 2020 by Evan Gough

An Iceberg the Size of South Georgia Island is on a Collision Course with… South Georgia Island

Back in July 2017, satellites watched as an enormous iceberg broke free from Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. The trillion-ton behemoth has been drifting for over three years now. While it stayed close to its parent ice shelf for the first couple of years, it’s now heading directly for a collision with South Georgia Island.

It could be a slow-motion collision, but a collision nonetheless. If it does collide with the island and its shallow sea-floor, it won’t be the first iceberg to do so. And if the first one was any indication, wildlife could suffer.

August 6, 2020 by Andy Tomaswick

Antarctica Is the Best Place On Earth for a Telescope, Is Also the Hardest Place to Put a Telescope

Image of a telescope at Dome Argus, one of the coldest places on Earth. Credit: Zhaohui Shang

Twinkling stars might make for spectacular viewing on a hot summer’s night, but they are an absolute nightmare to astronomers. That twinkling is caused by disturbances in the Earth’s atmosphere, and can wreak havoc on brightness readings, a key tool for astronomers everywhere. Those readings are used for everything from understanding galaxy formation to the detection of exoplanets.

Astronomers now have a new potential location to try to avoid the twinkling. Only one problem though: it’s really cold, especially this time of year. A team of astronomers from Canada, China, and Australia have identified a part of Antarctica as the ideal place to put observational telescopes. Now the challenge becomes how to actually build one there.

May 25, 2020May 25, 2020 by Evan Gough

The Coast of Antarctica is Starting to Turn Green

A bloom of green algae on the snow on Anchorage Island, Antarctica. Image Credit: Davey et al, 2020

The Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of Antarctica, and has the mildest climate on the continent. In January, the warmest part of the year, the temperature averages 1 to 2 °C (34 to 36 °F). And it’s getting warmer.

Those warm temperatures allow snow algae to grow, and now scientists have used remote sensing to map those algae blooms.

March 14, 2020March 16, 2020 by Evan Gough

Greenland and Antarctica are Losing Their Ice 6 Times Faster than in the 1990s

Floating ice at the calving front of Greenland's Kangerdlugssuaq glacier, photographed in 2011 during Operation IceBridge (Credit: NASA/Michael Studinger)

Is anybody listening?

January 14, 2020January 14, 2020 by Matt Williams

Balloon-Based Cosmic Ray Observatory is Now on its Second Trip Around Antarctica

The Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder (SuperTIGER) instrument is used to study the origin of cosmic rays. (Photo: Wolfgang Zober)

In 2012, the balloon-borne observatory known as the Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder (SuperTIGER) took to the skies to conduct high-altitude observations of Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs). Carrying on in the tradition of its predecessor (TIGER), SuperTiger set a new record after completing a 55-day flight over Antarctica – which happened between December of 2012 and January of 2013.

On December 16th, 2019, after multiple launch attempts, the observatory took to the air again and passed over Antarctica twice in the space of just three and a half weeks. Like its predecessor, SuperTIGER is a collaborative effort designed to study cosmic rays – high-energy protons and atomic nuclei – that originate outside of our Solar System and travel through space at close to the speed of light.

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019 by Evan Gough

Aquatic Rover Drives on the Underside of the Ice in Antarctica

An underwater rover called BRUIE is being tested in Antarctica to look for life under the ice. Developed by engineers at NASA-JPL, the robotic submersible could one day explore ice-covered oceans on moons like Europa and Enceladus. BRUIE is pictured here in an arctic lake near Barrow, Alaska in 2015. Credit: NASA/JPL

Not all rovers are designed to roam around on the surface of other worlds like Mars. One rover, at least, is aquatic; a necessary development if we’re going to explore Enceladus, Europa, and the Solar System’s other watery worlds. This rover is called the Buoyant Rover for Under-Ice Exploration, or BRUIE.

April 17, 2019April 17, 2019 by Evan Gough

Astronomers Find a Chunk of a Comet Inside a Meteorite

A slice from the LaPaz 02342 meteorite which contains dust grains from an ancient comet. Image Credit: Carnegie Institution/Nittler et. al. 2019.

The early days of the Solar System are hard to piece together from our vantage point, billions of years after it happened. Now a team of scientists have found a tiny chunk of an ancient comet inside an ancient meteorite. They say it sheds light on the early days of the Solar System when planets were still forming.