Antarctica

China expands presence in Antarctica with its first atmospheric station

China has opened its first overseas atmospheric monitoring station in Antarctica as it continues to firm up its presence in the icy and resource-rich southernmost continent by building research stations. Located in the Larsemann Hills in East Antarctica, the Zhongshan National Atmospheric Background Station began operating on Sunday, according to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA). The station will conduct "continuous and long-term operational observations of concentration changes in Antarctic atmospheric components, and provide a faithful representation of the average state of atmospheric composition and related characteristics in the region", said an article posted on the CMA website on Monday. The monitoring data would support the global response to climate change", the article said, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. It is China's ninth operational atmospheric monitoring station and its first overseas. In addition, 10 new atmospheric monitoring ..

Nasa sat clicks stunning 'Sea Smoke' over Antarctic Glacier. What is it?

Nasa's Landsat 8 satellite captured ghostly plumes of "sea smoke" on October 10 that rose over Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier. Here's all you need to know about it

Antarctica turning green 'dramatically', trend accelerated over yrs: Study

Antarctica is turning green "dramatically", with the trend accelerated by more than 30 per cent in recent years, compared to the past three decades, a new study has found. Researchers found that vegetation cover across the Antarctic Peninsula increased more than tenfold -- from less than a square kilometre to almost 12 square kilometres -- between 1986 and 2021. The researchers, including those at the University of Exeter, UK, used satellite data to estimate the "greening" rate of the Antarctic Peninsula in response to climate change. "This recent acceleration in the rate of change in vegetation cover (2016-2021) coincides with a marked decrease in sea-ice extent in Antarctica over the same period," the authors wrote in the study published in the journal Nature Geoscience. The study provides evidence that a widespread greening trend, across the Antarctic Peninsula, is under way and accelerating, they said. Antarctica has been shown to be warming faster than the global average, wit

Antarctica's winter sea ice in 2024 was lowest ever, except for 2023

In the Antarctic, sea ice typically covers the largest expanse of ocean at some point in September

GRSE to build ocean research vessel in collaboration with NCPOR

Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) signed a contract with the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) for constructing an ocean research vessel, an official said on Wednesday. The contract, worth approximately Rs 840 crore, was signed between GRSE and NCPOR officials for the construction of the vessel in 42 months, the shipyard informed the stock exchanges. The Kolkata-headquartered warship builder said it has the necessary expertise in the field of survey vessels and has been building them for the Indian Navy for nearly four decades now. The contract was signed by the officials of the shipyard and NCPOR in Goa on Tuesday, the GRSE official said in a statement. In December 2023, GRSE delivered the INS Sandhayak, the largest survey vessel to be built in the country, to the Indian Navy. Three more vessels of this class are at various stages of completion at the shipyard, he said, adding that this experience will stand GRSE in good stead wh

June 2024 sets record as hottest in history, shows EU climate monitor

June's temperature exceeded the estimated average for the pre-industrial period (1850-1900) by 1.50 degrees Celsius, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service

India in talks with like-minded countries to regulate tourism in Antarctica

India is working with like-minded countries to promote regulated tourism in Antarctica as a steady increase in the number of tourists threatens to harm the fragile ecology in the White Continent. Discussion on regulating tourism in Antarctica will be on the agenda at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and a meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) scheduled to be held in Kerala's Kochi from May 20 to May 30. "The problem is that tourism in Antarctica is not properly regulated. So this year, there is a discussion on its regulation," M Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, said in an interaction with PTI editors here. The Ministry of Earth Sciences is hosting the 46th meeting of the ATCM, the highest governing body for Antarctica, and the 26th CEP meeting. Ravichandran also hinted at plans to facilitate visits to Indian research stations in Antarctica for the general public. "Very soon, we will take it up," he said when asked if a comm

India to formally convey to ATCM plans to built Antarctica research station

India will formally convey to the governing authority of Antarctica its plans to develop a new research station in the icy continent when the body meets for its annual meeting in Kochi later this month. The 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and the 26th Meeting of the Committee for Environment Protection will be held in Kochi from May 20-30 where countries engaged in research in the southern polar region will share the outcome of their scientific pursuits and also their future plans. "This year, we are going to inform the ATCM that we are planning to go for a revamp of our research station Maitri. Revamp means, Maitri is very old, we have to re-construct," M Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, said in an interaction with PTI Editors here. India has two active research stations Maitri and Bharti - in Antarctica. The first research station, Dakshin Gangotri, set up in 1983, had to be abandoned after it sank in the snow. Among the scientific community

India aims to commission new research station in Antarctica by 2029: Rijiju

India aims to set up a new research station in Antarctica near the Maitri station in the eastern part of the icy continent by 2029, Union Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Thursday. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Rijiju said the site for the new research station -- Maitri-II -- has been identified and a preliminary topographical survey for the approach road is underway. The existing Indian research station -- Maitri -- is very old, the minister said, adding that it is imperative to build a new research station. The proposed project envisages adherence to environmental protocols for Antarctica and improving the quality of Indian scientific research in the southernmost continent. India has been operating the Bharati research station in the Larseman Hills area -- a 40 square kilometre ice-free region along the south-eastern shore of the continent -- since 2012. Bharati is about 3,000 kilometres away from Maitri, which was commissioned in 1989. Sharing the different

Ozone hole largest on record over past 3 years, new research finds

Contrary to public perception, the Antarctic ozone hole has been amongst the largest on record over the past three years, new research has found. The ozone hole above Antarctica has been remarkably massive and long-lived over the past four years and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are not the only things to blame, said researchers in their study published in the journal Nature Communications. CFCs are greenhouse gases containing carbon, hydrogen, chlorine and fluorine and have been studied to contribute to ozone depletion. The ozone layer in the Earth's atmosphere blocks the harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun to protect people from skin diseases. According to the study's lead author Hannah Kessenich, PhD candidate at the University of Otago, New Zealand, the team found much less ozone in the centre of the hole compared to 19 years ago. "This means that the hole is not only larger in area, but also deeper throughout most of spring," said Kessenich. The team analysed the mon

Antarctica's ice shelves reduced by 40% in volume over 25 years: Study

As many as 71 of the 162 ice shelves surrounding Antarctica have reduced in volume over 25 years from 1997 to 2021, with a net release of 7.5 trillion metric tonnes of meltwater into the oceans, according to a study. The research, published in the journal Science Advances, found that almost all the ice shelves on the western side of Antarctica experienced ice loss. On the other hand, most of the ice shelves on the eastern side stayed the same or increased in volume. Over the 25 years, the scientists calculated almost 67 trillion metric tonnes of ice were exported to the ocean, which were offset by 59 trillion metric tonnes of ice being added to the ice shelves, giving a net loss of 7.5 trillion metric tonnes. "There is a mixed picture of ice-shelf deterioration, and this is to do with the ocean temperature and ocean currents around Antarctica," said Benjamin Davison, a research fellow at the University of Leeds, UK, who led the study. "The western half is exposed to warm water, whi

Record breaking heatwaves hit Earth's coldest region!

Researchers found the most intense heat wave ever registered- in Antarctica

Scientists found that the 39-degree temperature anomaly is the largest ever measured anywhere in the world

Rising global temperatures can trigger tsunamis from Antarctica: Research

Increasing global climate change - including warmer waters, rising sea levels and shrinking ice sheets - can give rise to deadly tsunamis from Antarctica, warns a new study

Scientists study EMIC plasma wave identified in Indian Antarctic station

According to the report, the study can help in determining the impact of energetic particles in the radiation belts on low-orbiting satellites

Melting of Antartica's Thwaites Glacier observed by underwater robot: Study

Widespread cracks and crevasses were revealed in observations beneath the floating shelf of the vulnerable Thwaites Glacier of the Antarctic, where melting occurs more rapidly, contributing to its retreat and potentially to sea-level rise, according to a new study. The first-of-their-kind observations of the Florida-sized glacier was obtained by deploying the remotely operated Icefin underwater robot through a nearly 2,000-foot-deep borehole drilled in the ice, the study said. The research team from Cornell University, US, and international collaborators, captured the first close-up views of the critical point near the grounding line where Thwaites Glacier in western Antarctica - one of the continent's fastest changing and most unstable glaciers - meets the Amundsen Sea, the study said. From that area, the researchers concluded that Thwaites has retreated smoothly and steadily up the ocean floor since at least 2011. They found that flat sections covering much of the ice shelf's bas

Ozone layer slowly healing, hole to mend by 2066: United Nations report

Earth's protective ozone layer is slowly but noticeably healing at a pace that would fully mend the hole over Antarctica in about 43 years, a new United Nations report says. A once-every-four-years scientific assessment found recovery in progress, more than 35 years after every nation in the world agreed to stop producing chemicals that chomp on the layer of ozone in Earth's atmosphere that shields the planet from harmful radiation linked to skin cancer, cataracts and crop damage. In the upper stratosphere and in the ozone hole we see things getting better," said Paul Newman, co-chair of the scientific assessment. The progress is slow, according to the report presented Monday at the American Meteorological Society convention in Denver. The global average amount of ozone 18 miles (30 kilometers) high in the atmosphere won't be back to 1980 pre-thinning levels until about 2040, the report said. And it won't be back to normal in the Arctic until 2045. Antarctica, where it's so thin ..

Explained: What is Indian Antarctic Bill 2022 and why is it important

The Indian Antarctic Bill provides a regulatory framework for India's Antarctic activities through legal mechanisms

Irreversible damage

Erosion of glaciers must be slowed

What is driving heatwaves in Antarctica, Arctic & their impact on wildlife

Record-breaking heatwaves hit both Antarctica and the Arctic simultaneously this week, with temperatures reaching 47 degree C and 30 degree C higher than normal.