For years, the icy waters off Antarctica have served as a recording studio for the biggest singers in the world: blue whales. Their songs, picked up by sensors bobbing along the surface, tell a story of revival. Because of the regularity at which their underwater tunes were heard, researchers believe the endangered animals may now […]
A nearly two-decade study of whale songs recorded in the Southern Ocean suggests that blue whales, the largest creatures ever to have roamed the Earth, may be recovering in Antarctica after being hunted to the edge of extinction. Commercial whaling reduced the number of Antarctic blue whales from around 125,000 in the early 1990s to […]
An aerial view of the Maud Rise polynya . Scientists have finally discovered what’s causing a Switzerland-size hole to repeatedly open up in Antarctica’s sea ice. Researchers first spotted the hole, called the Maud Rise polynya, in 1974 and 1976 in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea, and since then it has reappeared fleetingly and sporadically — opening […]
The term safari typically evokes images of dusty African savannahs and bouncy 4×4 rides in pursuit of the iconic Big Five—lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and African buffalo. While this classic game-drive ritual has its place, a different breed of water-based adventures is gaining momentum. In Africa, swapping wheels for hulls can save time. In Rwanda, […]
Hundreds of thousands of pristine meteorites are currently littered across, or just below, Antarctica’s icy surface. But most of these space rocks could be lost forever over the next few decades as they sink further into the ice due to rising temperatures, a new study suggests. That means we need to step up our efforts […]
Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. The icy plains of Antarctica are a magnet for meteorite hunters such as Maria Valdes, a research scientist at the Field Museum of Natural History and the University of Chicago. Some 1,000 space rocks are found in […]
By Jake Spring (Reuters) – Has bird flu already killed hundreds, if not thousands of penguins in Antarctica? That’s what researchers are seeking to find out after a scientific expedition last month found at least 532 dead Adelie penguins, with thousands more thought to have died, according to a statement from Federation University Australia. While […]
By Natalia A. Ramos Miranda and Jorge Vega SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Scientists in Antarctica are warning of the spread of deadly H5N1 avian flu virus after the disease was first confirmed on the frozen continent’s mainland last month and has since been detected in local penguin and cormorant populations. The spread of the virus, which […]
Scientists believe Antarctic sea ice coverage has reached its minimum extent for the year, which ties the record for the second-lowest level since 1979. According to NOAA satellite data, sea ice surrounding Antarctica reached an annual minimum extent of 768,000 square miles on Feb. 20, 2024. The date is fairly near when the continent reaches […]
Off the charts “crazy” heat in the North Atlantic ocean and record-smashing Antarctic sea ice lows last year are far more severe than what Earth’s supposed to get with current warming levels. They are more like what happens at twice this amount of warming, a new study said. The study’s main author worries that it’s […]
Evidence from a 2,000-foot-long ice core reveals that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet shrank suddenly and dramatically around 8,000 years ago, according to new research — providing an alarming insight into how quickly Antarctic ice could melt and send sea levels soaring. Part of the ice sheet thinned by 450 meters (1,476 feet) — a […]
Ukrainian scientists have installed passive sensors, also known as “air traps,” near the Vernadskyi Research Base. Source: National Antarctic Scientific Centre of Ukraine These sensors are made of special materials that accumulate volatile pollutants. They function like filters and do not require a power source. The devices were installed on the Argentine Islands archipelago. In […]