Ice-loss moves the Earth 250 miles beneath our feet

At the surface, Antarctica is a motionless and frozen landscape. Yet hundreds of miles down the Earth is moving at a rapid rate, new research has shown.

The study, led by Newcastle University, UK, and published this week in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, explains for the first time why the upward motion of the Earth’s crust in the Northern Antarctic Peninsula is currently taking place so quickly.

Previous studies have shown the earth is ‘rebounding’ due to the overlying ice sheet shrinking in response to climate change. This movement of the land was understood to be due to an instantaneous, elastic response followed by a very slow uplift over thousands of years.

Melting Sea Ice Threatens Emperor Penguins

Stephanie Jenouvrier, Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionAt nearly four feet tall, the Emperor penguin is Antarctica’s largest sea bird—and thanks to films like “March of the Penguins” and “Happy Feet,” it’s also one of the continent’s most iconic. If global temperatures continue to rise, however, the Emperor penguins in Terre Adélie, in East Antarctica may eventually disappear, according to a new study by led by researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). The study was published in the June 20th edition of the journal Global Change Biology.

“Over the last century, we have already observed the disappearance of the Dion Islets penguin colony, close to the West Antarctic Peninsula,” says Stephanie Jenouvrier, WHOI biologist and lead author of the new study. “In 1948 and the 1970s, scientists recorded more than 150 breeding pairs there. By 1999, the population was down to just 20 pairs, and in 2009, it had vanished entirely.” Like in Terre Adélie, Jenouvrier thinks the decline of those penguins might be connected to a simultaneous decline in Antarctic sea ice due to warming temperatures in the region.

Ice shelves disappearing on Antarctic peninsula

Ice shelves are retreating in the southern section of the Antarctic Peninsula due to climate change. This could result in glacier retreat and sea-level rise if warming continues, threatening coastal communities and low-lying islands worldwide.

Research by the U.S. Geological Survey is the first to document that every ice front in the southern part of the Antarctic Peninsula has been retreating overall from 1947 to 2009, with the most dramatic changes occurring since 1990. The USGS previously documented that the majority of ice fronts on the entire Peninsula have also retreated during the late 20th century and into the early 21st century.

New research sheds light on Earth’s coldest temperatures

Results from the first detailed analysis of the lowest ever temperature recorded on the Earth’s surface can explain why it got so cold and how cold it could possibly get.

During the Antarctic winter of 1983 (July) temperatures plunged to a record-breaking −89.2°C at the Russian Vostok research station - more than 30°C lower than the average winter temperature. Until this study scientists did not understand why or how the temperature on the vast East Antarctic plateau could hit such an extreme low.

Foreseeing rising Antarctic snowmelt

Record low resulted from simultaneous positive phases for two climate drivers

The 30-year record low in Antarctic snowmelt that occurred during the 2008-09 austral summer was likely due to concurrent strong positive phases for two main climate drivers, ENSO (El Niño - Southern Oscillation) and SAM (Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode), according to Dr. Marco Tedesco, Assistant Professor of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences at The City College of New York.

Antarctica served as climatic refuge in Earth's greatest extinction event

The largest known mass extinction in Earth's history, about 252 million years ago at the end of the Permian Period, may have been caused by global warming. A new fossil species suggests that some land animals may have survived the end-Permian extinction by living in cooler climates in Antarctica. Jörg Fröbisch and Kenneth D. Angielczyk of The Field Museum together with Christian A. Sidor from the University of Washington have identified a distant relative of mammals, Kombuisia Antarctica, that apparently survived the mass extinction by living in Antarctica.

Mysteriously warm times in Antarctica

A new study of Antarctica's past climate reveals that temperatures during the warm periods between ice ages may have been higher than previously thought.

A new study of Antarctica's past climate reveals that temperatures during the warm periods between ice ages (interglacials) may have been higher than previously thought. The latest analysis of ice core records suggests that Antarctic temperatures may have been up to 6°C warmer than the present day.

Olympic Games: IOC analyses Beijing air quality data

With the health of athletes who participate in the Olympic Games, which begins on August 08th, being of the utmost importance to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the IOC’s Medical Commission has been appraising the air quality in the Chinese capital.

Over the past weeks, an analysis has been made of a set of data – including temperature, wind, humidity and SO2, NO2, CO, Ozone and PM10 readings – which were taken by the Beijing Environment Protection Bureau from 8 to 29 August 2007 and given to the IOC. The data have been evaluated on the basis of the WHO 2005 interim target standards.

The findings indicate that, at Games time one year out, the health of athletes was largely not impaired. This finding is upheld by the fact that no health issues related to air quality were reported to the IOC by any of the team physicians who looked after athletes competing during the August 2007 test events. Nor were any such problems reported at the IAAF Junior World Championships that were held in August 2006. Moreover, measures are continuously being taken by the Chinese authorities which can be expected to improve the air quality further when compared with 2006 and 2007.

For outdoor endurance events that include minimum one hour continuous physical efforts at high level – urban road cycling, mountain bike, marathon, marathon swimming, triathlon and road walk - the IOC Medical Commission’s findings indicated that there may be some risk. The IOC will, therefore, be working together with the relevant International Federations in order to put in place procedures which will allow a “plan B” to be activated for such events if necessary. The procedure will include daily monitoring of air quality and weather conditions at the venue, a reporting process from the Beijing Environment Protection Bureau to the IOC and relevant sports Federation, and a joint IOC-sports Federation decision to postpone the event if necessary.

Commenting on the Medical Commission’s appraisal, Chairman Arne Ljungqvist said, “As with all Olympic Games, we want to ensure that air quality risks are mitigated and that measures are put into place to protect the health of the athletes. The health and safety of the competing athletes is of the utmost importance. The IOC Medical Commission is satisfied with the outcome of its analysis of the data of the August 2007 test events provided by the Beijing Environment Protection Bureau. Analysis of air quality data to date indicates that the health of the vast majority of athletes competing in the 2008 Olympic Games will not be impaired.

“These findings are supported by this analysis, and by the fact that no health issues related to air quality were reported to BOCOG or the IOC by any team physicians looking after athletes who competed in the August 2007 test events. Nor were any air quality-related problems reported at the IAAF Junior World Championships that were held in Beijing in August 2006. It may be that some events will not be conducted under optimal conditions - which is the reality of sports competitions - and that we may not see records broken in Beijing.

“However, the Games are more about competing in the Olympic spirit, than about breaking records. For a few sports where we do see a possible risk, we will monitor the situation daily during Games time, and take whatever decisions are needed at the time to ensure the athletes’ health is protected. The IOC is confident that measures already put in place, plus those planned by Beijing organisers and city authorities, will continue to improve the city’s air quality leading up to – and during – the Games.”