The Antarctic Sun: News about Antarctica - Current Science Headlines

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Aerial view of a field camp on Pine Island Glacier Ice Shelf.

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West Antarctica remains the most climatically dynamic region of Antarctica, which continues to be largely shielded from the effects of global warming thanks to the persistence of the ozone hole. But that's likely to change before the end of the century, according to a revised report from SCAR.

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Faithful Reproduction
The National Ice Core Laboratory reopened for business once again in May to prepare about 280 meters of ice drilled from a lonely, snowy region of West Antarctica for analysis by U.S. scientists studying past climate change.

Bits and Pieces
A satellite image released this month by NASA shows the disintegrating Wilkins Ice Shelf is still shedding icebergs five years after news broke that a major collapse was first under way. The most recent break-up is likely not due to climate change, according to a leading scientist.

Predator and Prey
There are few places left in the world where the big predators still naturally dominate their ecosystem. Except perhaps one: The Ross Sea is still relatively pristine. Its intact marine food web offers ecologists an opportunity to challenge scientific orthodoxy about ecosystem structure.

Type C Personality
If Captain Ahab of Moby Dick literary fame had been a scientist, it might have been an orca and not a sperm whale that drove him to madness. Not because of some antagonistic relationship, but because killer whales have proven to be a tricky animal to study.

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