The Antarctic Sun: News about Antarctica - Current Science Headlines

Science—Recent Headlines

A super-pressure balloon developed by the French space agency CNES floats above the Royal Society Range in 2005 for a project called VORCORE that studied the dynamics of the polar vortex. Similar balloons will be launched this year for a new project called Concordiasi.

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When an international team of scientists lands at McMurdo Station in early August 2010, it will be dark and cold as only an Antarctic winter can be. And that's a good thing if you're interested in learning about what's happening in the atmosphere above the continent at one of the harshest times of the year.

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Fishy Business
Adelie penguins across parts of the northwestern Antarctic Peninsula don't appear to be getting a balanced diet these days. What's missing? A sardine-sized fish called Pleuragramma antarcticum, more commonly referred to as the Antarctic silverfish. A team of scientists recently investigated the mystery.

New Wave
The National Science Foundation's Lisa Clough joined more than 2,300 polar scientists in one place at the International Polar Year (IPY) Oslo Science Conference in June 2010. It promised to be a conference unlike any other before it. Clough writes on how the IPY delivered.

Ocean Observations
Underwater robots and marine animals outfitted with scientific sensors are part of a proposed strategy for monitoring polar oceans into the 21st century, particularly a stretch of sea along the western Antarctic Peninsula, which is undergoing rapid climate changes.

Rapid Retreat
A robotic submarine, making a rare foray underneath an ice shelf, found an important clue as to why one of West Antarctica's key glaciers is draining more ice toward the sea in recent years.

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