The Antarctic Sun: News about Antarctica - Current Science Headlines

Science—Oceans and Atmosphere

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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Temperatures Rise in the Fall
A new study in the Journal of Climate suggests widespread warming across the Antarctic Peninsula during the fall is being influenced by atmospheric circulation patterns originating in the tropics.

Life Under the Ice
It's life. But is it life as we know it? That question will be answered in the months ahead, but it appears that the first evidence that something lives in a lake covered by nearly a kilometer of ice in West Antarctica emerged at the end of January.

Making Waves
A pair of studies published this month in the prestigious journal Science link ozone depletion over the Antarctic to powerful changes in atmospheric and ocean circulation. Such changes may have global implications, from altering precipitation patterns to weakening the sequestration of carbon dioxide in the ocean.

Water World
In the end, it took a little bit of magic and quite a lot of effort, but U.S. scientists announced this week that they successfully reached a lake buried nearly a kilometer below the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. a custom-made, high-powered hotwater drill reached subglacial Lake Whillans on Jan 28.

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