Mese: Novembre 2019

Professor Anne-Marie Brady has been worried about China’s intentions in Antarctica for years.

Prof. Brady is wodering: -Is the 60 years old Antarctic Treaty robust enough to hold back China?-

Well, China now controls a wedge of Antarctica and its intentions on the southern continent are increasingly worrying some experts.

China’s wedge, falls within the area of Antarctica that’s claimed by Australia. About 5000 kilometres south of Perth, China maintains a base on the icy coast called Zhongshan.

About 500 kilometers inland, China operates a second base called Taishan. Another 750 kilometers inland is China’s Kunlun Station. The South Pole is about 1000km further South.

Read the full article at: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/117526752/have-cracks-started-to-appear-in-the-antarctic-treaty

RRS Ernest Shackleton leased for twenty years by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), has returned to her owners, Norwegian shipping Company G.C. Rieber Shipping on 30 April 2019.

In May 2019 the I/B was purchased by the Italian National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS), thanks to a grant from the MIUR (Italian Ministry of University and Research),  to be used as a research vessel and logistical support in Antarctica. So I/B Enest Shackleton, has been renamed as  R/V Laura Bassi, heir of the old R/V OGS Explora and R/V Italica.

Oceanographic vessel R/V Laura Bass, will be the leading actress of the Italian research programs at the poles for the next twenty years,.after the change of property from BAS to the Italian OGS, and from now and ahead will be used for scientific activity and logistical support for Italian Antarctic explorations.

We do not have information so far, of any Ham radio activity from onboard.

Antarctica’s western ice sheet is in danger of collapsing, but scientists may have an unusual solution: blasting trillions of tons of artificial snow across glaciers with snow cannons.

Spraying this artificial blizzard into the coastal area around Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers could stabilize the failing West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS), reducing ice loss that could drive potentially catastrophic sea level rise, new research finds.

But as intriguing as that extreme solution may sound, there would be considerable drawbacks; the effort would be prohibitively expensive and could harm sensitive ocean ecosystems, the researchers reported

In a new study published in the journal Biological Conservation, an international team of researchers recommends the need for additional measures to protect and conserve one of the most iconic Antarctic species – the emperor penguin (Aptenodyptes forsteri).
The researchers reviewed over 150 studies on the species and its environment as well as its behavior and character in relation to its breeding biology. Current climate change projections indicate that rising temperatures and changing wind patterns will impact negatively the sea ice on which emperor penguins breed; and some studies indicate that emperor populations will decrease by more than 50% over the current century. The researchers therefore recommend that the IUCN status for the species be escalated to ‘vulnerable‘; the species is currently listed as ‘near threatened‘ on the IUCN Red List. They conclude that improvements in climate change forecasting in relation to impacts on Antarctic wildlife would be beneficial, and recommend that the emperor penguin should be listed by the Antarctic Treaty as a Specially Protected Species.
More info at: https://eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-10/bas-srs100819.php

A multinational effort to create giant marine sanctuaries around Antarctica to counter climate change and protect fragile ocean ecosystems has failed for an eighth straight year.

Opposition from China and Russia torpedoed the proposal at the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), a consortium of 25 nations plus the European Union, sources familiar with the closed-door discussions told AFP. Beijing and Moscow have been key in blocking the scheme since it was first floated by Australia, France and the EU in 2010 before being scaled down in 2017 in an attempt to win greater support.

The meeting in the Australian city of Hobart, which ended late Friday, considered proposals to create conservation parks in three key areas off Antarctica covering a total of some three million square kilometres (1.2 million square miles).

The areas are home to penguins, seals, toothfish, whales and huge numbers of krill ,  a staple food for many species. The series of proposed marine protected areas (MPAs) would protect that marine life and crucially allow migration between areas for breeding and foraging.

Read more at: https://www.firstpost.com/tech/science/talks-about-an-antarctic-marine-sanctuary-in-a-deadlock-for-eighth-consecutive-year-7596391.html

Five people have beaten off competition from more than 200 people to run the UK’s most remote post office in Antarctica. The team will man the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust’s Post Office at Port Lockroy for four months.

The first permanent British Base to be established on the Antarctic Peninsula, it has been run as a museum and Post Office for tourists since 2006.

The new postmasters start work in November and return to the UK in March. Each year, the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, which is based in Cambridge, advertises for a new intake of seasonal postal workers.

Hundreds apply despite there being no running water or mains electricity and the job involving working in sub-zero temperatures 11,000 miles away from home.

As well as running the office, museum and shop, the chosen team monitors the island’s resident gentoo penguin population.

Several brooms are sent to the team each year to clean the penguin droppings outside the building – which the trust admits would otherwise look like “a penguin toilet”.

Thanks and credit to: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-49768448