NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s Post

Trivia for Antarctic Tragics # 37 Four Tucker Sno-Cats were part of the Fuchs/Hillary Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1955-1958. This famous image of a scary crevasse moment is everywhere, but there is also a copy of this photo in a place most people wouldn't be aware of. Is it: a) In a state room at Buckingham Palace b) Buried with Sir Edmund Hillary c) In a time capsule on the summit of Mount Everest d) In outer space The Voyager missions were launched in 1977 with the goal of exploring the planets in our Solar System and then Interstellar space. In the event that the probes ran into some extra-terrestrial life, a gold plated copper disc record was pressed with images and sounds to depict and explain life on earth. Included in the 116 images were scientific and anatomic diagrams, architecture, sports, and this shot of exploration of an extreme environment. Voyager 1 is currently 24.5 billion kms away from earth (Pluto is 5 billion kms away). We can only hope the aliens understand the King's English, otherwise the words written on the side of the Sno-Cat could baffle them for millennia. What's Klingon for "Trans" ? Answer d) In outer space

Iceberg A-83 breaks free, Image: An iceberg roughly the size of the Isle of Wight has broken off the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica on 20 May., : Image: An iceberg roughly the size of the Isle of Wight has broken off the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica on 20 May.

Not reading too much into it, but it has been interesting the past few days how NE Siberia has been the coldest place on the planet at down to -53 deg C (on my surveying of earth.nullschool.net models - perhaps even colder at times) - colder than Antarctica and colder than Greenland. It is high summer in the Antarctic, but for Siberia to be a full 20 degrees colder than the coldest place in Antarctica at this time of year is a new insight for me. It's interesting to reflect too, that this area of severe cold in Yakutia (Sakha), near El'dikan & Ust-Maya along the Aldan River, and the surrounding Verkhanoyansk and Suntar-Khayata Mountains, is so free of ice-caps. It demonstrates I suppose that the critical factor in the accumulation (and preservation) of the latter, apart from rates of precipitation, is not how cold it gets in winter but how warm it gets in summer (see comments also).

#funfactfriday Antarctica is classified as the largest desert: In terms of sheer size, the Antarctic Desert is the largest desert on Earth, measuring a total of 13.8 million square kilometers. Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, and most isolated continent on Earth, and is considered a desert because its annual precipitation can be less than 51 mm in the interior.

World’s largest iceberg drifts beyond Antarctic waters, Video: 00:00:20 In November 2023, the A23a mega iceberg set sail after being grounded on the ocean floor for well over 40 years. Now, driven by winds and currents, A23a is heading away from Antarctic waters as seen in this new animation.The iceberg calved from West Antarctica in 1986 but quickly grounded itself in the Weddell Sea where it remained for over four decades. At around 4000 sq km in area, more than four times the size of New York City, and

"Arctic sea ice retreated to near-historic lows in the Northern Hemisphere this summer, likely melting to its minimum extent for the year on Sept.11, 2024, according to researchers at #NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). The decline continues the decades-long trend of shrinking and thinning ice cover in the Arctic Ocean." "Seventh-Lowest in Satellite Record. This year’s minimum remained above the all-time low of 1.31 million square miles (3.39 million square kilometers) set in September 2012. While sea ice coverage can fluctuate from year to year, it has trended downward since the start of the satellite record for ice in the late 1970s." "Sea ice is not only shrinking, it’s getting younger, noted Nathan Kurtz, lab chief of #NASA’s Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory at the agency’s NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland." “Today, the overwhelming majority of ice in the Arctic Ocean is thinner, first-year ice, which is less able to survive the warmer months. There is far, far less ice that is three years or older now,” Kurtz said." An update on sea ice around #Antarctica is also provided. #Arctic #ArcticOcean #SeaIce #SeaIceRetreat #RemoteSensing #SatelliteImagery https://lnkd.in/g236hG4Y

Last week’s visit to the British Antarctic Survey was very special. Many thanks both to BAS and the Embassy of Chile. Fantastic to see the growth and further strengthening of collaboration with INACH (Instituto Antártico Chileno - Chilean Antarctic Institute) and wider links with Centro Internacional Cabo de Hornos (CHIC) and others in the #Magallanes region. Also the developments of the #UK’s polar research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough and #Chile’s new icebreaker Armada de Chile Almirante Viel, research on Chile’s southern ice fields, the renovation of the bases in Antarctica and the prospects for collaboration on hot water drilling to understand more about subglacial lakes. Insights into #Antarctica and sub-Antarctica are vital for our understanding of #ocean science and #climatechange.

The 25-year period from 1897 to 1922 was an era in the history of Antarctica marked by numerous exploratory expeditions. During this Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, as this period is called, there was an international focus on the scientific and geographical exploration of the South Polar regions. Each expedition took place before advances in transport and communication had revolutionised the work of exploration. As a result, they were all feats of endurance with limited resources. The “heroic” label acknowledged the adversities faced by these pioneers. In total, 16 major expeditions were launched from 8 different countries during this era. One of which is the first Swedish endeavour to Antarctica... https://lnkd.in/dyYyAjkc

Great summary of the LMG.

North Pole - 42 expedition to depart from Murmansk on September 15 The North Pole - 41 expedition, organized for the first time on the unique ice-resistant self-propelled platform, has practiced all processes to use modern equipment in difficult conditions of drifting ice, and now the project develops into permanent continuous research of the Arctic seas, Alexander Makarov noted ST. PETERSBURG, September 13/ Another Arctic expedition, North Pole - 42, is due to begin on September 15, when the North Pole ice-resistant platform departs from the Murmansk port. The expedition will continue for 18 months, to the spring of 2026, the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute's Director Alexander Makarov told reporters. "Next Sunday (September 15), the North Pole ice-resistant platform and expedition will depart from Murmansk," he said. "We continue the program of high-latitude drifting stations, which we have resumed with the North Pole - 41 expedition. <...> We will bring the platform to the area at 82 degrees north latitude. We plan the drift for a year and a half, that is, to the spring of 2026." The North Pole - 41 expedition, organized for the first time on the unique ice-resistant self-propelled platform, has practiced all processes to use modern equipment in difficult conditions of drifting ice, and now the project develops into permanent continuous research of the Arctic seas, he continued. "Nobody is doing anything of the kind and will not be doing it in the next ten years. That is, the North Pole expedition has taken the track of ongoing long-term research, and this project's term will be at least 30-40 years," he added. From Murmansk the ship will sail through the Barents Sea, the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea. North of the New Siberian Islands it will freeze into an ice floe to drift for several months. Scientific work will be carried out both in a camp, set up right on the ice floe, and on board the ship in specially equipped laboratories. (Part One, Continued in Part Two in the next post) #business #finance #financialservices