Australian Antarctic Division
Macquarie Island, and the steep underwater mountain chain from which it rises, have become a Southern Ocean seismic observatory to better understand earthquakes and tsunamis caused by the collision of continental plates.
Station plumber Neil Brown with an installed seismometer and solar panel on Macquarie Island. The solar panels were installed almost flush with the ground to protect them from the wind. Photo: Rob Dickson
The array of 32 seismometers, deployed across the tectonically active area known as the Macquarie Ridge Complex (MRC), are part of a project led by the Australian National University (ANU) – with help from Australian Antarctic Program expeditioners – to study the mechanisms causing submarine earthquakes in the region.
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“Antarctic krill, such endearing little critters. No wonder they’ve entertained scientists for generations,” marine biologist Angus Henderson says. Despite their diminutive size, these creatures, shown here in a shipboard lab, “support the entire ecosystem of the Southern Ocean,” the waters encircling Antarctica.
Henderson, a doctoral student at Australia’s University of Tasmania, captured these photos in January as one of 20 Australian Antarctic Program scientists who spent two months aboard Investigator, a Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation research vessel. Henderson worked as a predator observer on the expedition, keeping an eye on the whales and snapping photos whenever he had a free moment.
Desaparece repentinamente un lago antártico
Científicos aún indagan sobre las causas; aseguran que es demasiado pronto para concluir que el drenaje del lago esté relacionado con el calentamiento global
Imágenes de Landsat 8 sobre la plataforma de hielo del sur de Amery muestran el lago cubierto de hielo antes del drenaje y la dolina de hielo resultante con agua de deshielo de verano. Foto:GEOPHYSICAL 14:32 Europa Press
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Este raro evento, narrado en un estudio publicado en la revista Geophysical Research Letters , ocurrió durante el invierno antártico de 2019 en la
plataforma de hielo Amery en la Antártida oriental, y se estima que 600-750 millones de metros cúbicos de agua, aproximadamente el doble del volumen de la bahía de San Diego, se perdieron en el océano.
The basics
Antarctica reported its first cases of Covid-19 in late December 2020. While scientists who observed strict quarantine rules sailed to the continent from the UK in November 2020, tourism remains severely restricted, with many cruise companies canceling their operations for the brief summer season.
What s on offer
A remote icy wilderness at the end of the world, trips to Antarctica have grown in popularity in recent years, with travelers sailing across the Drake Passage from South America to catch a glimpse of sprawling penguin colonies, breaching whales and rare seabirds.
Who can go
Because Antarctica is a scientific preserve, special teams have been able to restart research work on the continent from the end of 2020. While tourism isn t banned, the fact that most visitors can only arrive via ship means it s almost impossible to go right now, as many cruises are not running at this time.