Britlift Spreader Proves Value on Royal Research Ship
A modular spreader beam from Britlift is proving a success on the Royal Research Ship (RRS) Sir David Attenborough, one of the most advanced polar research vessels in the world.Operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), this multidisciplinary research platform operates year-round, spending the northern summer in Arctic. During the southern hemisphere summer it is based in Antarctica where its duties include bringing people, equipment and supplies to BAS research stations. The 129m long vessel has a 50-tonne crane for loading and unloading good and equipment, which can include vehicles and plant
Arctic Sea Ice Hits Record Low Maximum Extent for the Year
; said NSIDC senior research scientist Walt Meier. “But even more importantly than the record low is that this year adds yet another data point to the continuing long-term loss of Arctic sea ice in all seasons.”The record low Arctic maximum extent follows a near-record-low minimum extent for Antarctic sea ice, which was set on March 1, 2025, at 1.98 million square kilometers (764,000 square miles), and tied for the second lowest annual minimum in the satellite record.(NSIDC scientists stress that the Arctic sea ice extent number is preliminary—weather conditions could change the annual
Grander Canyons
slope, and they are an important source of ocean biodiversity, they transport sediment and pollution and they can create hydrocarbon reservoirs.Despite their size and importance, they are still a frontier for scientific research - a new 6,890-foot (2,100 meter) canyon was discovered last year off Antarctica by acousticians on board the icebreaker RSV Nuyina.Earlier this year, scientists at MBARI developed a new investigative technology, Geo-Sense, a new portable instrument that uses distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) technology for long-term, high-resolution monitoring of geological processes in
A Graveyard for Glaciers
Organization released its State of the Global Climate report. It comes before World Glaciers Day on March 21, World Water Day on March 22 and World Meteorological Day on March 23. It states:• The 18 lowest Arctic sea-ice extents on record were all in the past 18 years.• The three lowest Antarctic ice extents were in the past three years.• The largest three-year loss of glacier mass on record occurred in the past three years.• In 2024, global mean sea level reached a record high in the satellite record (from 1993 to present).There are over 200,000 glaciers worldwide covering around
Study of Newly Exposed Sea Floor Reveals Flourishing Ecosystems
research plans to study an area that was, until last month, covered by ice, revealing flourishing ecosystems at depths as great as 1300 meters.On January 13, 2025, an iceberg the size of Chicago, named A-84, broke away from the George VI Ice Shelf, one of the massive floating glaciers attached to the Antarctic Peninsula ice sheet. The team reached the newly exposed seafloor on January 25 and became the first to investigate an area that had never before been accessible to humans.The expedition was the first detailed, comprehensive, and interdisciplinary study of the geology, physical oceanography, and
WMO Documents Spiraling Climate Impacts
the last 800,000 years.• Globally each of the past 10 years were individually the 10 warmest years on record.• Each of the past eight years has set a new record for ocean heat content.• The 18 lowest Arctic sea-ice extents on record were all in the past 18 years.• The three lowest Antarctic ice extents were in the past three years.• The largest three-year loss of glacier mass on record occurred in the past three years.• The rate of sea level rise has doubled since satellite measurements began.“Our planet is issuing more distress signals -- but this report shows that
Denman Glacier Has Already Lost Over 250 Billion Tons of Ice
The Denman Glacier is one of the largest and fastest-melting glaciers in East Antarctica and alone holds a potential sea level rise of 1.5 meters.In nearly three decades, the 20-kilometer (12-mile) wide glacier has already retreated some five kilometers (nearly three miles) and lost over 250 billion tons of ice.The deepest point on continental Earth has been identified under the glacier. This ice-filled canyon reaches 3.5km (11,500ft) below sea level. Only in the ocean are there deeper ones. The canyon (known as the Denman Trough) is mostly cut off from the sea due to all the glacial ice inside and
CSIRO Science Ship Takes Students on Tasmanian Circumnavigation
, universities and government.The program offers a national approach to applied teaching and learning in marine science and wider science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.CAPSTAN Director, Dr Pier van der Merwe from the University of Tasmania's Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), said the sea-going experience was invaluable for developing Australia's next generation of marine experts."Nothing compares with hands-on learning. For future marine scientists, this is where the action happens – where theory is put into practice and where concepts
The World’s Most Powerful Ocean Current Could Slow by 2050
New research from the University of Melbourne, Australia, indicates that the more Antarctic ice melts and the more the ocean is flooded by melt water, the more the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is likely to slow down.The ACC is located just to Australia’s south. It flows around Antarctica and connects our planet’s three major ocean basins – the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.The ACC is more than 100 times stronger than the current of the Amazon River and five times stronger than the Gulf Stream.It’s a powerful current that separates the Antarctic continent from its
February 2025
