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A fur seal in Antarctica - bird flu has made its way into the seal population there

Bird flu found in mammals near Antarctica

Bird flu has made its way into fur and elephant seal populations for the first time on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, a team of scientists confirmed, setting off alarm bells for conservationists as the highly contagious disease has already killed millions of birds worldwide.

News Lens • 11 Jan 24

Melting sea ice has no discernible impact on sea levels because the ice is already in ocean water

Antarctica sea ice melts to a record low

The Antarctic Ocean area covered by ice has shrunk to a record low, exposing the thicker ice shelves buttressing Antarctica's ground ice sheet to waves and warmer temperatures, scientists reported Thursday.

World • 16 Feb 23

The iceberg, measuring 1,550sq/km, detached from the 150m-thick Brunt Ice Shelf (Image: British Antarctic Survey)

Vast iceberg breaks off near UK Antarctic base

A huge iceberg nearly the size of Greater London has broken off the Antarctic ice shelf near a research station, the second such split in two years, researchers have announced.

Climate Change • 24 Jan 23

Chiriguano bay in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica (File pic)

Lowest July Antarctic sea ice on record, says monitor

Last month saw the lowest extent of Antarctic sea ice on record for July, according to the European Union's satellite monitoring group.

World • 09 Aug 22

'The Antarctic Peninsula is among the fastest-warming regions of the planet' - WHO

UN confirms 18.3C record temperature in Antarctica

The United Nations has recognised a new record high temperature for the Antarctic continent, confirming a reading of 18.3 degrees Celsius made last year.

Climate Change • 01 Jul 21

The iceberg is around 170km in length and 25km wide (European Space Agency image)

World's largest iceberg breaks off from Antarctica

A huge iceberg, the world's largest, has broken off from an ice shelf in Antarctica and is floating through the Weddell Sea, the European Space Agency said.

News Lens • 20 May 21

Emperor penguins are the largest penguin species, weighing up to 40kg and living for around 20 years

11 new emperor penguin colonies found in Antarctica

Eleven new colonies of emperor penguins have been discovered in Antarctica after a study using satellite mapping technology.

World • 05 Aug 20

The South Pole is warming at a rate of around 0.6C a decade, compared with around 0.2C for the rest of the planet

South Pole warming 3 times faster than rest of Earth

The South Pole has warmed three times faster than the rest of the planet in the last 30 years due to warmer tropical ocean temperatures, new research shows.

Environment • 29 Jun 20

A kelp gull flies over icebergs surrounding Galindez Island in Antarctica

Study finds climate change turning Antarctica green

Parts of the Antarctic Peninsula will change colour as "green snow" caused by blooming algae is expected to spread with increases in global temperatures, new research has found.

Environment • 20 May 20

The images were captured by the European Space Agency

Iceberg a third the size of Dublin calves in Antarctica

A large iceberg has broken off from Pine Island Glacier on the edge of Antarctica, according to satellite images shared by the European Space Agency.

News Lens • 14 Feb 20

Bransfield sailed the William ship to reach Antarctica

Forgotten Irish explorer back in the history books

There is a world of distance between the east Cork harbour town of Ballinacurra and the magnificent giant white ice peninsula of Antarctica but an Irish master mariner links them both.

Munster • 26 Jan 20

Edward Bransfield was the first person to see and chart the Antarctic coastline

Cork locals want stamp to commemorate Irish explorer

The residents of a small village in Co Cork have launched a campaign to honour the Irishman who discovered a continent, but who died in obscurity.

Munster • 01 Dec 19

The iceberg pictured on 20 September (L) and 25 September (R)

Iceberg breaking off Antarctica part of 'normal cycle'

A more than 1,500sq/km iceberg broke off Antarctica in recent days, but the event is part of a normal cycle and is not related to climate change, scientists say.

World • 01 Oct 19

The aurora is a natural light phenomenon predominantly seen in the high-latitude regions around the Arctic and Antarctic

Spectacular Southern Lights recorded in Antarctica

A spectacular aurora australis light show brightened up the night sky above China's Zhongshan Research Station in Antarctica in recent days.

News Lens • 06 Sep 19

Emperors are the world's largest penguin species

'Catastrophic' breeding failure for Antarctic penguins

The second largest Emperor penguin colony on Earth has suffered a "catastrophic" breeding failure, researchers have said, after nearly all chicks born over three years died as their icy Antarctic habitat shrinks.

World • 25 Apr 19

From 1979 to 1990 Antarctica shed an average of 40 billion tonnes of ice mass annually

Antarctic ice melting faster than ever before - study

Global warming is melting ice in Antarctica faster than ever before - about six times more per year now than 40 years ago - leading to increasingly high sea levels worldwide, scientists warned today.

Environment • 14 Jan 19

Two men were separately attempting the journey to become the first to make it across unassisted

Adventurer completes solo trek across Antarctica

An American adventurer has become the first person to complete a solo trek across Antarctica without assistance of any kind.

World • 26 Dec 18

The launch marks the first time in nearly a decade that NASA has had a tool in orbit to measure ice sheet surface elevation across the globe

NASA launches satellite to track changes in polar ice

NASA's most advanced space laser satellite has blasted off on a mission to track ice loss around the world and improve forecasts of sea level rise as the climate warms.

News • 15 Sep 18

Mountains stand near the coast of West Antarctica

91 volcanoes discovered below Antarctic ice sheet

Scientists believe they have found the largest volcanic region on Earth - under the ice of Antarctica.

World • 13 Aug 17

A handout photo made available by NASA shows the crack in the Larsen C ice shelf in the Antarctica

Iceberg bigger than Mayo breaks off Antarctic ice shelf

A trillion-tonne iceberg, one of the biggest on record, has snapped off the West Antarctic ice shelf, according to scientists who have monitored the growing crack for months.

World • 12 Jul 17

Iceberg bigger than Galway to break off in Antarctica

A chunk of ice bigger than Co Galway is hanging by a thread from the West Antarctic ice shelf, satellite images have revealed.

Antarctica • 05 Jul 17

Since the new fissure formed the original crack is widening faster

Antarctic fissure forks and widens more quickly

A crack that could create an iceberg the size of Cyprus - and destabilise one of the largest ice shelves in the Antarctic - has branched out and begun to widen more quickly.

News • 04 May 17

Consensus on the deal is needed from all 24 member countries and the European Union

Deal struck on world's biggest marine reserve

The world's largest marine reserve aimed at protecting the pristine wilderness of Antarctica will be created after agreement was reached.

News • 28 Oct 16

The observations were carried out by the European Space Agency's CryoSat satellite (Pic: ESA-P Carril)

Antarctic ice sheet melting twice as fast

A new analysis of the rate at which the Antarctic ice sheet is melting has found the continent is losing almost 160 billion tonnes of ice a year, twice as much as when it was last surveyed.

News • 19 May 14

Mount Erebus, which is Antarctica's second tallest volcano

Study finds volcanoes acted as oases in ice ages

The steam and heat from volcanoes allowed species of plants and animals to survive past ice ages, a study has found, offering help for scientists dealing with climate change.

News • 11 Mar 14