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British scientists film massive rift in Antarctic ice shelf
The 1,500-foot-wide crack across Antarctic's Larsen C ice shelf has grown by roughly 20 more miles since December. It's now around 110 miles long, and based on satellite observations this month, an ice berg as big as Rhode Island could break away from Larsen C within weeks or months. A team of scientists from the British Antarctic Survey who've been monitoring ice shelves have captured the growing chasm on film to show us what it actually looks, as you can see in the video after the break.
An enormous iceberg is breaking away from the Antarctic
A vast slice of the Antarctic's Larsen C ice shelf is poised to break off in the next few months and form one of 10 biggest icebergs we've ever seen. If the iceberg does cleave, and it looks like it will, it'll be the result of a rift on the ice shelf that's been growing steadily over the past few decades. The rift suddenly grew by about 11 miles in December and is now 50 miles long with only 12.5 miles to go before it completely breaks away. The warmer water below and warmer air above the ice shelf could have contributed to the rift's sudden growth, but scientists have no direct proof at this point in time.
What to pack for a long, lonely trek across the Antarctic
Captain Robert Falcon Scott's mission to become the first to reach the South Pole famously ended in tragedy. A double tragedy, in fact, because Scott and his crew perished after finding that a rival Norwegian team had already beaten them to the punch. They died in 1912, while attempting to walk back to the Antarctic coast, having discovered nothing but a red and blue flag marking their destination. Their only consolation was that, unlike the Norwegians, they had stopped to collect valuable geological samples and other scientific information along the way. If they'd had better technology, would they have survived? For the sake of polar explorer Ben Saunders, who's currently in Antarctica re-tracing Scott's steps, we certainly hope so. Saunders and his companion Tarka L'Herpiniere are in the middle of a four-month, 1,800-mile expedition, without support by air or land, to re-trace and complete Scott's final journey. It's the first such attempt to do so, but the journey isn't about exploration this time: It's more a test of human endurance. It's also about pushing technology to its limits. Armed with a pair of Ultrabooks supplied by Intel, one of the pair's main sponsors, and a carbon-fiber sled packed with other devices, they will attempt to survive and blog about their journey. We met up with the pair before their outbound flight from the UK to find out exactly what they were taking with them.
Street View heads back to the Antarctic, visits historic landmarks (video)
View Larger Map Google has already taken us on a trip to the frigid shores of Antarctica before. Now the search giant is back with even more panoramic images, this time from deeper inside the frozen continent. With help from the Polar Geospatial Center at the University of Minnesota and the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust (not to mention a light-weight tripod and a fisheye lens), Street View can now bring to you the wonders of our most southern land mass. This isn't a short stroll in the footsteps of penguins either -- the ceremonial South Pole and Shackleton's Hut are among the numerous landmarks that get exposed to Google's image sensors. Enjoy the quick tour above and the video after the break.
NASA simulates fly through of ginormous crack in Antarctic glacier, takes you for virtual ride
Swooping through the trenches of the Death Star likely ranks high on every geek's bucket list, but even an earthbound version won't really do the trick. Fortunately, the folks at NASA have rigged up a passable alternative -- flying through a massive 19-mile crack across Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier. The crack was discovered last October and measures 60 yards wide and 50 yards deep, certainly more than enough clearance to accommodate adventurous fliers. Using data gathered by NASA's Operation IceBridge science flight team, the agency generated an animated fly through that, well, mostly flew over the crack -- but we're sure that was a defensive maneuver. After all, you just never know when a TIE fighter flown by someone's father might sneak up from behind. See the icy flyover yourself after the break.
The DS Life: Adrift in the Antarctic
Sitting on top of a wandering iceberg, the young girl should be more concerned with her predicament. But she's with a friend, and her toes and her ears, the two parts of her she loathes to feel cold, are kept toasty by her Persian red boots and matching hood, so she sees no reason to worry.She digs a PlayStation Portable out her bulky purse, bored with the slowly moving South Pole scenery. As she tilts the colorful, jelly-like creatures on the handheld's screen, she cozies against her companion's warm, fleece back. Under them, the floating platform cracks with quiet pops and groans, like ships at sea. The girl hears a splash to her left, a smiling seal barking for their attention.
SnoMote robots could autonomously explore Antarctic
We've seen a couple robotic efforts to explore the Arctic and the Antarctic, but they've all been remotely-operated -- unlike the SnoMote, a new bot being developed at the Georgia Tech that can navigate itself around ice and snow. Packs of the mini-snowmobile-based SnoMotes can negotiate with each other and "bid" on locations to investigate, and navigate by classifying microscopic fissures in the icy terrain. The bots haven't made it to the Antarctic yet, but they're apparently handling simulations quite well, and the plan is for teams of 40 to 50 of the $10,000 machines to wander the ice collecting data points for climate change models. Sure sure -- and the next thing you know, the Antarctic is the flashpoint of the revolution. Good plan, guys.
Britain's Isis ROV set to trawl the depths of Antarctica
We've seen mechanical devices creep through the inside of intestines, huge mounds of dirt, and even through the San Francisco Bay, but now a British deep-diving remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is getting set to probe the depths of Antarctica. In hopes of uncovering more about the effects of glaciers on the ocean floor, as well as details about the living creatures that inhabit said areas, UK scientists are carting the machine aboard the RSS James Clark Ross as they head for the Marguerite Bay area on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The robot, dubbed Isis, will spend time on its inaugural January mission combing the seabed and channeling live video and pictures back to its captains via the built-in cameras, lights, sonars for acoustic navigation / imaging, and two remotely-controlled manipulator arms. Once the bot gets dried off (and thawed out) from its arctic expedition, the next tour of duty is already lined up, as Isis will head off to the Portuguese coast to do a bit more sightseeing. Of course, if you're interested in taking the £4.5 million ($8.81 million) creature out for a mission you deem worthwhile, it should be available for deep-pocketed renters soon after.
