Saturday, October 30, 2010

Deadly Helicopter Crash in Antarctica

This week a helicopter went missing with 4 on board and later was found to have crashed. There were 4 French nationals on board the helicopter and there were no survivors. The helicopter had taken off from the polar ship Astrolabe The Australians and Americans are assisting with the recovery using a C-130 Hercules airplane, but the French will take over entirely once the recovery is complete.

Some Articles about this incident:
French choppers debris spotted in Antarctica
No Survivors After Antarctic Chopper Crash
Antarctic Helicopter Crash Kills four French Nationals

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Ancient Turtle Bones Found in Antarctica

Two pieces of an ancient turtle shell dating back to about 45 million years ago were discoverd by an Antarctic Institute of Argentina expedition on Seymour Island. The exact species the bone fragments are from have not yet been identified, as they are different from any previously found in the area. The fact that it is a different species than those found before hints that turtle diversity was larger than originally thought back when Antarctica was a rainforest.

Read more about this Antarctic news here.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Suite Life on Deck Antarctic Episode Coming November 19, 2010

I am excited that one of my favorite shows, Suite Life on Deck, is going to have an episode set in Antarctica. The episode is called "Frozen" and it premieres on the Disney Channel on November 19, 2010. In the episode Cody visits a remote base in Antarctica along with Woody and Zack who visit to snowmobile. The three end up alone at the base when the scientist leaves on a snowmobile for supplies and gets stuck in a snowstorm.

Monday, October 4, 2010

OktoKopter to be Used to Study Climate Change in Antarctica

The OctoKopter may look somewhat like a kids toy or maybe a fancy hobbyist remote control flying thing, but it is actually going to be used for monitoring climate change. The OctoKopter has eight rotors, hence the Octo name. It is equipped with cameras and sensors. It can not only be remote controlled, but it even has auto pilot to fly to set GPS waypoints.

The OctoKopter will be used to monitor the moss beds at Casey Station to see how they are being affected by climate change. It will be able to monitor changes in temperature, wind speed, and UV-B radiation.

Check out this article for more info on the OctoKopter including a picture of it.