Militarisation of the Arctic

• The Biden administration is leading a campaign against Russian attempts to assert authority over Arctic shipping and reintroduce a military dimension to discussions over international activity in the area.
• As Russia assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Arctic Council on Thursday, the U.S. rallied members to oppose Moscow’s plans to set maritime rules in the Northern Sea Route, which runs from Norway to Alaska, and its desire to resume military talks within the eight-nation bloc. Those talks were suspended in 2014 over Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
• The effort reflects growing concerns in Washington and among some NATO allies about a surge in the Russian military and commercial activity in the region that is rapidly opening up due to the effects of climate change.
• At a meeting of Arctic Council, Foreign Ministers in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the group should maintain its focus on peaceful cooperation on environmental issues, maritime safety and the well-being of indigenous people in the region.
• Mr. Blinken stressed the importance of upholding “effective governance and the rule of law” to ensure that the “Arctic remains a region free of conflict where countries act responsibly.”
• Several other Foreign Ministers, including those from Canada, Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden, echoed Mr. Blinken’s call to keep the Arctic peaceful and free of conflict.

Click here to read: Everything about the Arctic

Center tells State to declare Mycormycosis an epidemic

• Rajasthan, Telangana and Tamil Nadu have declared it an epidemic. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said black fungus had claimed 90 lives in the State so far. Eight people had died of the infection in Haryana, which has reported 316 cases. Rajasthan has 100 patients, while Tamil Nadu has reported nine cases.

Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897

• The colonial government introduced the Act to tackle the epidemic of bubonic plague that had spread in the erstwhile Bombay Presidency in the 1890s.
• Using powers conferred by the Act, colonies authorities would search suspected plague cases in homes and among passengers, with forcible segregations, evacuations, and demolitions of infected places.
• In 1897, the year the law was enforced, freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak was punished with 18 months’ rigorous imprisonment after his newspapers Kesari and Mahratta admonished imperial authorities for their handling of the plague epidemic.

Provisions of the Act

The Act, which consists of four sections, aims to provide “for the better prevention of the spread of Dangerous Epidemic Diseases.”

Section 2 empowers state governments/UTs to take special measures and formulate regulations for containing the outbreak. It reads: “Power to take special measures and prescribe regulations as to dangerous epidemic disease.—

• When at any time the State Government is satisfied that the State or any part thereof is visited by, or threatened with, an outbreak of any dangerous epidemic disease, the State Government, if it thinks that the ordinary provisions of the law for the time being in force are insufficient for the purpose, may take, or require or empower any person to take, such measures and, by public notice, prescribe such temporary regulations to be observed by the public or by any person or class of persons as it shall deem necessary to prevent the outbreak of such disease or the spread thereof, and may determine in what manner and by whom any expenses incurred (including compensation if any) shall be defrayed.
• In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions, the State Government may take measures and prescribe regulations for – the inspection of persons travelling by railway or otherwise, and the segregation, in hospital, temporary accommodation or otherwise, of persons suspected by the inspecting officer of being infected with any such disease.”

Section 3 provides penalties for disobeying any regulation or order made under the Act. These are according to section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant).

Section 4 gives legal protection to the implementing officers acting under the Act.

What is Mucormycosis?

• It is a serious but rare fungal infection caused by a group of molds called mucormycetes, which is abundant in the environment.
• It mainly affects people who have health problems or take medicines that lower the body’s ability to fight germs and sickness.
• The types of Mucormycosis are: Rhinocerebral (Sinus and Brain), Pulmonary (Lung), Gastrointestinal, Cutaneous (Skin), and disseminated Mucormycosis.
• The transmission occurs through inhalation, inoculation, or ingestion of spores from the environment.
• Mucormycosis needs to be treated with prescription antifungal medicine. In some cases, it can require surgery.
• Mucormycosis appears as a side effect among COVID-19 patients who are put on oxygen support through liquid medical oxygen cylinders or oxygen concentrators.

COVID Transmission through Aerosols

• Aerosols can be carried in the air for up to 10 m and improving the ventilation of indoor spaces will reduce transmission, a government advisory on stopping the spread of COVID-19.
• The advisory, issued by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, said there was a need to remember the simple measures that could reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
• “Ventilation can decrease the risk of transmission from one infected person to the other. Just as smells can be diluted from the air through opening windows and doors and using exhaust systems, ventilating spaces with improved directional airflow decreases the accumulated viral load in the air, reducing the risk of transmission. Ventilation is a community defence that protects all of us at home or at work,” it stated.
• It recommended adding outdoor air in offices, homes and public spaces. Droplets and aerosols were the key transmission modes of the virus. While droplets fell up to 2 m from an infected person, aerosols could travel up to 10 m.
• Ventilation in hutments could be improved by adding “jaali or other simple air outlets”, apart from installing exhaust fans, the advisory said.

World’s largest iceberg breaks off from Antarctica

• A huge ice block has broken off from western Antarctica into the Weddell Sea, becoming the largest iceberg in the world and earning the name A-76.
• It is the latest in a series of large ice blocks to dislodge in a region acutely vulnerable to climate change, although scientists said in this case it appeared to be part of a natural polar cycle.
• Slightly larger than the Spanish island of Majorca, A-76 had been monitored by scientists since May 13 when it began to separate from the Ronne Ice Shelf, according to the U.S. National Ice Center.
• The iceberg, measuring around 170 km long and 25 km wide, with an area of 4,320 sq km is now floating in the Weddell Sea.
• It joins previous world’s largest title holder A-23A — approximately 3,880 sq. km. in size — which has remained in the same area since 1986.
• A-76 was originally spotted by the British Antarctic Survey and the calving — the term used when an iceberg breaks off — was confirmed using images from the Copernicus satellite, the European Space Agency said.
• Icebergs form when hunks of ice break off from ice shelves or glaciers and begin to float in open water.

Everything about: Antarctic

Antarctic mapping

1. Read all this from Orient Longman Blackswan Atlas as Ankit Sir teaches in his Mapping classes.
2. Antarctic = Ross Sea, Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, Drake Passage, Weddel Sea.
3. Drake Passage/ Antarctic Peninsula is between Bellingshausen Sea and Weddel Sea.
4. Winson Massif (Ellsworth Mountains) is the highest peak in Antarctica.
5. Bharati, Maitri, and Dakshin Gangotri are in the Antarctic. Lambert glacier is here. Himadri is in the Arctic.

About Antarctic region

• The Antarctic is a polar region around Earth's the South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole.
• Antarctica is defined as all of the land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude.
• The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other island territories located on the Antarctic Plate or south of the Antarctic Convergence.
• The Antarctic region includes the ice shelves, waters, and all the island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence, a zone approximately 32 to 48 km (20 to 30 mi) wide varying in latitude seasonally.
• The region covers some 20 percent of the Southern Hemisphere, of which 5.5 percent (14 million km2) is the surface area of the Antarctica continent itself. All of the land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude are administered under the Antarctic Treaty System.
• Biogeographically, the Antarctic realm is one of eight biogeographic realms on Earth's surface.

India and Antarctic

Antarctic Treaty, 1959

• The Antarctic Treaty was signed between 12 countries in Washington on 1st December 1959 for making the Antarctic Continent a demilitarized zone to be preserved for scientific research only. It entered into force in 1961 and has since been acceded by many other nations.
• The twelve original signatories are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the UK and the US.
• India officially acceded to the Antarctic Treaty System on 1st August 1983. India became the 15th Consultative member. Currently it has 54 parties.
• Headquarters: Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Provisions of the treaty
  1. Promoting the freedom of scientific research.
  2. Countries can use the continent only for peaceful purposes.
  3. Prohibition of military activities, nuclear tests and the disposal of radioactive waste.
  4. Neutralising territorial sovereignty, this means a limit was placed on making any new claim or enlargement of an existing claim.
  5. It put a freeze on any disputes between claimants over their territories on the continent.

• These agreements are legally binding and purpose-built for the unique geographical, environmental and political characteristics of the Antarctic and form a robust international governance framework for the region.
• The Antarctic treaty remains the only example of a single treaty that governs a whole continent.
• It is also the foundation of a rules-based international order for a continent without a permanent population.

Antarctic Treaty System (ATS)

• Antarctic Treaty and related agreements are collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS)
• It regulates international relations with respect to Antarctica
• Antarctica is defined as all of the land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude
• Antarctic Treaty Secretariat Headquarters — Buenos Aires, Argentina

Major International Agreements of the Treaty System:

• The 1959 Antarctic Treaty.
• The 1972 Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals.
• The 1980 Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
• The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.

India’s Antarctic Expeditions and Programmes

• The Indian Antarctic expeditions began in 1981.
• The first trip comprised a team of 21 scientists and support staff led by Dr SZ Qasim. After a humble beginning, the Indian Antarctic programme has now been credited to have built three permanent research base stations in Antarctica—named Dakshin Gangotri, Maitri, and Bharati. As of today, India has two operational research stations in Antarctica named Maitri and Bharati.

• The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, manages the entire Indian Antarctic program.

• Dakshin Gangotri was the first Indian scientific research base station established in Antarctica, as a part of the Indian Antarctic Program. Dakshin Gangotri is closed.
• Maitri is India’s second permanent research station in Antarctica. It was built on Schirmacher Oasis and finished in 1989. India also built a freshwater lake around Maitri known as Lake Priyadarshini. India is rebuilding Maitri and expanding its infra development in Antarctica through Bharati.
• Bharati: Bharti, India’s latest research station operation since 2012. It has been constructed to help researchers work in safety despite the harsh weather.
• In 2008, India commissioned the Sagar Nidhi, for research. An ice-class vessel, it can cut through the thin ice of 40 cm depth and is the first Indian vessel to navigate Antarctic waters.

Indian Scientific Expedition to the Southern Ocean 2020

• This is the 11th expedition of an Indian mission to the Southern Ocean, or Antarctic Ocean. The first mission took place between January and March 2004.
• The 18-institution team, led by Dr Anoop Mahajan from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, are collecting air and water samples from around 60 stations along the cruise track.
• These will give valuable information on the state of the ocean and atmosphere in this remote environment and will help to understand its impacts on the climate.
• A key objective of the mission is to quantify changes that are occurring and the impact of these changes on large-scale weather phenomenon, like the Indian monsoon, through tele-connection
• The Expedition consists of 6 core projects:
  1. Hydrodynamics and biogeochemistry of the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean at different depths. It will help to understand the formation of Antarctic bottom water.
  2. Observations of the movement of trace gases (halogens and dimethyl sulphur) from the ocean to the atmosphere will help to improve parameterisations that are used in global models.
  3. Study of organisms namely, coccolithophores (existed in the oceans for several million years). We'll get to know past climate.
  4. Investigate atmospheric aerosols and their optical and radiative properties. Its continuous measurements will quantify the impact on Earth’s climate.
  5. Study the Southern Ocean’s impact on Indian monsoons.
  6. Dynamics of the food web in the Southern Ocean will help to implement sustainable fishing.

40th Indian scientific expedition to Antarctica

• India today launched the 40^th scientific expedition to Antarctica.
• This Indian expedition marks four decades of the country’s scientific endeavour to the southern white continent.
• The 40th expedition journey will be flagged off from Goa on January 5, 2021, with 43 members onboard.
• The chartered ice-class vessel MV Vasiliy Golovnin will make this journey and will reach Antarctica in 30 days. After leaving behind a team of 40 members, it would return to India in April 2021. In return, it will also bring back the winter team of the preceding trip.
• The focus is to support the ongoing scientific projects on climate change, geology, ocean observations, electric and magnetic flux measurements, environmental monitoring; resupplying of food, fuel, provisions and spare; and accomplishing the return of the winter crew. India is committed to maintaining the continent of Antarctica free of COVID-19.
• The expedition will duly follow all protocols for the deployment of men and material as per the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs(COMNAP).

SONIC Project

• SONIC Stands for Schirmacher Oasis Nippon (Japan) India Coring. It was initiated during 2019 to reconstruct the past climate.
• It is an Indo-Japanese project that was initiated during 2019 to reconstruct the past climate.
• In 2019 India-Japan under the aegis of the National Center for Polar and Ocean Research and the National Institute of Polar Research signed an MoU to share and carry out R & D in Antarctica
• Objective of SONIC
  1. To understand the ice sheet variability at the Schirmacher Oasis to examine East Antarctic Ice Sheet sensitivity and its response to glacial-interglacial cycles
  2. To assess the variability biological community through study of pigments and DNA

MADICE Project

• India also collaborated with Norway in Antarctic Research
• A major Indo-Norweigian collaborative field campaign, near Indian Maitri station, was undertaken during 2016–2019 to understand the ice shelf dynamics, and mass balance and reconstruct past changes in atmospheric and sea ice dynamics under the joint project “Mass balance, dynamics, and climate of the central Dronning Maud Land coast, East Antarctica (MADICE)”.
• Ice core drilling, ice-sheet modelling and satellite remote sensing-based studies were conducted to understand the future Antarctic contribution to the global sea-level rise.

To reach Everything about the Arctic: click here

Extra news: NASA’s Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA)

Recently, NASA’s Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) has detected the unusual upward movement of neutrinos in Antarctica.

What is ANITA?

• Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) is a radio telescope instrument to detect ultra-high energy cosmic-ray neutrinos from a scientific balloon flying over the continent of Antarctica.
• It involves an array of radio antennas attached to a helium balloon which flies over the Antarctic ice sheet at 37,000 meters.
• At such a height, the antennas can listen to the cosmos and detect high-energy particles, known as neutrinos, which constantly bombard the planet.
• It is the first NASA observatory for neutrinos of any kind.
• ANITA detects neutrinos pinging in from space and colliding with the matter in the Antarctic ice sheet through the Askaryan effect.
• The Askaryan effect is the phenomenon whereby a particle travelling faster than the phase velocity of light in a dense dielectric (such as salt, ice or the lunar regolith) produces a shower of secondary charged particles.
• When neutrinos smash into an atom, they produce a shower of detectable secondary particles.These detectable secondary particles allow us to probe where they came from in the universe.
• However, neutrinos pose no threat to human beings and pass through most solid objects. Additionally, they rarely do interact with matter. It is named after Gurgen Askaryan, a Soviet-Armenian physicist who postulated it in 1962.

What is the news?

• Instead of the high-energy neutrinos streaming in from space, they seem to have come from the Earth's interior, before hitting the detectors of ANITA. Usually, the high-energy particles move from top to bottom (i.e. from space to the earth). However, ANITA has detected an anomaly i.e. particles have been detected travelling from bottom to top.
• Earlier, researchers had also located a deep-space source for high-energy neutrinos through the Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory at a U.S. scientific research station at the South Pole in Antarctica (PT). The India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is located in the Bodi West Hills region in the Theni District of Tamil Nadu.

Click here for the complete news on Neutrinos

World’s largest iceberg breaks off from Antarctica

• A huge ice block has broken off from western Antarctica into the Weddell Sea, becoming the largest iceberg in the world and earning the name A-76.
• It is the latest in a series of large ice blocks to dislodge in a region acutely vulnerable to climate change, although scientists said in this case it appeared to be part of a natural polar cycle.
• Slightly larger than the Spanish island of Majorca, A-76 had been monitored by scientists since May 13 when it began to separate from the Ronne Ice Shelf, according to the U.S. National Ice Center.
• The iceberg, measuring around 170 km long and 25 km wide, with an area of 4,320 sq km is now floating in the Weddell Sea.
• It joins previous world’s largest title holder A-23A — approximately 3,880 sq. km. in size — which has remained in the same area since 1986.
• A-76 was originally spotted by the British Antarctic Survey and the calving — the term used when an iceberg breaks off — was confirmed using images from the Copernicus satellite, the European Space Agency said.
• Icebergs form when hunks of ice break off from ice shelves or glaciers and begin to float in open water.

Everything about: Antarctic

Antarctic mapping

1. Read all this from Orient Longman Blackswan Atlas as Ankit Sir teaches in his Mapping classes.
2. Antarctic = Ross Sea, Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, Drake Passage, Weddel Sea.
3. Drake Passage/ Antarctic Peninsula is between Bellingshausen Sea and Weddel Sea.
4. Winson Massif (Ellsworth Mountains) is the highest peak in Antarctica.
5. Bharati, Maitri, and Dakshin Gangotri are in the Antarctic. Lambert glacier is here. Himadri is in the Arctic.

About Antarctic region

• The Antarctic is a polar region around Earth's the South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole.
• Antarctica is defined as all of the land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude.
• The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other island territories located on the Antarctic Plate or south of the Antarctic Convergence.
• The Antarctic region includes the ice shelves, waters, and all the island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence, a zone approximately 32 to 48 km (20 to 30 mi) wide varying in latitude seasonally.
• The region covers some 20 percent of the Southern Hemisphere, of which 5.5 percent (14 million km2) is the surface area of the Antarctica continent itself. All of the land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude are administered under the Antarctic Treaty System.
• Biogeographically, the Antarctic realm is one of eight biogeographic realms on Earth's surface.

India and Antarctic

Antarctic Treaty, 1959

• The Antarctic Treaty was signed between 12 countries in Washington on 1st December 1959 for making the Antarctic Continent a demilitarized zone to be preserved for scientific research only. It entered into force in 1961 and has since been acceded by many other nations.
• The twelve original signatories are Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the UK and the US.
• India officially acceded to the Antarctic Treaty System on 1st August 1983. India became the 15th Consultative member. Currently it has 54 parties.
• Headquarters: Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• Provisions of the treaty
  1. Promoting the freedom of scientific research.
  2. Countries can use the continent only for peaceful purposes.
  3. Prohibition of military activities, nuclear tests and the disposal of radioactive waste.
  4. Neutralising territorial sovereignty, this means a limit was placed on making any new claim or enlargement of an existing claim.
  5. It put a freeze on any disputes between claimants over their territories on the continent.

• These agreements are legally binding and purpose-built for the unique geographical, environmental and political characteristics of the Antarctic and form a robust international governance framework for the region.
• The Antarctic treaty remains the only example of a single treaty that governs a whole continent.
• It is also the foundation of a rules-based international order for a continent without a permanent population.

Antarctic Treaty System (ATS)

• Antarctic Treaty and related agreements are collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS)
• It regulates international relations with respect to Antarctica
• Antarctica is defined as all of the land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude
• Antarctic Treaty Secretariat Headquarters — Buenos Aires, Argentina

Major International Agreements of the Treaty System:

• The 1959 Antarctic Treaty.
• The 1972 Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals.
• The 1980 Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
• The 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.

India’s Antarctic Expeditions and Programmes

• The Indian Antarctic expeditions began in 1981.
• The first trip comprised a team of 21 scientists and support staff led by Dr SZ Qasim. After a humble beginning, the Indian Antarctic programme has now been credited to have built three permanent research base stations in Antarctica—named Dakshin Gangotri, Maitri, and Bharati. As of today, India has two operational research stations in Antarctica named Maitri and Bharati.

• The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, manages the entire Indian Antarctic program.

• Dakshin Gangotri was the first Indian scientific research base station established in Antarctica, as a part of the Indian Antarctic Program. Dakshin Gangotri is closed.
• Maitri is India’s second permanent research station in Antarctica. It was built on Schirmacher Oasis and finished in 1989. India also built a freshwater lake around Maitri known as Lake Priyadarshini. India is rebuilding Maitri and expanding its infra development in Antarctica through Bharati.
• Bharati: Bharti, India’s latest research station operation since 2012. It has been constructed to help researchers work in safety despite the harsh weather.
• In 2008, India commissioned the Sagar Nidhi, for research. An ice-class vessel, it can cut through the thin ice of 40 cm depth and is the first Indian vessel to navigate Antarctic waters.

Indian Scientific Expedition to the Southern Ocean 2020

• This is the 11th expedition of an Indian mission to the Southern Ocean, or Antarctic Ocean. The first mission took place between January and March 2004.
• The 18-institution team, led by Dr Anoop Mahajan from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, are collecting air and water samples from around 60 stations along the cruise track.
• These will give valuable information on the state of the ocean and atmosphere in this remote environment and will help to understand its impacts on the climate.
• A key objective of the mission is to quantify changes that are occurring and the impact of these changes on large-scale weather phenomenon, like the Indian monsoon, through tele-connection
• The Expedition consists of 6 core projects:
  1. Hydrodynamics and biogeochemistry of the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean at different depths. It will help to understand the formation of Antarctic bottom water.
  2. Observations of the movement of trace gases (halogens and dimethyl sulphur) from the ocean to the atmosphere will help to improve parameterisations that are used in global models.
  3. Study of organisms namely, coccolithophores (existed in the oceans for several million years). We'll get to know past climate.
  4. Investigate atmospheric aerosols and their optical and radiative properties. Its continuous measurements will quantify the impact on Earth’s climate.
  5. Study the Southern Ocean’s impact on Indian monsoons.
  6. Dynamics of the food web in the Southern Ocean will help to implement sustainable fishing.

40th Indian scientific expedition to Antarctica

• India today launched the 40^th scientific expedition to Antarctica.
• This Indian expedition marks four decades of the country’s scientific endeavour to the southern white continent.
• The 40th expedition journey will be flagged off from Goa on January 5, 2021, with 43 members onboard.
• The chartered ice-class vessel MV Vasiliy Golovnin will make this journey and will reach Antarctica in 30 days. After leaving behind a team of 40 members, it would return to India in April 2021. In return, it will also bring back the winter team of the preceding trip.
• The focus is to support the ongoing scientific projects on climate change, geology, ocean observations, electric and magnetic flux measurements, environmental monitoring; resupplying of food, fuel, provisions and spare; and accomplishing the return of the winter crew. India is committed to maintaining the continent of Antarctica free of COVID-19.
• The expedition will duly follow all protocols for the deployment of men and material as per the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs(COMNAP).

SONIC Project

• SONIC Stands for Schirmacher Oasis Nippon (Japan) India Coring. It was initiated during 2019 to reconstruct the past climate.
• It is an Indo-Japanese project that was initiated during 2019 to reconstruct the past climate.
• In 2019 India-Japan under the aegis of the National Center for Polar and Ocean Research and the National Institute of Polar Research signed an MoU to share and carry out R & D in Antarctica
• Objective of SONIC
  1. To understand the ice sheet variability at the Schirmacher Oasis to examine East Antarctic Ice Sheet sensitivity and its response to glacial-interglacial cycles
  2. To assess the variability biological community through study of pigments and DNA

MADICE Project

• India also collaborated with Norway in Antarctic Research
• A major Indo-Norweigian collaborative field campaign, near Indian Maitri station, was undertaken during 2016–2019 to understand the ice shelf dynamics, and mass balance and reconstruct past changes in atmospheric and sea ice dynamics under the joint project “Mass balance, dynamics, and climate of the central Dronning Maud Land coast, East Antarctica (MADICE)”.
• Ice core drilling, ice-sheet modelling and satellite remote sensing-based studies were conducted to understand the future Antarctic contribution to the global sea-level rise.

To reach Everything about the Arctic: click here

Extra news: NASA’s Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA)

Recently, NASA’s Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) has detected the unusual upward movement of neutrinos in Antarctica.

What is ANITA?

• Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna (ANITA) is a radio telescope instrument to detect ultra-high energy cosmic-ray neutrinos from a scientific balloon flying over the continent of Antarctica.
• It involves an array of radio antennas attached to a helium balloon which flies over the Antarctic ice sheet at 37,000 meters.
• At such a height, the antennas can listen to the cosmos and detect high-energy particles, known as neutrinos, which constantly bombard the planet.
• It is the first NASA observatory for neutrinos of any kind.
• ANITA detects neutrinos pinging in from space and colliding with the matter in the Antarctic ice sheet through the Askaryan effect.
• The Askaryan effect is the phenomenon whereby a particle travelling faster than the phase velocity of light in a dense dielectric (such as salt, ice or the lunar regolith) produces a shower of secondary charged particles.
• When neutrinos smash into an atom, they produce a shower of detectable secondary particles.These detectable secondary particles allow us to probe where they came from in the universe.
• However, neutrinos pose no threat to human beings and pass through most solid objects. Additionally, they rarely do interact with matter. It is named after Gurgen Askaryan, a Soviet-Armenian physicist who postulated it in 1962.

What is the news?

• Instead of the high-energy neutrinos streaming in from space, they seem to have come from the Earth's interior, before hitting the detectors of ANITA. Usually, the high-energy particles move from top to bottom (i.e. from space to the earth). However, ANITA has detected an anomaly i.e. particles have been detected travelling from bottom to top.
• Earlier, researchers had also located a deep-space source for high-energy neutrinos through the Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory at a U.S. scientific research station at the South Pole in Antarctica (PT). The India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) is located in the Bodi West Hills region in the Theni District of Tamil Nadu.

Click here for the complete news on Neutrinos