Clipmarks | Antarctica Clips

Any one is interested???

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:02:57 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: The Seven Continents: An Around-the-world Expedition by Private Jet...
More details on the site...
impressed...wish I had funds...

Clip Source: www.nationalgeographicexpeditions.com

The Seven Continents
by Private Jet

Departure:

Number of travelers:

The Seven Continents: An Around-the-world Expedition by Private Jet. In the company of National Geographic experts, you'll be whisked from one continent to the next to discover some of the world's most treasured natural wonders and historic sites. From the ice floes of Antarctica to the wildlife-strewn plains of the Serengeti, experience the rich diversity of the seven continents.

Encounter penguins in Antarctica; monkeys in the Amazon rain forest; and lions, elephants, and zebras in Tanzania.
Travel with three top National Geographic experts: anthropologist Wade Davis, photographer Chris Rainer, and visionary architect Travis Price.
Get acquainted with fascinating cultures like the Yagua tribe of the Amazon and the ancient birdman cult of Easter Island.
Stroll down the narrow Siq in Petra, Jordan; and cruise Cochin's canals in India.

Continent Maps Index- A Great Collection of Digital Continent Maps

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:30:56 GMT

clipped by: bellapria

Clip Source: www.mapresources.com

Layered - Fully Editable - Royalty Free - Download 24/7

Continent Maps in Adobe Illustrator Vector Format

View All 33
North America Maps

View All 28
Europe Maps

View All 9
Middle East Maps

View All 21
Asia Maps

View All 23
Australia Maps

View All 22
Africa Maps

View All
Caribbean Region &
Island Maps

View All 29
South America Maps

View All 18
Antarctica Maps

View All 9
Ocean Maps

Tags: continent maps, digital format, maps, map collection, map index

How to Hitchhike Across the Globe Without Leaving Your Living Room

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:26:37 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: The 360° World Atlas DVD lets anyone with a computer become a virtual hitchhiker, no packing or neck-craning required. Creator Everen Brown does all the hard work for you. He jets around the globe, lugging a 40-pound bag full of 600 rolls of film past airport security, and picks a picture-worthy spot. Then he takes one of the world’s last Globuscope rotational cameras (no longer in production), holds it over his head (sometimes he lies on his stomach), and waits (sometimes for hours) for the right shot. When he sees it, snapping the picture takes only a second. The lens rotates full circle, so you get to see what’s across from the Taj Mahal’s minarets too. Once Brown develops the film, he embeds the images into an interactive atlas ($69.95, www.360atlas.com) that shows off head-turning views, panorama style.

Clip Source: discovermagazine.com

The 360° World Atlas turns anyone with a computer into a global traveler.

Incan stonework in one direction, stepped agricultural terraces in another: Your eyes lock on the mountains surrounding Machu Picchu, and at last you’ve found peace and quiet. Then you’re ready to move on. You click on Antarctica, choose a region, and zoom in. Suddenly you’re standing on an iceberg in the middle of a group of playful Adélie penguins on rocky, volcanic Franklin Island (above right).

Tags: technology, computers, travel

Improve your Georaphical knowledge

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:31:59 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: This is a big help to improve our world view!

Clip Source: ngm.nationalgeographic.com

Investigate our world. Click on the map to zoom in on this Atlas plate from National Geographic's Maps division.

Map of the Day

Browse through history using our daily maps of historical news events.

Solve Atlas Puzzles

Time yourself and challenge your friends to solve these jigsaw puzzles.

Atlas Explorer

See interactive world maps from our Maps division.

Frank's on NYTimes

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 02:53:45 GMT

clipped by: faitdodo

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

A giant ice sculpture of the word “Democracy” weighing more than 900 pounds that will melt over the course of eight to 12 hours. YouTube public service announcements created by ordinary citizens about what it means to participate in an election. The chance to take the microphone in a bar and perform a speech by Barack Obama or John McCain, karaoke-style. An acoustic set by D J Spooky about the changing continent of Antarctica.

The New York artist Fang Lin has contributed another media project, “Political Science 101,” which will be shown at Intermedia Arts beginning on Aug. 31. The piece transforms one of the galleries into a traditional classroom with rows of desks and chairs set up around a slide projector. Mr. Fang has created a custom program that can scan 400 political blogs in real time for key words, like “security” or “McCain.” The program is able to then grab data from those blogs and present them through graphs and charts that are then projected onto a screen.

The Lotus Ice Vehicle

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:46:38 GMT

clipped by: rj3sp
clipper's remarks: About the a biofuel-powered Lotus Ice Vehicle, specially developed for research in the Moon-Regan Trans Antarctic Expedition

Clip Source: www.zercustoms.com

Lotus Ice Vehicle

Clip Source: uk.youtube.com

Engineered by Lotus the CIV will be taken to Antarctica on the Moon Regan TransAntarctic Expedition to assist with research in the region. Read more here: http://www.transantarcticexpedition.com/

[Video]

Clip Source: www.zercustoms.com

Clip Source: www.transantarcticexpedition.com

The Moon-Regan Trans Antarctic Expedition will endeavour to cross the continent of Antarctica from the west coast to the South Pole, then heading north through the Trans-Antarctic Mountain Range to the coast at McMurdo. The explorers will be covering distance of around 3,000 miles.

A bio-fuelled Concept Ice Vehicle (CIV) has been developed specifically for the expedition. Equipped with an ice radar, the un-manned CIV will lead the way and scan for hidden crevasses. Two larger Science Support Vehicles (SSVs) carrying the team and their equipment will follow the pilot vehicle.

“We want to show that you can move round in a gentler way to the environment: from using less fuel to the ability to move around reasonably quickly.” Andrew Regan

Tags: environment, antarctica, lotus ice vehicle, vehicle, biofuel

penguins and other birds

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:30:09 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane

Clip Source: animals.nationalgeographic.com

Photo Gallery: Penguins

An emperor penguin baby

Pristine 14-million-year-old Valley Found in Antarctica

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:37:16 GMT

clipped by: dooria
clipper's remarks: An abrupt and dramatic climate cooling of 8°C in 200,000 years forced the extinction of tundra plants and insects and brought interior Antarctica into a perpetual deep-freeze from which it has never emerged, though may do again as a result of climate change.

The international team combined evidence from glaciers, from the preserved ecology, volcanic ashes and modeling to reveal the full extent of the big freeze in a part of Antarctica called the Dry Valleys.

If we can understand how the Antarctic got into this relatively cold climate phase, then that can help predict how global warming might push us back out of this phase. For the vast majority of Earth history there was no permanent ice like is common today at the poles and even the tropics at high elevation. There's been a progressive cooling going on for 50 million years to get us into this permanent-ice mode; the formation of a permanent ice sheet on Antarctica plays a big role in that cooling.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

A team working in an ice-free region of dry valleys in the western Olympus Range has discovered a rare trove of plants and animals high in the mountains, with perfectly preserved fossils of mosses, diatoms and minute crustacea called ostracods -a rare snapshot of ancient life in what must have been the last traces of tundra on the interior of the southernmost continent before temperatures began to drop relentlessly, which saw it change from a climate like that of South Georgia to one similar to that seen today on Mars.

"We've documented the timing and the magnitude of a tremendous change in Antarctic climate," said Prof David Marchant, of Boston University . "The fossil finds allow us to examine Antarctica as it existed just prior to climate cooling at 13.9 million years ago. It is a unique window into the past. To study these deposits is akin to strolling across the Dry Valleys 14.1 million years ago."

Tags: antarctica

Frozen world 14m years old found in Antarctica

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 05:21:39 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: What a discovery...?!

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Lost world frozen 14m years ago found in Antarctica

A lost world has been found in Antarctica, preserved just the way it was when it was frozen in time some 14 million years ago.

Mt Boreas in the western Olympus Range, Dry Valleys (left) and moss mat (right),

the Dry Valleys climate prevented decomposition

The fossils of plants and animals high in the mountains is an extremely rare find in the continent, one that also gives a glimpse of a what could be there in a century or two as the planet warms.

A team working in an ice-free region has discovered the trove of ancient life in what must have been the last traces of tundra on the interior of the southernmost continent before temperatures began to drop relentlessly.

What caused the big freeze is unknown though theories abound and include phenomena as different as the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and tectonic shifts that affected ocean circulation.

Tags: frozen, antarctica, civilization, era, geology, anthropology

Prehistoric Antarctic Bugs and Plants Discovered

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:58:46 GMT

clipped by: ChiVampir

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

Plants, insects, and other life-forms dating back 14 million years have been found on Antarctica, a new study says.

The specimens—some of which contain organic tissue—help paint a picture of a temperate Antarctica where glacial lakes were surrounded by trees and swarmed with buzzing blackflies.

Researchers found the freeze-dried remains of mosses, algae, small crustaceans, and beetles in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, where glacial lakes once existed.

The site also contains a layer of potassium-rich volcanic ash, which can be precisely dated, allowing researchers to pinpoint for the first time how long ago the plants and animals lived.

Clip Source: news.nationalgeographic.com

The discovery of the ancient plant and animal life provides a unique glimpse at a more hospitable Antarctica.

"The contrast couldn't be more striking. It's like comparing Patagonia [in southern South America] today with the surface of Mars," study co-author Marchant said. "To study these deposits is akin to strolling across the Dry Valleys 14.1 million years ago."

Antartica - quickly...

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:35:31 GMT

clipped by: milmufmas

Clip Source: www.coool-stuff.com

Would you like to go for a walk outside?

If you feel like complaining about the weather today, take a look at this video taken somewhere in Antarctica - this will make you appreciate your weather conditions a bit more…

Ancient moss, insects found in Antarctica

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 03:47:51 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

(AP) -- Mosses once grew and insects crawled in what are now barren valleys in Antarctica, according to scientists who have recovered remains of life from that frozen continent. Fourteen million years ago the now lifeless valleys were tundra, similar to parts of Alaska, Canada and Siberia - cold but able to support life, researchers report.

"The really cool thing is that all the details are still there," even though the plant has been dead for 14 million years. "These are actually the plant tissues themselves."

Further study uncovered remains of tiny crustaceans known as ostracodes, small midges and beetles, and pollen from southern beech trees and pink plants.

Tags: antarctica, life, plants, insects

Polar layered deposits on Mars: to unravel Mars’ climate history

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 03:59:40 GMT

clipped by: amgumen

Clip Source: hirise.lpl.arizona.edu

Mars, like Earth, appears to have experienced global climate changes over the past few million years. The effects of Earth’s ice ages are well recorded in polar ice in Greenland and Antarctica. Similarly, layered deposits in both polar regions on Mars (see above) appear to record ancient Martian climate variations. Changes in the tilt (relative to the Sun) of the rotation axes of both Earth and Mars are thought to have influenced their climates

Most Mars researchers believe that the polar layered deposits are the result of variations in the amounts of dust and water ice deposited over many climate cycles, but the amount of time needed to form individual layers remains a major uncertainty

Clip Source: hirise.lpl.arizona.edu

The north polar layered deposits of Mars form a layered stack of dusty ice up to 3 kilometers (2 miles) thick. The differences from layer to layer are thought to reflect differences in the climate of Mars that existed when the layers were formed.

Homosexual behavior is common in nature, and it plays an important role in survival

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 16:29:07 GMT

clipped by: queah

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

Two penguins native to Antarctica met one spring day in 1998 in a tank at the Central Park Zoo in midtown Manhattan. They perched atop stones and took turns diving in and out of the clear water below. They entwined necks, called to each other and mated. They then built a nest together to prepare for an egg. But no egg was forthcoming: Roy and Silo were both male.

Robert Gramzay, a keeper at the zoo, watched the chinstrap penguin pair roll a rock into their nest and sit on it, according to newspaper reports. Gramzay found an egg from another pair of penguins that was having difficulty hatching it and slipped it into Roy and Silo’s nest. Roy and Silo took turns warming the egg with their blubbery underbellies until, after 34 days, a female chick pecked her way into the world. Roy and Silo kept the gray, fuzzy chick warm and regurgitated food into her tiny black beak.

Incredible Discoveries Made in Remote Chilenean Caves

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:05:02 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Cont....

"There were no footprints where we were going, and I only saw the slightest evidence of human use," Wynne told LiveScience by email Monday night as the day's work was sinking in.

Wynne and his colleagues moved carefully through the cave to place a sensor along the wall, part of their NASA-funded research.

"Much to my surprise, as we moved about halfway through this passage, my foot completely sunk into the soil," Wynne said. "It was mud! There was a lot of it. It was all contained within the salt stream flow that meandered through this passage."

There is no known source of water nearby.

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

LiveScience Exclusive

Scientists exploring caves in the bone-dry and mostly barren Atacama Desert in Chile stumbled upon a totally unexpected discovery this week: water.

They also found hundreds of thousands of animal bones in a cave, possibly evidence of some prehistoric human activity.

The expedition is designed to learn how to spot caves on Mars by studying the thermal signatures of caves and non-cave features in hot, dry places here on Earth. Scientists think Martian caves, some of which may already have been spotted from space, could be good places to look for life.

No hot place on Earth is drier than the Atacama Desert. Many parts of the high-plateau desert have never received rain that anyone can remember. Average rainfall across the region is just 1 millimeter per year. (Parts of Antarctica are considered the driest places on Earth, however.)

So nobody was looking for water.

Total surprise

Tags: caves, mars, seti, chile, science, discovery