Topic: Antarctica

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US heat wave: 5 places that make it look milder

What may be a record-setting summer in America is relatively routine in other parts of the world that experience months of weather like this – and not necessarily with air conditioning.
In Pictures: Way beyond vacation: the 'Eat, Pray, Love' effect
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/18
In Pictures: Space photos of the day: Currents
The five coldest places on Earth

Have you noticed a bit of a chill in the air? If so, you're not alone. But take heart: here are five places that will make today seem like T-shirt weather.

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'Dynamic Duo' proves too much for Pacers as Heat advance

Dwyane Wade scored 41 points and LeBron James added 28 to lead the Miami Heat to a Game 6 victory over the Indiana Pacers Thursday night in Indianapolis. Miami now advances to the Eastern Conference final and awaits the winner of Saturday's Celtics/76ers game.
Surprise: Martian sand dunes are speedy

Rare winds jump-start sand movement on Mars, according to scientists.
Warm water threatens vast Anatarctic ice shelf (+video)

A new study indicates that a large ice sheet is at risk. Warm water from below is causing it to melt.
Greenland's glaciers melting faster, say scientists

Greenland's glaciers are melting 30 faster than they were a decade ago, satellite images reveal.
Antarctic ice melting from below, reveals satellite (+video)

Antarctica's ice shelves are being melted away by warm ocean currents underneath, shows data collected from a NASA satellite.
California fireball produces jackpot for meteorite hunters (+video)

Meteorite hunter finds pieces of a mini-bus sized meteor that lit up in the skies above California and Nevada this week. More pieces of the meteor are expected to be found as hunters scour the area.
What's to blame for melting Antarctic ice? (+video)

Like a hot beverage melts ice cubes, scientists have determined that warm ocean currents are thinning Antarctic ice.
Study finds way more emperor penguins than previously thought

New satellite data reveals that emperor penguins are far more abundant in Antarctica than previously estimated.
Ice age study delivers blow to global-warming skeptics

A new study finds that rising levels of carbon dioxide drove rising temperatures at the end of the last ice age. The findings contrast with previous studies, which skeptics of human-triggered global warming said showed that CO2 levels weren't an important factor.
Increasing carbon dioxide levels ended the last ice age

Using data from ice cores and underwater sediment, new research shows that carbon dioxide emissions contributed to the temperature change at the end of Earth's last ice age.
Falklands War: Why the battle continues 30 years later (+video)

Some 30 years after the Falklands War, Prince William's deployment and the recent discovery of oil have increased attention on the battle between Argentina and the UK for control of the islands.
Sgt. Robert Bales and multiple tours of duty: How many is too many?

Twenty percent of active-duty Army troops are on at least their third tour of duty to a war zone. Sgt. Robert Bales, suspected of slaying 17 Afghan civilians, was one. Here's what's known about the dangers of repeated deployments.
'Frozen Planet' will make you fall in love with north, south poles

'Frozen Planet' the seven-part BBC/Discovery documentary whose first episode aired Sunday night features penguins, polar bears, and a time-lapse brinicle, which has to be seen to be believed..
Sea level studies: US coasts even more vulnerable than previously thought

South Florida, southern Louisiana, and the Carolinas top the list of states with the most land to lose if sea level rises 1 meter, according to a pair of new studies.
Greenland's ice sheet: Climate change outlook gets a little more dire

If temperatures reach 1.6 degrees C above preindustrial levels, the iconic ice sheet will probably tip toward irreversible loss. With climate change, temperatures have already risen 0.8 degrees C.
Unique hybrid deep sea creatures discovered off Costa Rica

Scientists found a pair of underwater environments where previously unknown hybrid creatures existed.
Alien plant forms invading Antarctica

Green aliens are coming to the southernmost continent on the planet in a most pedestrian manner, according to scientists.
Is Mars sucking water from its own atmosphere?

Salty soils on Mars act to collect moisture from the Red Planet's atmosphere, according to new research. The salt and the moisture combine to create a brine that may encourage nutrients.
Putin hails Antarctic lake discovery as 'great event,' promises awards

On national television, Russia's natural resources minister gave Putin a canister of water from melted ice at the bottom of the boreshaft near the surface of Lake Vostok.
Enormous subglacial Lake Vostok could hold clues for alien life

Since drilling through miles of ice to reach the massive underground lake, scientists have begun to speculate on what exists, or lives, in the frigid freshwater.
Why you should care about Lake Vostok

If scientists find life in Antarctica's Lake Vostok, an ancient freshwater body locked beneath two miles of ice, it will greatly boost hopes of the existence of life on other worlds.
Study: Himalayan glaciers melting more slowly than thought, but seas are still rising

A study of satellite data has found that thermal expansion and ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica account for most of the planet's rising sea levels, with melting glaciers from the Himalayas contributing less than previously thought.
How Lake Vostok could transform our understanding of life as we know it

Russian researchers in Antarctica say they have successfully drilled through more than two miles of ice to reach a vast lake that has been sealed off from light or air for at least 14 million years. If living organisms are found in the lake, it would greatly boost hopes of finding life on other worlds.
Ice caps not shrinking as much as once thought, new data show

Mountain glaciers and ice caps around the globe collectively lost 148 billion tons of ice a year, according to new satellite measurements. The rate is 30 percent lower than scientists thought.
Ancient Antarctic lake thought to harbor prehistoric life, Hitler clones

In its reporting on the efforts of a Russian drilling team to reach a subglacial lake in Antarctica, Russian state media has revived an old conjecture about a secret Nazi cloning facility on the southern continent.