(Kent Atkinson/New Zealand Herald, 20 March 2008)** -- Scientists and crew of New Zealand's biggest scientific voyage in the Antarctic waters of its Ross Sea dependency have returned with a treasure trove of new fish and other organisms.

The research vessel Tangaroa returned to Wellington today after completing the most comprehensive survey of marine life in the region. The 7140-nautical-mile voyage surveyed some areas and habitats for the first time, and uncovered many species that are new to science. The 26 scientists and 18 crew endured the worst ice conditions documented in the Ross Sea in 30 years to complete 35 days of sampling Antarctic marine biodiversity and habitats. The voyage, which took 50 days and $6.6 million of government funding, was part of an international effort by 23 countries to survey marine ecosystems and habitats in the waters surrounding Antarctica.The voyage would contribute to two global science programmes: International Polar Year and the Census of Antarctic Marine Life.

The researchers worked round the clock in the 24-hour days of the Antarctic summer collecting more than 30,000 samples of many different forms of life from tiny micro-plankton up to large toothfish and recorded some never-seen-before views of the seabed.

Tagged: IPY project, News

(Xinhua, 20 March 2008) --  ABOARD XUELONG - China's automatic space observatory at Dome Argus, the highest point of the Antarctic ice sheet, has been successfully completed. The observatory was set up by China's 24th science inspection team on the South Pole at Dome Argus, the Antarctic icecap peak at 4,093 meters above sea level. It has undergone more than one month of tests and examinations and now transfers back nearly 10M of astronomic data every day.

"Only when we can get data stably from the observatory, can we take the load off our minds, and see that our efforts at the Antarctic icecap have been successfully completed," said by Zhu Zhenxi, one of the astronomers in the inspection team. Setting up this observatory is an international project led by China's astronomers in cooperation with astronomers from Australia, the US and Britain. It is a milestone in the development of astronomy in China, said experts in the inspection team.

The past 10 years of scientific research showed that Dome Argus, due to its special geographic site, had great potential to become one of the best places on the earth to set up an observatory. The observatory will for the first time in the world map the parameters of Dome Argus helping to enable the building of larger observatories at a later date.

Tagged: IPY project, News