Maritime Partners, LLC’s Post

This article delves into the historical context of the Age of Discovery, examining how the decline of the Mongol Empire, the dominance of Ottoman Turks over Mediterranean trade routes, and the rise of new European coastal nations converged to ignite an era of exploration. It also highlights the significant contributions of Russian explorers in advancing Antarctic exploration prior to the Technological Revolution. It highlights the role of Henry the Navigator as a key figure in initiating significant expeditions, particularly the search for a southern sea route to Cathay (Northern China). The article also discusses the Bellingshausen expedition, which is regarded as one of the expeditions that marked the end of the Age of Discovery, with their verified sighting of Antarctica in 1820.  It further explores the challenges of exploring Severnaya Zemlya and the subsequent thorough exploration of the archipelago. The article concludes by emphasizing the significance of these explorations in expanding geographical knowledge and shaping the course of history.

The abbreviated 2024 June Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) Report is now available online. The 2024 June–September SIO reports will be limited to the pan-#Arctic forecasts while we work to secure funding to support the continuation of the SIO. All the contributed data (e.g., #Alaska, #Antarctic, and spatial forecasts) will be shared and discussed in a post-season report (in early 2025). For the June 2024 report, we received 27 contributions of September pan-Arctic sea-ice extent forecasts; of these, 14 included predictions of pan-Arctic sea-ice anomalies, nine included predictions for the Alaska region (Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas), and nine included predictions for pan-Antarctic sea ice. The June 2024 median forecasted value for pan-Arctic September sea-ice extent is 4.48 million square kilometers with an interquartile range of 4.21 to 4.74 million square kilometers. The lowest sea-ice extent forecast is 3.1 million square kilometers, which would be a new record low for the satellite period (1979-present), and the highest sea-ice extent forecast is 5.21 million square kilometers. The report is available at https://lnkd.in/gnNbm66J

📢 February 2024 remains another year of low sea ice extent and volume for the Antarctic 👇 🧊The Antarctic sea ice volume reached 1.18 thousand km³ on the 20th of February 2024. This represents a loss of 1.05 thousand km³ compared to the 1993-2010 long-term average (2.24 thousand km3), or the equivalent of a 47% loss in sea ice volume. In the last two years, minimum sea ice volume in the Antarctic was 50% below the 1993-2020 yearly minimum average 📉 Find out more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gCa2Exdc Copernicus Marine Service

In addition to penguins and seals, has a history exploration and whaling. Early sightings of the Antarctic continent date back to the 18th century, with explorers such as James Cook and James Weddell. However, the continent remained largely unexplored and mysterious due to its harsh climate and remote location. The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration (roughly the late 19th century to the early 20th century) saw expeditions led by explorers like Ernest Shackleton, Robert Falcon Scott, and Roald Amundsen. These expeditions focused on mapping the continent and reaching the South Pole. In 1959, the Antarctic Treaty was signed by 12 countries, establishing Antarctica as a scientific preserve and banning military activity on the continent. The treaty set aside territorial claims and promoted international scientific cooperation. Various countries operate research stations on Antarctica, with personnel living there on a temporary basis. These stations serve as bases for scientific research and are generally vacated during the harsh winter months. In 1986, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) implemented a moratorium on commercial whaling to allow whale populations to recover from overexploitation. However, there have been exceptions for whaling conducted for scientific purposes, and this has been a source of controversy. In 1991, the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was adopted, designating Antarctica as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science. It prohibits mineral mining and protects the environment. Come visit Antarctica first hand. Reach out to me at https://lnkd.in/gGDd3d64 #hurtigurten #hx #hurtigrutenexpeditions #auroraexpeditions #antarctica

Constraining timing of and mechanisms forcing deglaciation along the Sabrina Coast, East Antarctica USF MarineScience https://lnkd.in/gCEQb46z

Day 25 - Antarctica #30daymapchallenge The map shows the different foreign claims on the Antarctic continent, however we probably wont see any of these claims come to fruition as in 1961 the Antarctic treaty was signed by the 7 original members of the treaty as seen on the map, up to date that number has climbed to 54 signatories, stating that no activity after the signing in 1961 on the Antarctic continent may be on a basis of a territorial claim, no new claim can be made, however the signing of this treaty did not affect the claims made before 1961 it does however state that none of those claims may be enlarged. Data from https://data.bas.ac.uk/

Perhaps we should pay more attention to these types of findings. https://lnkd.in/gKZz66xK "..Overall, the Antarctic ice shelf area has grown by 5305 km2 since 2009, with 18 ice shelves retreating and 16 larger shelves growing in area. Our observations show that Antarctic ice shelves gained 661 Gt of ice mass over the past decade, whereas the steady-state approach would estimate substantial ice loss over the same period, demonstrating the importance of using time-variable calving flux observations to measure change..."

In this issue: dynamics of Antarctic glaciers in the Holocene Epoch, Rayleigh–Taylor turbulence and oil spill mitigation, and the evolution of rubisco for improved efficiency. https://ow.ly/6tE450QSBaP

Some signs get confirmed year after year, what we thought was a special year in 2022, has been confirmed in 2023… will 2024 follow? That is a key question along the Global sea surface mean temperature disruptive rise since 18 months… are these signs of a change of inertia of the global climate system ?

While some regions of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet are rapidly losing mass, other regions have been relatively "stable" over the past decades. How long will this last? Our international team is headed to the Siple Coast to collect sediments from beneath the ice to find out when the last time this sector of the ice sheet collapsed, and under what type of climatic conditions this occurred. Read more about where we are drilling and why here: https://lnkd.in/gdbK_5e9