143 Polar Newsreel
Channel: Curiously Polar
Date: 2022-01-06

[Watch this on video](https://tfttf.com/curiouslypolarvideo) | Buy us a coffee: [Chris](https://ko-fi.com/chrismarquardt) / [Henry](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/aguycalledpaul) / [Mario](https://www.buymeacoffee.com/polarmario)


The 1st December 2021 marked the 62nd anniversary of the signing of the [Antarctic Treaty](https://www.ats.aq/e/antarctictreaty.html) by the twelve countries whose scientists had been active in and around Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-58. The total number of Parties to the Treaty is now 54.  Among the most important agreements the treaty states that "Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only” (Article I); “Freedom of scientific investigation in Antarctica and cooperation toward that end... shall continue” (Art. II); “Scientific observations and results from Antarctica shall be exchanged and made freely available” (Art. III) / On the 4th December 2021 a [total eclipse of the sun](https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/total-solar-eclipse-december-4-2021/) will be visible in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.  The instant of greatest eclipse occurs over the Weddell Sea at 07:33:27 UTC and its duration will be 1 minute 54 seconds. / Albatross in the Falkland Islands seem to be affected by warmer water temperatures which made up to 8% of [albatross couples split up](https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-59401921). Either warming waters force the birds to hunt for longer and fly further or stress hormones go up in harsher environments, such as when waters are warmer. / Linking up with the previous episode, [inflow of warm water from the Atlantic influences the temperatures in the Arctic Ocean](https://phys.org/news/2021-05-arctic-sea-ice-succumbs-atlantification.html): a phenomenon called Atlantification. At the German [Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI)](https://www.awi.de/en/) weekly CryoSat data with daily SMOS data are merged to generate a weekly-averaged product every day on ice volume in the Arctic. / The [Arctic Ocean has been warming since the beginning of the 1900s](https://phys.org/news/2021-11-arctic-ocean-warmer-decades-earlier.html) due to warmer water flowing from the Atlantic Ocean. The Arctic Ocean temperature has risen by approximately 2 degrees Celsius, while sea ice has retreated and salinity has increased. / Arctic warming means that the [thawing permafrost could release bacteria, viruses, chemicals and other substances stored in the frozen soil ](https://scitechdaily.com/thawing-permafrost-could-release-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-and-undiscovered-viruses/). / The famed [Northern Sea Route this year has been closing up earlier than expected](https://www.worldcargonews.com/news/news/ships-stuck-in-arctic-ice-67738) as the ice has trapped ships and icebreakers have had to come to their rescue. Video: [Yamal breaking ice](https://youtu.be/bKaVhXn49xY) 
 


This is an episode of the Curiously Polar podcast

with
Chris Marquardt https://chrismarquardt.com/ 
Henry Páll Wulff: https://henrypall.com/
Mario Acquarone https://www.buymeacoffee.com/polarmario

Listen to all podcast episodes at https://curiouslypolar.com

All video episodes at https://tfttf.com/curiouslypolarvideo

Find us here:
Web: https://curiouslypolar.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/curiouslypolar
Instagram: https://instagram.com/curiouslypolar