The floating Arctic research station 'Tara' has departed Lorient, France, for a two-year mission to drift with sea ice. An international team will collect over 10,000 samples to study climate change's impact on the rapidly transforming polar region.
China's ambition for independent leadership in the Arctic is unlikely to be realized without Russia's cooperation, according to Irina Strelnikova, an expert at HSE University. She cited China's lack of territory above the Arctic Circle and Russia's unique nuclear icebreaker fleet as key factors.
Hyundai Motor Group will implement a clean hydrogen energy system at South Korea's Antarctic research station, reducing reliance on diesel generators. The system converts surplus solar energy into hydrogen, which is then used to produce electricity via fuel cells when solar power is limited.
The world's largest iceberg A23a, which broke off from Antarctica's Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in 1986, has completely broken apart while drifting in the Southern Ocean. The frozen giant, originally covering 4,170 square kilometers, has lost 99% of its original area over four decades of tracking by Russian scientists.
