ice cap Archives - Astrobiology

A European Space Agency-funded study used information from satellites to show that Antarctica is experiencing dramatic changes in sea-ice coverage, with profound consequences for key plankton species that underpin the region’s marine food web. About 10 years ago, the amount of sea ice around Antarctica suddenly declined, which resulted in of the Southern Ocean shifting from extremely low phytoplankton levels to more moderate productivity. This image captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2 in 2021 shows a phytoplankton bloom in the Ross Sea. Larger image

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Orbital Biosignature Assay: Antarctica’s Vanishing Sea Ice Transforms Marine Life

by Keith CowingApril 18, 2026April 18, 2026

Editor’s note: when our first missions – human or robotic – arrive at a new world we’ll want to do glean as much information from space – via fly by […]

A view of the north pole of Mars, created by taking images as seen by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft and applying topographic data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter that was on board NASA’s now defunct Mars Global Surveyor mission. Image credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/NASA MGS MOLA Science Team. https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2017/02/perspective_view_of_chasma_boreale/16629674-1-eng-GB/Perspective_view_of_Chasma_Boreale.jpg

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Press Release

Mars’s Chilly North Polar Vortex Creates a Seasonal Ozone Layer

by Keith CowingSeptember 18, 2025September 18, 2025

A rare glimpse into the wintry conditions of Mars’s north polar vortex has shown that temperatures inside the vortex are far colder than outside, and that the permanent darkness that […]

A hypothetical picture of Mars 3.6 billion years ago, when an ocean may have covered nearly half the planet. The blue areas show the depth of the ocean filled to the shoreline level of the ancient, now-gone sea, dubbed Deuteronilus. The orange star represents the landing site of the Chinese rover Zhurong. The yellow star is the site of NASA's Perseverance rover, which landed a few months before Zhurong. Credit Robert Citron

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ancient Beaches Testify To A Long-ago Ocean On Mars

by Keith CowingMarch 3, 2025March 3, 2025

A Chinese rover that landed on Mars in 2021 detected evidence of underground beach deposits in an area thought to have once been the site of an ancient sea, providing […]

South Pole of Mars - HiRISE/NASA

Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Status Report

Ice Planet Survey: The Changing Ice Cap of Mars

by Keith CowingMarch 30, 2024

A story of changes at the South Pole of Mars is told by its icy deposits. Remnants of a formerly more extensive deposit composed of dry ice form what is […]