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Items tagged with: Antarctica

Another wander back to 2012 and the SIPEXII expedition. At the last sampling site (unplanned, we were stuck) - we had a visit from a Minke whale!

It decided to expand a hole that a seal made the day before - in ice about 10cm thick and not quite solidly frozen - for some room to breathe. The whale hung around for quite a while, returning to this spot to grab air.

It was .. very spectacular.

#fieldworkFriday #seaice #Antarctica

A whale poking its head through some sea ice and letting out a big breath
#antarctica #seaice #fieldworkfriday

Very happy to have our new paper out, which represents the hard work of many people over more than 6 years. Antarctic fungi are slow growers!
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

#fungi #lichen #moss #lichensubscribe #mosstodon #antarctica

Figure from Benaud et al. 2025 published in Mycology journal, showing various Antarctic soil-sourced fungi cultured on agar, with corresponding microscopic images
#moss #Mosstodon #LichenSubscribe #fungi #lichen #antarctica

Did you know that the southernmost place of #worship on earth is an ice cave chapel in #Antarctica?

The "Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows" can be found near Belgrano II Base; an Argentine research base.

It has walls of #ice and it is used year-round by #Catholic researchers.

72% of antarctic scientists are #Christian & Christian churches are the only religious buildings (totalling 8) in Antarctica.

The next biggest religion is none, i.e. #atheism.

#religion

The photo shows an ice cave church. We see a long room, completely made of shimmery blue Ice. There are four wooden chairs, padded with a white thick cushion and an illuminated altar. The altar is in the shape of a house, it flows a warm orange and shows the virgin Mary looking out towards the believers. The icy walls are lined with wooden crosses and a singular lightbulb dangles from the ceiling.
The photo shows a side passage of the ice cave church. It is a darker, more ominous blue, as if the ice walls are thicker and colder here. The ceiling is low, so low, an adult has to duck. Two indentations in the ice walls hold religious artifacts. The first is a virgin Mary in a wooden frame. She is dressed in a warm-looking white gown. Before her two men in heavy winter clothes kneel to pray. The second alcove has the virgin Mary in a more classic manner. She is dressed in a loose white gown with a golden crown and surrounded by golden star-like bursts. Another two men in winter clothes and headlamps pray before her.
#Religion #ICE #catholic #worship #antarctica #christian #atheism

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