Thaw Reveals Antarctic Explorer's Century-Old Photographic Notebook

A photographic notebook from Robert Scott's ill-fated Antarctic expedition has been found after a century trapped in the ice of the frozen continent, reveal New Zealand's Antarctic Heritage Trust.

It belonged to scientist George Murray Levick and was discovered outside Scott's 1911 Terra Nova base during last year's summer ice melt.

For the First Time Since 1979, Antarctic Sea Ice Extent Hits Record Low With 20M Sq Kms
On 19 September 2014, scientists have revealed that the five-day average of Antarctic sea ice extent exceeded 20 million square kilometers for the first time since 1979.

Writing in the notebook remains legible but the binding has been dissolved by years of ice and water damage, the trust's executive director Nigel Watson said.

"It's an exciting find. The notebook is a missing part of the official expedition record," he said.

"After spending seven years conserving Scott's last expedition building and collection, we are delighted to still be finding new artefacts".

Changing Antarctic Waters may Lead to Abrupt Rise in Global Sea Level, Says Research
Current changes in the ocean around Antarctica may have led to the rapid melting of Antarctic ice and an abrupt 3-4 metre rise in global sea level, says new research.

He said the pages of the notebook were taken to New Zealand and individually preserved, then given new binding and returned to Antarctica, where the trust is working to preserve five sites used by explorers Scott, Ernest Shackleton and Edmund Hillary.

Scott's expedition split into two groups after reaching the Antarctic, with the leader's contingent reaching the South Pole on January 17, 1912, only to find Norwegian Roald Amundsen had beaten them there a month earlier.

Rise in Sea-Level Caused by Antarctica Melt
A new study has revealed that rise in sea-level around the coast of Antarctica is caused by fresh water from melting glaciers.

Scott and his companions later died of exposure and starvation.

Levick was in the other group, which travelled along the coast to make scientific observations but became stranded from the base camp when pack ice prevented their ship from picking them up.

Map of Antarctica 'First-Of-Its-Kind', Unveiling Secrets of Sea Life
A new Antarctica atlas has helped marine biologists from across the world in finding thousands of new species in the ocean.

The six men all survived the Antarctic winter by digging a cave in the ice and eating local wildlife, including penguins and seals.

Other discoveries made by the trust include bottles of whisky taken on Shackleton's 1908 expedition and lost negatives from his 1914-17 foray to the Ross Sea.

The contents of Levick's notebook are fairly mundane, comprising the dates, subjects and exposure details of photographs he had taken.

Much more interesting was a scientific paper he wrote titled "Sexual Habits of the Adelie Penguin", which was lost until researchers at London's Natural History Museum rediscovered it in 2012.

In it he records observations of the penguins' "depraved" habits, including homosexual behaviour and males trying to mate with the bodies of dead females.

Levick was so horrified at the penguins' antics that he wrote down some of his observations in Greek so the average reader could not understand them and his paper was never publicly released.

Source-AFP