Latest news with #GameofThrones-esque
Jordan Times
28-01-2025
- Science
- Jordan Times
Mega-iceberg drifts towards Antarctic Penguin Island
The iceberg could threaten penguins as they forage to feed their young (AFP photo) PARIS — The world's biggest iceberg, more than twice the size of London, could drift towards a remote island where a scientist warns it risks disrupting feeding for baby penguins and seals. The gigantic wall of ice is moving slowly from Antarctica on a potential collision course with South Georgia, a crucial wildlife breeding ground in the South imagery suggested that unlike previous "mega bergs" this rogue was not crumbling into smaller chunks as it plodded through the Southern Ocean, Andrew Meijers, a physical oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey, told AFP on said predicting its exact course was difficult but prevailing currents suggested the colossus would reach the shallow continental shelf around South Georgia in two to four what might happen next is anyone's guess, he could avoid the shelf and get carried into open water beyond South Georgia, a British overseas territory some 1,400 kilometres east of the Falkland it could strike the sloping bottom and get stuck for months or break up into said this scenario could seriously impede seals and penguins trying to feed and raise their young on the island."Icebergs have grounded there in the past and that has caused significant mortality to penguin chicks and seal pups," he said. 'White wall'Roughly 3,500 square kilometres across, the world's biggest and oldest iceberg, known as A23a, calved from the Antarctic shelf in remained stuck for over 30 years before finally breaking free in 2020, its lumbering journey north sometimes delayed by ocean forces that kept it spinning in who encountered the iceberg face to face, while leading a scientific mission in late 2023, described "a huge white cliff, 40 or 50 metres high, that stretches from horizon to horizon"."It's just like this white wall. It's very sort of Game of Thrones-esque, actually," he said, referring to the dark fantasy series.A23a has followed roughly the same path as previous massive icebergs, passing the east side of the Antarctica Peninsula through the Weddell Sea along a route called "iceberg alley".Weighing a little under a trillion tonnes, this monster block of freshwater was being whisked along by the world's most powerful ocean "jet stream', the Antarctic Circumpolar Cordero from Chile's University of Santiago, who is also part of the National Antarctic Research Committee, said he was confident the iceberg would sidestep South Georgia."The island acts as an obstacle for ocean currents and therefore usually diverts the water long before it reaches the island," he said."The iceberg is moved by that water flow, so the chances of it hitting are not that high," though chunks could, he scientist, glaciologist Soledad Tiranti currently on an Argentinean exploration voyage in the Antarctic, said that icebergs such as A23a "are so deep that before reaching an island or mainland they generally get stuck" on the seabed. Icy obstacleIt is summer in South Georgia and resident penguins and seals along its southern coastline are foraging in the frosty waters to bring back food to fatten their young."If the iceberg parks there, it'll either block physically where they feed from, or they'll have to go around it," said Meijers."That burns a huge amount of extra energy for them, so that's less energy for the pups and chicks, which causes increased mortality."The seal and penguin populations on South Georgia have already been having a "bad season" with an outbreak of bird flu "and that [iceberg] would make it significantly worse," he A23a ultimately melted it could seed the water with nutrients that encourage phytoplankton growth, feeding whales and other species, and allowing scientists to study how such blooms absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While icebergs are natural phenomena, Meijers said the rate at which they were being lost from Antarctica was increasing, likely due to human induced climate change.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
So about that GFL draft...
The GFL – MMA's newest headline-grabbing fight promotion – had a 'draft' on Friday. If you didn't watch the nearly three-hour livestream, here's what you missed: – The show opened by using the dark magic of AI to create unsettling images of well-known fighters posing in Game of Thrones-esque armor, all set to a rap song about fighting. – The hosts, including former UFC commentator Mike Goldberg, then talked us through the draft process just before a graphic on screen seemed to accidentally reveal that the teams had already been decided before the draft even began. – We heard from various team managers and coaches, including Luke Barnatt, who appeared to be challenging all of us to a game of chess. – By the end, team rosters had been set for Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Sao Paulo, Dubai, and London, even if at least one fighter – former UFC champ Rashad Evans – would later claim that he was drafted 'without [his] consent' and had no plans to participate. In other words, it was kind of a mess. Amid sweeping, hyperbolic claims about changing MMA forever with this visionary approach were a lot of little reminders that the GFL is actually very new to this and seemingly figuring it out on the fly. To be clear, being a bit of a mess as a new MMA organization isn't necessarily the worst thing. Messes can be fun, or at least interesting. We slow down to gawk at messes on the side of the road. In a space where the first big challenge is drawing eyeballs and making people aware that your product even exists, there are worse things to be than a big, loud trainwreck. But eventually comes the part where you have to put on some fights. And the roster that the GFL has assembled for that purpose is … I guess the kind way to put it would be to say 'experienced.' Some GFL age stats:Average age of GFL roster: 35.7 yearsOldest team: Team Miami (36.7 avg. age) Number of fighters 40 years or older: 32 (26% of the roster) Number of fighters 35 years or older: 74 (61% of the roster)Number of fighters 29 years and below: 15 (12.5% of… — Ovin Vithanage (@OvinVithanage) January 25, 2025 Team Los Angeles has two 45-year-old heavyweights (Frank Mir and Andrei Arlovski), plus a lightweight who holds the record for the longest losing streak in UFC history (Tony Ferguson, who exited the UFC after eight straight defeats). Team Dubai used the first overall 'pick' to select 42-year-old Tyron Woodley, then later circled back to get two middleweights (Derek Brunson and Luke Rockhold) who are old enough to have fought on the Strikeforce Challengers series. Team New York has Chris Weidman, who just announced his retirement earlier this month, as well as Aleksei Oleinik, who made his professional MMA debut in 1996, right around the time of UFC 9. Fabricio Werdum of Team Sao Paulo will turn 48 this summer, and according to a declaration he provided as part of the UFC antitrust lawsuit has been dealing with an inoperable brain cyst along with what he described as 'symptoms common with TBI and CTE including irritability, anger, anxiety, insomnia and memory loss.' These fighters are all recognizable names for fight fans, which is the point. But grouped together like this they amount to something like an MMA seniors tour. The one thing they seem to agree on is that GFL offered them the kind of money they simply couldn't pass up, so here they are. Is there a place for this in the MMA ecosystem? Maybe. If the age of influencer boxing has proven anything it's that name recognition is far more important than the ability to put on high-level fights. Then again, for those of us who had a good view of the last time this team approach to MMA failed with the IFL, it does seem like the GFL is committed to learning absolutely nothing from the lessons of the past – right down to the rap song. Say this for the GFL, it has gotten us to think about it an awful lot for a company that has yet to put on a single event. That's impressive, in a way. It's something. Now it just has to do something with that first event that will help ensure there's a second and a third. That's where it gets tricky. Because while we might slow down to look at a wreck, it doesn't mean we want to stop there.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
World's biggest iceberg could collide with Antarctic penguin island
The world's biggest iceberg -- three time the size of New York City -- could drift towards a remote island where a scientist warns it risks disrupting feeding for baby penguins and seals. The gigantic wall of ice is moving slowly from Antarctica on a potential collision course with South Georgia, a crucial wildlife breeding ground in the South Atlantic. Satellite imagery suggested that unlike previous "megabergs," this rogue was not crumbling into smaller chunks as it plodded through the Southern Ocean, Andrew Meijers, a physical oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey, told AFP on Friday. He said predicting its exact course was difficult but prevailing currents suggested the colossus would reach the shallow continental shelf around South Georgia in two to four weeks. But what might happen next is anyone's guess, he said. It could avoid the shelf and get carried into open water beyond South Georgia, a British overseas territory some 870 miles east of the Falkland Islands. Or it could strike the sloping bottom and get stuck for months or break up into pieces. Meijers said this scenario could seriously impede seals and penguins trying to feed and raise their young on the island. The island hosts 1.3 million pairs of Chinstrap penguins — one of the world's largest colonies — about 5 million seals, and 65 million breeding birds. "Icebergs have grounded there in the past and that has caused significant mortality to penguin chicks and seal pups," he said. Roughly 1,550 square miles across, the world's biggest and oldest iceberg, known as A23a, calved from the Antarctic shelf in 1986. Before its calving in 1986, the colossal iceberg hosted a Soviet research station. falley It remained stuck for over 30 years before finally breaking free in 2020, its lumbering journey north sometimes delayed by ocean forces that kept it spinning in place. In 2023, the British Antarctic Survey posted a time-lapse of satellite imagery, showing the iceberg's movement. "Game of Thrones-esque" iceberg Meijers -- who encountered the iceberg face to face while leading a scientific mission in late 2023 -- described "a huge white cliff, 40 or 50 meters high, that stretches from horizon to horizon". "It's just like this white wall. It's very sort of Game of Thrones-esque, actually," he said, referring to the dark fantasy series. A23a has followed roughly the same path as previous massive icebergs, passing the east side of the Antarctica Peninsula through the Weddell Sea along a route called "iceberg alley." That is the same current of water that famed explorer Ernest Shackleton used in 1916 to make his storied escape from Antarctica after losing his ship, the Endurance. The legendary shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Antarctica in 2022. Weighing a little under a trillion tons, this monster block of freshwater was being whisked along by the world's most powerful ocean "jet stream" -- the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Raul Cordero from Chile's University of Santiago, who is also part of the National Antarctic Research Committee, said he was confident the iceberg would sidestep South Georgia. "The island acts as an obstacle for ocean currents and therefore usually diverts the water long before it reaches the island," he said. "The iceberg is moved by that water flow, so the chances of it hitting are not that high," though chunks could, he said. Another scientist, glaciologist Soledad Tiranti currently on an Argentinian exploration voyage in the Antarctic, said that icebergs such as A23a "are so deep that before reaching an island or mainland they generally get stuck" on the seabed. It is summer in South Georgia and resident penguins and seals along its southern coastline are foraging in the frosty waters to bring back food to fatten their young. "If the iceberg parks there, it'll either block physically where they feed from, or they'll have to go around it," said Meijers. "That burns a huge amount of extra energy for them, so that's less energy for the pups and chicks, which causes increased mortality." The seal and penguin populations on South Georgia have already been having a "bad season" with an outbreak of bird flu "and that (iceberg) would make it significantly worse," he said. As A23a ultimately melted it could seed the water with nutrients that encourage phytoplankton growth, feeding whales and other species, and allowing scientists to study how such blooms absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While icebergs are natural phenomena, Meijers said the rate at which they were being lost from Antarctica was increasing, likely due to human induced climate change. In January 2023, a massive piece of Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf — a chunk about the size of two New York Cities — broke free. The Brunt Ice Shelf lies across the Weddell Sea from the site of the Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. In 2022, the Larsen C ice shelf — which was roughly the size of New York City and was long considered to be stable — collapsed into the sea. Vice President JD Vance's first interview | Face the Nation Rebuilding Paradise A tour of the Bronx
CBS News
27-01-2025
- Science
- CBS News
World's biggest iceberg could be on collision course with Antarctic penguin island: "Game of Thrones-esque"
The world's biggest iceberg -- three time the size of New York City -- could drift towards a remote island where a scientist warns it risks disrupting feeding for baby penguins and seals. The gigantic wall of ice is moving slowly from Antarctica on a potential collision course with South Georgia, a crucial wildlife breeding ground in the South Atlantic. Satellite imagery suggested that unlike previous "megabergs," this rogue was not crumbling into smaller chunks as it plodded through the Southern Ocean, Andrew Meijers, a physical oceanographer at the British Antarctic Survey, told AFP on Friday. He said predicting its exact course was difficult but prevailing currents suggested the colossus would reach the shallow continental shelf around South Georgia in two to four weeks. But what might happen next is anyone's guess, he said. It could avoid the shelf and get carried into open water beyond South Georgia, a British overseas territory some 870 miles east of the Falkland Islands. Or it could strike the sloping bottom and get stuck for months or break up into pieces. Meijers said this scenario could seriously impede seals and penguins trying to feed and raise their young on the island. The island hosts 1.3 million pairs of Chinstrap penguins — one of the world's largest colonies — about 5 million seals, and 65 million breeding birds. "Icebergs have grounded there in the past and that has caused significant mortality to penguin chicks and seal pups," he said. Roughly 1,550 square miles across, the world's biggest and oldest iceberg, known as A23a, calved from the Antarctic shelf in 1986. Before its calving in 1986, the colossal iceberg hosted a Soviet research station. falley It remained stuck for over 30 years before finally breaking free in 2020, its lumbering journey north sometimes delayed by ocean forces that kept it spinning in place. In 2023, the British Antarctic Survey posted a time-lapse of satellite imagery, showing the iceberg's movement. "Game of Thrones-esque" iceberg Meijers -- who encountered the iceberg face to face while leading a scientific mission in late 2023 -- described "a huge white cliff, 40 or 50 meters high, that stretches from horizon to horizon". "It's just like this white wall. It's very sort of Game of Thrones-esque, actually," he said, referring to the dark fantasy series. A23a has followed roughly the same path as previous massive icebergs, passing the east side of the Antarctica Peninsula through the Weddell Sea along a route called "iceberg alley." That is the same current of water that famed explorer Ernest Shackleton used in 1916 to make his storied escape from Antarctica after losing his ship, the Endurance. The legendary shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Antarctica in 2022. Weighing a little under a trillion tons, this monster block of freshwater was being whisked along by the world's most powerful ocean "jet stream" -- the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Raul Cordero from Chile's University of Santiago, who is also part of the National Antarctic Research Committee, said he was confident the iceberg would sidestep South Georgia. "The island acts as an obstacle for ocean currents and therefore usually diverts the water long before it reaches the island," he said. "The iceberg is moved by that water flow, so the chances of it hitting are not that high," though chunks could, he said. Another scientist, glaciologist Soledad Tiranti currently on an Argentinian exploration voyage in the Antarctic, said that icebergs such as A23a "are so deep that before reaching an island or mainland they generally get stuck" on the seabed. It is summer in South Georgia and resident penguins and seals along its southern coastline are foraging in the frosty waters to bring back food to fatten their young. "If the iceberg parks there, it'll either block physically where they feed from, or they'll have to go around it," said Meijers. "That burns a huge amount of extra energy for them, so that's less energy for the pups and chicks, which causes increased mortality." The seal and penguin populations on South Georgia have already been having a "bad season" with an outbreak of bird flu "and that (iceberg) would make it significantly worse," he said. As A23a ultimately melted it could seed the water with nutrients that encourage phytoplankton growth, feeding whales and other species, and allowing scientists to study how such blooms absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While icebergs are natural phenomena, Meijers said the rate at which they were being lost from Antarctica was increasing, likely due to human induced climate change. In January 2023, a massive piece of Antarctica's Brunt Ice Shelf — a chunk about the size of two New York Cities — broke free. The Brunt Ice Shelf lies across the Weddell Sea from the site of the Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. In 2022, the Larsen C ice shelf — which was roughly the size of New York City and was long considered to be stable — collapsed into the sea.
