https://penguintracker.com/blog/ Antarctic dispatches from PenguinTracker. Numbers, satellite feeds, and hard won facts. Weekday mornings. en Fri, 14 Aug 2026 09:30:51 +0000 https://penguintracker.com/blog/antarctic-icebergs-that-moved-this-weekhttps://penguintracker.com/blog/antarctic-icebergs-that-moved-this-weekFri, 14 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000The US National Ice Center refixed all 33 tracked Antarctic icebergs on 13 August. Eight moved more than 30 km in six days. Nine did not move at all.icebergsantarcticadata https://penguintracker.com/blog/mertz-glacier-step-not-a-trendhttps://penguintracker.com/blog/mertz-glacier-step-not-a-trendFri, 14 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000We asked all 5,686 fitted measurements on this site which year they changed level. One answer cost us a published number, and it is now corrected in public.methodsea-icedata https://penguintracker.com/blog/bear-peninsula-ice-leaves-90-days-earlyhttps://penguintracker.com/blog/bear-peninsula-ice-leaves-90-days-earlyFri, 14 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000At one emperor penguin colony in Marie Byrd Land the sea ice season has gone from 322 days a year to 207, and it has shortened at both ends at once.penguinssea-iceantarctica https://penguintracker.com/blog/how-do-you-count-penguins-from-spacehttps://penguintracker.com/blog/how-do-you-count-penguins-from-spaceFri, 14 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000You do not count penguins from orbit, you count their guano. Here is how the method works, and the measurements that show our own version of it failing.methodpenguinsscience https://penguintracker.com/blog/how-many-research-stations-in-antarcticahttps://penguintracker.com/blog/how-many-research-stations-in-antarcticaThu, 13 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000COMNAP lists 114 Antarctic facilities run by 31 nations. 103 are in use, only 44 stay open through the winter, and just 83 are called stations.stationsantarcticadata https://penguintracker.com/blog/cape-denison-iceberg-b09bhttps://penguintracker.com/blog/cape-denison-iceberg-b09bThu, 13 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000An iceberg knocked the Mertz Glacier Tongue off in 2010 and grounded nearby. Summer sea ice at Cape Denison went from 4 percent to 54 percent.icebergspenguinsantarctica https://penguintracker.com/blog/729-penguin-sites-are-56-placeshttps://penguintracker.com/blog/729-penguin-sites-are-56-placesThu, 13 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000Antarctica has 729 known penguin breeding sites. Measured against sea ice they are 56 independent places, and the species with the most sites have fewest.penguinsdatamethod https://penguintracker.com/blog/the-breeding-failure-a-satellite-could-not-seehttps://penguintracker.com/blog/the-breeding-failure-a-satellite-could-not-seeThu, 13 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000Our sea ice metric reproduced five published emperor penguin breeding failures and completely missed a sixth. The miss is the more useful result.methodsea-icepenguins https://penguintracker.com/blog/most-remote-place-in-antarcticahttps://penguintracker.com/blog/most-remote-place-in-antarcticaWed, 12 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000In winter the furthest point on the Antarctic ice sits 1,815 km from the nearest facility that stays open, and the three closest all lie the same way.stationsantarcticadata https://penguintracker.com/blog/largest-iceberg-in-the-world-right-nowhttps://penguintracker.com/blog/largest-iceberg-in-the-world-right-nowWed, 12 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000D15A, at 3,037 square kilometres, is the largest iceberg on the US National Ice Center list. It holds a quarter of all tracked Antarctic berg area.icebergsantarcticadata https://penguintracker.com/blog/emperor-island-colony-that-was-losthttps://penguintracker.com/blog/emperor-island-colony-that-was-lostWed, 12 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000Emperor Island in Marguerite Bay held emperor penguins from 1948 to about 2009. Its sea ice season is 75 days shorter, and it is shorter at one end.penguinssea-iceantarctica https://penguintracker.com/blog/how-a-1980s-satellite-invented-a-trendhttps://penguintracker.com/blog/how-a-1980s-satellite-invented-a-trendWed, 12 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000The sensor that flew before 1988 reads several points low near coasts. Correct for it and 34 emperor colony sea ice trends fall to 10. Here is the proof.methodsea-icedata https://penguintracker.com/blog/why-penguintracker-existshttps://penguintracker.com/blog/why-penguintracker-existsTue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000Antarctic science is world-class and almost entirely invisible. Here is what we are building, and why the model is Global Forest Watch rather than an academic archive.aboutantarcticamanifesto https://penguintracker.com/blog/antarctic-sea-ice-4th-lowest-9-augusthttps://penguintracker.com/blog/antarctic-sea-ice-4th-lowest-9-augustTue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000Antarctic sea ice stands at 16.085 million square kilometres, the 4th lowest reading for 9 August in a 48 year satellite record. What that number means.sea-iceantarcticadata https://penguintracker.com/blog/where-antarctic-penguins-breedhttps://penguintracker.com/blog/where-antarctic-penguins-breedTue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000Antarctica has 729 known penguin breeding sites. Three adjacent slices of longitude hold 510 of them, and the reason is a species list, not a survey bias.penguinsantarcticadata https://penguintracker.com/blog/concordia-station-dome-chttps://penguintracker.com/blog/concordia-station-dome-cTue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000Concordia sits 3,233 metres up on Dome C, holds 80 people in summer and 0 visitors in winter. Its sun rises again this week after 104 days of night.stationsantarcticascience https://penguintracker.com/blog/why-web-mercator-cannot-render-antarcticahttps://penguintracker.com/blog/why-web-mercator-cannot-render-antarcticaTue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000Web Mercator clips at 85 degrees and the South Pole is undefined in it. Here is why every web map fails on Antarctica, and the projection that works.methodmappingantarctica