Antarctic

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are among those meeting in Australia this week to decide the future of Antarctica's pristine waters.

Conservationists say new marine protected areas and rules to prevent overfishing are desperately needed, but that Russia could use its veto-like powers to once again block progress.

A scientist specializing in Arctic studies said research on Antarctica has shed light on global climate change as well as the Earth's history.

Burcu Özsoy, a member of Istanbul Technical University's Faculty of Maritime Studies and chairperson of the TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center's Institute of Arctic Research, has been conducting studies on sea ice on the white continent.

Several species of grasses, ticks, mussels, amd crabs will settle in the northernmost regions of Antarctica in the coming years. This is predicted by scientists cited by the British Antarctic Institute and the BTA.

Too harsh conditions will not yet allow the ice continent to be colonized by rodents, but they will be able to co-exist near polar research stations.

Environmental activist group Sea Shepherd said Jan. 9 it has been chasing a "poaching" ship for three weeks amid heavy ice flows in an attempt to stop the crew from illegal fishing in the Southern Ocean.