An Arctic tern at Sand Island, High-Arctic Greenland.
Arctic terns, satellites and conker trees
2 August 2010
As the map of Earth's gravity – as revealed by the European Space Agency's sleek GOCE satellite – comes into sharper focus, Richard Hollingham speaks to a researcher who tells us what early results from the satellite show.
We also find out how ESA's ice mission, CryoSat-2, is getting on. The satellite was launched in April and will make precise measurements of both the shape and thickness of ice in the Arctic and Antarctica. It's going through the all-important calibration stage right now.
Also hear how you can get involved in the science of conker trees.
Listen
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And finally, find out how scientists know exactly how far the incredibly fit Arctic tern flies every year. The bird holds the record for the longest migratory species in the world. Not bad for a creature that weighs no more than a blackbird.
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Keywords:
Antarctic,
Arctic,
Environmental change,
Oceans,
Polar,
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