pole

an underwater cable through the North Pole

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He 99% of international internet data traffic travels through fiber optic cables that run along the bottom of seas and oceans. There is a kind of Google Maps of underwater cables where you can see its trajectory to discover that, while there are areas that are true wastelands, in others there are tangles of cables that clump together. Precisely these areas are critical for potential accidents and attacks. Well, 90% of the capacity of the Europe-Asia cables happens through a region that is anything but calm: the Red Sea. In times of peace these cables work well, but in conflicts they are a real candy for sabotage: they are “abandoned” to their fate in the middle of nowhere, they are strategic and repairing them is not exactly easy or convenient. And in fact, in the case of these Europe – Asia cables it has already happened: in 2024 a Houthi missile impact a cargo ship in the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb and its drifting anchor cut three underwater cables. Repair ships were able to enter four months later. In September 2025, history repeated itself. The Achilles heel is clear and Europe wants to solve it by detouring around the North Pole. The alternative route: Polar Connect. The European Union, through its resilience panel, has recommended building two Arctic cables to reach Asia by avoiding the Red Sea: one would go through the Canadian Northwest Passage and the other would connect Scandinavia with Asia by directly crossing the North Pole. The latter is precisely the Polar Connect. Said and done: the EU you have already labeled this cable as “Cable Project of European Interest” and has already prepared the first funds for its construction. The total estimated cost is around €2 billion and the operational goal is 2030. Behind the project is the Nordic research and education network NORDUnetNordic network operators such as GlobalConnect Carrier and the Swedish polar research agency. This summer probably they will do a study of the route. Why is it important. Because submarine cables are the roads that keep the world in which we live connected: corporate communications, cloud services, finance, streaming, security… and the fact that the majority of connections between Europe and Asia occur through a corridor in persistent conflict increases the risk of blackouts between both continents. This cable seeks to minimize geopolitical risk while reducing latency in data transmission. On the other hand, there is its strategic dimension: Meta, Google, Microsoft and Amazon now represent more than 70% of all submarine cable capacity consumed globally, compared to less than 10% a decade ago, according to TeleGeography data and GlobalData. Europe does not have any route of its own to Asia. How Polar Connect collects in your white paperthe three current options between Europe and Asia are the Red Sea, Russia or passing through the United States and none are under European sovereignty. The two new cables to connect Europe and Asia via the Arctic route. NORDUnet Context. The Red Sea and its surroundings have been an almost continuous hornet’s nest since at least the 1950s: the Suez crisis, the Six Day War, Yom Kippur… so as Roderick Beck, a cable industry veteran who is dedicated to finding telecommunications capacity for internet service providers, explains for The Verge: The industry looked for alternatives in the Persian Gulf, but it is not exactly an oil raft either: The United States attacks on Iran in 2025 also closed that route. That said, the geopolitical context in the Arctic is not neutral either. Historically to run a cable through the arctic was necessary a partnership with Russia, but since the war with Ukraine, the North Pole corridor lacks of western intercontinental connectivity. However, it will not be easy: others have tried it before and failed, such as Quintillion on the north coast of Alaska. They activated a section of cable, but the ice broke it twice and to repair it it is necessary either to have an icebreaking ship to repair the cable or to wait until summer. How do they want to do it?. He plan is connecting the Nordic region with Japan and South Korea via fiber optics under the Arctic Ocean with possible branches to North America. Regarding financing, at the end of 2024 were approved 44.6 million euros from the Connecting Europe Facility program for the first phases. Polar Connect will also have with advanced sensors for environmental and climate monitoring, so that it would function as a telecommunications infrastructure and an Arctic scientific research instrument. The project is complemented by Far North Fiber, another Arctic cable that would take the Canadian Northwest Passage route. Together they would form a network with mutual redundancy: when one fails, the other takes over the traffic. As it says the CEO of NORDUnet himselfValter Nordh: “both routes have strengths and weaknesses, which is why they complement each other well.” Yes, but. Designing, building and installing an underwater cable is not a small project, but the main problem that Polar Connect is going to face has already been glimpsed in the failed Quintillion project: the obstacle is maintenance. The ice cuts and the icebergs drag the seabed to depths greater than those that allow the cable to be buried in a phenomenon known as ice scour. If there is a break in winter, we have to wait until summer to repair it simply because there are no ships capable of breaking ice and laying cables at the same time. Alan Mauldin, research director at TeleGeography, one of the leading research companies in the sector, he says it bluntly: “We’ve seen a lot of (Arctic cable) projects happen. There’s a reason for that, right? It’s very complicated.” In Xataka | The submarine cables belonged to the teleoperators, and now the big technology companies are controlling them In Xataka | The first great Atlantic submarine cable that connected us to the internet says goodbye for a simple reason: it was too expensive to repair it Cover | PxHere … Read more

six companies, hundreds of millions of dollars and 25 missions to conquer the South Pole

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NASA has already launched phase 1 of construction of your moon base. They have not yet taken a new batch of humans to the Moon, but it is important to prepare the ground, which is why this Tuesday they announced the first steps they are taking to do so. And, as it could not be otherwise, it all starts with million-dollar hires. 6 companies in total. At the moment, NASA has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in hiring six companies that will be in charge of developing the technologies necessary to launch the first phase of the lunar base. The companies in question are Blue Origin, Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines, Astrolab, Lunar Outpost and Firefly Aerospace. In general, in this first phase of construction of the lunar base it is expected to explore the south polar region, test various technologies and prepare surface operations. All of this will be carried out through 25 missions that will include 21 moon landings. Moon Base 1. To begin with, the first three missions are expected to launch this year. The first, Moon Base 1, will be carried out by Blue Origin. Jeff Bezos’ company will take its lander to the Moon Blue Moon Mark 1the “brother” of the Blue Moon Mark 2 that is preparing to become the human landing system for the Artemis missions. As payload will include the Stereoscopic Cameras for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies to study how thrusters interact with the lunar surface, and the Laser Retroreflective Array, which helps spacecraft in orbit determine a more precise location using reflected laser light. The mission will take place in autumn 2026 if all goes well. Since it will be the first to land in the Shackleton crater, where the base is to be built, it will also be in charge of checking the viability of lunar landings near the lunar base. Moon Base 2. The second mission, which will also travel to the Moon at the end of 2026, will be carried out by Astrobotic. It will send its Griffin lander to the Moon, loaded with 500 kg of instrumentation, including a rover to study the surface on which the base will be built and mature the mobility systems for future manned vehicles. Moon Base 3. The third mission to be sent in 2026 has been granted to Intuitive Machines. This company will take its Nova-C Trinity lunar module there, which will be in charge of studying lunar eddies and the behavior of materials under extreme conditions. Furthermore, this mission will not be 100% private, as it will include payloads from the European Space Agency and the Korean Institute of Astronomy and Space Sciences. Some of the models that NASA showed during the press conference Boogies to move around the Moon. So that future astronauts who travel to the lunar base can move around it, they want to take two manned lunar vehicles there. Said so that we can all understand each other, two boogie-type strollers, designed to move around the lunar surface, both with and without a crew. Its development has been entrusted to the companies Astrolab and Lunar Outpost, also as part of this first phase. Delimitation drones. The company Firefly Aerospace has been entrusted with taking the 4 Moonfall drones to the Moon, whose main mission will be to inspect the area in search of the best landing places for the astronauts. Although they will also have a much more peculiar mission. As explained At NASA’s press conference, its executive director of the lunar base program, Carlos García-Galan, these drones will also be stationed in the corners to delimit the perimeter of the lunar base. Next phases. This first phase will last until 2029. Then the next phase will begin, which will end in 2032. In this, the permanent infrastructure of the lunar base will begin to be built, including electrical installation. From then on, it will only be necessary to refine more and more details and little by little receive the astronauts of the Artemis missions of the future. Without a doubt, this is the beginning of a new era of space exploration. Image | POT In Xataka | We knew there was water on the Moon, but not why some craters were empty. Finally we have the answer

Something that happened 30 km from the North Pole six weeks ago is about to ruin Palm Sunday. The culprit has a name and surname

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There is a line that connects something that happened 30 kilometers from the North Pole six weeks ago with the foremen looking at the weather report on the afternoon of Palm Sunday. And that line has a name: a cold episode as real as it is unusual. -35 degrees at 5,500 meters. This meteorological indicator is a perfect summary: they are thermal values ​​typical of the harshest part of winter at the end of March. However, we should not overstate the issue as has been done in recent days. So what’s going on? The configuration is simple: a powerful blocking anticyclone is establishing itself between the south of the British Isles and the north of the Peninsula. That will channel a polar mass over the continent. Spain in particular will be under the influence of a slightly warmer branch, but (still) very cold for the time. Palm Sunday (i.e. March 29) will be the ‘climax’ of the onset of cold: The two main weather models in the world indicate -35 degrees. A good part of the eastern third of the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands will be in full “climate January” during the first half of Easter. The good side. According to AEMETthe anticyclone will block the rains during most of the festivals. It cannot be ruled out that “someday something will sneak in”, but scant rainfall is expected in most of the west and south of the peninsula. What can we expect? That’s the most complicated part of all this. The context is complex: an exceptional winter (the wettest in at least 47 years), a historic number of high-impact storms (at least 19) and reservoirs at 83.2% of their capacity. But the underlying mechanism complicates everything even more. In early February, sudden stratospheric warming occurred at the north pole, fragmenting the polar vortex. What we are seeing now is a coherent scenario with that. Holy Week, in this context, acts as a media amplifier. What’s going to happen. Because make no mistake, the snow level below 600 in the north is going to collapse many roads (just when more people are moving), the uncertainty in the northwest is going to complicate life for processions and agriculture can affect many plants in full bloom. Now, all of this falls within the typical Easter ‘playbook’. So no, it won’t be a perfect week: but we certainly shouldn’t expect a “universal flood” either. Image | Tropical Tidbits In Xataka | The rain has transformed the driest desert on the planet into a sea of ​​flowers. It’s a sight to behold and a problem for experts

Huelva has been the forgotten industrial pole of Spain for decades. We are realizing the consequences

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Industrial and miners are a problem in different points of our geography. It is still a problem in places where deindustrialization left hectares of empty but contaminated soils and is a problem in the vicinity of some active industrial poles. And one of the places where this is most appreciated is in the estuary of the Odiel and Tinto rivers, on the coast of the province of Huelva. As, PB, CD, MO, SE. A new study He has found evidence that people who live in the vicinity of Huelva industrial areas accumulate in their bodies amounts higher than the average heavy metals such as those we usually associate with industrial activity. The study observed that among the inhabitants of the region, the accumulation in the body of certain elements was greater than usual. The study was done In the city of Huelvabut it was observed that the pollutants varied depending on the residence area of ​​the participants. Different concentrations. Among those who lived in areas closer to the rafts of phosphoyesos From the region, the study found a greater presence of elements such as arsenic (as), lead (PB), cadmium (CD), molybdenum (mo) and selenium (se). These types of elements can be found, precisely in places where this type of waste is stored. On the other hand, the team also found areas that stood out for the presence of elements such as copper (cu), zinc (zn) and aluminum (al). These areas were the closest to the industrial area of ​​the region. In general, the inhabitants of the city of Huelva presented greater concentrations of iron (faith), nickel (ni), chromium (cr), selenium (se), arsenic (as), and copper (co) according to the results of the study. The “chemical and industrial pole. The study was conducted in the city of Huelva, a city located near the coast, between the confluence of the red and odiel rivers. The city counts around, explains the team responsible for the study, with three important industrial areas. First, phosphoyesos rafts can be found, an industrial residue resulting from the extraction and processing of phosphoric acid. This residue is categorized as a radioactive material that occurred naturally or norm (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material) and the Huelva reserve is the largest in Europe, the team recalls. To this we must add two more conventional industrial areas, the “Chemical Pole for the Promotion and Development of Huelva – Punta del Sebo” and the “Nuevo Puerto Palos de la Frontera”. Both areas also located in the vicinity of the capital (being the first adjacent to it). 55 participants. The study was conducted with a little girl from participants residing in the capital. Samples extracted from the feet nails of these to estimate the concentration in the bodies of a series of elements: aluminum (al), arsenic (as), cadmium (CD), copper (cu), chrome (cr), iron (faith), nickel (ni), Uranium (U), Vanadio (V) and Zinc (Zn), among others. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Journal of Xenobiotics. In Xataka | The countries that most pollute the world, gathered in a detailed graphic Image | Victor / Manuel Cortés Núñez

The magnetic north pole has been moving rapidly. This is how navigation instruments follow the step

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What do we talk about when we talk about the North Pole? The truth is that it depends since, on our planet we can distinguish two key geographical points that respond to this name, but with different “surname.” They are the magnetic north pole and the geographical north pole. Distinguishing them is key because only one of them has a fixed location while the other wanders in their proximity. But, in addition, it makes it faster. Reviewing the location. The new year has been released With an update that has gone more or less unnoticed but that is of the utmost importance: it is the world magnetic model (WMM) of 2025. The revision of the model not only includes the information about its current position but also of its displacements planned in the next five years . Accelerated movement. We have known for a long time that the magnetic north pole changes location and we know that the cause is in the changes in the magnetic field of the planet, a field generated by the connective iron movements of the interior of our planet. What is most striking is that, during the last decades the displacement of the magnetic northern pole It has accelerated. If for 300 years this point ranged between the islands located north of Canada, since the end of the 20th century and especially during the new century, the speed of displacement of this markedly accelerated. Now the magnetic north has already exceeded the geographical north and is closer to Siberia than from Canada. “The current behavior of the magnetic north is something we had never seen before. (…) In recent years he accelerated towards Siberia, increasing speed every year until about five, when he suddenly seized 50 to 35 km per year, ” explained in a press release William Brown, of the British Geological Survey (BGS), one of the institutions in charge of the development of the model. The world magnetic model. The model It is the result of the collaboration between the National Environmental Information Centers (NCEI) of the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) American and the BGS, as well as two intelligence agencies on both sides of the Atlantic. The model is used in various contexts, from aviation to commercial GPS and applications that use compasses on our mobile. The model includes a series of maps that not only indicate the location of the magnetic north but also mapped the changes in the Earth’s magnetic field, allowing to know the behavior of compasses at each point of the northern hemisphere. More precision. The latest version of the model, WMM2025will help improve navigation, especially in long -distance tours. As explained by the BGS, a trip between South Africa and the United Kingdom, using the old model, would imply a slight deviation of a degree on the way. The problem is that, over 8,500 kilometers, this very small deviation results in an error of 150 kilometers. The new model allows you to approach centimeters from the destination point. The version also incorporates a novelty: a high resolution map that will accompany the “standard” and that can be used in contexts where greater precision is required. This version has a 300 km resolution in Ecuador, notably higher than the 3,300 km resolution in the standard version. The next update. The WMM model is updated every five years, which means that we will have a new version in 2030, WMM2030. This assuming that I do not know any unexpected change in the speed or direction of the displacement that justifies an extraordinary review of the model. In Xataka | The Arctic has been heating faster than we expected. We may not be blamed this time Image | NOAA NCI / Hendrik Morkel

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