A member of Sarine Technologies demonstrates their new technology of grading diamonds in Ramat Gan, Israel, Nov. 8, 2016. Sarine Technologies developed an automated, objective and consistent clarity and color measurement and grading systems for diamonds. (XinhuaGuo Yu)
SYDNEY , Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Experts from 12 countries across the world are meeting in the Australian city of Hobart this week to discuss ways to improve navigational services as sea ice conditions become more unpredictable in Antarctic.
Held at the University of Tasmania's Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, the International Ice Charting Working Group is attempting to develop best practices for the growing amount of ship traffic.
"Unpredictable sea ice conditions have created all sorts of headaches for scientific and resupply operations in Antarctica, and there is a clear need for more reliable charting and forecasting methods," Jan Lieser from the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC told Xinhua on Wednesday.
"Three years ago, we had a massive increase in sea ice extent to unprecedented levels never seen before."
"This month we are seeing record low maximums extent around Antarctica."
The lowest recorded minimum sea ice extent was observed on March 1 , 2017 at 2.075 million square kilometres.
Just six months later, the lowest recorded maximum extent of 18.013 million square kilometres occurred on Sept. 12.
"It appears that both the summertime minimum and the wintertime maximum sea ice extent around Antarctica have set new record lows," Lieser said.
As the rapid change in ice is occurring, the amount of commercial ships have been increasing.
Last year, around 50 cruise vessels carried more than 35 ,000 passengers to the frozen continent.
"We have seen a number of private and commercial ships becoming stuck in the Antarctic sea ice in recent years, which have led to costly rescue operations that can delay scientific work," Lieser said.
Although it is not fully understood what is causing the dramatic variations overall, Lieser said fluctuations in temperature both below the surface of the water and above in the atmosphere are what's driving the changes.
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The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed former investment banker Jerome Powell as head of the Federal Reserve, putting President Donald Trump's pick in a role of enormous influence in the world's largest economy.
Current Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen (left) and Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell (right), Yellen's successor.
Powell, a current Fed governor, was confirmed by a vote of 85-12 , paving the way for him to replace current Chair Janet Yellen when she steps down next month.
In choosing to replace Yellen, Trump dismantled another piece of his predecessor Barack Obama's legacy, making Trump the first US president in nearly 40 years not to reappoint the incumbent Fed chair.
Analysts say Powell's appointment offered Trump the chance both to remove an Obama appointee, while also signaling to markets that he favoured continuity with the slow and deliberate rate increases that had won Yellen plaudits at the end of her term.
In addition to being a Democrat and the first female chief of the US central bank, Yellen was also a defender of the regulations enacted following the financial crisis - putting her at odds with the current White House's deregulation agenda.
Powell , 64, had already been through the Senate confirmation process before becoming a Fed governor in 2012. Since then, he has never dissented from any of the central bank's monetary decisions.
During a drawn out search process, Powell emerged as a centrist, consensus candidate - a Republican unlikely to raise rates too quickly but amenable to loosening financial regulations in ways long sought by Wall Street.
In promoting Powell to the Fed leadership , Trump takes another step toward remolding the central bank in his image, with four vacancies on the Fed's board of governors yet to be filled.
In November, Trump also nominated university professor and conservative economist Marvin Goodfriend to fill one of the vacancies.
Goodfriend appeared on Tuesday for Senate confirmation hearings, where lawmakers grilled him about predictions - which were never borne out - that Fed stimulus following the 2008 financial meltdown would drive up inflation without aiding the economic recovery.
Yellen has led the central bank since 2014 and will relinquish the leadership post just as the US economic recovery is cresting, having overseen falling unemployment , robust growth and low inflation - conditions that have won her praise from many, including Trump.
Agencies
HARBIN, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Heilongjiang, a province in China's Northeast rust belt, reported its fastest economic growth in four years in 2017.
The gross domestic product in Heilongjiang , one of three provinces in the Northeast traditional industrial zone, grew 6.4 percent to 1.62 trillion yuan (250 billion U.S. dollars) last year, the provincial statistics bureau said Tuesday.
The growth rate was 0.3 percentage points higher than a year ago, it said.
The province has been under huge downward pressure from its traditional coal, grain , oil and timber industries..