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Antarctica

Culiseta annulata, the mosquito species discovered in Iceland this month.

Iceland Is No Longer Mosquito Free. Is Climate Change to Blame?

It was previously thought to be one of the last places on Earth without the insects

“This ship is not as strong as the Nimrod constructionally,” Ernest Shackleton wrote to his wife of Endurance. “I would exchange her for the old Nimrod any day now except for comfort.”

New Research

Explorer Ernest Shackleton May Have Known His Ship ‘Endurance’ Wasn’t Equipped to Survive the Antarctic Ice

The vessel, which sank in November 1915, had structural shortcomings, including weak deck frames and no diagonal beams to strengthen the hull, a new study argues

Ecology Glacier on Antarctica’s King George Island in winter, where the body of Dennis “Tink” Bell was recovered

Remains of a Lost Antarctic Researcher Are Finally Recovered, 66 Years After He Fell Into a Crevasse

A team of Polish scientists found bone fragments and items belonging to Dennis “Tink” Bell near Ecology Glacier on Antarctica’s King George Island

The ice cores were collected from East Antarctica's Dome C and are now being held in a freezer room at the British Antarctic Survey.

Scientists Will Melt the World’s ‘Oldest Ice’ to Reveal Its Secrets and Uncover a Climate Record of 1.5 Million Years

The ice cores could offer clues about a period known as the Mid-Pleistocene Transition that has long puzzled scientists

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Ice, Awe, and the Adventure of a Lifetime: A Holiday Voyage in Antarctica

This holiday season, skip the ordinary. Journey to Antarctica with Atlas Ocean Voyages and discover glaciers, wildlife, and adventure at the edge of the world

Chile's Mocho-Choshuenco volcano, as seen from the air in June 2019

Melting Glaciers Will Lead to More Volcanic Eruptions, Study Suggests. Now, All Eyes Are On Antarctica

New research from the Chilean Patagonia has identified a link between glacial retreat and underground volcanic activity

NASA's ANITA experiment is lifted above Antarctica by a balloon and seeks to detect radio pulses connected to neutrinos.

Mysterious Radio Pulses Found in Antarctica Seem to Defy Physics, and Researchers Are Trying to Trace Their Origins

Strange signals detected by a NASA instrument more than a decade ago have continued to confound scientists, but a new paper rules out cosmic neutrinos as a source

The squid species had only been known from dead specimens found in fishing nets or the stomachs of other animals.

Scientists Had Never Seen This Mysterious Squid Alive in the Wild—Until Now. See the First Footage of the Elusive Creature

A three-foot-long Antarctic gonate squid was spotted swimming 7,000 feet below the surface of the Southern Ocean

A research team measured ammonia concentrations from a colony of 60,000 Adélie penguins.

Penguin Poop Helps Drive Cloud Formation Over Antarctica, According to a New Study

The ammonia from Adélie penguin guano reacts with sulfur-containing gases in the atmosphere to aid in forming clouds, which scientists say may be significant to regulating the climate

Ever since its departure from England exactly 180 years ago, on May 19, 1845, the Franklin expedition has captivated the public’s imagination.

The Shipwrecks From John Franklin’s Doomed Arctic Expedition Were Exactly Where the Inuit Said They Would Be

In May 1845, 129 British officers and crew members set out in search of the Northwest Passage on HMS “Erebus” and HMS “Terror.” None returned

A giant phantom jellyfish floats in the Bellingshausen Sea off Antarctica.

A Chicago-Sized Iceberg Broke Off From Antarctica, Revealing a Hidden Ecosystem Never Seen Before

When the A-84 iceberg calved in January, it unveiled a 209-square-mile swath of seafloor. Nearby scientists rushed to the scene for the “unprecedented” look below

An Antarctic skua, one of the birds hardest hit by avian flu in the region. 

Avian Flu Is Rapidly Spreading Across Antarctica

A new expedition offers insights on the deadly virus’ impact in the region

Scientists are investigating how Adélie penguin colonies along the coast of Antarctica’s Ross Sea have adapted over the last 6,000 years.

Scientists Uncover a Frozen History in 6,000 Years’ Worth of Penguin Poop, Revealing Past Ecology on Antarctica

Sediment samples from the Ross Sea coastline are revealing insights into how animals like elephant seals and Adélie penguins adapted to environmental changes long ago

Vietnam’s Hien Luong pedestrian bridge across the Ben Hai River is located along the 17th parallel, the former demarcation line between North and South Vietnam.

Former and Active DMZs Allow Visitors to Learn the Haunting History of These Landscapes

Demilitarized zones—from Vietnam to Korea, Cyprus and Antarctica—require tourists to look beyond what exists and to find the real stories in what doesn’t

Individual Antarctic krill are small, but the animals live in gigantic groups that can be seen from space.

Tiny Antarctic Krill Benefit the Planet in Big Ways, but Face a Barrage of Threats

The bountiful creatures sequester carbon and are a vital food source for marine predators, but their future is uncertain

The iceberg A23a, seen in the South Atlantic Ocean near South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in November 2024

The World’s Largest Iceberg Runs Aground, Potentially Averting a Collision With Penguin and Seal Breeding Areas

After months of floating, the “megaberg” known as A23a has finally come to a halt roughly 50 miles from South Georgia Island

An illustration of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, with branches connecting to other ocean currents

Earth’s Strongest Ocean Current Could Slow 20 Percent by 2050 Because of Climate Change, Study Finds

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is involved in everything from storing carbon to guarding Antarctica from invasive marine species, and a slower current could have far-reaching consequences

An illustration of the Vegavis iaai diving for fish off the coast of the Antarctic peninsula.

Paleontologists Discover Fossil of the Oldest Known Modern Bird—but It Raises More Questions Than It Answers

The fossil suggests that modern birds evolved before the dinosaur-killing asteroid, perhaps in Antarctica

Ernest Shackleton salutes from the Endurance on August 1, 1914, when the ship set sail from London on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

Ernest Shackleton’s Famous Job Ad, ‘Men Wanted for Hazardous Journey,’ Is Probably a Myth

Citizen historians have spent decades searching for the original text of Shackleton’s advertisement. Now, some say it might never have existed

An international team of scientists spent four summers working in average temperatures of -25.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

Scientists Drill 1.7 Miles Into Antarctic Ice, Revealing 1.2 Million Years of Climate History

Researchers say a collected sample is the longest continuous record of Earth’s past climate from an ice core

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