Polar Exploration

Tourists on a cruise spotted a rare, giant phantom jellyfish in Fournier Bay of Anvers Island off the Antarctic Peninsula last year.

How Vacationers on Antarctic Cruises Are Filling in Scientific Gaps

From ships and submarines, citizen scientists can access remote areas ripe for new discoveries. But does the research make up for the climate impact?

Members of the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition raise the Australian flag over Heard Island on December 26, 1947.

See Rare Images of Early 20th-Century Antarctic Expeditions

For the first time, hundreds of photos, lantern slides and glass plate negatives are available to the public

Footage of the beluga whales is captured by the beluga research vessel, Delphi, which uses two cameras, one underwater and one above deck to observe 55,000 beluga whales migrate to the Hudson Bay's shallow waters.

Watch Thousands of Beluga Whales Migrate From the Arctic

Two webcams give a front-row seat to the whales' daily activities

Researchers predict the Last Ice Area will survive the longest in a warming world—but how long the ice will last is unclear. Some estimates suggest the ice will be gone entirely by 2100.

The 'Last Ice Area' May Provide a Final Refuge for Arctic Life in a Warming World

The Arctic Ocean region may provide a sanctuary to animals who need the summertime frozen habitat for survival

An engraving of a polar bear hurling a rock at a walrus from Charles Francis Hall's 1865 book Arctic researches, and life among the Esquimaux.

Polar Bears Take Down Walruses by Hurling Rocks and Ice

New research corroborates Inuit knowledge of the animals cleverly using new tools

Māori explorers may have reached Antarctica in the seventh century A.D.

Māori May Have Reached Antarctica 1,000 Years Before Europeans

New research draws on oral histories and other traditional records often ignored by Western scholars

New research suggests the intrepid adventurer's persistent health problems stemmed from beriberi, a disease linked to vitamin B-1 deficiency.

What Mysterious Illness Plagued Polar Explorer Ernest Shackleton?

The Antarctic adventurer was initially diagnosed with scurvy, but new research suggests he actually suffered from beriberi

A polar bear, dependent on sea ice for its hunting grounds, pauses near Churchill, Manitoba.

Polar Bears Live on the Edge of the Climate Change Crisis

On Hudson Bay's frigid shores, scientists track the animals to better understand how the environment is shaping their chances of survival

This month's book picks include Icebound, A Shot in the Moonlight and The Eagles of Heart Mountain.

A Doomed Arctic Expedition, Number-Free Math and Other New Books to Read

These five January releases may have been lost in the news cycle

Researchers identified the black substance as a mixture of burnt rubber, oil and feces.

Black Smudge on Diary Page Reveals 1907 Arctic Expedition's Tragic End

New analysis suggests explorer Jørgen Brønlund spent his final hours trying—and failing—to light a petroleum burner

USS Vincennes in Disappointment Bay, Antarctica, during the Wilkes expedition.

The Forgotten American Explorer Who Discovered Huge Parts of Antarctica

It’s been more than 180 years since Charles Wilkes voyaged to the Antarctic continent and his journey has never been more relevant

Marine archaeologists explore the HMS Terror on the seafloor of the Arctic Ocean. To get a look inside the ship, divers deployed a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV.

Divers Get an Eerie First Look Inside the Arctic Shipwreck of the HMS Terror

Marine archaeologists exploring the 19th-century vessel could discover clues about what befell the sailors of the Franklin expedition

The Glacier That Produced the 'Titanic' Iceberg Has Suddenly Stopped Flowing

After a period of losing 66 feet of ice per year, the Jakobshavn Glacier is growing again—but that doesn't mean glaciers aren't in trouble

A sculpture of Louise Arner Boyd alongside the subject herself. This bust is part of the Marin History Museum collection in Novata, California.

The Double Life of a California Socialite Who Became a Leading Arctic Explorer

In the early 20th century, Louise Arner Boyd lived as a philanthropist in the United States and a hero on the high seas

Chicago on a cold and windy day

What Is Wind Chill, and How Does It Affect the Human Body?

While wind will not change the ambient temperature of the air, it will change the temperature of your body

The 'Pole of Inaccessibility' Has Eluded Adventurers for More Than a Century

This winter, explorers will once again set out for the most remote part of the Arctic Ocean

Adventurer Completes First Solo, Human-Powered Trek Across Antarctica

It took Colin O'Brady 53 days to drag a sled 921 miles from the Ronne to the Ross Ice Shelf

Pine Island Glacier

Past Global Flood Shows Antarctica's Ice Is More Fragile Than We Thought

Data indicates the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapsed after a small rise in temperature, meaning sea level could rise faster than predicted

Massive Impact Crater Found Under Greenland's Ice

Radar scans and sediment samples indicate a large meteorite blasted through the ice sheet between 3 million and 12,000 years ago

Part of Bellinghausen Station

Russian Researcher Charged With Attempted Murder In Antarctica

Earlier this month a researcher stabbed another individual at Bellinghausen Station after suffering an "emotional breakdown"

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