Glaciologist Dr. Heïdi Sevestre and explorer Matthieu Tordeur crossed Antarctica by kite-ski, covering nearly 4,000 kilometres while collecting geophysical data with ground-penetrating radars. Their expedition, Under Antarctica, was the first radar transect ever completed by kite-ski, demonstrating
Richard Evelyn Byrd was an American polar explorer and rear admiral. During his first Antarctic expedition, on November 28/29, 1929, he achieved the first flight over and around the South Pole in a “Ford AT-5 Trimotor.”In the autumn of 1928, Byrd left the United States aboard the City of New York an
To mark the 30th anniversary of the Ukrainian Antarctic station Akademik Vernadsky, Ukrposhta issued a special stamp on 6 February 2026. A total of 15,000 first day covers were produced to mark the 30th anniversary of the Vernadsky Antarctic Station, honoring three decades of scientific research in
Georgia Grant, Jim Marschalek and Huw Horgan discuss the drill core (Photo: Ana Tovey, SWAIS2C)An international team of researchers has recovered the longest sediment core ever drilled beneath an ice sheet, a scientific breakthrough for climate research. The 228-meter-long sample of mud and rock was
Arrival at New Zealand’s Scott Base in AntarcticaAntarctica often appears on maps as an empty white space. Yet for the people who work there, it is anything but an abstract region. A scientific study shows how strongly the field season shapes the image of the continent and how ice, light and researc
A sleeper shark swims directly into the spotlight of a video camera in Antarctica in January 2025. (Photo: Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Center)A spectacular discovery is causing a stir in marine research: for the first time, a large sleeper shark has been filmed in the icy deep sea of Antarctica.
Blood Falls were discovered in 1911 by the Australian geologist Griffith Taylor, a participant in the Terra Nova Expedition. He was the first to explore the valley that now bears his name. At the time, he attributed the red color to red algae. It was later proven, however, that the coloration is cau
The search for the fifth recipient of the Shackleton Medal for the Protection of the Polar Regions has begun. The award is presented each year on the birthday of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton and aims to highlight the global importance of these sensitive regions. As the Arctic increasingly moves
The main research areas of Mirny Station include glaciology, seismology, meteorology, observation of auroras, cosmic radiation, and marine biology. (Photo: AARI / Dmitriy Rezov)On February 13, 1956, the flag of the USSR was raised at the first Soviet Antarctic station, Mirny. This historic date mark
The unauthorized landing of 19-year-old pilot Ethan Guo on King George Island has sparked criticism and legal consequences in Antarctica. Ethan Guo vor seiner Cessna 182Q (N182WT) Bild: Instagram: ethanguo.rtwWhen Ethan Guo landed on King George Island in June 2025, his flight was meant to send a po
Taylor Valley is an ice-free valley about 33 km (21 miles) long that was once covered by the retreating Taylor Glacier. It is the southernmost of the three large McMurdo Dry Valleys in the Transantarctic Mountains and lies west of McMurdo Sound. (Photo: Wikimedia)Antarctica – In the heart of the col
Artificial intelligence identifies individual icebergs in satellite images. The data obtained help climate research analyze melting processes and better understand the input of freshwater into the oceans. (Photo: NASA)As the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) reports, scientists have developed a novel A
The 1.5-meter-long robotic underwater glider is deployed to measure the salinity, temperature, and chlorophyll content of seawater. (Photo: BAS)When massive icebergs break off from glacier fronts in Antarctica, they do not only generate visible waves at the surface. Beneath the water, tsunamis sever
BAS is a world leader in hot water drilling. For more than five decades, BAS researchers and engineers have been developing the technology and expertise to drill through ice more than 2,000 meters thick. (Photo: Peter Davis / BAS)An international research team from the United Kingdom and South Korea
Male pilot whales reach a length of three to six, at most up to eight meters, and a maximum weight of three tons. Females are slightly smaller, with a maximum length of about six meters. (Photo: iStock)There is good news from environmental research: the pollution of the oceans with so-called PFAS ch
Vostok Station is a Russian research station located inland in Princess Elisabeth Land, Antarctica. Founded in 1957, the station lies at the southern Pole of Cold, where the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth was measured: −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F; 184.0 K). (Photo: AARI)More than 200 different pl
U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Bild: Wikipedia)Three recent actions should cool speculation that the United States would significantly change its approach towards Antarctica. First, the U.S. Department of State released a press statement that reaffirmed its commitment to the Antarctic Treaty syst
The average ice thickness of Antarctica is assumed to be 2,160 meters. The maximum known ice thickness, measuring 4,776 meters, was recorded in Adélie Land in East Antarctica. (Image: NASA)What lies beneath the kilometers-thick ice of Antarctica? If the ice sheet were completely removed, it would no
A symbol of an unrelentingly dangerous region is the grave of Robert Falcon Scott.Beneath a thick layer of snow and ice, the mortal remains of hundreds of people rest on the coldest continent on Earth. Antarctica, a desolate wilderness at the edge of the world, preserves its dead like a frozen archi
Gérald Malaussena. Photo: Clément Gouget / French Polar InstituteAdélie Land, Antarctica – The French professional diver Gérald Malaussena, who had been missing in Antarctica since mid-January, has been found. His body was located beneath the sea ice near the French research station Dumont-d’Urville
As part of the 42nd Antarctic Expedition a team from the Chilean Antarctic Institute successfully installed a new climate station at the foot of Mount Vinson. The INACH team at Mount Vinson. (Photo: INACH)As part of the 42nd Antarctic Expedition (ECA 62), a team from the Chilean Antarctic Institute
From 25 to 27 February 2026, the Monaco Polar Symposium will bring together leading scientists, political decision-makers, and institutions at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. Under the theme “From Arctic to Antarctic – Translating Polar Research into Action”, the symposium will focus on how insi
Newly hatched gentoo penguin chick sheltered by its mother(Photo: Rosamaria Kubny)Climate change is altering biological timelines in Antarctica-most noticeably on the Antarctic Peninsula, one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth. Penguins are also responding to these changes: several species now
Albatross over the Drake Passage en route to Antarctica: Photo by Lisa ScherkOn January 17, 2026, the BBNJ Agreement of the United Nations (Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction) entered into force. For the first time,
