Antarctic

How Underwater Eddies Threaten Antarctic Glaciers

Deep beneath the glassy surface of the oceans, a fascinating yet threatening spectacle unfolds. In the silent, dark depths where humans cannot reach, swirling currents of impressive size are constantly forming.

Chile Studies Avian Influenza Virus in Antarctica

In a globally unprecedented event for polar science and virology, a team of researchers from the University of Chile and the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH) has, for the first time, successfully sequenced the complete genomes of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (H5N1) found in Antarctic birds.

The Discovery Building in Rothera is handed over to science

The Antarctic season 2025/26 marks a milestone for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and its Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Project (AIMP), as the new Discovery Building now begins its operational function.

New Zealand and Switzerland Deepen Cooperation in Antarctic Research

New Zealand’s Ambassador to Switzerland, Craig Hawke, handed over the Memorandum of Arrangement between Antarctica New Zealand and the Swiss Polar Institute

Emperor penguin count at Taylor Glacier

A lucky handful of Mawson expeditioners visited the Taylor Glacier emperor penguin colony in July, to collect photos for the annual population census.

Metop-SGA1 will improve weather forecasts

A new addition to the weather satellite family of the European Organisations for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites. Metop-SGA1 was successfully launched from Kourou on 13 August 2025 aboard an Ariane 6 rocket.

Scientists report early return of whales

Ukrainian scientists have recorded the early return of humpback whales to the Antarctic Peninsula region — the area where the Ukrainian Vernadsky Station is located.

New Russian-Chinese Collaboration in the Polar Regions

Russia and China will jointly train specialists for navigation in polar waters, according to a memorandum signed during Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin’s visit to China, the Russian Ministry of Transport announced on its Telegram channel.

China launches 42nd Antarctic expedition

As part of this expedition, China plans to drill into deep lakes beneath the Antarctic ice sheet for the first time. Using hot water and melt drilling systems, boreholes will be drilled through more than 3,000 metres of ice.

1.2 million years of climate history extracted from Antarctic ice core

Ancient ice from Antarctica, obtained as part of the Beyond EPICA – Oldest Ice project, contains unique climate records spanning at least the last 1.2 million years.

Did Shackleton ignore the risk to his ship?

When polar explorer Ernest Shackleton wrote in his diary on 27 October 1915: ‘She was doomed, no man-made ship could have withstood the strain,’ his dreams of reaching Antarctica had already been shattered.

The Hektoria Glacier is breaking up at record speed

Glaciers around the world are losing mass due to climate change, and Antarctica is also affected. The process at the Hektor Glacier was tracked via satellite for the first time. This was reported by US scientists led by Naomi Ochwat from the University of Colorado Boulder.

The Polar Retrospective - Subantarctic Visitor Changes, a 66-Year-Old Mystery Solved, and a Warning for Reindeer

Australia to detect HPAI-H5 on Heard Island

From September to December, a research team from Australian Antarctic Programs will be deployed on the sub-Antarctic island at 53 degrees south to assess the health of animal populations.

Dagger beaks and strong wings: new fossils rewrite the penguin story and affirm NZ as a cradle of their evolution

Revealing a surprising diversity of ancient species just after the mass extinction that ended the age of dinosaurs, new fossil discoveries from North Canterbury in New Zealand show how early penguins developed powerful underwater adaptations and long, spear-like beaks. The findings affirm New Zealand’s role as a cradle of penguin evolution.

Launch of New South Georgia Entry Permit System Halted

The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands had planned to implement a new ETA system for visitors but had to delay these plans now.

The Polar Retrospective – A new map, a new vessel, and a new threat for Arctic foxes

The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at a new map of Alexander Island, a new Canadian inuit-owned fishing vessel, and a new viral threat for Arctic foxes on Svalbard.

Rockabye baby: the ‘love songs’ of lonely leopard seals resemble human nursery rhymes

Male leopard seals sing for hours each day over many weeks and their patterned trills resemble the structure of human nursery rhymes. A new study reveals that these underwater love songs may be deliberately simple and repetitive, helping the seals stand out and be heard across vast icy waters.

The Polar Retrospective – Subglacial lake flood fractures Greenland Ice Sheet, the end of an icebreaker and the Appalachians

The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at a hidden lake flood beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet, the end of another icebreaker era in Antarctica, and traces of an ancient rift between America and Greenland.

An underwater observatory keeping the pulse of the Southern Ocean for nearly 30 years yields fresh results

For nearly 30 years, an Australian observatory in the Southern Ocean has delivered crucial long-term data on carbon uptake, ecosystem change and climate trends, and its role is becoming more important than ever.

Do Marine Protected Areas in Polar Oceans Actually Work?

New research shows that the success of Marine Protected Areas hinges on strict enforcement, a principle facing major geopolitical and ecological challenges in the planned sanctuaries of the Arctic and Antarctic.

So Robert Falcon Scott wasn't lying?

Mila Zinkova, an independent atmospheric scientist, has just published a study in the journal Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research that pays tribute to the Terra Nova expedition. She suggests that the captain and his crew, returning from the South Pole, may well have been caught in a nine-day snowstorm, during which they perished - a story that has long been questioned, but is now plausible from a meteorological point of view.

The Polar Retrospective - 10 tractors for Antarctica, iceberg calving triggered by tides, and wildfires and polar bears

The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at a $17 million contract between the Norwegian Polar Institute and Prinoth, at new insights into the role of ocean tides in triggering iceberg calving in Antarctica, and consequences of wildfires on polar bears.

We travelled to Antarctica to see if a Māori lunar calendar might help track environmental change

Researchers explored how the Māori lunar and environmental calendar, Maramataka, could help track environmental changes in Antarctica by observing natural signs like snow types and animal behavior. By connecting mātauranga Māori with Western science, they revealed new ways of understanding the polar environment through Indigenous knowledge systems and deep ecological relationships.

Wordie - Chronicle of a disappearance

We've almost forgotten it, but Wordie wasn't always a bay: it was once an ice shelf, and its slow disappearance is a textbook example of the powerful phenomenon of glacier collapse at work in Antarctica.

How early life could have survived the "Snowball Earth" phases

While the Earth endured icy millions of years, early life may have survived near the equator, according to a new study of microorganisms in Antarctic meltwater ponds.

Thwaites: countdown to disintegration

The Thwaites Glacier is living out its last years of stability: the disintegration of its floating shelf has begun. As spectators of a predicted collapse, we witness the countdown of a colossus whose melting could raise the oceans by 65 centimetres.

The Polar Retrospective - Successful Antarctic Citizen Science Project, Arctic Toxins and Erupting Volcanoes

The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at the impact of an NASA backed citizen science project in Antarctica, the increase in toxins levels in the Alaskan Arctic, and melting glaciers that might trigger more volcanoes eruptions.

Beyond the “Greening”: Antarctica, Scientific Debate and the Media Narrative

A 2024 study claimed Antarctica's peninsula is rapidly "greening." However, two new papers challenge this and open a debate of how dramatically Antarctic science should be communicated.

A bird that's an emperor in name only

No sooner has the emperor penguin begun to reveal its secrets than it's already disappearing. Beacon of a climate in crisis, this emblematic Antarctic bird could disappear before we even get to know it.

The Polar Retrospective – Permafrost thawing, a shift in Nordic skies, and ATCM closure

The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at ancient permafrost thawing, a change in airline ownership, and the conclusion of Antarctic Treaty meetings without any major declarations.

Antarctic research is in decline, and the timing couldn’t be worse

Despite accelerating climate impacts in Antarctica, international research output is falling, with China overtaking traditional leaders like the U.S. in scientific influence—raising urgent concerns about future governance and global preparedness.

Do Antarctic anchorages have an impact?

Never-before-seen images filmed in Antarctica show traces of anchoring on a deep, untouched seabed. Without concluding that there is a definite impact, a study invites us to consider the potential effects of human activities on these fragile ecosystems.

Whalers’ Memory Bank: When Former Whalers Tell Their Story

A new project launching this week in Dundee brings together long-lost stories, photos and personal artefacts from Scottish whaling communities, not to glorify the industry, but to preserve its human history before it disappears entirely.

Antarctic Journal from Chile: A Generation's Voice in the Face of Climate Change

In a special report for Polar Journal AG, Milenio BASE Head of Communications Nadia Politis travelled to the Antarctic Peninsula to meet with the winners of the Feria Antárctica Escolar, a unique student project.

UNOC 2025 : Remember the Polar Oceans !

Anne Choquet, from the University Occidental in Brest, explains why UNOC 25 has forgotten the polar oceans, and why they should be treated equally.

The Polar Retrospective - Competition for krill, new influence Arctic sea ice formation and messages in ice

The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at competition for krill between animals and trawlers, a new current and its influence on Arctic sea ice, and bubble messages trapped in ice.

Polar marine megafauna needs more than Marine Protected areas

A new study shows that the 30% global ocean protection target isn't enough for mobile marine megafauna, especially in polar regions as threats like warming, shipping & plastic demand urgent mitigation beyond MPAs for the survival of these polar dwellers.

Emperor penguin populations are declining twice as fast as predicted

Will any remain by the end of the century? Satellite data shows a 22% decline in emperor penguin populations across a quarter of Antarctica over the past 15 years, due to climate instability.

The Polar Retrospective – A French in Greenland, record Arctic heat, a new view on an old Polar wreck

The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at French President's trip to Nuuk, record-breaking Arctic heat, and a new view on an famous Polar wreck.

U.S. Polar Budget: Cutting Ties with an Antarctic Icebreaker

Antarctic geopolitics expert William Muntean explains why the Trump administration's budget cuts will negatively impact US polar policy altogether and give countries such as Russia and China an almost insurmountable advantage in Antarctica.

The Polar Retrospective - A distant love, deep secrets of the South Sandwich Islands and noise pollution

The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at how polar dreams inspire passion, at newly discovered coral gardens and hydrothermal vents and the noise pollution in polar regions.

West Antarctic Ice Sheet near tipping point – the next few years are critical

The West Antarctic Ice Sheet could reach its tipping point with only minimal additional ocean warming – with long-term consequences for global sea levels. But a small window of time remains to take countermeasures.

Antarctica’s sea ice is changing, and so is a vital part of the marine food web that lives within it

As Antarctic sea ice forms later and thinner, a hidden ecosystem is shifting: microalgal diversity is declining, disrupting a key food source for marine life.

The Polar Retrospective – A route to East Greenland, bowhead whales losing their icy habitat and Inuit-led cruises

This week's Polar Retrospective takes a look at the setting course for Iceland and Scoresby Sound by the crew of Moscatel, new research warning of vanishing summer habitat for bowhead whales and Inuit-led cruises in Nunavut.

Penguin poop, the secret weapon against global warming?

A study highlights the role that penguin droppings play in cloud formation and their potential impact in reducing the effects of global warming.

Will the Trump administration's budget cuts have an impact on Antarctic protection ?

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is cutting funding for polar research in the USA. Could these disruptions to Antarctic research have an impact on Antarctic protection? In an interview, Evan Bloom, a former US diplomat specializing in polar affairs, explains the implications of the US decline in Antarctica.

The Polar Retrospective – A polar science only meeting, Russian plans for new Arctic vessels, and a cloud observatory in Antarctica

The Polar Retrospective looks at recent stories from around the world’s polar regions. This week we take a look at the annual meeting of the French National Committee for Arctic and Antarctic Research, Russia’s push to build a fleet of 130 Arctic vessels to expand trade with China along the Northern Sea Route, and a new cloud observatory in Antarctica that could close critical gaps in climate models