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.

The Polar Retrospective is a collaborative effort by the editorial team of polarjournal.net. Each writer chooses a topic they found interesting and important in the past week. The initials at the end of each section indicate the author. We hope you enjoy it.
A love of the poles from afar: a whole new museum exhibition

In Prémanon, in the Haut-Jura region (France), the Espace des Mondes Polaires Paul-Émile Victor is hosting an ambitious temporary exhibition from June 7: “Polar Passions, When Dreams Lead to the Poles,” or how a mainland without polar borders has developed a genuine collective passion for distant, inaccessible, and often idealized territories.
“It’s a bit like living a long-distance love affair,” comments Laetitia Thérond, curator of the exhibition, to polarjournal.net. A geographical distance, of course, but also a mental one, as these regions have long been the stuff of fantasy. From tales of great expeditions to penguin figurines in children’s bedrooms, the poles have fueled the national imagination.
The exhibition, installed in the museum’s 200 m2 temporary exhibition hall, brings together leading figures such as Jean-Baptiste Charcot, Paul-Émile Victor and Madeleine Griselin as well as testimonials from anonymous enthusiasts, stamp and book collectors, armchair naturalists, inspired artists, and even amateurs who wear the poles on their skin, tattooed with their fascination.
Models, rare objects, a reconstructed scientific refuge from the sub-Antarctic islands, and documents from partners such as the French Polar Institute and the Toy Museum in Moirans-en-Montagne make up a journey that is at once scientific, poetic, and emotional. Beyond geographical curiosity, the exhibition explores a more universal need: that of dreaming far away, and sometimes cold. C.L
Deep Discoveries in the South Sandwich Islands
A new expedition has revealed stunning biodiversity and geological activity in one of the most remote corners of the Southern Ocean.
For 35 days, an international team of scientists aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too) explored the icy depths around the South Sandwich Islands – uncovering suspected new species, thriving coral gardens, and one of the region’s shallowest hydrothermal vent systems.
The Ocean Census Flagship expedition, part of the world’s largest initiative to accelerate marine species discovery, worked alongside the GoSouth team to investigate both biological richness and geohazards like volcanoes, tsunamis, and earthquakes.
The GoSouth team is a scientific collaboration between the University of Plymouth (UK), GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (Germany), and the British Antarctic Survey (UK). It focuses on understanding the dynamic geological forces shaping the seafloor and their potential hazards. During the expedition, they discovered four hydrothermal vents inside a submerged volcanic caldera at just 700 meters depth, one with a chimney as tall as a basketball hoop. These vents were densely populated by lifeforms that rely on chemosynthesis, such as snails and barnacles – and unusually, they were located right next to rich coral gardens and large sponges.
Other rare observations included snailfish eggs laid on black coral deep in the South Sandwich Trench, a potential new species of sea cucumber, and a previously unfilmed juvenile colossal squid. The team also discovered large pumice blocks, indicating explosive volcanic activity in the area.
“This is exactly why the Ocean Census exists – to accelerate our understanding of ocean life before it’s too late,” said Dr. Michelle Taylor. The findings will now undergo expert review to formally identify any new species. J.H.
Too Much Noise in the Polar Regions

A study conducted in Antarctica by the University of the Republic of Uruguay (Udelar) and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) shows how noise from a power generator affects local wildlife, disrupting animal communication and behavior. The research, whose results are available on Science Direct, focused on a generator located on Ardley Island in the South Shetland Islands. The island is recorded as a Specially Protected Area of Antarctica (ASPA) and is an important breeding site for numerous marine mammals and seabirds.
According to the study’s results, the noise could lead to hearing loss, increased stress, and changes in vocalizations. The researchers call for better management of protected areas, with measures to monitor and reduce the impact of noise pollution in the region. This is especially necessary for scientific activities, which are also likely to generate noise.
While noise can be generated by scientific and logistical activities, it is also generated by tourism. This is why IAATO, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, has adopted noise reduction measures to protect whales around the Antarctic Peninsula, mandating these protocols for the 2025-26 season. These measures, called the Maritime Acoustic Awareness Zone (AAZ), include a 400-meter no-go zone around whales and restrictions on ship speed. This initiative aims to preserve the rare B1 killer whale population by minimizing acoustic disturbances.
Through these measures, announced in a press release on June 4, IAATO is strengthening its commitment to the conservation of Antarctic ecosystems by collaborating with stakeholders such as CCAMLR and supporting Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Southern Ocean.
The same concern arises in the Arctic, where noise pollution is also a growing issue. A report from the Arctic Council, published last May, forecasts a significant increase in underwater noise caused by shipping in the Arctic Ocean by 2030, threatening whales and other noise-sensitive species. This growing pollution disrupts marine animals’ communication and behavior, potentially leading to injury and death. The report emphasizes that even small increases in shipping traffic will have a significant impact, as sound travels farther in the cold waters of the Arctic.
The Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) working group, responsible for the report, proposes management measures to reduce this noise, such as rerouting ships away from sensitive habitats, reducing speed, and using less noisy technologies. M.B.