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All things ice in the Antarctic

The first recorded sighting on an iceberg in Antarctica was on 1 February 1700 when Edmond Halley was on an expedition to measure the Earth’s magnetic field. Today scientists have classified Antarctic ice as two types: Land and sea ice.

The ozone layer in Antarctica

Scientists have calculated that if the ozone layer was brought down to sea level it would be 3 mm thick, while in the Antarctic the ozone can be as low as 1 mm thick. Ozone in the stratosphere is being depleted by a variety of human-made gases with a ‘hole’ forming over Antarctica.

Graham Land: A landscape dominated by volcanoes

At the upper tip of the Antarctic Peninsula lies Graham Land, a jagged, glaciated part of Antarctica with a landscape dominated by volcanoes. Despite the volcanoes being over 200 million years old they are far from extinct with volcanic activity occurring today.

Shackleton’s Push to the South Pole

On the evening of February 11, 1907, Irish-born polar explorer Ernest Shackleton, already among the more famous polar explorers, announced his intention to embark on a momentous Antarctic expedition. His goal: to reach the South Pole.

19 Photos of Life on Ortelius

It’s understandable that most of your questions are going to revolve around what you can do once your Arctic or Antarctic cruise reaches its destination. Still, you may very well be curious about the journey itself; after all (depending on your cruise) you may be spending as much as a month aboard a ship.

Get to Know Your Ice

Ice. It does everything from cooling your drink to helping to regulate the temperature of the entire planet. Let’s take a look at the ways we encounter ice in the world and its wide variety of names.

Churches in Antarctica

'Below 40 degrees South there is no law, below 50 degrees South there is no God', goes the old adage. When faced with a storm in the turbulent and freezing waters of the Drake Passage, one might think so.

Amundsen’s Race to the South Pole

Amundsen had acquired Fram from Fridtjof Nansen on the understanding it was to be involved in an expedition to the Arctic. However, before it could set sail it required a number of repairs, including a new diesel engine as it had been out of commission for many years. On June 7 1910, Fram left Oslo for the first leg of what was supposed to be the first leg of a voyage to the North Pacific via Cape Horn: Amundsen’s original plans was to explore the northern part of the polar basin where the North Pole was situated which the first Fram expedition under Nansen in 1893-96 had failed to reach.

Day and night in Antarctica

The abnormal day and light cycles cause great impact on humans, and scientists are using Antarctica to study its effects and how to prevent them.

Albatross, penguin and krill research in Antarctica

In the Antarctic region, a great deal of research is being conducted by national Antarctic programmes including the UK’s, Australia’s and Japan’s on understanding species in the air, on the ground and in the sea and how their species are interconnected without variables including human impacts and climate change.

Explore Antarctica Without Leaving Your Couch

There are many ways to explore Antarctica from home. Check these great resources to discover the White Continent without leaving your couch.

Antarctic krill: Antarctica's Superfood

The size of a paper clip, pink, krill is a shrimp-like crustacean that does not look like much. Without them, though, the Earth marine ecosystems would collapse completely.

The Emperor Penguin of the Drake Passage

There are certain moments in life when a series of events combine to create an experience that is both unexpected and unforgettable. These are the times when you are reminded how fortunate you are to be a part of something that few people will ever have the opportunity to experience.

The First Women in Antarctica

Though the list of explorers, scientists, and scientific expeditions in Antarctica is as extensive as it is impressive, it has also been overwhelmingly one-sided in terms of gender - especially before the early years of the twentieth century.

Leonard Hussey’s Banjo: brain food

The Endurance had been trapped in pack ice for 10 months when Sir Ernest Shackleton gave the order to abandon ship on 27 October 1915. He allowed each member of the Imperial TransAntarctic Expedition to bring 2lbs of personal gear with them as they set up camp on the floe—all except meteorologist, Leonard Hussey.

Roald Amundsen’s polar exploits

Roald Amundsen had been, unlike Scott, dedicated to exploration ever since he was 15 years old reading about Franklin’s Arctic expeditions. Amundsen wrote that ‘the narrative that appealed to me most strongly was the suffering he and his men endured. A strange ambition burned within me to endure those same sufferings’ and so he dedicated himself to becoming an Arctic explorer.

10 Books and Films To Prepare for your Antarctica cruise

Stunning landscapes. Marvellous wildlife. Astounding human survival stories. Here's a list of books and films that contain all of that. If you are thinking of embarking on a trip to Antarctica, once you've watched or read our recommendations, you will feel you have to be on a vessel, destination south, pronto.

Of Treacherous Rocks & Audacious Fin Whales

The morning dawned beautiful and calm, the Plancius weaving her way through the seas ever nearing Antarctic Sound. The waters were fantastically gentle, with minimal amounts of swell and waves ever so gently rocking the ship. As we neared the jagged scarred mountains of rocks known as the South Shetland Islands, more and more icebergs loomed on the horizon. Soon the ship was nearly surrounded by large magnificent icebergs, massive tabular’s whose presence dwarfed our tiny vessel.

Coming Back from the Brink: The Fur Seals of Antarctica

Once hunted to the brink of extinction, the Antarctic fur seal is one of the most populous and charismatic species of seal found in Antarctica. Unlike other members of its large family, the fur seal has external ears, or pinnae, a short snout, and a thick coat of dark brown fur. Male seals tend to be larger than females, and range in weight from 91 kg (200 lbs.) to 215 kg (474 lbs.).

Abandoned Antarctica: Five Remarkable Stations Left Behind

For centuries, the most extreme scientists, explorers, fishermen, and travellers have called Antarctica home. The continent is peppered with research stations that represent the valiant efforts of humankind to study the unknown.

The Small but Social Commerson’s Dolphin

Despite the fact that Commerson's dolphins are among the least-known Antarctic cetaceans, these small but social dolphins go by several different names.

Antarctica’s Hourglass Dolphin

Hourglass dolphins are very rare, and yet they are not included in the threatened or endangered species list. Why? First, their habitat is the cold and remote subantarctic and Antarctic waters. Secondly, they are not hunted commercially, and thirdly, they are timid and usually avoid human contact.