One of the most significant achievements of the First French Antarctic Expedition was the systematic survey of the western Antarctic Peninsula, including parts of Graham Land and the Palmer Archipelago.

The Antarctic coast is far more than the continent’s outer edge. It is a dynamic region where grounded ice, floating ice shelves, ocean waters, the atmosphere and the underlying geology interact. Changes in this narrow zone can influence how quickly ice flows into the ocean and, ultimately, how much Antarctica contributes to global sea level rise.

Antarctica has no continent-wide rescue service waiting to respond to emergencies. Instead, search and rescue operations depend on a network of national Antarctic programmes, government agencies, ships, aircraft operators and rescue coordination centres working together across enormous distances.

More than 120 years after the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition sailed south aboard Scotia, new digital resources are helping bring one of the Heroic Age’s most significant scientific voyages to life.

The presence of diatoms (microscopic algae that thrive in sunlit ocean waters) suggests that the area was once an open marine environment rather than being permanently covered by an ice shelf. If confirmed through further analysis, the findings would provide direct evidence that the Ross Ice Shelf collapsed and parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated during warmer periods in Earth's past.

The long-awaited redevelopment of New Zealand's Scott Base has taken a significant step forward, with Antarctica New Zealand signing the main construction contract with Wellington-based builder LT McGuinness.