September 18, 2026
The most comprehensive assessment yet of changes in the world's polar ice sheets, led by researchers from Northumbria University and supported by NASA, combined evidence from 42 independent satellite surveys spanning more than five decades. The findings show that the two ice sheets lost an estimated 11,309 billion tonnes of ice between 1979 and 2023.
September 16, 2026
The waters surrounding the South Orkney Islands have emerged as an important hotspot for recovering whale populations, prompting Antarctic tour operators to introduce a new vessel-speed restriction aimed at reducing the risk of ship strikes.
September 15, 2026
The Mackenzie Polynya, an area of open water or thin ice that persists within the surrounding winter sea-ice pack, forms in Prydz Bay. Although they may appear to be small gaps in the Antarctic sea-ice cover, polynyas play an outsized role in the Southern Ocean system. They are major sites of sea-ice formation, contributing to the production of dense, cold water that helps drive global ocean circulation.
September 14, 2026
Hidden beneath nearly four kilometres of Antarctic ice, Lake Vostok is one of the planet’s most extraordinary scientific targets. Isolated from the atmosphere for millions of years, the vast subglacial lake may preserve a unique record of Antarctica’s environmental history in the sediments that lie on its floor.
September 12, 2026
A vast geological structure hidden beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet is offering scientists a new way to understand both Antarctica’s ancient past and the behaviour of its ice today. The findings may help explain events linked to the evolution of the supercontinent Gondwana and the eventual separation of Antarctica from Australia.
September 11, 2026
Hundreds of circular seafloor features have been found on the sea bed of the Ross Sea, at depths of between 300 and 1,200 meters. Their origin remains uncertain, making them one of Antarctica's more intriguing geological puzzles. Early hypotheses range from fluid or gas-related processes to the interaction of oceanographic and sedimentary forces over long timescales.
September 09, 2026
A unique satellite experiment has provided scientists with a rare opportunity to compare Antarctic ice movement across a span of three decades. The result is an unusually direct comparison of how parts of Antarctica have evolved over the last 30 years.
September 08, 2026
When most people think about ocean carbon uptake, they picture microscopic plants near the sea surface using sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into organic matter through photosynthesis. However, new research suggests that microorganisms living deep beneath the Ross Sea are helping to capture carbon in complete darkness.
September 08, 2026
During the 2025-26 Antarctic summer season, the international IceCube collaboration completed a major upgrade of the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole. The new equipment is expected to improve the observatory’s ability to detect low-energy neutrinos, elusive particles that can travel across the cosmos largely unaffected by matter.
September 08, 2026
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is often described as the world's most powerful ocean current, flowing uninterrupted around Antarctica. According to new research, this defining feature of the Southern Ocean did not emerge in the straightforward way scientists once imagined.
September 06, 2026
Scientists in Australia are unlocking atmospheric secrets preserved deep within Antarctic ice, refining techniques that could eventually reveal how Earth's climate behaved more than one million years ago.
September 06, 2026
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.