This year marks the centenary of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s epic expedition to traverse Antarctica in 1915. He had previously failed to reach the South Pole with Robert Scott on the Discovery expedition in 1902-03, and subsequently on the Nimrod expedition in 1907-09 without Scott. This journey would also fail to achieve its goal but would prove to be one of the Antarctic’s greatest stories of survival.… Read more »
Sir Douglas Mawson is widely regarded as Australia’s greatest Antarctic explorer for mapping untrodden areas and surviving some of the most harrowing situations.… Read more »
Researchers from the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) flew drones with special cameras over the Taylor Dry Valley in Antarctica to study microbial life.… Read more »
The Antarctic Treaty applies to the entire region south of 60° South Latitude. It effectively stops nations from making territorial claims or from exploiting Antarctic resources.… Read more »
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones are valuable scientific instruments in Antarctica but are not toys for tourists. That’s the ruling from the latest meeting of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). For the upcoming 2015-2016 season, the IAATO members have agreed not to allow the recreational use of drones in the coastal areas of Antarctica.… Read more »
US Navy Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd was one of the greatest American polar explorers, leading the first flight over the South Pole in 1929.… Read more »
The number of tourists to Antarctica for the 2015/2016 season is expected to be the second largest in history with 40,029 visitors. The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) reports only the 2007/2008 season had higher numbers with 46,265 people.… Read more »
Antarctica doesn’t have a government - it is governed by international agreement. As such, Antarctic governance is an example of international cooperation at a rare scale.… Read more »
Scientists believe they have found the reason that Weddell seals are so adept at finding breathing holes while hunting beneath Antarctica’s ice – they use the Earth’s magnetic field as a natural GPS… Read more »