Are people at the South Pole upside down?

An astrophysicist who spent time doing research at the South Pole gets to the bottom of how things feel at the ends of the Earth.

Abigail Bishop, Ph.D. Student in Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison • conversation
July 7, 2025 ~5 min

‘Completely unexpected’: Antarctic sea ice may be in terminal decline due to rising Southern Ocean salinity

Scientists once thought Antarctica might hold onto its sea ice as the world warmed. No longer.

Alessandro Silvano, NERC Independent Research Fellow in Oceanography, University of Southampton • conversation
June 30, 2025 ~7 min


What ancient ice sheets can tell us about future sea level rise

When ice gets trapped on land as giant ice sheets, it causes the sea level to change, but it doesn’t change by the same amount all around the planet.

Ed Gasson, Royal Society University Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter • conversation
June 20, 2025 ~6 min

At Antarctica’s midwinter, a look back at the frozen continent’s long history of dark behavior

Antarctica is a harsh continent, which in both history and fiction can trigger disturbing behavior and even madness.

Daniella McCahey, Assistant Professor of History, Texas Tech University • conversation
June 20, 2025 ~11 min

How insects and the smallest animals survive Antarctica

The fascinating fight for survival among Antarctica’s tiniest animals.

Alex Dittrich, Senior Lecturer in Zoology, Nottingham Trent University • conversation
April 11, 2025 ~6 min

Whales are recovering from near extinction, but industrial fishing around Antarctica competes for their sole food source

The Southern Ocean’s krill-rich waters attract multiple species of filter-feeding whales – and, increasingly, fishing boats.

Matthew Savoca, Research scientist, Stanford University • conversation
Sept. 10, 2024 ~5 min

Thwaites Glacier won’t collapse like dominoes as feared, study finds, but that doesn’t mean the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ is stable

Antarctica’s riskiest glacier is a disaster in slow motion, a polar scientist writes. But in a rare bit of good news, the worst-case scenario may be off the table.

Mathieu Morlighem, Professor of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College • conversation
Aug. 21, 2024 ~9 min

First map of vegetation across Antarctica reveals a battle for the continent’s changing landscape

In the barren cold deserts of ice-free Antarctica only lichen, mosses and algae survive – for now.

Claudia Colesie, Senior Lecturer in Physiological Plant Ecology, The University of Edinburgh • conversation
Aug. 8, 2024 ~5 min


Tagging seals with sensors helps scientists track ocean currents and a changing climate

In some of the most remote places on Earth, tags attached to seals collect data at the cutting edge of ocean science.

Lilian (Lily) Dove, Postdoctoral Fellow of Oceanography, Brown University • conversation
July 25, 2024 ~5 min

A single Antarctic heatwave or storm can noticeably raise the sea level

To narrow our predictions of global sea level rise, we need to know more about these sudden ‘non-linear’ changes to ice sheets.

Ruth Mottram, Climate Scientist, National Centre for Climate Research, Danish Meteorological Institute • conversation
Feb. 20, 2024 ~7 min

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