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The tail of a Humpback whale is seen as it dives in Wilhelmina Bay in Antarctica
Image: Ann Inger Johansson/ZUMAPRESS/picture allianceImage: Ann Inger Johansson/ZUMAPRESS/picture alliance

Antarctica

Antarctica is home to endemic wildlife like penguins. Global warming is causing changes at the South Pole, including higher temperatures and melting ice.

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All Content on this topic

sea storm

Last Man Off

In 1998, Matt Lewis took a job on a fishing vessel to the Southern Ocean, near Antarctica. But a massive storm hit the boat and sank it. Many of his crewmen died. Now aged 40, Matt’s finally able to talk about this traumatic event in his new book Last Man Off.
July 25, 201410:26 min
Penguins fishing

New hope?

Russia and Germany are set to work together to protect the Antarctic Weddell Sea.
July 18, 2014
Antarctic icebreaker MV Akademik Shokalskiy

The big melt

David Vaughan from the British Antarctic Survey discusses new studies on Antarctic ice levels.
May 14, 201406:47 min
The Thwaites glacier

Antarctic melt

New studies show the West Antarctica ice sheet is melting faster than anticipated and irreversibly.
May 13, 2014
Antarctic ice

Antarctic melt

A new study suggests even the icy east of the Antarctic could be at risk from climate change.
May 7, 2014
The endangered African ("Jackass") penguin. (Photo: Lars Bevanger / DW)

Penguins need protection

On World Penguin Day, campaigners called on Antarctic nations to save the global penguin population.
April 25, 2014
River

Living Planet

This week on Living Planet we splash into some of Europe's last remaining wild rivers, have a look at this week's decision in the Antarctic whaling case and chase after pesky gray squirrels in Scotland.
April 3, 201429:59 min
Whale being cut up

Japan's Antarctic whaling stopped

The International Court of Justice has dismissed Japan's claims that its whaling program is for scientific research and ordered the country to halt whaling activities in the Antarctic.
April 3, 201405:19 min
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Japan ordered to end "scientific" whaling

The UN International Court of Justice has ordered Japan to halt its controversial whale-hunting program in the Antarctic. The country is killing hundreds of whales each year, claiming it's for scientific purposes. But critics say, it's only interested in the meat.
March 31, 201401:14 min
Walfang in Japan

Japan whaling 'not scientific'

The Japanese Antarctic whaling program has been ruled by the UN's top court to be a commercial activity that is not for scientific purposes. The court ordered Japan to halt its annual hunt in the region.
March 31, 2014
The sun sets behind BICEP2 (in the foreground) and the South Pole Telescope Steffen Richter/Harvard University, dpa

Scientists hail cosmic discovery

Waves of gravity that yield clues about the early life of the universe have been detected by US scientists. Discovery of the galactic ripples, already hailed as a major find, could yield a Nobel Prize.
March 17, 2014
Japan Walfangflotte Inzident 02.02.2014

Japan whaling dispute

Japan has asked the Netherlands to take "practical measures" against a Dutch-registered anti-whaling vessel. The boat collided with a Japanese whaling ship off Antarctica over the weekend. Both sides have traded blame.
February 3, 2014
Pine Island Glacier Antarctica

Glacier melt

Scientists say that a giant Antarctic glacier is melting irreversibly, with grave consequences.
January 16, 2014
The Chinese icebreaker Xue Long

Chinese icebreaker stuck

A Chinese icebreaker that helped retrieve passengers stranded on an icebound Russian ship in the Antarctic says it has become stuck itself. But the rescued passengers are finally on their way home.
January 4, 2014
MV Akademik Shokalskiy Antarktis Eisbrecher Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon (Xue Long) as seen from the Akademik Shokalskiy ship, which got stuck in ice in Antarctica, 28 December 2013. . EPA/ANDREW PEACOCK / FOOTLOOSEFOTOGRAPHY.COM +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++

Rescued to the rescue?

A Chinese vessel involved in the rescue of 52 passengers from an icebound ship in the Antarctic may itself be at risk of becoming trapped. Another ship carrying the rescued passengers is on standby to help if necessary.
January 3, 2014
Passengers are helicoptered off the MV Akademik Shokalskiy

Antarctic airlift successful

Passengers aboard the Russian research ship stranded in Antarctica have been successfully rescued. The rescue mission had stalled a number of times due to inclement weather and thick pack ice.
January 2, 2014
The MV Akademik Shokalskiy is pictured stranded in ice in Antarctica (Photo: REUTERS/Andrew Peacock)

Antarctic air rescue put on ice

Sea ice has delayed the planned helicopter evacuation of a Russian research vessel trapped off Antarctica. More than 70 people remain stuck on the stranded ship after more than a week.
January 2, 2014
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Waiting game for team on icebound ship

It's been eight days since the Akademik Shokalskiy ground to a halt in the waters of the Antarctic after strong winds blew sheets of ice in its path. Since then, three icebreaker ships have tried and failed to reach the vessel. Efforts now focus on sending a helicopter to rescue the ship's passengers. The one problem: weather conditions are too difficult for the helicopter to fly.
December 31, 201301:29 min
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Ship Stranded Off Antarctic Coast

Efforts are still underway to rescue 74 passengers and crew stuck on board a ship off the coast of Antarctica. The stranded vessel has emergency provisions and people on the ship are safe. But rescuing them is proving a difficult task.
December 28, 201301:04 min
In this image provided by Australasian Antarctic Expedition/Footloose Fotography, people gather on the ice next the Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy that is trapped in thick Antarctic ice 1,500 nautical miles south of Hobart, Australia, Friday, Dec. 27, 2013. The research ship, with 74 scientists, tourists and crew on board, has been on a research expedition to Antarctica, when it got stuck Tuesday after a blizzard's whipping winds pushed the sea ice around the ship, freezing it in place. (AP Photo/Australasian Antarctic Expedition/Footloose Fotography, Andrew Peacock)

Antarctic ship rescue stalls

A Chinese icebreaker has failed in its attempt to free a Russian vessel carrying 74 people on board from Antarctic ice. An Australian ship is on its way to try and complete the task.
December 28, 2013
Antarktis - MV Akademik Shokalskiy

Icebound research ship

Three vessels are making a mercy dash to free a Russian research ship trapped in thick Antarctic sea ice since Christmas Eve. Snow storms and strong winds have held up the rescue mission.
December 27, 2013
Photomultiplying sensors of IceCube

Space ghosts

IceCube - the world's largest particle detector - has opened the door to a new kind of astronomy.
December 23, 2013
The International Court of Justice

Japan's whale hunting season begins

As the southern hemisphere enters summer, Japan's whaling ships again set sail for the Antarctic.
December 13, 20138 images
Picture taken last February 24th of the Peruvian scientific ship 'Humboldt' in front of King George Island, Souther Shetlands, Antarctica, 20 March 2013. Peru owns the scientific base Macho Pichu at Almirantazgo bay in King George Island. EFE/Felipe Trueba

Left out in the cold

A 10-day meeting of 24 nations and the EU failed to reach a deal that would have created two marine sanctuaries in Antarctica. It was the third attempt at an agreement by a commission tasked with Antarctic conservation.
November 1, 2013
Pods of killer whales patrol the ice edges in the Ross Sea (Photo: John B. Weller)

Southern sanctuary

Talks in Hobart could provide long-term protection for Antarctic marine life.
October 28, 2013

Census - How many whales are there in the Antarctic?

The Polarstern research vessel is underway in the Antarctic. One of the tasks scientists on it are carrying out is a whale census. Until now, there has been little reliable data on how many of these marine animals there are.
ScienceAugust 19, 201305:32 min
Mario Toledo in front of one of the fire engines. (Photo: Michael Marek)

Patagonian "Feuerwehr"

Patagonia is known for its nature, oil reserves, sheep and - its German fire brigades.
July 29, 2013
King Penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus), group.

No Antarctic sanctuary - yet

Countries set up to regulate fishing in the Antarctic can't agree on new marine sanctuaries.
July 16, 2013

Antarctica - Consequences of Climate Change

The increase in global temperature has also affected Antarctica, causing melting in the Larsen Ice Shelf. Scientists on board the German research ship Polarstern are investigating the consequences. Cold, dense melt water is sinking to the bottom of the ocean.
ScienceMay 20, 201304:57 min

Polarstern's 30th anniversary - What have we learned from scientific expeditions to the Antarctic?

Our studio guest is expedition chief scientist Dr. Julian Gutt from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI).
ScienceMay 20, 201303:22 min
Rosie Stancer on her North Pole expedition

Conquering the Arctic

After crossing Antarctica, Rosie Stancer is headed north to be the first woman to walk both poles.
May 15, 2013

Women climate scientists conquer Antarctica

Marine ecologist and climate expert Corina Brussaard is breaking the ice around Antarctica. She is part of a new generation of women climate researchers who are carving a place for themselves on the ice flats once considered the sole territory of men.
ScienceMarch 7, 201304:25 min
© Goinyk Volodymyr - Fotolia.com

Breaking boundaries

Climate expert Corina Brussaard breaks new ice in Antarctica, opening polar research to women.
March 6, 2013
Abend im antarktischen Treibeis, Antarktis, Antarctica, North Victoria Land, Abend, evening, dusk, Treibeis, drift ice, Klima, climate

Antarctica plane missing

An international rescue team is scouring Antarctica seeking a small plane carrying three Canadians that went missing between the South Pole and an Italian base. Rescue officials say its beacon is still transmitting.
January 24, 2013
Aufnahme der Terra Nova Bay in der Antarktis. Photo: EPA/YONHAP NEWS AGENCY +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++

Unexpected Antarctic warming

US climate experts say western Antarctica's massive ice cap is warming at almost double the rate previously estimated. Their report in British periodical Nature Geoscience adds to fears of a global sea level rise.
December 24, 2012
Inside the building at McMurdo Station that used to house the Antarctic Sun's editorial offices

Coolest news fit to print

The Antarctic Sun readers don't have to brave the cold to see what's happening near the South Pole.
December 1, 2012
In this photo released by Greenpeace, a minke whale is seen harpooned in Antarctic seas in the Southern Ocean, Friday, Jan. 6 2006. Inflatables from the Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza and MY Arctic Sunrise tried to hinder the transfer of minke whales by a catcher ship of the Japanese whaling fleet to the Nisshin Maru factory ship, in Antarctic seas in the Southern Ocean, Friday, Jan. 6 2006. Greenpeace reported at least 20 minke whales had been slaughtered in the past 48 hours but the environmental activist group claimed some success, maintaining its tactics of harassment had allowed other whales to escape the harpoons. (ddp images/AP Photo / Greenpeace / Kate Davison, HO) ** NO SALES NO ARCHIVE **

Whaling

Environmentalists have set out on their most ambitious campaign to interfere with Japanese whaling.
November 23, 2012
An adult king penguin feeds its young in the Antarctic

No Antarctic Ocean sanctuary

Two weeks of talks in Australia have failed to produce a deal to create a huge marine sanctuary in the Antarctic Ocean. Conservation groups accused officials of favoring fishing rights over marine preservation.
November 2, 2012
The Belgian Antarctic station Princess Elisabeth Antarctica (Photo copyright: International Polar Foundation)

Antarctic ice

A German scientist is heading to the Antarctic to investigate the speed of the ice flow
October 15, 2012

Fewer penguins

Is it getting too warm for chinstrap penguins on Deception Island in Antarctica?
September 9, 2012

Working in Antarctica: Physicist Lisa Kattner at Neumayer Station III

Physicist Lisa Kattner is a researcher for the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven. Along with eight colleagues, she spent a year at Neumayer Station, and has now returned to Germany.
ScienceAugust 20, 201202:26 min
Polar bears on ice sheets (photo: Hinrich Bäsemann/dpa - Bildfunk)

Arctic warm periods

Scientists found the Arctic was much warmer than it is today during the last three million years.
August 6, 2012
Melting ice east of Greenland

Melting ice

German researchers say that Antarctica is melting faster than commonly believed.
May 14, 2012
A map showing the algal bloom

Nature's buffet

An algal bloom of extraordinary size in the Antarctic spells a feast for sea creatures.
March 7, 2012
A drone seen from different angles

Drones and whales

Anti-whaling activists are tracking Japan's harpoon fleet with drones.
December 26, 2011

Our studio guest this week is Dr. Klaus Dethloff, Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Potsdam

Dr. Klaus Dethloff, Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Potsdam
ScienceDecember 5, 201103:16 min
Melting arctic ice

Arctic ozone hole

Scientists say the level of ozone loss in the Arctic is now similar to that in the Antarctic.
October 3, 2011
Antarctic fish can survive at freezing temperatures

Anti-freeze fish

German scientists now know how fish stop themselves from freezing in Antarctic waters.
September 29, 2010
CryoSat-2

Satellite launch

A European satellite aimed at monitoring changes in Arctic ice has been launched.
April 8, 2010
The Ady Gil before it sank in the Southern Ocean

Whaling Wrangle Continues in Antarctic

Anti-whaling activists have stepped up their efforts in the Antarctic. They will continue the fight against Japanese whalers despite the sinking of one of their high-tech ships. Japan and Australia are now embroiled in a quarrel over who is responsible.
January 8, 2010