Antarctica

Find out everything there is to know about Antarctica and stay updated on the latest Antarctica news with the comprehensive articles, interactive features and Antarctica pictures at LiveScience.com. Learn more about this fascinating continent as scientists continue to make amazing discoveries about Antarctica.

Related Topics: Arctic, Climate Change, Global Warming, Penguins

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Changes in the ice surface of the Amery Ice Shelf in Antarctica reveal the rapid draining of a lake deep below in 2019.

NASA uncovers hidden system of mysteriously draining lakes under Antarctica

By Stephanie Pappas

NASA scientists have mapped the dynamic, ever-shifting lakes beneath Antarctica in more detail than ever before.

The field location including the tents and labs set up at Subglacial Lake Whillans, in Antarctica.

Microbes that feast on crushed rocks thrive in Antarctica's ice-covered lakes

By Harry Baker

Scientists have discovered how subglacial lakes are able to support diverse microbial communities by replicating natural erosion of lake sediments in a lab.

This iceberg-filled passage, Lemaire Channel, lies in the Southern Ocean.

Earth's fifth ocean just confirmed

By Tom Metcalfe

The humongous chunk of ice calved from the western side of the Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica.

World's largest iceberg breaks off of Antarctica

By Ben Turner

Scientists will continue to closely monitor the iceberg, which could pose a risk to penguin breeding grounds on nearby islands.

The expedition ship M/S Explorer inches up to the edge of Iceberg A-68a with a humpback whale breaching the surface in the Weddell Sea.

Enormous Antarctic iceberg that became an internet star finally melts away

By Stephanie Pappas

Iceberg A68, an enormous hunk of ice that broke off Antarctica in 2017, has finally melted away to nothing in the Atlantic.

Sea anemones and filter feeders cling to the rocks hundreds of feet below the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica, where a gargantuan iceberg just broke free.

Scientists uncover Antarctic sea creatures 'trapped under ice' for 50 years

By Brandon Specktor

When a gargantuan iceberg calved off of Antarctica last month, it revealed a bustling community of sea life for the first time in decades.

The team at the Halley Research Station on the Brunt Ice Shelf captured an aerial photo of the North Rick crack in January 2021.

Giant crack frees a massive iceberg in Antarctica

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

This dramatic breakup comes after a major crack formed on the shelf in November 2020 and continued to grow.

Photo of the Ellsworth Mountains, on transit to Subglacial Lake Ellsworth, December 2012

Lakes beneath the Antarctic ice could be teeming with microbial life

By Nicoletta Lanese

Heat from the Earth's interior may help sustain life in this bizarre environment.

Eleven fragments of the once-mighty iceberg A-68a swirl around South Georgia island, north of Antarctica

World's largest iceberg disintegrates into 'alphabet soup,' NASA photo shows

By Brandon Specktor

The world's largest iceberg has disintegrated into an 'alphabet soup' of mini ice island, new NASA imagery shows.

A satellite images shows the disintegration of iceberg A68a

World's largest iceberg shatters into a dozen pieces

By Brandon Specktor

The world's largest iceberg broke off of Antarctica in 2017; now, it's shattering into more than a dozen pieces.

A diver in Antarctica's McMurdo Sound observes a Weddell seal swimming toward him.

Seals are making 'Star Wars' noises at each other underwater, and we have no idea why

By Brandon Specktor

Antarctica's Weddell seals communicate with each other in a high-pitched underwater language reminiscent of Star Wars sound effects, a new study finds.

Scientists will deploy two robot gliders like this one to study iceberg A-68a.

The UK is sending robot submarines to watch the world’s largest iceberg crash into an island

By Brandon Specktor

The world’s largest iceberg appears days away from crashing into a penguin-filled island. These robots will study the aftermath.

A mummified Adélie penguin chick's head in Antarctica.

Dozens of ancient penguin 'mummies' discovered at lost nesting site in Antarctica

By Brandon Specktor

Melting snow in Antarctica reveals ancient penguin 'mummies' dating to 5,000 years ago.

Melting from ice shelves in Greenland and Antarctica (like the Getz Ice Shelf seen here) will contribute over 15 inches to global sea level rise by 2100, scientists have found in a new study.

Melting ice sheets will add over 15 inches to global sea level rise by 2100

By Chelsea Gohd

A new, international study shows the significant impact that melting ice sheets will have on global sea levels.

The Japanese research vessel Shirase sails through the ice near Shirase Glacier, in East Antarctica

Scientists discover the fastest-melting spot in East Antarctica

By Brandon Specktor

A hidden, deep-sea 'hotspot' is carving away this East Antarctic ice shelf from below, new research finds

The IceCube neutrino lab in Antarctica

Here is the best place on Earth to see stars, according to science

By Brandon Specktor

Scientists confirm that ‘Dome A’ in Antarctica is the best place on Earth to see stars.

One of the world's largest icebergs calved from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.

How a hidden ocean circulates beneath the Antarctic ice

By Craig Stevens, Christina Hulbe

Thick ice isolates a hidden ocean cavity from the furious winds and freezing air temperatures of Antarctica. But nothing stops the tides.

An illustration of the temperate rainforest that thrived in West Antarctica about 90 million years ago, when dinosaurs still walked the Earth.

Remains of 90 million-year-old rainforest discovered under Antarctic ice

By Laura Geggel

Antarctica was home to a temperate, swampy forest about 90 million years ago.

Streaks of red algae coat the Antarctic ice in "blood snow."

Spooky 'blood snow' invades Antarctic island

By Brandon Specktor

Blood-red algae is blooming in Antarctica, leading to plains of creepy 'watermelon snow' across Galindez Island.

Antarctica's Eagle Island on Feb. 4 and Feb. 13, 2020.

See record-high temperatures strip Antarctica of huge amounts of ice

By Brandon Specktor

Antarctica saw two record-high temperatures set between Feb. 6 and Feb.9, and that took a huge toll on the continent's ice, as seen in NASA images.