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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.

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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.

An iceberg bobs in the water of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Antarctica just saw its all-time hottest day ever

By Brandon Specktor

A research station off Antarctica's northern tip just reported a new record-high temperature of 69.35 degrees Fahrenheit (20.75 degrees Celsius).

Icefin, an underwater robot, took a wild journey underneath a melting glacier in Antarctica.

Surprisingly warm water found on underside of Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier'

By Laura Geggel

For the first time, an underwater robot visited the bottom of Antarctica's Thwaites Glacier.

Thwaites Glacier

Scientists Are Racing to Figure Out Why This Giant Glacier in Antarctica Is Melting So Fast

By Tom Metcalfe

A robotic submarine is about to descend into a dark, water-filled cavern in Antarctica, to try to find out why one of the continent's largest glaciers is melting so fast.

A crabeater seal rests in Antarctica.

16 Times Antarctica Revealed Its Awesomeness in 2019

By Stephanie Pappas

The scientists on the expedition hope that two specialized arrays of metal detectors, towed by snowmobiles, will reveal iron meteorites from the early solar system just below the icy surface.

'Lost' Iron Meteorites May Lurk Beneath Antarctic Ice. Scientists on Quest to Find Them.

By Tom Metcalfe

Scientists are scouring the remote Antarctic ice cap for rare meteorites chock-full of iron and holding secrets to the history of our solar system going back some 4.5 billion years.

This image shows the two cracks captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite on Sept. 14, 2019.

Endangered Antarctic Glacier Could Soon Calve a Massive New Iceberg

By Mindy Weisberger

Two large rifts have widened near the edge of Pine Island Glacier on the West Antarctic ice sheet. If they continue to grow, they could release an iceberg four times bigger than Manhattan.

Satellite footage shows Antarctica's East Getz Ice Shelf fracturing along the margins.

'Upside-Down Rivers' of Warm Water Are Carving Antarctica to Pieces

By Brandon Specktor

Antarctica's ice shelves are under attack at their most vulnerable points.

A giant iceberg has calved off the front of the Amery Ice Shelf in East Antarctica.

'Loose Tooth' Iceberg Calves Off East Antarctica in Surprising Spot

By Stephanie Pappas

An iceberg the size of the Isle of Skye has broken free from Antarctica's Amery Ice Shelf.

Massive Snow Cannons Could Save West Antarctica's Ice Sheet

By Mindy Weisberger

Tons of snow made from seawater could stabilize failing ice.

The World's Largest Iceberg Is 2 Years Old Today, and Already Drifting Toward Its Doom

By Brandon Specktor

The world's largest iceberg turned 2 years old today (July 12) and has already drifted more than 150 miles from its Antarctic home.

This false-color satellite photograph of Mount Michael shows the lava lake (in red) within the volcano – only the eighth persistent lake of molten rock ever discovered. The inset shows the location of Saunders Island.

Rare Lake of Bubbling Lava Discovered on Remote Antarctic Island

By Tom Metcalfe

A huge lake of sizzling hot lava has been discovered in a volcano on a remote sub-Antarctic island in the South Atlantic Ocean.

The mobile buildings of the Halley research station were moved in 2017 to avoid the base being cut adrift by a growing chasm in the ice shelf.

'Ghost Base' Perched on a Growing Ice Chasm in Antarctica Is Running on Its Own

By Tom Metcalfe

A remote science station in Antarctica forced to close over the polar winter by a dangerous ice chasm is completely empty of human life.

Scientists equipped seals with temporary satellite tags and sent them swimming under the sea ice in Antarctica to collect data on water conditions.

Mysterious, Gaping Holes in Antarctic Ice Explained

By Stephanie Pappas

The bizarre holes have been popping up sporadically in the sea ice since the 1970s.

iceberg

Can Kidnapping a Giant Iceberg from Antarctica Solve Cape Town's Water Crisis?

By Laura Geggel

The Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica is huge, about the size of France.

Ancient Rocky Structure Found Beneath Antarctica. And It's Messing with the Ice.

By Stephanie Pappas

The potential for the Ross ice shelf in Antarctica to collapse is determined by a newly discovered rock boundary running right down the middle of the ice.

Atacama meteorite

Earth's Oldest Meteorite Collection Just Found in the Driest Place on the Planet

By Brandon Specktor

Researchers scouring the desert for space rocks found the oldest collection of meteorites on Earth.

Nearly 25% of West Antarctic Ice in Danger of Collapse

By Mindy Weisberger

Decades of climate change have severely weakened 24% of western Antarctica's ice.