Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest …

Feb 18, 2026 · Antarctica, the world’s southernmost continent, is almost wholly covered by an ice sheet and is about 5.5 million square miles (14.2 million square km) in size.

Antarctica was first sighted by humans just 200 years ago. Conditions are so ferocious that no human lives there permanently; instead, scientists go for few months at a time, living in specialist...

Antarctica is a unique continent in that it does not have a native human population. The continent of Antarctica makes up most of the Antarctic region. The Antarctic is a cold, remote area in the …

Antarctica is a natural research laboratory, from geology and glaciology, via marine and bird biology to climate science

See the history of Antarctic exploration and discovery, and how the past is a key to the present. Explore modern Antarctic science and new understandings.

2 days ago · Rain is rare in Antarctica. Scientists doing fieldwork there dress for cold and glare, not wet weather – duvet jackets, snow trousers, goggles and sunscreen. Planes land on gravel runways …

Everything you've ever wanted to know about the coldest, windiest, driest place on Earth. Where is Antarctica? Antarctica is the most inhospitable place on the planet. It is a continent surrounded by …

Feb 20, 2026 · Antarctica’s pale expanses of ice keep water locked up and reflect heat from the planet — but the climate crisis is putting these safeguards at increasing risk. Antarctica is warming much …

Situated in the southern hemisphere and largely south of the Antarctic Circle, Antarctica is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14.4 million km², it is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, …