Science and exploration

From the heroic age of 19th century exploration to the present day, Antarctica has continued to be the site for new scientific discoveries and cutting edge science.

Journey south

Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, the first person to reach the South Pole, had to shoot some of his dogs to feed to the others to keep them alive. Early exploration in Antarctica resulted in both success and tragedy. These accounts describe life as part of Antarctic exploration in the early 20th Century.

Landing supplies for Rothera research station

Living in Antarctica today

About 1,200 people spend the winter on Antarctica – about a third are scientists and the rest are support staff. Do you have the knowledge and skills to live in Antarctica, stay health and be a good member of a research team?

Halley Research Station with green southern lights

Pole to pole

Polar Science generates insight and discoveries that change the way we understand our world. During 2007-08 the International Polar Year over 50,000 scientists from 60 countries undertook research into the poles, both north and south, which continues today. Use their work to help you develop your own polar research programme.

Collect data

Atmospheric data has been collected at the British Halley Research Station continuously for over 50 years, making it one of Antarctica’s longest unbroken data records. What would you need to do to prepare for a scientific mission to Antarctica? Read on to discover how you could collect information by diving into the ocean, launching a weather balloon or running a field-survey. You can also see the findings of British scientists.

Understanding Antarctica

As well as the British Antarctic Survey, the Scott Polar Research Institute and the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, scientists from many other nations also work in Antarctica. Whilst continuing to push the boundaries of new scientific research, they also work to preserve the legacy of historic Antarctic exploration – such as the conservation of the huts used by the early 20th Century expeditions led by Scott and Shackleton.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

The Antarctic is a key component of the Earth‘s natural system. The British Antarctic Survey‘s science programme Polar Science for Planet Earth seeks to understand this role through a research programme including terrestrial and marine biology, glaciology, geology, geophysics, metrology, oceanography and atmospheric science.