Shackletons Long Lost Endurance Discovered In Antarctica - Nexta Expeditions
Shackleton’s Long-Lost Endurance Discovered in Antarctica

Shackleton’s Long-Lost Endurance Discovered in Antarctica

A discovery expedition launched by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust achieved a long-awaited mission when it located Anglo-Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton’s lost ship Endurance last Saturday (March 5).

Crushed by sea ice in 1915 during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, the vessel was found in an astonishingly preserved state 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) deep on the Weddell Sea floor, near the southern leg of our Remote Weddell Sea Explorer route.

blog-image

The searchers were on the verge of ending their expedition, having scoured most of their predefined search area over two weeks. Then, on the 100th anniversary of Shackleton’s burial at Grytviken, South Georgia, they finally found their prize.

Since that momentous discovery, which mission leader John Shears said was often deemed impossible, the team has been using remotely operated submersibles to capture photos and videos of the vessel. They’ve done this from the same South African icebreaker, Agulhas II, which they also used for the search.

Endurance is now a designated monument protected by the Antarctic Treaty, meaning the vessel cannot be disturbed nor any artifacts removed from it. But the search team’s photos already crisply detail the ship’s name on the stern and its five-pointed Polaris star below, which gave the ship its original name. Anchors, dishware, even boots have also been photographed.

Polar biologists think the good condition of the ship may be in part due to the absence of wood-eating sea life that tends to consume timbered vessels. These organisms are not present in the forestless region of Antarctica, though that hasn’t stopped a number of other marine animals from claiming real estate on and around the ship: sponges, sea squirts, anemones, and many other such species have happily appropriated areas once occupied by Shackleton’s indomitable crew.

blog-image

The discovery of Endurance is not only made sweeter by its pristine condition, however. Any student of polar history will tell you the ship forms a centerpiece of expedition lore for its association with one of the greatest rescue stories in recorded history: Shackleton’s journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia.

blog-image

After Endurance sunk in the Weddell Sea, her crew made an arduous lifeboat voyage to Elephant Island. But this was just the beginning for Shackleton and five of his men, who then sailed 1,336 km (830 miles) in one of their 6-meter (20-foot) lifeboats to South Georgia, which they reached fifteen days later in hurricane winds. Upon landing, they next had to achieve a hellish 36-hour land trek to the whaling station of Stromness before finding a rescue team for their fellows back on Elephant Island.

blog-image

The end of this expedition (and not long after, Shackleton’s death) are often cited as the end of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. But the discovery of Endurance promises scientists and scholars of the period exciting new findings we look forward to learning about in the months to come.

Blog
go-leftgo-right

15 Toothy Facts About the Atlantic Walrus - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

15 Toothy Facts About the Atlantic Walrus

The walrus is one of the most recognizable animals on the planet, and for good reason. Try sneaking into a cinema with those tusks!
Greenlandic Inuit Beliefs - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Greenlandic Inuit Beliefs

Greenland is the world’s largest island and with the northern tip around 740 kilometres from the North Pole it is the northernmost country on Earth. The island is around 2,670 kilometres long and is about 650 kilometres across at its widest point.
Arctic Mythology: Inuit, Saami, and the Ancient Greeks - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Arctic Mythology: Inuit, Saami, and the Ancient Greeks

The Arctic locations we visit aren’t merely made up of phenomenal landscapes, exotic wildlife, and more adventure than a Hardy Boys novel.
Penguins, Albatrosses, Petrels: The Winged Wildlife of South Georgia - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Penguins, Albatrosses, Petrels: The Winged Wildlife of South Georgia

South Georgia’s location south of the Antarctic Convergence gives the island a more Antarctic-like climate compared to other regions at the same latitude. The climate here is marked by cold, cloudy, wet, and windy conditions with highly variable weather.
Puffins: Clown Birds of the Atlantic - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Puffins: Clown Birds of the Atlantic

Puffins are part of a family of 22 seabird species known as auks, which are pigeon-sized birds that thrive on a diet of small fish and crustaceans.
Polar Marine Visitors: the Whales of Antarctica and the Arctic - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Polar Marine Visitors: the Whales of Antarctica and the Arctic

Whales are the world’s largest mammals, found in the Arctic and Antarctica. This article covers some of the major species you may see on voyages to these remarkable areas.
Polar bear feast - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Polar bear feast

The polar bear was relishing his meal; the snow and his face were turning red from the blood. As we observed him eating, our own stomachs began to grumble. It was time for lunch.
The Return to Franz Josef Land - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

The Return to Franz Josef Land

As the possibility of international travel slowly returns, we are eagerly awaiting all the great locations, activities, and wildlife we might experience in the coming season. One of the things we’re most excited about is the return of our Franz Josef Land voyages.
An igneous paradise: Franklin Island - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

An igneous paradise: Franklin Island

In the most remote reaches of the world's oceans, those daring enough to embark on the Ortelius to the Ross Sea eagerly boarded zodiacs in the southernmost part of the Pacific Ocean.
Seven Sublime Antarctic Bays - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Seven Sublime Antarctic Bays

Antarctica is renowned for its glaciers, icebergs, and panoramic colonies of penguins. However, less known are the stunning crystal-clear bays that dot the Great White Continent, many of which are explored on our Antarctica cruise routes.
Of Treacherous Rocks & Audacious Fin Whales - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Of Treacherous Rocks & Audacious Fin Whales

Soon large blows filled our view; small groups of fin whales sped by heading north all the while feeding on concentrations of krill & small fish. Group after group was seen, with many simply feeding in the general area and not heading anywhere in particular. Soon it became evident that we were not simply seeing a few random groups of fins, but a very large concentration spread out over a large area of sea just north and around the islands north of the South Shetlands. Dozens upon dozens of fin whales were feeding, diving around the ship and on the horizon in massive numbers; we must have seen well over fifty fin whales in the general area of Elephant Island, something many of the guides had never seen before.
5 Misconceptions You Might Have About Greenland - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

5 Misconceptions You Might Have About Greenland

Albatross, penguin and krill research in Antarctica - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Albatross, penguin and krill research in Antarctica

In the Antarctic region, extensive research is being conducted by national Antarctic programmes from countries like the UK, Australia, and Japan. These studies aim to understand species in the air, on the ground, and in the sea, and how these species are interconnected without variables such as human impacts and climate change.
Polar bear encounter in Spitsbergen - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Polar bear encounter in Spitsbergen

I watch the sea ice from the bridge of a ship in one of the fjords of Spitsbergen, an archipelago north of Norway. I observe a perfectly adapted animal moving on the ice, the results of hundreds of thousands of years of ecological fine-tuning. Snowshoe-sized paws distribute weight, fur handles the cold and sunlight to perfection, and an incredible sense of smell samples this monochromatic realm.
Tracking Greenland’s Wildlife from Space - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Tracking Greenland’s Wildlife from Space

Despite Greenland’s harsh environment, life has found a way to thrive there. If you’re lucky enough to embark on a Greenland cruise, you stand the chance of encountering many species of cold-adapted mammals, birds, and fish.
Graham Land: A landscape dominated by volcanoes - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Graham Land: A landscape dominated by volcanoes

An Antarctic cruise may explore the upper tip of the Antarctic Peninsula where one finds Graham Land, a jagged, glaciated part of Antarctica with a landscape dominated by volcanoes. Despite the volcanoes being over 200 million years old they are far from extinct with volcanic activity occurring today. Graham Land is connected to Palmer Land at the point where the Antarctic Peninsula widens from around 75 km to around 200 km south of Marguerite Bay.
Everything you need to know about Antarctic icebergs - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Everything you need to know about Antarctic icebergs

The ice in Antarctica might seem static, but it is constantly moving. Pieces of ice are continuously breaking off from ice shelves, glaciers, or other icebergs. They float freely along with the Antarctic currents, with about 90 percent of their mass below the surface of the water. This fact is actually what gave rise to the nowadays popular phrase “the tip of the iceberg”. Regardless, the sighting of the first iceberg is always a moment to celebrate in any and all Antarctic expeditions. So that you may appropriately ready yourself for that joyous moment, in this article you will find everything you need to know about Antarctic icebergs.
Deep Sea Dwellers: 10 Facts about The Antarctic Giant Isopod - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Deep Sea Dwellers: 10 Facts about The Antarctic Giant Isopod

On average, the Giant Antarctic Isopod grows to 9cm (3.5in.) in length. This may not seem very large, but factors including low light levels, freezing cold water, and a lack of oxygen prevent these isopods from growing very large. Other species of isopods, including the Giant Isopod, have been known to grow up to 40 cm (16 inches) in length!
Taking the Polar Plunge - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Taking the Polar Plunge

There are some human activities that for many people simply defy understanding: We juggle chainsaws, we breathe fire, we fling ourselves out of perfectly good airplanes.
Diving in Antarctica: The Ultimate Underwater Experience - Nexta Expeditions
Blog

Diving in Antarctica: The Ultimate Underwater Experience

Ice diving offers an extraordinary experience on an Antarctica diving trip. The dive sites are teeming with a unique array of colorful marine life, including penguins and leopard seals, which are exclusive to this region.