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Under the Greenland Ice Sheet
Anyone who ventures to the right part of the globe can encounter vast amounts of ice, but a Greenland cruise offers something truly unique: ice sculptures hidden beneath the northern ice sheet. Scientists once thought these sculptures were rocky hills buried in ice, similar to the Ghost Mountains in Antarctica. However, it turns out that Mother Nature has crafted one of the most exclusive art exhibits in the world. These sculptures are not visible from the surface, but some scientists have managed to get a sneak peek using radar equipment.
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Coming Back from the Brink: The Fur Seals of Antarctica
Once hunted to the brink of extinction, the Antarctic fur seal is now one of the most populous and charismatic species of seal you’re likely to encounter during your Antarctica trips. Unlike other members of its large family, the fur seal has external ears, or pinnae, a short snout, and a thick coat of dark brown fur. Male seals tend to be larger than females, with weights ranging from 91 kg (200 lbs.) to 215 kg (474 lbs.).
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Six Facts About the Crabeater Seals of Antarctica
Antarctic fur seals, leopard seals, Weddell seals, Ross seals, southern elephant seals... The many seal species of Antarctica all have names that are in some way explained by their appearance or primary region of distribution.
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Arctic Icon: 10 Facts about the Polar Bear
Polar bears are to the Arctic what penguins are to Antarctica.
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15 Falkland Islands Bird Photos
The remote sub-Antarctic archipelago of the Falkland Islands is a haven for bird enthusiasts, offering a unique and abundant selection of birds, especially seabirds.
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Spitsbergen: a true polar bear trip
On the third day of our Svalbard cruise, we navigated through the sea ice north of Spitsbergen. The morning greeted us with fog and fragmented ice, but conditions gradually improved. A swarm of black-legged kittiwakes trailed behind us, as our ship stirred the waters, pushing aside ice floes to reveal the tiny dark polar cod beneath.
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Visiting the Nearly Unknown: New Zealand’s Campbell Island
New Zealand is a renowned destination globally, and for good reason: It’s absolutely stunning. Almost every corner is filled with unparalleled beauty. But did you know that New Zealand includes several sub-Antarctic Islands that are almost completely unknown?
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Six Seal Species You Might See On Your Greenland Cruise
If you spot a grand old whiskered man lounging in solitary splendor, there's a good chance you're looking at a bearded seal. Your Greenland cruise will take you to bays where these solitary fellows (except during breeding season) hunt for fish in the relatively shallow waters near the shores.
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Amazing Greenland
If you ever get the chance to take a trip to Greenland, you will be amazed by its coastlines, fjords, ice-covered peaks, and great expanse of snow-covered land. You will also notice that Greenland is a rugged area with a rich diversity of life, making it a dream location for scientists as well.
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Eight Ultimate Antarctica Adventures
Antarctica has adventure in its bones. Long before most travelers even reach the continent, they have to cross the Drake Passage, an oft-tumultuous waterway considered by many a hallmark of high adventure in itself. Once you do reach the Antarctic shores, the variations of landscape and wildlife are as multiform as the activities you can pursue there. While not all of these activities can or should be shoehorned into a single article, this piece will give you a survey of the top eight. Like everything in the polar regions, these activities are subject to weather conditions – and your own threshold for adventure.
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Adding Antarctica to Your Seven-Continents Bucket List
Many travelers aspire to visit all seven continents, a goal that fits naturally with the concept of a "bucket list," a term popularized by the 2007 movie.
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10 Bountiful Blue Whale Facts
The umbrella term “whale” refers to a wide variety of large marine mammals. To zero in on blue whales, however, we’ll need to unpack this term a bit. The Latin word for whale, cetus, is the root of the whale infraorder, Cetacea, the largest parvorder of which is Mysticeti.
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The Ultimate Traveler’s Guide to the Arctic and Antarctica
Sunrises or sunsets? Coffee or tea? Polar bears or penguins?
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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.
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Antarctica in Pictures: Photos from 2018
Pictures can never truly capture the essence of an experience, and this is especially true for the breathtaking adventures in Antarctica.
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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.
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Science of the Ross Ice Shelf
Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf is vast, spanning 487,000 sq. km – comparable to the size of France – with a thickness that varies from a few hundred meters near the sea to over 1,200 meters away from the floating edge. The edge along the Ross Sea forms a towering ice wall, rising up to 50 meters above the water, with most of the ice submerged below the waterline.
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Around Spitsbergen vs. North Spitsbergen
Svalbard, particularly Spitsbergen, was the first polar expedition cruise destination. It's no surprise that there are numerous trip programs available in this region. Among the most unique are the Around Spitsbergen and North Spitsbergen cruises.
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Humpback Whales: the Stars of the Western Antarctic Peninsula
The marine ecosystem of the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) stretches from the Bellingshausen Sea to the northern tip of the peninsula. This region includes the Antarctic Sea Ice Zone, a highly productive area that supports large populations of marine mammals, birds, and Antarctic krill. One of the highlights of this region, which you can observe on a whale-spotting Antarctica cruise, is the humpback whale.
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Fierce and Feathered: the Skuas of Antarctica
At first glance, the skuas you encounter in Antarctica may appear to be merely darker-feathered seagulls. But looks can be deceiving.