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Book Recommendations for Your Polar Cruise
Though books can't replace the experience of visiting the polar regions, they make excellent companions for your journey. We reached out to our social media followers, many of whom are past or future travelers, to gather their recommendations for polar-related books. The results were impressive, and we've compiled them below in no particular order.
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Antarctic krill: Antarctica's Superfood
The size of a paper clip, pink, krill is a shrimp-like crustacean that does not look like much. Without them, though, the Earth's marine ecosystems would collapse completely.
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Top 10 Antarctic Attractions
There’s a reason people go to such lengths to visit Antarctica, and its abundance of whales, seals, penguins, and seabirds are only part of the polar story.
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Explore Antarctica Without Leaving Your Couch
There are numerous ways to embark on an Antarctica expedition from the comfort of your home. Explore these fantastic resources to experience the White Continent without leaving your couch.
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The Wildlife of Antarctica’s Seas and Skies
Antarctica is one of the most pristine environments on Earth, home to whales, penguins, seals, and birds, providing nature lovers with a treasure trove of wildlife memories to take back home.
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Discover the Scoresby Sund Fjord System in East Greenland
Are you considering a trip to Greenland? One destination you absolutely must visit is the world's largest fjord with stunning landscapes: Scoresby Sund.
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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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Inside the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Literature, cinema, and even video games often present us with various global disaster scenarios. These typically involve devastating wars, catastrophic natural events, or widespread pandemics that leave survivors scavenging for food and supplies amidst hordes of zombies.
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Exploration of the Polar Regions
From the Vikings via the first whale and seal hunters to Scott and Amundsen, from the maritime explorers Franklin and Nordenskiöld to present-day polar tourism, a quick tour through history reveals some of the aspects which motivated people to extend their horizons. Existential need, sheer curiosity, imperial greed, polar science, and a taste for adventure all converged in regions which pardon no mistakes.
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Day and night in Antarctica
At the Concordia station, a French-Italian research facility situated 3,233 meters above sea level at Dome C on the Antarctic Plateau, European Space Agency (ESA) scientists are investigating the effects of extended space missions. The station is more isolated than the International Space Station, with the nearest humans located 600 kilometers away.
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The Ancient Fossil Forests of Antarctica
Over a hundred years ago, Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition to Antarctica discovered fossils of plants on the Beardmore Glacier, less than 500 km (310 miles) from the South Pole. Edward Wilson, who was the expedition’s chief scientist, recorded the findings in his diary, stating that “most of the bigger leaves were like beech leaves in shape and venation.”
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Wreck Diving in Antarctica
Scuba diving in Antarctica is an unparalleled adventure. Few places on Earth allow you to swim beneath icebergs and potentially encounter penguins or leopard seals. But the wonders of Antarctic diving don't end there.
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Svalbard vs. the Canadian Arctic
It’s easy to assume the Arctic is uniform, a vast expanse of northern freeze shaped by snow, ice, and endless darkness.
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11 Seals You May See in Antarctica or the Arctic
1. Weddell seals – These seals are known for their calm demeanor and spend most of their lives beneath the Antarctic ice. Although they need to come up for air, they can remain underwater for up to 45 minutes. Weddell seals can dive to depths of 610 meters (2,000 feet) in search of food. These vocal animals usually have one pup annually and can grow up to 3 meters (10 feet) and weigh 544 kg (1,200 lbs).
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Arctic Flowers, Trees, and Other Plant Life
When many people think of the Arctic, they probably imagine a stark white wasteland devoid of anything except snow, glaciers, and the occasional far-wandering polar bear.
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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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Ice streams and lakes under the Greenland Ice Sheet
The Greenland ice sheet is a dynamic mass of dense, flowing, and deforming ice. Snow deposited on the central parts of the ice sheet is gradually compressed into ice that slowly moves towards the ice margin. At the ice margin, the ice is removed by melting or by breaking off into icebergs.
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Cruising Solo: The Benefits of Single-Passenger Polar Travel
Traveling is often done with family, friends, or romantic partners. However, the benefits of solo travel, especially in polar regions, deserve more attention.
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Orcas of the Polar Seas
The orca, also known as the killer whale, is the apex marine predator and possibly the most widespread vertebrate on the planet. While they are most numerous in colder regions like Antarctica, Norway, and Alaska, they also inhabit tropical and subtropical seas. Here, we’ll explore some essential orca facts you might want to know before encountering them in person, concluding with a fantastic video showcasing our top ten favorite killer whale facts.
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Antarctica’s Hourglass Dolphin
Though hourglass dolphins are especially rare, they’re actually not a threatened or endangered species.