Activist Vessel Collides with Krill Harvesting Vessel off Antarctica
An environmental activist vessel deliberately collided with a Norwegian krill harvesting vessel near Antarctica on Tuesday, damaging its hull, the vessel's owner, Aker QRILL Company, said on Wednesday.The company said the Norway-flagged trawler Antarctic Sea was deliberately struck by Bandero, a 65-metre (213 ft) vessel operated by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation.Aker QRILL said Bandero struck near the stern of its vessel, where its diesel fuel tank sits, causing minor damage."If the steel plates ... had ruptured, it could have caused a spill. It was probably just luck that it didn't
Antarctic Sea Ice Extent Reaches Seasonal Minimum
Antarctic sea ice has likely reached its minimum extent for the year, at 2.58 million square kilometers (996,000 square miles) on February 26, 2026, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder.The 2026 minimum ranks 16th lowest in the 48-year satellite record. This year’s minimum is much closer to average than the past four years, albeit still 260,000 square kilometers (100,000 square miles) below the 1981 to 2010 average. It is 730,000 square kilometers (282,000 square miles) above the record low set on February 21, 2023.
Memorial Stone Placed at Grave of Antarctic Pioneer Captain John King Davis
A new memorial stone and plaque have been placed at the grave of Captain John King Davis, one of the mostly highly decorated navigators and mariners in the history of Antarctic exploration.Davis served as Chief Officer under Ernest Shackleton during the British Antarctic Nimrod Expedition in 1907 and captained the SY Aurora during the Australasian Antarctic Expedition in 1911, led by Sir Douglas Mawson.Despite his contributions, Captain Davis’s grave at the Melbourne General Cemetery has remained unmarked since his death in 1967.Earlier this month, members of the ANARE Club, including President
Sea Shepherd Returns to Antarctic to Raise Awareness about Krill
Sea Shepherd Global has launched its 2026 Operation Antarctica Defense campaign following the departure of the M/Y Allankay from Ushuaia in Argentina.Last season, the industrial krill fishery reached its seasonal catch limit early for the first time, triggering an unprecedented early closure. This extraordinary development highlights the escalating pressure on krill populations and the Antarctic ecosystem already destabilized by climate change, says Sea Shepherd.Industrial krill super trawlers operate primarily in an area between the South Orkney Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula region, an area
New Map Reveals Terrain Below Antarctic Ice Sheet
Scientists have devised the most detailed map to date of the terrain hidden below the vast ice sheet blanketing Antarctica, uncovering an exuberant landscape of mountains, canyons, valleys and plains while discerning for the first time tens of thousands of hills and other smaller features.The researchers used the latest high-resolution satellite observations and a method called ice-flow perturbation analysis, which estimates subglacial topography and conditions based on surface features, to map the full continent including previously uncharted parts.Improved knowledge of the subglacial bedrock landscape
BAS Secures Antarctic Station Resupply for the Next Decade
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has joined forces with the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) and Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) to share an ice-capable vessel that will resupply three Antarctic research stations for the next 10 years. The Silver Mary will visit Halley VI station every other season, along with Norway’s Troll station and Germany’s Neumayer station.The partnership builds on the successful UK-German partnership that resupplied Halley in 2023-24. The first call to Halley VI under the new agreement is planned for January 2026. NPI will operate annual voyages
Antarctic Mountains Could Boost Ocean Carbon Absorption
Research led by polar scientists from Northumbria University has revealed new hope in natural environmental systems found in East Antarctica which could help mitigate the overall rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over long timescales.As Antarctica's ice sheets thin due to climate change, newly exposed mountain peaks could significantly increase the supply of vital nutrients to the Southern Ocean which surrounds the continent, potentially enhancing its ability to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to the research published in Nature Communications.A team of scientists with expertise
Scientists Discover Six Million Year Old Ice in Antarctica, Offers Unprecedented Window into a Warmer Earth
A team of researchers, including those from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), has discovered the oldest directly dated ice and air on the planet in the Allan Hills region of East Antarctica, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.A 6-million-year-old ice sample—the oldest sample from Allan Hills dated by researchers—provides an unprecedented window into Earth’s past climate, where abundant geological evidence indicates much warmer temperatures and higher sea levels compared to today.The research was led by Sarah Shackleton
University of Gothenburg to Buy New AUV
The University of Gothenburg will buy a new underwater vehicle to replace Ran, the AUV that was lost under a glacier in Antarctica in 2024.A large donation means that researchers can plan for new expeditions.The autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Ran contributed to groundbreaking research, education and technological development for six years. The most groundbreaking results were achieved during risky missions under the floating glaciers of Antarctica. It was also during one such mission that Ran was lost in January 2024.“Thanks to Ran, we became the first researchers in the world to enter
February 2026
