All about Antarctica
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Part XII The Heroic Age
12 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Heroic Age in Antarctica dates from 1899-1922 when the first men to winter over and conduct scientific research and exploration endured many hards...
Part XIX Antarctica and the Future
11 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout this podcast, we have traced the history of Antarctica from its geologic origins, its earliest discovery and the first people to set foot t...
Part XVIII Marine Fisheries and Illegal Fishing
11 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Fisheries for fin fish and krill began to increase in Antarctica in the late 1960s and 1970s and by 1982 the krill catch rose to a peak of over 520,00...
Part XVII Anthropogenic Impacts
11 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Although Antarctica is still the most remote and pristine place on earth, there have been many human-caused impacts to this continent and the marine e...
Part XVI Research Stations and Life in the Cold
11 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Research stations in Antarctica must overcome three obstacles: logistics for how to build and maintain them, climate control for comfortable temperatu...
Part XV The Antarctic Treaty
11 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After the International Geophysical Year of 1957-1958, Antarctica became a focus of scientific research that continues to this day. In 1958, most of A...
Part XIV The International Geophysical Year
11 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Following Shackleton’s death in 1922 which marked the end of the Heroic Age in Antarctic history, no major expedition occurred to Antarctica until 1...
Part XIII Race to the Pole
11 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As we enter the heart of the Heroic Age in Antarctica, three men become competitors to be the first person to reach the South Pole: Robert Falcon Scot...
Part XI Discovery of Antarctica
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Antarctica is a huge continent, over 5 million square miles in size. Yet, it was not until the 1820s that humans first set foot upon it, and not until...
Part X Penguins and Other Seabirds
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When the topic of penguins is raised, most people tend to think only about Antarctica as their habitat. However, of the 19 living species only five ac...
Part IX Marine Mammals
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Marine mammals in Antarctica can be divided into two major groups: the pinnipeds and the cetaceans. Pinnipeds can be further divided into two groups, ...
Part VIII Antarctic Lakes
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Although only about 2% of Antarctica is exposed as ice-free land, there are hundreds of lakes found there that vary from freshwater to saline. T...
Part VII Terrestrial Ecology
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Fully terrestrial life in Antarctica is extremely limited with only two flowering plants and no vertebrates (no polar bears!). Penguins and seals come...
Part VI Marine Ecology
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Part IV of this podcast, I described how sea ice forms and traps marine algae that can grow in the ice before it’s released back into the ocean w...
Part V Ice Cores and Atmospheric Science
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Although the giant ice sheets that cover Antarctica formed by 14 million years ago, constant movement and replacement of this ice means that none of i...
Part IV Sea ice and Polynyas
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sea ice is a major feature of Antarctica and has considerable influence on ocean currents and marine ecology. In this episode I describe how sea ice f...
Part III Ice Sheet Origins and Modern Climate
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How did the Antarctic continent become covered with an ice sheet that is up to 4 km thick? In this episode I explain how this ice sheet develope...
Part II Antarctic Origins
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I describe the geologic origins of the Antarctic continent and how it changed and developed over millions of years to become the cold...
Part I Introduction to Antarctica
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode I introduce myself and the research I've been conducting in Antarctica since 1991, then provide a brief introduction to Antarctica wit...