Antarctica news

Read the latest news about our Antarctic research and voyages.

Because we can only go to Antarctica if the waters are ice-free, this section of our website is generally updated in during the southern hemisphere's summer months.

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A lot of our Antarctica-related news, images and videos feature on our events page and social media channels. 

NIWA ship returns from Antarctica with ‘pieces of a puzzle’

Media Release
21 March 2018

The absence of sea ice near Antarctica over the past six weeks has astonished scientists undertaking research aboard NIWA’s flagship research vessel Tangaroa.

Tangaroa Marine Environment and Ecosystem Voyage 2018

Tangaroa heads to Antarctica on six-week voyage of discovery

Media Release
31 January 2018
Forty intrepid adventurers leave Wellington next week for a six-week scientific voyage to Antarctica.

Summer series 2017 - Sailing the Southern Ocean - a scientific odyssey

Media Release
11 January 2018
NIWA’s research vessel Tangaroa sets off for a six-week voyage to Antarctica in February. Six of those aboard explain what they’re doing, what they’re worried about and the one thing they wouldn’t be without.

Dramatic sea ice decline limits NIWA’s Antarctic research

Media Release
18 October 2017
A dramatic change in sea ice this year is likely to hamper a NIWA-led research project aiming to better understand how ice shelves will melt as the ocean warms.

Breaking the ice

Feature story
8 October 2017
The Deep South National Science Challenge is one of New Zealand’s most audacious collaborative projects in recent times.

From sea ice to sea bed

Feature story
8 October 2017
Pioneering NIWA scientists are returning to the cold continent in October, this time to focus on the seabed.

Revealing toothfish secrets

Feature story
5 October 2017
The Ross Sea Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Southern Ocean will help further research into the ecology of Antarctic toothfish.

Summer Series week 4: Scientist keeps cool head on the ice

Media Release
6 January 2017
Top of Natalie Robinson’s to-do list right now is to work out exactly what she’s brought back from Antarctica.

Stamps show colourful side to Antarctica

16 November 2016
A bright pink sea star and an orange sea spider are among the strange creatures of the Antarctic sea floor featured on new commemorative stamps.

Tool time: NIWA scientist heads to the ice with a drill and a tape measure

Media Release
28 October 2016
A tape measure and a drill will be pretty much all the tools a NIWA scientist needs when he heads to Antarctica next week.

NIWA kicks off busy season in Antarctica

Media Release
5 October 2016
NIWA scientists are this week making the final preparations for one of the organisation’s busiest summers at Antarctica.

Massive icebergs threaten NIWA equipment

Media Release
11 April 2016
NIWA may lose valuable scientific equipment after two massive icebergs broke off the Antarctic coastline over the weekend.

The Southern Ocean - Q & A with Dr Mike Williams

Feature story
19 October 2015
The Southern Ocean is our marine backyard. Its boundary laps against the south of the South Island. To find out how the Southern Ocean affects life in New Zealand, we went to NIWA’s Dr Mike Williams, physical oceanographer.

Taking the pulse of Antarctica’s ocean ecosystem

Media Release
12 March 2015
NIWA scientists have anchored an echosounder to the sea floor of Terra Nova Bay that could reveal the mystery of silverfish reproduction under the Antarctic ice.

Antarctica research voyage achievements

Media Release
11 March 2015
Dr Richard O’Driscoll, Voyage Leader aboard RV Tangaroa for the NZ-Australia Antarctica Ecosystems Voyage 2015 says the research project accomplished all science objectives they set out to achieve.

Voyage leader's final update

Blog
11 March 2015
Now back on dry land, Voyage Leader Richard O'Driscoll reflects on the final days of RV Tangaroa's 2015 Antarctica expedition.

Safe passage: Ice Pilot's critical mission

3 March 2015
A research voyage in Antarctic waters faces the tyranny of distance and ice during every hour of the six-week voyage.

Video: Antarctic trawl nets deep data

27 February 2015
NIWA scientists aboard RV Tangaroa have been trawling the central Ross Sea calculating the abundance of the prey species.

Travelling with the blues

Blog
16 February 2015
NIWA voyage leader Dr Richard O’Driscoll updates the Tangaroa’s encounter with the planet’s largest living beings – the Antarctic blue whales – and discovers what’s on their menu.

Staying alive – pre- Antarctic sea survival training

30 January 2015
The video below follows Sir Peter Blake Trust Ambassadors Zac Penman and Blake Hornblow as they undertake their sea survival training in preparation for Antarctica.

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