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.

Social media

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

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Antarctic voyage featured on Radio New Zealand National

Media Release
5 February 2015
The New Zealand-Australia Antarctic Ecosystems Voyage has been featured on Radio New Zealand National’s Our Changing World programme.

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.

Survey reveals plenty of fish in the Ross Sea

Media Release
26 March 2012

A New Zealand-led survey of young toothfish in Antarctica has found high densities of the highly-prized fish in the southern Ross Sea.

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