Antarctica Archives

Summary of representative locations in the Arabian Peninsula that could be employed as analog sites for astrobiological studies. Colors denote environment types (green: salt flats, dark blue: deep-sea brine pools, light blue: hydrothermal vent systems, white: snow-covered mountains and deserts, gray: volcanic fields, red: hot springs, and yellow: deserts) -- Extremophiles

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report

Extreme Arabian Environments And Their Microbiomes: New Frontiers For Astrobiology And Biosignature Discovery

by Keith CowingApril 13, 2026April 13, 2026

Astrobiology assesses the habitability of planetary bodies and the potential for extraterrestrial life.

The buoyancy adjustment made on the first day of Totten Photo: JARE67 Miho Ikeda (March 6, 2026)

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean Planet Exploration: Recovery Of NIPR AUV MONACA

by Keith CowingMarch 26, 2026March 26, 2026

Editor’s note: When we start to mount Astrobiology missions to explore ocean worlds we’ll need ways for our robotic submersibles to observe and interact with whatever life forms they may […]

Grounding line retreat on West Antarctica, 1992-2025

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice Planet Update: Antarctica Retreat Study Signals Future Ice Loss

by Keith CowingMarch 23, 2026March 23, 2026

The ice along Antarctica’s ‘grounding lines’ has been largely stable over the past 30 years – but ice has retreated by more than 40 km in some areas, a new […]

Dale Andersen in an ice hole preparing to dive in Lake Untersee, Antarctica in February 2026 -- Alessandro Cuzzeri

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Life Support Systems, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, People Of Astrobiology, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report 16 March 2026: Spring Field Season Completed; Preparing The Fall Field Season

by Keith CowingMarch 16, 2026March 16, 2026

Hi Keith, The team and I have been home for about two weeks now, settling back into the familiar rhythms of home and work after our time in Antarctica. Our […]

Drilling Base Camp, Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica -- BAS

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice World Expedition: Drilling Through Thwaites Glacier In West Antarctica

by Keith CowingMarch 12, 2026March 12, 2026

A team of researchers from the UK and Korea has reached the most inaccessible and least-understood part of Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica where they will drill through the glacier […]

Lake Untersee, Antarctica and surrounding features - NASA/Google Earth

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Life Support Systems, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Antarctica’s Untersee – A Most Unusual Lake

by Keith CowingMarch 12, 2026March 12, 2026

Scientists estimate that Earth is home to more than 100 million lakes. Among the most unusual is Lake Untersee, one of Antarctica’s largest and deepest surface lakes, known for its […]

A Map of CTD downcast events on which metagenomics samples were taken, colored according to the number of samples taken on the cast.

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Researchers Uncover Hidden Genetic World in Antarctic Waters

by Keith CowingMarch 12, 2026March 12, 2026

The researchers analyzed DNA from water samples collected throughout the Southern Ocean during a three-month expedition in late 2016 and early 2017. After sequencing the DNA, they cross-referenced their results […]

Time-dependent geoid predictions. Geoid anomalies are shown at: (A) 65 Ma, (B) 40 Ma, and (C) 0 Ma, predicted from the time-dependent reconstruction of 3D mantle structure at 70 Ma. (D) The geoid anomalies based on present-day GyPSuM tomography model. In all cases, the V1 viscosity model is employed, and the geoid predictions are represented by a spherical harmonic expansion truncated at degree 32. The yellow star marks the present-day geographical location of Earth’s lowest point for nonhydrostatic geoid based on the Chambat et al. ellipticity correction. The magenta star marks the location of the maximum geoid depression after removal of the gravitational signal generated by isostatically compensated crustal heterogeneity. This crust-corrected, nonhydrostatic geoid was employed as a constraint in the derivation of the GyPSuM tomography model. The black and grey lines display the reconstruction position of the plate boundaries and coastlines. Regional variance reduction values over Antarctica (lat ≤ –60°) are: 94% (observation, Fig. 1B, vs. initial GyPSuM model, Fig. 2D), 88% (observation, Fig. 1B, vs. prediction, Fig. 2C), and 96% (initial GyPSuM model, Fig. 2D, vs. prediction, Fig. 2C). -- Scientific Reports

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release

Antarctica Sits Above Earth’s Strongest Gravity Hole

by Keith CowingMarch 3, 2026March 3, 2026

Gravity feels reliable — stable and consistent enough to count on. But reality is far stranger than our intuition.

Biogeochemist Elisa Merz -- © Abbey Dias

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microgravity, People Of Astrobiology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Antarctic Microbial Mats: A Research Dive At Minus 20 Degrees Air Temperature

by Keith CowingFebruary 27, 2026February 27, 2026

Lake Fryxell is located in the McMurdo Dry Valley on the Antarctic mainland. The lake is covered year round with four to five metres of ice, and it has some […]