polar

Topic description and stories

Thriving Antarctic ecosystems found following iceberg calving

25 Mar 2025

Scientists explore a seafloor area newly exposed by iceberg A-84; discover vibrant communities of ancient sponges and corals.

Polar Stratospheric Clouds, also called mother of pearl clouds

Why do climate models underestimate polar warming? ‘Invisible clouds’ could be the answer

08 Nov 2023

Stratospheric clouds over the Arctic may explain the differences seen between the polar warming calculated by climate models and actual recordings...

$Sentinel-1 image composite depicting the highly fractured and fast-flowing frontal margin of the Thwaites and Crosson ice shelves$

Ice sheets can collapse faster than previously thought possible

05 Apr 2023

Ice sheets can retreat up to 600 metres a day during periods of climate warming, 20 times faster than the highest rate of retreat previously measured...

Researchers build more detailed picture of the movement of Greenland Ice Sheet

10 Feb 2023

Researchers have found that the movement of glaciers in Greenland is more complex than previously thought, with deformation in regions of warmer ice...

Fibre-optics used to take the temperature of Greenland Ice Sheet

14 May 2021

Scientists have used fibre-optic sensing to obtain the most detailed measurements of ice properties ever taken on the Greenland Ice Sheet. Their...

Surface lakes cause Antarctic ice shelves to ‘flex’

13 Feb 2019

The filling and draining of meltwater lakes has been found to cause a floating Antarctic ice shelf to flex, potentially threatening its stability.

The search for Endurance

24 Jan 2019

In early January, a team of Cambridge scientists set out on an expedition to study and map the Larsen C ice shelf in western Antarctica, and – ice...

Left: Marine sediment core sample from the South Atlantic with fossilised partially dissolved shells of planktonic organisms. Right: Well-preserved plankton shells.

New insights into the dynamics of past climate change

14 Oct 2015

A new study finds that changing climate in the polar regions can affect conditions in the rest of the world far quicker than previously thought.

This photograph is a composite image made by Ponting to capture the desolation of the Polar Party.

Final letters mark centenary of Scott’s last march

12 Nov 2012

A new collection of the last letters of Captain Scott and the Pole Party has been released to mark the centenary of the discovery of their bodies in...

Foundering in soft snow: Bowers' sledge team; Wilson pushing; Oates and PO Evans repairing, Beardmore Glacier, 13 December 1911

Celebrating the centenary of Captain Scott reaching the South Pole

17 Jan 2012

Tuesday 17 January 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the first British team reaching the South Pole. Founded as a memorial to Captain Scott and his...

Cast your vote for the Polar Museum

28 Apr 2011

It’s time to show your love for the Polar Museum at Cambridge University’s Scott Polar Research Institute this weekend.

Engaging with Inuit communities

01 Jan 2009

At first glance, reasons for researching locations as different as the Arctic and Mexico are not self-evident. But comparison is at the core of...