Many of these sites and their descriptions are included in the appendix I prepared for ANTARCTICA: THE COMPLETE STORY by David McGonigal and Lynn Woodworth (The Five Mile Press, 2001).
I went to all sites listed on 27 January 2007 and removed all that were no longer functioning and added quite a few new ones.
Note: Some of these sites are filled with graphics and may be slow to load for those with dial-up internet connections.
—R. Stephenson
Last updated: 13 April 2008
Accessed at least
Antarctic Centers
National Programs
News
History
Timelines
Explorers & Expeditions
Education & Kids
Tourism
Webcams
Images
Artists, Writers & Musicians
Bibliography
Some E-Books
Links
Miscellaneous
Byrd Polar Research Center
http://www-bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
CRREL
http://itl.erdc.usace.army.mil/library [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs
http://www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=OPP [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
U.S. Antarctic Program
http://www.usap.gov [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Antarctica New Zealand
http://www.antarcticanz.govt.nz [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Australian Antarctic Division
http://www.aad.gov.au [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs
http://www.comnap.aq [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
SCAR http://www.scar.org [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
70South
http://www.70south.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Cool Antarctica
http://www.coolantarctica.com [Last checked: 18 February 2007]
The New South Polar Times
http://205.174.118.254/nspt/home.htm [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Heritage Antarctica
http://www.heritage-antarctica.org [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
National Maritime Museum
http://www.nmm.ac.uk [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackleton [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
International Polar Heritage Committee
http://www.polarheritage.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
During 2002, the Library will celebrate its Antarctic collections with activities, events and films. Lines on the Ice: The Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914, will run from 8 July to 27 October in the Library's Galleries. This exhibition uses original images, maps and manuscripts to reveal the human side of Douglas Mawson's landmark, 'Heroic Age' expedition.
This site has images from that exhibit as follows:
Polar Pathways
http://www.polarpathways.info [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Antarctic Connections
http://www.ccc.govt.nz/Christchurch/AntarcticConnections/ [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Antarctic Heritage and Conservation
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/antarctica/index.html [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Captain Cook Society
http://www.captaincooksociety.com/ccsu64.htm [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Captain Cook Society (James Cook)
http://www.captaincooksociety.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Shackleton's Voyage of Endurance (Shackleton)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackleton [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton
http://indigo.ie/~jshack/ernest.html [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Shackleton Speaks (Shackleton)
http://www.shackletoncentenary.org/vintage_audio/Ernest_Shackleton-MySouthPolar.mp3 [Last checked: 19 August 2007]
Kodak (Hurley and Shackleton)
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/features/endurance [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
James Caird Society (Shackleton)
http://www.jamescairdsociety.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Welcome to the Shack! (Shackleton)
http://home.nycap.rr.com/gn/ [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
John Hyatt Illustration (Shackleton)
http://johnhyattillustration.com [Last checked: 16 March 2008]
Discovery Point (Scott)
http://www.rrsdiscovery.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
The United States Exploring Expedition 1838-42 and Charles Wilkes
http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/usexex/ [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
The Alfred Agate Collection: The United States Exploring Expedition 1838-42
http://www.history.navy.mil/ac/exploration/wilkes/wilkes.html [Last checked: 16 April 2007]
Pete's Polar Place (Frank Hurley)
http://www.petespolarplace.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
HMS Endurance Tracking Project (Shackleton)
http://www.visitandlearn.co.uk [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Royal Scottish Geographical Society (Bruce)
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/rsgs/events/Scotia/#icy [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Scotland and the Antarctic (Bruce but also Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen)
http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/scotia/gooant [Last checked: 18 February 2007]
Transglobe Expedition (Fiennes)
http://www.transglobe-expedition.org/ [Last checked: 19 August 2007]
Share the Journey
http://www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/claypoles [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
TEA (Teachers Experiencing Antarctica and the Arctic) http://tea.armadaproject.org [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
British Antarctic Survey
http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/ [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Lonely Planet
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/antarctica [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Quark Expeditions http://www.quarkexpeditions.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Webcams in Antarctica http://uwamrc.ssec.wisc.edu/webcam.html [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
South Pole
http://www.usap.gov/videoclipsandmaps/spwebcam.cfm [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Iceberg Images at AMRC
http://amrc.ssec.wisc.edu/iceberg.html [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Google Images
http://images.google.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Panoramas
http://www.iwf.de/polpanos/pol_archiv.htm [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Royal Geographical Society
http://images.rgs.org/ [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
The Alfred Agate Collection: The United States Exploring Expedition 1838-42
http://www.history.navy.mil/ac/exploration/wilkes/wilkes.html [Last checked: 16 April 2007]
Alan Campbell
http://www.alancampbellstudios.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Neelon Crawford
http://www.PolarFineArts.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Lucia deLeiris http://www.luciadeleiris.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Caroline Durre http://www.carolinedurre.com/page7.htm [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Peter Hall
http://www.natureartists.com/artists/artist_artwork.asp?ArtistID=980&Artwork_CategoryID=634 [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
David Rosenthal http://www.PolarFineArts.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Galen Rowell http://www.mountainlight.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Norbert Wu http://www.norbertwu.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
I was able to find and view or download the following Antarctic titles:
SCAR
http://www.scar.org [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Scott Polar Research Institute
http://www.spri.cam.ac.uk [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Australian Antarctic Division
http://www.aad.gov.au [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Arctic Research Consortium Austria
http://www.arctic.at/castaway/ [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Discoverers Web
http://www.win.tue.nl/cs/fm/engels/discovery [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
The Polar Web
http://arcticcentre.ulapland.fi/polarweb/polar/lblibdir.htm [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Atlas of Antarctic Research
http://gisdata.usgs.gov/website/antarctic_research_atlas/viewer.htm [Last checked: 11 March 2007]
IPY 2007-2008 International Polar Year
http://www.us-ipy.gov [Last checked: 2 May 2007]
International Polar Year 2007-2008
http://www.ipy.org [Last checked: 2 May 2007]
NASA and the International Polar Year (IPY)
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/IPY/main/index.html [Last checked: 11 March 2007]
CIA's Antarctica page
https://www.cia.gov/search?NS-search-page=document&NS-rel-doc-name=/cia/publications/factbook/print/ay.html&NS-query=Antarctica&NS-search-type=NS-boolean-query&NS-collection=World%20Factbook&NS-docs-found=608&NS-doc-number=1 [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Antarctic Treaty
http://www.ats.aq [Last checked: 6 December 2007]
Antarctic Treaty
http://webhost.nvi.net/aspire [Last checked: 6 December 2007]
Tasmanian Polar Network (TPN)
http://www.tpn.aq [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
The ANARE Club
http://www.anareclub.org.au [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Website for those who are interested in or served on the icebreaker Edisto
http://www.ussedistoagb2.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Website for those who are interested in or served on the icebreaker Glacier
http://www.glaciersociety.org [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
And for those who are interested in or served in the Antarctic. Have a look at the Old Antarctic Explorers site
http://www.oaea.net [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Antarctic Centers
¶ Major (mostly scientific) centers.
Scott Polar Research Institute
http://www.spri.cam.ac.uk [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) is the world's leading academic polar organization. This site is very detailed and comprehensive. Among the highlights:
• SPRILIB, a searchable database with over 43,000 bibliographic records
• Polar Pictures, the database of the holdings of the Picture Library
• Index to Antarctic programmes (comprehensive guide to Internet resources on national programmes, their webpages, current and historic research)
• The Index to Antarctic Expeditions (with links, summaries and related literature)
• Little-known British Antarctic Expeditions
• Polar Museums Directory
• Directory of Polar and Cold Regions Organizations
• 'Virtual Shackleton' is an "interactive exhibit on the life and expeditions of Sir Ernest Shackleton."
• Museum Catalogue (new but so far only Arctic)
• Museum Shop (you can order from the site)
• There are even Kid's Pages including Polar Jokes.
BPRC is the closest thing to an American SPRI (and not that close). The site is heavily scientific in content. Among the other things on the site:
• Biography of Richard Byrd
• Polar Pointers, a notable and very extensive collection of annotated links
• Byrd Polar Archives (Ohio State hold the papers of Byrd, Wilkins, Cook Society, American Polar Society, among others)
The Library at CRREL (Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory) in Hanover, New Hampshire, "is recognized as the world's foremost collection of cold regions scientific and technical literature." Its site has several searchable databases and many links. [CRREL is now part of Engineer Research and Development Center or ERDC. This is still part of the US Army Corps of Engineers or USACE.]
National Programs
¶ Most countries doing work in the Antarctic have websites for their programs. Most of these have limited content and are of marginal interest. Those below are worth going to, however.
British Antarctic Survey
http://www.antarctica.ac.uk [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
All about British bases, copyright-free photos, databases, virtual tours, news stories and lots of science.
Sections on scientific programs by discipline, journal articles, lots of photographic and satellite images.
Information on USAP and its activities. Some good links for maps and images. Video clips. The Antarctic Photo Library secton has hundred of photos.
Some good school resourcesÑfrequently asked questions, information sheets, and education database.
Maps of station areas, searchable catalogue of library holdings, many copyright-free photos, database of polar words and phrases, station webcams, and the Antarctic Artefacts Register. Quite a good resource for students (see 'Experience Antarctica.')
"Established in 1988 to bring together those managers of national agencies responsible for the conduct of Antarctic operations in support of science." It lists all the stations, has details on the facilities and activities of each, and links to all the national programs (the 'aq' in the web address is Antarctica's own internet domain).
"SCAR [Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research] is charged with the initiation, promotion and coordination of scientific research in Antarctica. It also provides scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty System." The site has an excellent listing of facts, ediucational and information on various scientific working groups and specialists. Quite a few links for sources of images ('Antarctica in Pictures' under 'Antarctic Information.')
News
Links to news sources, contributed items, and interesting or important Antarctic anniversaries for the current month. Greatly expanded/improved in recent months.
70South, "The No.1 source for Antarcticles"(tm), is an award winning website, recognised as a (if not the) leading independent news and information resource on Antarctica and other polar related topics. The site is dynamic and updated daily with the latest news and information on or related to Antarctica, and has an ever-increasing amount of reference and educational information. In addition, the site contains a virtual tour, photographs, video clips, a dynamic events calendar for future and past events with exhibit information, hundreds of categorized links and much more.
--From the site. But it's still unclear who or what is behind this site. It's commercial in the sense of having ads and commercial links, but there seems to be no indication of source.
This site is the work of Paul Ward who spent four years with BAS, 1985-87. It's commercial in that it sells stuff, but there's also some good news here.
Antarctic Sun
http://antarcticsun.usap.gov [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Major sections: Antarctica Pictures; Antarctica Cruise; Facts; History; Ugg Sale; Store; Clothes; Whales; Book; DVD etc.; Schools; Boots; Forum; Site Map; FIDS.
One section I like is the 'Antarctic Expeditions Crew Lists and Biographies.' Lots of information on those who were on expeditions from Bellingshausen to Shackleton's Quest.
Published during the austral summer at McMurdo Station. The contents are informal and chatty; and there are even cartoons.
An archive of the newsletter written by the staff of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station between 1993 and 1998. There's also other items of interest.
South Pole Gazette
http://www.shackletoncentenary.org/gazette/# [Last checked: 19 August 2007]
"This is a semi-automated journal of online polar news, brought to you by the Shackleton Centenary Expedition. The Gazette contains fresh links to entries made in the last hour, gathered from syndicated news sources and special-interest sites. It acts as a rolling resource for anyone interested in tracking Antarctic news."
History
¶ The Antarctic Philately site is excellent when it comes to history; among the best. Many webpages will have some coverage of Antarctic history and the better-known explorers.
Antarctic Philately
http://www.south-pole.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
For those with a passion for Antarctic (also Arctic) history, the Antarctic Philately site is the place to go. Besides copious information on stamps and postal history, there is voluminous coverage of south polar exploration from Cook to nearly the present. The highpoints are the numerous biographical entries and a well-done time line stretching from 1519 to 1959. Some portions are nearly book-length. This elegantly designed site also features many seldom-seen photo illustrations.
Will appeal to those interested in Antarctic historic sites, especially the huts of the explorers. Site highlights the activities of New Zealand's Antarctic Heritage Trust in maintaining the historic huts in the Ross Sea sector. Included is a listing of historic sites with accompanying maps. This site also serves the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust.
This is the world's premier maritime museum and it has strong holdings in Antarctic material—artifacts, paintings and manuscripts. Its website is extensive and in many languages. The picture and library collections are online and can be searched. The 'Collections Online' section is a searchable database of over 9000 articles in the museum: at last count 34 of these popped up when 'Antarctic' was searched. The 'Search Station' section has a South Pole page with numerous photographs with lengthy captions.
Boston's WGBH public television station hosts this informative site which includes useful biographies of all of Shackleton's men, details on the lesser known Ross Sea party, historic maps, short accounts of other heroic age expeditions, educational resources such as lesson plans, and information on clothing, food, etc.
"This site is provided by the International Polar Heritage Committee (IPHC) as a resource of information on matters related to the human heritage of Arctic and Antarctic regions. It is offered to everyone with an interest in the preservation and protection of the history of exploration, research and exploitation in polar areas. . . . The IPHC is a scientific committee of ICOMOS . . . (the International Council on Monuments and Sites). . . a non-governmental organisation of professional cultural heritage workers, which serves as an advisory body to UNESCO on matters related to world heritage.
It was founded in 1965, and now has national committees in more than 90 countries. . . .
Antarctic Collections
http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/antarctica [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Selected site contents:
Other Polar heritage reports
--Thanks to Paul Chaplin (May 2002)
General polar heritage and special conservation news
Polar Heritage Reference Material
Historic Sites and Monuments in Antarctica
Bibliographies and other reference material
Technical and scientific papers
Field and activity Reports
General polar historical information
Related Groups and Agencies
Polar heritage protection agencies
Other heritage protection and environmental agencies
Other Polar agencies and information sources
Register of Expertise
Historians, archaeologists and social history specialists
Conservators and technical conservation specialists"
In 2010 the Mitchell Library at the State Library of New South Wales will be celebrating its centenary. Antarctic Collections 2002 is the second part of a ten-year program highlighting significant aspects of the Library's collections.
Material used in the development of the Lines on the ice exhibition and gallery guide held at the State Library of NSW, 8 July to 27 October 2002
• Images from the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914
• Photographs of the Aurora, group portraits and camp
• Photographs reproduced in Geographical narrative and cartography by Douglas Mawson
• Pictures taken during the Australasian Antarctic Expedition by Frank Hurley
• The Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914 : realia
• The Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914 : drawings and observations
• Charles Francis Laseron - diaries, 21 November 1911 to 24 February 1913
• Dovers family - papers, 1911-1915
• Australian Antarctic Expedition - records, December 1910 to December 1915
A recent initiative of Antarctic Tasmania is the updating and reissuance of Polar Pathways, a guide detailing Tasmania's Antarctic Heritage which first appeared in 1995. Walking and driving tours are included. Although the guide is handy to have, all the information and more can be found on this site.
Extensive information on Christchurch's Antarctic heritage. Includes a walking and driving tour which can be downloaded.
This section of the Natural History Museum's website focuses on the historic huts in the Ross Sea region and their conservation.
Cool Antarctica
http://www.coolantarctica.com [Last checked: 18 February 2007]
This site is the work of Paul Ward who spent four years with BAS, 1985-87.
Quite a bit on history.
One section I like is the 'Antarctic Expeditions Crew Lists and Biographies.' Lots of information on those who were on expeditions from Bellingshausen to Shackleton's Quest.
Timelines
¶ These sites feature particularly good or extensive chronologies of Antarctic exploration or individual explorers.
Antarctic Philately.
http://www.south-pole.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
This excellent site has tucked away within An Antarctic Time Line: 1519-1959 which is thorough and comprehensive.
A very detailed chronology of his Cook's second (Antarctic) voyage. The overall site has a wealth of material on Captain Cook including information on stamps, coins, medals, and Cook's ships, and a long bibliography as well.
New Zealand Antarctic Veterans Association
http://antarctic.homestead.com/timeline.html [Last checked: 13 April 2008]
An extensive timeline created by Mike Subritzky, starting in 200 million years BC and going right up to the present.
Explorers & Expeditions
¶ These sites concentrate on individual explorers and expeditions.
Byrd Polar Research Center (Byrd, Wilkins)
http://www-bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
This site has a biography of Richard Byrd (found under 'About BPRC') and a comprehensive collection of links entitled 'Polar Pointers,' some of which relate to explorers and expeditions. In the 'Polar Archival Program' section is extensive information on both Byrd and Sir Hubert Wilkins (chronology, collection scope and content, finding aid, photographs) whose papers are at Ohio State (there are other papers of Antarctic interest as well). The site also includes several online exhibits: The excellent 'Magic of Antarctic Colours,' 'Echoes in the Ice' and 'Conquering the Ice, Byrd's Flight to the South Pole.'
A very detailed chronology of his Cook's second (Antarctic) voyage. The overall site has a wealth of material on Captain Cook including information on stamps, coins, medals, and Cook's ships, and a long bibliography as well.
Boston's WGBH public television station hosts this informative site which includes useful biographies of all of Shackleton's men, details on the lesser known Ross Sea party, historic maps, short accounts of other heroic age expeditions, educational resources such as lesson plans, and information on clothing, food, etc.
The explorer's cousin and family historian, Jonathan Shackleton, has a site that notes recent books, videos and exhibitions, and recounts Shackleton's four Antarctic expeditions.
"We present an early wax cylinder record from this period, titled 'My South Polar Expedition' by Lieut. E.H. Shackleton, recorded on 30 March 1909, with the location of the recording apocryphally given as being the Albert Hall. In any event, Shackleton describes here the hazards of crossing the Beardmore Glacier: only ten men in recorded history have ever managed this crossing.
The recording (8.6MB) will open in a new window."
Focuses on Frank Hurley and the Shackleton's Endurance expedition using historic photographs.
The James Caird Society was established in 1994 to honor and perpetuate Shackleton's life and deeds. This very active group has placed a considerable amount material on its website including some good photographs, quite a bit of history on Shackleton's Endurance expedition, the latest Shackleton news and details on the Society itself.
At the moment Shackleton seems to attract the most attention. The most enthusiastic is Welcome to the Shack! Among its contents are frequently asked questions, Shack Books, Book Review, Shack Links, and News Archive. The Message Board features queries posted by readers with responses from others. Hasn't been updated since 2004.
A lovely site, beautifully designed. And why shouldn't it be? John Hyatt is an illustrator. Much of the site is devoted to Shackleton and the Endurance expedition. The illustrated Timeline is excellent. It's on the site and scrolls from left to right but it is also available as a 20-1/2 by 29-2/4 inch poster.
At the moment Captain Scott receives less web attention than Shackleton. His ship Discovery is beautifully preserved in Dundee, and the associated web site has lots on Scott, his men, the ship and the extensive exhibits on shore at Discovery Point.
Edward Wilson of the Antarctic
http://www.edwardawilson.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
"This web-site is intended to give wider access to the life, work and legacy of an extra-ordinary man."
The individual sections include: 1. Introduction,
2. Childhood,
3. Cambridge,
4. London,
5. TB,
6. Discovery,
7. Ireland,
8. Grouse,
9. Mammals,
10. Birds,
11. Terra Nova.
This is an excellent example of a simple yet elegantly handsome and useful site, created by Duncan Lawie and family member David Wilson.
The Smithsonian Institution has an excellent site on the expedition the collections of which led to the Institution's founding. Extremely large content including the full text of Wilkes' five volume narrative and the scientitic texts.
The Naval Historical Center at the Washington Navy Yard maintains this site which has a detailed account of the expedtion with many of the original images produced in various media. "The artworks used in this exhibition are taken from the Agate Collection of drawings at the Navy Art Collection. Alfred Agate created many of these during his service with the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 or in the preparation of the report of the Expedition. On his death in 1846 the drawings passed to his widow, Elizabeth Hill Kennedy Agate, who later married Dr. William J. C. Du Hamel of Washington, D.C. In 1926, one of her daughters from this marriage, Elizabeth A. Du Hamel, sold them to the Naval Historical Foundation. The Naval Historical Foundation donated them to the Navy Art Collection in 1998."
This is site is "dedicated to the literature and philately of polar regions and to a lesser extent to non-polar philately." Has an extensive and useful section on Frank Hurley and collections around the world with Hurley material.
This is much more than just a site with a Shackleton focus. Among other things there's information on: Water and Oceans; Antarctica's Future; Antarctic Diet; Hydrographic Surveying; Polar Clothing; Ice, Ice & more Ice; Discovery & Exploration; Ernest Shackleton; Poles Apart; Southern Ocean Life; Latitude and Longitude; Seasons; About Endurance; Endurance Obituaries; Weather; Antarctic Treaty; Volcanoes; Ice Sheet History; and so on. Among the most interesting sections is the Endurance Obituaries. Lots of biographical information on members of the Endurance expedition. Particularly interesting: what happened to the members in later life.
A great deal of information on William Speirs Bruce and his Scotia expedition 1902-2002.
This is a lengthy portion of the Glasgow Digital Library website and is, in fact, an 'e-book' version of Scotland and the Antarctic by James A. Goodlad which was produced by the Royal Geographical Society in 2003 "to celebrate the achievements of hte Scottish oceanographer and polar explorer William Speirs Bruce and to mark the centenary of the voyage of S.Y. Scotia, the research ship of Bruce's Scottish National Antarctic Expedition of 1902-04." The book itself is 118pp.
Very useful.
"In 1972 Ran's wife, Ginny, conceived the circumpolar idea. For seven years they strove to raise support for it and in 1979 set out from Greenwich in a thirty-year-old ice strengthened vessel, Benjamin Bowring, with a colourful crew of volunteers from many countries and backgrounds. The first circumpolar journey round the earth, led by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, was described in the New York Times as the world's last great adventure, and by the expedition patron, HRH Prince Charles as 'mad but marvellous'."
Education & Kids
¶ These sites contain material of interest to teachers and/or students.
Scott Polar Research Institute
http://www.spri.cam.ac.uk [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) is the world's leading academic polar organization. This site is very detailed and comprehensive. There are even Kid's Pages including Polar Jokes.
Share the Journey, hosted by the Victoria Department of Education in Australia; it follows the year (1999) spent at Commonwealth Bay by Yvonne and Jim Claypole and includes diary entries and questions for students.
This is a terrific educational site sponsored by the National Science Foundation and facilitated by Rice University, the American Museum of Natural History and CRREL. Schoolteachers participate in research projects in Antarctica and post their journals here, or can e-mail them and learn more. The content is voluminous. Although the TEA program has ceased and the site has been archived, this in nonetheless a very useful source.
Among the contents of the 'School Zone' section are Resources for Teaching; Information for Teachers and Students; All About Antarctica; and Fun and Games.
Bears on Ice
http://www.ku-prism.org/resources/Bears2005/ [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
From the introduction: "This site allows students to experience Antarctica through the eyes of two Geobears, Berkley and OzGold, who sailed on the Aurora Australis with their Australian, friend and helper, Gordon Bain. Berkley came from Illinois from the 4th grade classroom of Betty Trummel, while OzGold came from Gordon's home in Tasmania. These Bears have traveled to Antarctica and back, have had many adventures and have lived to tell the tale. They have brought back information and photographs that will help you share their adventures."
Classroom Antarctica
http://www.aad.gov.au/classroom/ [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
From the Australian Antarctic Division. Eight "units" including The Big White, Exploration, Community, On Thin Ice, Southern Life, Deep Freeze, International and Environment. Lots of opportunities for students and teachers.
Discovering Antarctica
http://www.discoveringantarctica.org.uk [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Sponsorted by the British Antarctic Survey, the Royal Geographical Society and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, this site is a excellent educational resource. Filled with video and sound clips (like icebreakers crashing through ice and Emperor penguins feeding chicks). Links to the BAS and RGS image libraries.
Exploring the Poles
http://www.phys.barnard.edu/~kay/exp/ [Last checked: 31 May 2007]
This site was created by Laura Kay, professor at Barnard College who is co-teaching a course on Exploring the Poles with colleague Stephanie Pfirman. Both the Arctic and Antarctic are covered. Sections include the course schedule, related events, polar links, films (and extensive listing although not a lot of information), women (polar women books), and fiction (again, quite extensive although lacking in detail). Let's hope it stays up after the course is done.
Tourism
¶ The first two are good sources of information on Antarctic tourism. Most tour operators have their own websites, two being included here.
IAATO http://www.iaato.org [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
"A member organization founded in 1991 to advocate, promote and practice safe and environmentally responsible private-sector travel to the Antarctic." Its site has a definitive listing of tour operators with contacts and web addresses, a variety of tourism statistics, a book list, a Gallery of photos and a section on Guidance for Visitors to the Antarctic.
Lonely Planet, the guidebook publisher, has helpful information on getting to Antarctica, getting around, clothing, some of the usual landing spots, weather, history.
Among the more experienced and reputable tour operators. Site includes an extensive exploration chronology.
Webcams
¶ Some sources for webcam views from various locations and stations.
WebCam Central
http://www.camcentral.com/listings.php?task=list&item=location&show=Antarctica [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Webcams are scattered about Antarctica at various research stations. WebCam Central is the best place to go for links to those in operation.
Features a number of webcams. "These webcams are courtesy of the University of Chicago, Stanford University, and the AWS/AMRC."
RRS James Clark Ross Webcam http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/Living_and_Working/Transport/Ships/Webcam/index.php
A webcam aboard the British Antarctic Survey's ship 'James Clark Ross.'
Penguin Webcam
http://www.martingrund.de/pinguine/ [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
"The world's first penguin webcam." It's at "Base Bernado O'Higgins, it's online since Sept 2004. From October till April you can watch a small group of gentoo penguins at their brood place."
Mawson Station http://www.aad.gov.au/asset/webcams/mawson [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
--Thanks to Martin Grund.
At Australia's major Antarctic station.
Scott Base
http://www.antarcticanz.govt.nz/education/2568 [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Webcam set up at Scott Base, Ross Island.
Webcam set up at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
Images
¶ Some good photo images of Antarctica including some that are in the public domain.
Australian Antarctic Division
http://www.aad.gov.au [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
In the 'Experience Antarctica' section there are many images including desktop wallpapers, screensavers, panoramas and Quicktime VRs.
Has a vast number of images of icebergs and gives the current status and positions of the larger ones.
Google Images is a great source for thousands (actually hundreds of thousands--last time I looked there were 260,000) of Antarctic photos, maps and images.
Recently I was led to an interesting German site loaded with Quicktime Antarctic panoramas, 360-degree shots that one can manipulate with the mouse. Among the subjects: Observation Hill, Shackleton's Hut (several), South Pole (several), Lyttelton Harbor, McMurdo Chapel, Discovery Hut (interior and exterior), Scott Monument in Christchurch, Terra Nova Hut (several), Hutpoint, NSF Chalet, Vince's Cross, McMurdo (various), South Pole Dome (various), Williams Field. 'Walkabout the Pole', 'Walkabout the Ross Sea'.
U.S. Antarctic Program
http://photolibrary.usap.gov [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
--Thanks to Shane Murphy.
Hundreds of photos arranged by subject (People, Stations, Scenery, Science, Transportation, Wildlife, Historical, New Photos)
Hundreds of photos (1407 actually) including many historical images including artifacts, menus, etc.. There's a superimposed 'RGS' watermark (but not on the thumbnails) but the images can be purchased. A plus is that each photo has details such as date, subject, photographer, etc. There's a search capability as well.
Artists, Writers & Musicians
¶ Some sites on or featuring artists, writers and musicians.
Antarctic Animation is an interesting site at http://www.antarcticanimation.com that is the work of Lisa Roberts at the University of New South Wales. (Also see her website at
http://lisaroberts.com.au. Both are linked to one another and are of a similar, very clean design.)
The Abstract explains the site:
¶ Some webpages of artists, writers, photographers, etc., who have participated in the NSF Artists and Writers Program (excerpted, in part, from the NSF Office of Polar Programs webpage).
"The aim of this research is first to collect evidence of what the scientists, and others who have worked in Antarctica have observed and responded to in the landscape; second to devise an on-line animated interface through which to engage viewers with both the science and poetics of the data. Animation will be used to increase understanding of changes in Antarctic landscape as identified in the records and accounts provided by Antarctic base workers - the people who have studied it, and physically endured a full year of its changing landscape."
Among the more interesting sections is The Antarctic Thesarus which "aims to animate the Antarctic landscape through the eyes of those who have observed and experienced its changes; to enliven our understanding of what is happening in this icy desert. Links are made between The Antarctic Thesarus and some of the words from The Antarctic Dictionary." Included are some appealing images.
See also information on this site under Antarctic Art elsewhere on this site.
[Last checked: 31 May 2007]
Valmar Kurol (Montreal Antarctic Society) has a new website up on Antarctic Art. (His other interest is Antarctic Music—see Antarctica Experienced Through Music; Capsule Comments on CDs about Antarctica elsewhere on this site at http://www.antarctic-circle.org/valmar.htm). Several hundred images are displayed in the 'Gallery,' all by Valmar.
http://www.antarcticart.net
UPDATE: Valmar e-mails to say: "Just by way of explanation, the site is still under construction. I expect to put in categories and titles on all the
works. They are all oil paintings of a few real sites, but mostly
imaginary snow & ice scenes of Antarctica, done over 2001-to date. It
may be considered to be impressionistic or expressionistic or cave art
or whatever you may want." [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
There's also a link to another Valmar Kurol site,
http://www.antarcticarrival.com which describes his CD entitled Antarctic Arrival. Valmar writes "The visual and spiritual superlatives of Antarctica are frequently expressed through photography and books but to a lesser extent through music. What kinds of tunes and rhythms does the seventh continent inspire? Is there an Antarctic sound? This CD of musical interpretations of various facets of Antarctica, a collaboration with Marc-André Bourbonnais, is based on my three visits over 1993-95 to the frozen south." [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
David Abbey Paige was an artist on Byrd's second Antarctic expedition. Much of his work during that expedition--mostly pastels--are at the Archives at The Ohio State University. A lovely book was written to accompany the exhibition of Paige's work at the German Maritime Museum [for details on the book, go to 'Antarctic Book Notes' elsewhere on this site.] More recently, they were exhibited at the Hopkins Hall Gallery at OSU. This website displays what appears to be the entire Paige holdings at OSU. The page (as was the book) is entitled The Magic of Antarctic Colors.
http://library.osu.edu/sites/archives/polar/paige/galleries.htm [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
The Art of Robert Charles Haun (1903-1975)
http://www.history.navy.mil/ac/artist/h/haun/haun1.html [Last checked: 12 February 2007]
Haun was an artist with Operation Deepfreeze I. This site has many of his works. They are titled, dated and described. Included are sketches, pastels and oils.
"The artworks used in this exhibition are taken from the Agate Collection of drawings at the Navy Art Collection. Alfred Agate created many of these during his service with the United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842 or in the preparation of the report of the Expedition."
Polar Artists Group
http://polarartists.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
A site that features a number of artists specializing in both the Arctic and Antarctic.
Sir Wally Herbert
http://sirwallyherbert.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
A number of Sir Wally Herbert's Arctic and Antarctic paintings are included on this site.
Cliff Wassmann
http://artseek.com/antarctica [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Antarctic paintings from California Cliff Wassmann.
Lisa Goren
http://www.lisagorenpaintings.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Massachusetts-based artist who was inspired by her 1997 trip to the Antarctic.
James H. Barker
http://www.PolarFineArts.com [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
Ethnographer-photographer. 1996. Photographic documentation of the people of Antarctica.
Painter. 1988, 1989, 1993. Watercolors and drawings displayed at shows and galleries in New Zealand, Chile, and the United States. Exhibition catalog.
Photographer. 1989, 1991,1992, 1993, 1994. Exhibitions at galleries. Exhibition catalogs. Southern Lights Portfolio (photogravures etchings).
Painter. 1985-86. 1995. 1998-99. Books: Natural History of the Antarctic Peninsula text by Sanford Moss (Columbia University Press, 1988);
Antarctic Journal text by Meredith Hooper (National Geographic, 2000);
The Island that Moved text by Meredith Hooper (Viking Press, 2004)
The Adélie Penguin: Bellwether of Climate Change text by David G. Ainley (Columbia University Press 2002). Watercolors and drawings shown at museums and galleries.
Lithographs from voyage to Antarctica (Casey and Davis Stations) 1994, with Australian Antarctic Division Humanities Program/Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions.
South African painter and photographer. Recent book: 'Deception Island and the Antarctic Peninsula. An Artistic Adventure.'
Painter. 1993, 1996. Paintings for galleries and museums in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and elsewhere.
Photographer and writer. 1992. "A most unearthly place," March 1993 Life. Book, Poles Apart: Parallel Visions of the Arctic and Antarctic (University of California Press, 1995).
Underwater photography. 1997, 1999.
Bibliography
¶ A bibliographic section can be found on this site which is similar in ways to the one described below:
"Tekeli-li" —the work of Fauno Cordes.
Representations of Antarctica—A Bibliography
http://www.utas.edu.au/english/Representations_of_Antarctica/home.htm [Last checked: 11 March 2007]
"This bibliography was compiled as part of an ongoing study of textual representations of Antarctica by Dr Elizabeth Leane, Lecturer, School of English, Journalism and European Languages, University of Tasmania. The construction of the bibliography, undertaken by Dr Leane and Stephanie Pfennigwerth (Research Assistant to Dr Leane), was supported by an Institutional Research Grant from the University of Tasmania.
The primary aim of the bibliography is to provide a research resource for scholars in the humanities interested in representations of Antarctica, particularly literary representations. Only texts which have, in the admittedly subjective opinion of the compilers, substantial Antarctic material are included. The bibliography covers texts written in English or translated into English. Where a qualifying remark is required, this is given in underneath the relevant entry. The MLA citation system has been employed throughout the bibliography.
The bibliography is divided into seven separate sections covering material relating to Antarctica within a variety of literary genres, and an addition section listing literary and cultural criticism relating to Antarctica:
Fiction, 1950- (Adult)
—Source: Home page of the site.
Fiction, 1750-1950 (Adult)
Fiction (Juvenile)
Short Stories
Poetry
Drama
Films and Television Programmes
Literary and Cultural Criticism"
Some E-Books
¶ Several Antarctic titles are available as free e-books through The Online Books Page at
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/ [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
There's a search function (author, title) and a 'browse by subject category' function.
You can also go to
http://www.gutenberg.org and search for titles that are associated with Project Gutenberg.
The South Pole, by Roald Amundsen (Project Gutenberg Release #4229. http://www.gutenberg.net/etext03/7tsp1210.txt)
The Worst Journey in the World, by Apsley Cherry-Garrard. Two volumes.
(Project Gutenberg Release #14363. http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/4/3/6/14363/14363-8.txt)
A Voyage towards the South Pole . . ., by James Cook. Two volumes. Page images. (http://www.canadiana.org/ECO/mtq?doc=67489 AND http://www.canadiana.org/ECO/mtq?doc=67490)
The Home of the Blizzard, by Douglas Mawson (Project Gutenberg Release #6137. http://www.gutenberg.net/etext04/blizz10.txt)
South with Scott, by E.R.G.R. Evans (Project Gutenberg Release #18129. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18129/18129-8.txt)
Scott's Last Expedition. Volume I only. (Project Gutenberg Release #11579. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11579/11579-8.txt)
South!, by Sir Ernest Shackleton. (Project Gutenberg Release #5199. http://www.gutenberg.net/etext04/south12h.htm)
The Voyages of Captain Scott, by Charles Turley. (Project Gutenberg Release #6721. http://www.gutenberg.net/etext04/vscot10.txt)
The e-text can be downloaded or viewed in your browser in various formats such as Plain text, Zipped plain text, Accented text, Zipped accented text, HTML, Zipped HTML.
Links
¶ Most Antarctic webpages have links to other sites. These are among those with the most numerous or interesting links.
Byrd Polar Research Center (Polar Pointers)
http://www-bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu/polar_pointers [Last checked: 27 January 2007]
The largest collection of links, more than 250, all with annotations. Arranged alphabetically by site name.
Quite a few, without annotation, are arranged alphabetically under 'Links' within the 'Antarctic Information' section.
Links may be found under 'Directories' in the 'Resources' section. These are partially annotated. The 'Directory of Polar and Cold Regions Organisations' is worth a look as well.
Links may be found in the 'Library' section.
The Arctic Research Consortium Austria (yes, Austria!) features links by category and country and quite a bit more.
Massive collection of links covering all aspects of travel, discovery and exploration. Arranged mostly by region and era it has a more than adequate polar section.
Lots of links to polar libraries worldwide. Maintained by The Polar Libraries Colloquy.
Miscellaneous
¶ A few miscellaneous sites of interest.
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica [Last checked: 13 April 2008]
Probably the best of the lot for general information. As with all Wikipedia entries, lots of links to other related Wikipedia pages.
MAJOR CONTENTS
1 History
2 Geography
3 Geology
4 Climate
5 Population
6 Flora and fauna
7 Politics
8 Economy
9 Transport
10 Research
11 Effects of global warming
12 See also
13 References
14 External links
This USGS site features an Antarctic GIS of sorts which one can navigate around the continent, adding a wide variety of features categorized into grouping under Reference, Geographic Names, Locations, Hydrography, Orthoimagery, Elevation, Satellite Imagery and Physiography.
"This site features IPY activities supported by the United States government."
The main sidebars include:
Science & Nature: Animals & environment.
People & Culture: Life at the poles.
Explore & Learn: For students & teachers.
Multimedia: Images, video, audio.
News & Events: Press releases, speeches, meetings, & more.
About IPY.
U.S. Participants: Gov't Agencies and Orgs; Logistics Organizations; Funded Research; Funding Opportunities.
Resources.
All 228 endorsed IPY projects are described, plus lots more. Produced by the World Meteorolgical Organization and the International Council for Science.
This section of NASA's website focuses on the IPY and includes lots of content.
The CIA's Factbook on Antarctica employs the standard format used for all countries, the categories are not always relevant--percentage of land in permanent crops, for example--but it is still worth a look.
The site of the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat which "was established in 2004 to:
1) support the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP); 2) promote the official information exchange between the Parties of the Antarctic Treaty; 3) collect, maintain and publish the records of the ATCM and the CEP and; 4) provide information on the Antarctic Treaty system." The site's major sections are: Antarctic Treaty; Environmental Protocol; Meetings; Documents: Topics; Information Exchange; News; Newsletter; and Links.
This searchable database provides probably more than anyone will ever want to know about the Antarctic Treaty.
The Tasmanian Polar Network (TPN) gives Antarctic shipping schedules, information about polar ships calling at Hobart, some news on polar events, and dates of conferences.
The ANARE Club, founded in 1951 by veterans of the early Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE), highlights some of its activities at but it also notes Antarctic news of interest to non-members particularly Australians.
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