Polar Exploration

Massive Impact Crater Found Under Greenland's Ice

Radar scans and sediment samples indicate a large meteorite blasted through the ice sheet between 3 million and 12,000 years ago

Part of Bellinghausen Station

Russian Researcher Charged With Attempted Murder In Antarctica

Earlier this month a researcher stabbed another individual at Bellinghausen Station after suffering an "emotional breakdown"

The Franklin Expedition hoped to find a northwest passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific

Lead Poisoning Wasn't a Major Factor in the Mysterious Demise of the Franklin Expedition

Researchers argue that lead exposure occurred prior to the start of the voyage, not during the stranded crew's battle for survival

After 100 Years, Roald Amundsen's Polar Ship Returns to Norway

<i>Maud</i>, which sunk in Arctic Canada in 1930, was floated across the Atlantic to its new home in a museum in Vollen

A narwhal being capture and tagged for the study

Researchers Record the Sounds of the Elusive Narwhal

<i>Skreee---click----whirrr.</i>

The Endurance sinking in 1915

Antarctic Research Ship to Search for Wreck of Shackleton's 'Endurance'

The ship sunk in pack ice in 1915, setting off one of exploration's most epic survival tales

Musician and actor Nive Nielsen portrays Lady Silence, the most prominent Inuk character in 'The Terror.'

Tales of the Doomed Franklin Expedition Long Ignored the Inuit Side, But "The Terror" Flips the Script

The new AMC television show succeeds in being inclusive of indigenous culture

“This winter travel is a new and bold venture,” Scott wrote as his men trudged off to Cape Crozier.

The Daring Journey Across Antarctica That Became a Nightmare

Everyone knows about Robert Scott’s doomed race to the South Pole in 1911. But on that same expedition three of his men made a death-defying trip

The airship Italia

Flying to the North Pole in an Airship Was Easy. Returning Wouldn’t Be So Easy

It would take an international icon to toss aside a bitter rivalry to help a crew in need

The Fruitcake.

Untouched, Century-Old Fruitcake Found In Antarctica

Even generations of penguins refused to touch the concoction believed to have been brought south by the Terra Nova Expedition

The Mackenzie (Dehcho) River is the second-largest river system in North America.

How One Quest for the Northwest Passage Ended at the Icy Mouth of Disappointment River

The Mackenzie River, as it's know today, is North America's second-largest river system–but it wasn't what its namesake was looking for

The women faced temperatures of almost -50 degrees Fahrenheit, blasting winds and ever-changing ice conditions.

The Amazing Story of the First All-Women North Pole Expedition

Answering an ad in a newspaper, 20 amateur explorers attempted to ski from Arctic Canada to the top of the world

Boaty McBoatface. It is not a boat and it has no face. Please discuss.

Boaty McBoatface Completes Its First Mission

The little submarine named by the Internet investigated the icy deep waters of Antarctica's Orkney Channel

In 2001, Smithsonian scientists Doug Owsley and Kari Bruwelheide traveled to the Grove in Glenview, Illinois, Robert Kennicott's boyhood home, to open the naturalist's casket and determine the cause of his death.

Smithsonian's Behind-the-Scenes 'Sidedoor' Podcast Returns for Second Season

New episodes explore a 150-year-old cold case, the history of beer, war photography and more

DNA Could Identify the Sailors (Including Women) of the Doomed Franklin Expedition

New analysis on bone and and tooth fragments will allow researchers to learn more about the ill-fated crew

Cherry-Garrard during the Scott expedition

This Catastrophic Polar Journey Resulted in One of the Best Adventure Books Ever Written

Apsley Cherry-Garrard's travel memoir is still the one to beat, and not only because it features penguins

Graves of Franklin Expedition members on Beechey Island

Thumbnail Reveals the Final Days of Franklin Expedition Explorer

A synchrotron micro-x-ray sheds new light on the cause that led to one crew member's death

The Town That Polar Bears Built

Get to know the four-legged residents of Churchill, Canada

Dwindling sea ice in the Arctic threatens polar bears and causes increased conflict with humans.

Resupply Helps Trapped Arctic Scientists Scare Off Polar Bear "Siege"

With sea ice cover at record lows, polar bear conflict with humans becomes more common

We’ve never cared less about a charismatic animal standing forlornly on a rapidly deteriorating landscape.

Podcast: Does Anybody Even Care About the Arctic Anymore?

This week's episode of Warm Regards asks why our coldest region has gotten the cold shoulder

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