Early January – At the Little Dome C site, the European Beyond EPICA project achieves a historic milestone by successfully drilling a 2800m-long ice core, consisting of ice which is more than 1.2 million years old.[4]
Early January – The Canadian patrol vessel HMCS Margaret Brooke departs Halifax on Operation PROJECTION 2025. This is the first-ever Antarctic visit by a Canadian military vessel.[5] The mission is supporting a team of 15 Canadian climate scientists.[6]
Late January – A Brazilian Antarctic circumnavigation expedition ends in January 2025 after covering 29,000 km since November 2024.[18]
February
Early February – Researchers on board the Spanish oceanographic ship RV Sarmiento de Gamboa observe massive columns of methane emerging from the Antarctic seabed. The CSIC vessel is cruising the Antarctic seas for almost a month and its mission ends on February 7.[19]
Late February – Japan's icebreaker Shirase makes a port call at Fremantle Harbour, Australia to reload supplies and replace personnel between its missions to Antarctica.[30] On February 26, the vessel departs for Antarctica again.[31]
The Italian icebreaker RV LauraBassi returns to the port of Lyttelton in New Zealand, concluding the 40th scientific expedition to Antarctica as part of the National Programme for Research in Antarctica (PNRA).[37]
The Australian icebreaker RSV Nuyina arrives near the Denman Glacier and during the following week the researchers focus on a CTD transect across the front of the Denman Glacier tongue.[44]
19 March – The 1.2-million-years-old Beyond EPICA ice samples leave Antarctica aboard the Italian icebreaker RV LauraBassi.[45]
20 March – The Ukrainian icebreaker Noosfera deploys six oceanographic Argo buoys into Antarctic waters, the first such operation for Ukraine.[46]
23 March – The Ukrainian icebreaker Noosfera leaves Antarctica for Punta Arenas, Chile with the departing crew of the 29th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition and a seasonal crew on board.[49]
Late March – The snow coachIvan the Terra Bus decommissioned after 30 years of service at the McMurdo Station, and in March 2025, it is shipped to Christchurch, New Zealand.[50]
Late March – The 11th Antarctic expedition of Colombia, counting 34 researchers from seven institutions, concludes after three months of research on the Antarctic Peninsula.[51]
Late March – NASA and NSIDC reports that in 2025, summer sea ice extent around Antarctica tied for the 2nd-lowest minimum ever recorded in the 47-year record of satellite measurements.[52][53]
3 April – Researchers aboard the RSV Nuyina report on their collection of marine invertebrates in the vicinity of the Denman Glacier, including a pteropod which subsequently lays eggs, allowing the first direct observation of pteropod egg development.[56]
11 April – The 33rd Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition concludes when the naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii RSV 421[57] arrives in Varna after its third 5-month mission to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.[58][59]
1 May – New Zealand announces a renewal of Government investment to extend the Antarctic Science Platform's research into Climate Change in Antarctica for another seven years.[63][64]
2 May – There is a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in the Drake Passage at 9 am local time. Chilean authorities mandate the evacuation of coastal areas in the Magallanes region and the Chilean Antarctic Territory due to tsunami threats but cancel the evacuation orders later in the afternoon after no serious damage to infrastructure or harm to people are reported.[65]
3 May – The MODIS instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite captures an image of the A-23a iceberg that has remained at a standstill less than 100 kilometers off South Georgia since early March 2025. The new image shows that the iceberg's surface area has declined substantially in preceding two months. It has lost more than 360 square kilometers between 6 March and 3 May and its northern side is showing signs of edge wasting, a type of iceberg breakup where small pieces calve from many places along its edge.[66]
The Denman Marine Voyage concludes when the Australian icebreaker RSV Nuyina returns to Hobart after spending two months near the Shackleton Ice Shelf. This was the vessel's first dedicated marine science voyage.[68]
Late May – The Arête Glacier Initiative[70] is launched. This is a non-profit research organization aimed at coordinating and funding projects for better forecast and mitigation of sea-level rise caused by ice loss, especially focused on the Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica.[71]
Late May – The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) signs an agreement with an industry consortium to upgrade Davis research station. The works will start in November 2026 with the installation of a reverse osmosis plant and later continue with the construction of a new utilities building including the main powerhouse and various workshops.[72]
28 June – American pilot and social media influencer Ethan Guo detained by Chilean authorities after landing without authorization at Lieutenant Rodolfo Marsh Base on King George Island.[75]
Mid-July – Six Australian expeditioners travel 90 km across the sea ice from Mawson station to Colbeck Hut to conduct the annual population census of the Taylor Glacieremperor penguin colony and to collect images captured by automated cameras monitoring the colony.[77]
Late July – A 14 km iceberg, which calved from the Nansen Ice Shelf in March 2025, grounds against Coulman Island, blocking a migration route of a large colony of emperor penguins, causing a catastrophic die-off of chicks with a 70% survival drop.[78]
2 September – Satellite observations by the European system Copernicus reveal that the A23a iceberg, now north of South Georgia, is half of its size from the beginning of 2025 and is breaking up dramatically.[82]
7 September – Ethan Guo, who has been stuck at the Chilean Lieutenant Rodolfo Marsh base on King George Island for two months after landing a plane there without permission, is released and on 6 September, he arrives in Punta Arenas aboard a navy ship.[83]
10 September – NSIDC reports that this year's Antarctic sea ice extent has already surpassed the annual maximum for the two lowest years on record (2023 and 2024), but it is still tracking at third lowest.[84]
11 September – The MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite documents the ongoing disintegration of the A23a iceberg. The iceberg spans just over 1,500 km2 and two large fragments (A23g and A23i) are visible south of it.[85]
17 September – Antarctic sea ice extent reaches its annual maximum of 17.81 million km2, marking the third lowest maximum in the 47-year satellite record.[86][87]
27 September – The Australian icebreaker RSV Nuyina leaves Tasmania for a 52-day research and resupply voyage to Antarctica with 99 expeditioners on board,[91][92] among them Jenny Bonser, the new leader of Davis research station.[93]
1 October – At 00:47 UTC, a meter-sized near-Earth asteroid2025 TF flies about 428 ± 7 km above the surface over Antarctica. This is the second-closest asteroid flyby of the Earth ever recorded.[98][99]
3 October – Researchers at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in Cambridge finish the melting process of the 190 m-long ice sample from the bottom of a 2800 m ice core retrieved from Little Dome C in East Antarctica during the Beyond EPICA – Oldest Ice project. This reveals an unbroken sequence of climate cycles stretching back at least 1.2 million years–the oldest continuous ice core ever recovered.[102]
10 October – Two helicopters transport cargo and 14 people from the Australian icebreaker RSV Nuyina to Casey station. The operation takes seven flights, each one a two-hour round trip. The ship is approximately 100 nautical miles from the station.[108]
14 October – The Australian Antarctic Program officially opens its recruitment campaign for the 2026/27 season, seeking about 300 workers for almost 40 different roles.[109][110]
17 October
The Ukrainian research icebreaker Noosfera departs for Antarctica from Cape Town, launching its fifth Antarctic season.[111]
17 October – The Australian icebreaker RSV Nuyina arrives at Heard Island.[115] During the visit, the icebreaker's hull scrapes the ocean floor, suffering superficial damage. No-one on the ship is injured.[116] During the following week, the ship's project groups explore the island, surveying its seabird and seal population with drone flights and in situ visits, searching for unusual levels of H5 bird flu-related mortality (found in elephant seals but no other species on the island), mapping the seafloor and investigating marine life around Atlas Cove from inflatable boats, and assessing the state of the old station at Atlas Cove. The crews also install sea level-monitoring equipment at Magnet Point and transport eight "top hat reflectors"–ground markers for satellites–to the island for future installation.[117]
21 October – A Royal Australian Air ForceC-17A Globemaster III airdrops 600 kg of ice core drilling supplies to Casey station in preparation for the Million Year Ice Core (MYIC) project summer season.[118] In total, the aircraft drops approximately 12 tonnes of equipment to the station as part of Operation Southern Discovery 2025–26.[119] This year marks the 10th anniversary of Australian Defence Force's support to Antarctic operations.[120]
Late October – The Australian icebreaker RSV Nuyina arrives at Davis station to bring 500 tonnes of supplies.[125]
October – The 41st Italian Antarctic Research Expedition begins with the first group of technicians arriving in Antarctica and reopening Mario Zucchelli Station, closed since previous February.[126][127]
November
1 November
China's 42nd Antarctic expedition leaves from Shanghai. The expedition plans to conduct the first Chinese scientific drilling into Antarctic subglacial lakes.[128]
Australian tractor-traverse team led by Damien Beloin leaves Casey station for a 15–18 days of travel across 1,168 km to the drilling site of the Million Year Ice Core (MYIC) project at Dome C North. The team is using 6 tractors and 20 sleds to haul 493 tonnes of scientific equipment, fuel, and food to the drilling site.[129]
6 November – The first group of the 34th Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition (nine logisticians and two scientists) departs by plane from Sofia to Punta Arenas.[134][135]
Mid-November – ESA-sponsored physician Nina Purvis completes her 13-months research stay Concordia station and leaves the continent via Mario Zuchelli station. There she meets Sarah Gaier, who is taking over her role. Later, Sarah Gaier safely arrives at Concordia. ESA reports on this exchange on 12 November.[141]
12 November – The first 14 team members of the BELARE 2025-26 team arrives at the Belgian Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Research Station to open the station after it spent eight months uninhabited and controlled remotely.[142]
NASA's Payload for Ultrahigh Energy Observations (PUEO)Copernicus Sentinel-2 image of the A23a iceberg
Early December – The Australian icebreaker RSV Nuyina leaves Australia for its second voyage to Antarctica this season to resupply Casey research station and again visit Heard island, this time on a 25-day science and environmental management visit (V2).[146][147]
Early December – Earth Sciences New Zealand deploys an Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) in Antarctica to observe atmospheric infrared radiation over the following 12 months in conjunction with NASA's PREFIRE mission.[148]
Early December – A 29-strong international team sets up a remote camp on the ice 700 km from the nearest base (Scott Base) on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet for the third season of the SWAIS2C (Sensitivity of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to 2°C) ice drilling project.[149][150]
The European satellite mission Sentinel 2 captures an image of the disintegrating iceberg A23a showing pools of blue meltwater forming on its surface.[166]
NASA's Terra satellite captures an image of the disintegrating iceberg A23a showing extensive pools of blue meltwater covering most of its surface.[171]
The Japanese icebreaker Shirase berths 1,700 m off Showa Station on East Ongul Island. This is several times further than on previous visits because the usual approach route is blocked by broken sea ice. The icebreaker then transfers equipment, fuel, food, and other supplies to the station.[173][174]
29 December – The Chinese icebreaker Xuelong arrives near Qinling Station to begin unloading cargo as part of China's 42nd Antarctic expedition.[175]
30 December – The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine decides to extend the state program of research in the Antarctic for another two years, until the end of 2027.[176][177]
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Years in Antarctica (1819–present)
