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THE COMPASS

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The southernmost realms of the planet are places of unimaginable beauty, where endless white mountains roll to the horizon and massive glaciers churn icebergs into the sea. Here, nature reigns: penguins teeter along the shore, seals loll on ice slabs, and humpbacks and orca whales break the water's surface. In this edition, we discover what's really in Antarctica's mysterious blood falls, learn about soils that seem to contain no life—something that's never been found, and meet an extreme swimmer fighting for Antarctica's oceans—in a Speedo.
Let's explore Antarctica.

SCIENCE

An artist's depiction of a "touchdown" meteor impact over Antarctica.

ILLUSTRATION BY MARK A. GARLICK, MARKGARLICK.COM

430,000 years ago a meteor exploded over Antarctica, leaving clues in the debris

Remnants from the space rock may help explain how often these cosmic explosions occur—and the threat they pose to Earth.

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This fossilized egg was laid by Mussaurus, a long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur that grew to 20 feet in length and lived between 227 and 208.5 million years ago in what is now Argentina.

IMAGE BY ©DIEGO POL

First soft-shelled dinosaur eggs shed light on prehistoric parenting

Two new studies upend past notions of dinosaur birth and describe the first fossil egg ever found in Antarctica.

The red-brown Blood Falls in Antarctica are named for their unusual color, but what they're really made of–and why the water flows at such a cold temperature–has long been a mystery.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ALASDAIR TURNER/GETTY IMAGES

What's really in Antarctica's mysterious blood falls

The eerily gory waterfall is not in fact made of blood, and a new study shows just what gives it its unique color.

Josefine Stakemann, a geophysicist from Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute, harvests cucumbers in the greenhouse at Neumayer Station in Antarctica.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ESTHER HORVATH

Want to grow plants in space? Go to the coldest place on Earth.

Visit a research base in Antarctica where the aim is to make fresh produce a part of life on Mars.

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ENVIRONMENT

Two members of the soil research team head out to collect samples from one of the sites in the Shackleton Glacier region.

PHOTOGRAPH BY NOAH FIERER

Soils from Antarctica seem to contain no life—something that's never been found

The soils, from rocky ridges in the center of Antarctica, harbor no microbes at all, something that's never been found.

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On World Oceans Day, Nat Geo cartographers say the swift current circling Antarctica keeps the waters there distinct and worthy of their own name: the Southern Ocean.

MATTHEW W. CHWASTYK, AND SOREN WALLJASPER, NGM STAFF. ERIC KNIGHT SOURCES: NASA/JPL; GREEN MARBLE

There's a new ocean now—can you name all 5?

On World Oceans Day, Nat Geo cartographers say the swift current circling Antarctica keeps the waters there distinct and worthy of their own name: the Southern Ocean.

Pine Island Glacier sheds another block of ice into Antarctic waters. A new study finds that unless major nations quickly commit to deeper cuts in emissions, Antarctica’s ice could reach a melting tipping point by mid-century, sparking dangerous sea level rise.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY

Antarctica's ice could cross this scary threshold within 40 years

"Rapid and unstoppable" sea level rise from melting Antarctic ice shelves and glaciers might be inevitable unless nations commit to even lower emissions—and fast, a new study says.

A new way to study Antarctic ice from space is giving scientists a precise look at how much snow falls there. Here, Livingston Island, off the coast of Antarctica, looms in the distance.

PHOTOGRAPH BY WOLFGANG KAEHLER, LIGHTROCKET/GETTY IMAGES

New way to measure Antarctic snowfall helps predict the ice sheet's survival

A new satellite finds a surprise: Atmospheric rivers of moisture can dump huge amounts of snow over Antarctica, and now we can track it incredibly closely.

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A Weddell seal accompanies her pup on a swim beneath the ice. When the juvenile is full-grown, it will be its mom’s size: about 10 feet long and weighing half a ton. These placid seals stay close to the coast, breathing air through holes in the ice. Leptonychotes Weddellii

PHOTOGRAPH BY LAURENT BALLESTA

Deepest dive under Antarctica reveals a shockingly vibrant world

Our special report offers a rare look at life beneath the frozen continent—where penguins, seals, and exotic creatures thrive.

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In the autumn the penguins begin their roughly six-mile journey from the ocean to their Atka Bay breeding grounds. But the warming climate is defrosting the sea ice they need to find mates, breed, and raise chicks.

PHOTOGRAPH BY STEFAN CHRISTMANN

As ice melts, emperor penguins march toward extinction

The flightless birds depend on Antarctica's frozen sea ice shelves for safety and breeding. But as temperatures rise, the shelves are vanishing.

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TRAVEL

DREAM NOW, GO LATER

A climber treks on Trollslottet Mountain in Antarctica's Queen Maud Land.

PHOTOGRAPH BY GORDON WILTSIE, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

Explore Antarctica's rugged Queen Maud Land

Journey to a part of the continent most visitors never see.

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Lewis Pugh, accompanied by icebergs, swims in near-freezing Antarctic waters.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KELVIN TRAUTMAN

This extreme swimmer fights for Antarctica's oceans—in a Speedo

Lewis Pugh campaigns to save primal seas, rich in marine life, that are threatened by human activity.

An emperor penguin chick rests near the floe edge at Cape Washington on the frozen Ross Sea.

PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL NICKLEN, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

What to expect on your first trip to Antarctica

Learn why the world's coldest continent is our hottest ultimate destination.

Fruitcakes travel very well—the fruit keeps the cake moist for a long period of time, according to Meeks.

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY ANTARCTIC HERITAGE TRUST

100-year-old fruitcake found in Antarctica is 'almost' edible

British explorer Robert Falcon Scott likely brought the cake with him to Antarctica, where it's stayed in "excellent condition."

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