List of Antarctic expeditions

Terra Australis
Terra Australis is the large continent on the bottom of this 1570 map.

This list of Antarctic expeditions is a chronological list of expeditions involving Antarctica. Although the existence of a southern continent had been hypothesized as early as the writings of Ptolemy in the 1st century AD, the South Pole was not reached until 1911.

Pre-exploration

• 600 BC – 300 BC Greek Philosophers theorize Spherical Earth with North and South Polar regions.
• 150 AD Ptolemy published Geographia, which notes Terra Australis Incognita

Pre-19th century

• 7th century — Ui-te-Rangiora claimed to have sighted southern ice fields.
• 13th century — Polynesians settle Auckland Islands (50° S)
• 1501–1502 — Gonçalo Coelho and Amerigo Vespucci potentially sail to (52° S)
• 1522 — Ferdinand Magellan – first circumnavigation discovers Strait of Magellan (54° S)
• 1578 — Francis Drake discovers Drake Passage
• 1599 — Dirk Gerritsz – potentially sails to (64° S)
• 1603 — Gabriel de Castilla – potentially sails to (64° S)
• 1615 — Jacob le Maire and Willem Schouten first to sail around Cape Horn cross (56° S)
• 1619 — Garcia de Nodal expedition – circumnavigate Tierra del Fuego and discover Diego Ramirez Islands (56°30′S 68°43′W)
• 1675 — Anthony de la Roché discovers South Georgia (54°15′00″S 36°45′00″W), the first ever land discovered south of the Antarctic Convergence
• 1698–1699 — Edmond Halley sails to (52° S)
• 1720 — Captain George Shelvocke – sails to (61° 30′ S)
• 1739 — Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier – discovers Bouvet Island (54°26′S 3°24′E)
• 1771 — James Cook – HM Bark Endeavour expedition
• 1771–1772 — First French Antarctic Expedition – led by Yves-Joseph de Kerguelen-Trémarec discovers Kerguelen Islands (49°15′S 69°35′E)
• 1772–1775 — James Cook – sails HMS Resolution crossing Antarctic Circle in January 1773 and December 1773. On 30 January 1774 he reaches 71° 10′ S, his Farthest South, coming within about 75 miles of the Antarctic mainland without seeing it.

19th century

• 1780s to 1839 — American and British whalers and sealers make incidental discoveries
• 1819 — William Smith discovers South Shetland Islands (62°00′S 058°00′W), the first land discovered south of 60° south latitude.
• 1819 — San Telmo wrecks in the Drake Passage off Livingston Island
• 1819–1821 — Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen – on 27 January 1820, discovers an ice shelf at Princess Martha Coast that later became known as the Fimbul Ice Shelf (69°21′28″S 2°14′50″W).
• 1820 — Edward Bransfield with William Smith as his pilot – on 30 January 1820, sight Trinity Peninsula (63°37′S 058°20′W) – now the Antarctic Peninsula.
• 1820 — Nathaniel Palmer sights Antarctica on 17 November 1820
• 1821 — George Powell, a British sealer, and Nathaniel B. Palmer, an American sealer, discover the South Orkney Islands. Powell annexes them for the British.
• 1821 — John Davis – on 7 February 1821 disputed claim of setting foot on Antarctica at Hughes Bay (64°13′S 61°20′W)
• 1823–1824 — James Weddell discovers the Weddell Sea; – on 20 February 1823 his ship Jane (160 tons) reached a new Farthest South of 74° 15′ S (74°15′S 30°12′W)
• 1830–1833 — Southern Ocean Expedition led by John Biscoe, an English sealer; circumnavigates the continent, sets foot on Anvers Island, names and annexes Graham Land, discovers Biscoe Islands, Queen Adelaide Island (67.25°S 68.5°W / -67.25; -68.5) and sights Enderby Land (67°30′S 53°0′E)
• 1837–1840 — Second French Antarctic Expedition – led by Jules Dumont d'Urville; discovers Adelie Land and sets foot on an islet of Geologie Archipelago (66°36′19″S 140°4′0″E) 4 km from the mainland to take mineral and animal samples (66° S)
• 1838–1839 — John Balleny discovers Balleny Islands (66°55′S 163°45′E)
• 1838–1842 — United States Exploring Expedition – led by Charles Wilkes to Antarctic Peninsula (69°30′S 065°00′W) and eastern Antarctica; discovers "Termination Barrier" ("Shackleton Ice Shelf")
• 1839–1843 — James Clark Ross discovered the Ross Ice Shelf, Ross Sea, Mount Erebus, Mount Terror and Victoria Land; extended his Farthest South to 78° 10′ S on 23 January 1842
• 1872–1876 — HMS Challenger under Capt. George S. Nares, becomes the first steamship to cross the Antarctic Circle; reopens the study of oceanography in the region after a 30-year gap.
• 1892–1893 — Carl Anton Larsen led the first Norwegian expedition to Antarctica aboard the ship Jason. Larsen became the first person to ski in Antarctica where the Larsen Ice Shelf was named after him.
• 1892–1893 — Dundee Whaling Expedition discover Dundee Island (63°30′S 055°55′W)
• 1893–1894 — Carl Anton Larsen led the second Norwegian expedition to Antarctica
• 1893–1895 — Henryk Bull, Carstens Borchgrevink and Alexander von Tunzelmann – set foot on Antarctica at Cape Adare
• 1897–1899 — Belgian Antarctic Expedition – led by Adrien de Gerlache; first to winter in Antarctica
• 1898–1900 — Southern Cross Expedition, Carsten Borchgrevink – sails to Cape Adare, winters on Antarctica and takes Farthest South on 16 February 1900 at 78° 50′ S

20th century

• 1901–1904 — Discovery Expedition – led by Robert Falcon Scott, on 30 December 1903, reached (82° 17′S)
• 1901–1903 — Gauss expedition (or First German Antarctic Expedition) – led by Erich von Drygalski
• 1901–1903 — Swedish Antarctic Expedition – led by Otto Nordenskjöld with captain Carl Anton Larsen
• 1902–1904 — Scottish National Antarctic Expedition – led by William Speirs Bruce
• 1903–1905 — Third French Antarctic Expedition – led by Jean-Baptiste Charcot
• 1907–1909 — Nimrod Expedition – On 9 January 1909, Ernest Shackleton reached 88° 23 ′S (Farthest South), and on 16 January 1909, Professor Edgeworth David reached the South Magnetic Pole at (72°25′S 155°16′E) (mean position)
• 1908–1910 — Fourth French Antarctic Expedition – led by Jean-Baptiste Charcot
• 1910–1912 — Japanese Antarctic Expedition – led by Nobu Shirase
• 1910–1912 — Roald Amundsen's South Pole expedition – On 14 December 1911, reached the South Pole (90° S)
• 1910–1913 — Terra Nova Expedition – On 17 January 1912, Robert Falcon Scott, reached the South Pole (90° S)
• 1911–1913 — Second German Antarctic Expedition – led by Wilhelm Filchner
• 1911–1914 — Australasian Antarctic Expedition – led by Douglas Mawson
• 1914–1916 — Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition – led by Ernest Shackleton
• 1914–1917 — Ross Sea Party – led by Aeneas Mackintosh
• 1920–1922 — British Graham Land Expedition - a British expedition to Graham Land led by John Lachlan Cope
• 1921–1922 — Shackleton-Rowett Expedition – led by Ernest Shackleton – the last expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration
• 1929–1931 — British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) – led by Douglas Mawson
• 1928–1930 — Richard Evelyn Byrd – First expedition
• 1931 — H. Halvorsen – discovered Princess Astrid Coast
• 1931 — Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen – flew over Antarctica, discovered Kronprins Olav Kyst
• 1933–1935 — Richard Evelyn Byrd – Second expedition
• 1933–1939 — Lincoln Ellsworth – Aircraft expedition
• 1934–1937 — British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) – led by John Riddoch Rymill
• 1936 — Lars Christensen – dropped Norwegian flag over Prince Harald Coast
• 1938 — Third German Antarctic Expedition (New Swabia, or Neuschwabenland, claimed for Nazi Germany) – led by Capt. Alfred Ritscher
• 1939–1941 — United States Antarctic Service Expedition – led by Richard Evelyn Byrd (Byrd's third expedition)
• 1943–1945 — Operation Tabarin – led by Lieutenant James Marr
• 1946–1946 — Operation Highjump – led by Richard Evelyn Byrd (Byrd's fourth expedition)
• 1947–First Chilean Antarctic Expedition
• 1947–1948 — Operation Windmill – led by Commander Gerald Ketchum
• 1947–1946 — Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition – led by Finn Ronne
• 1949–1950 — Adelie-Land, Ship Commandant Charcot – led by Michel Barre
• 1949–1952 — Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition – led by John Giaever
• 1954 — Mawson Station established
• 1955–1956 — Operation Deep Freeze – led by Richard Evelyn Byrd (Byrd's fifth expedition)
• 1955-1957 — Falkland Island Dependency Aerial Survey led by P G Mott
• 1955–1957 — 1st Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by Mikhail Somov
• 1956 Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station established
• 1956–1958 — Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition – led by Vivian Fuchs
• 1956–1958 — 2nd Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by Aleksei Treshnikov
• 1957–1958 — International Geophysical Year
• 1957–1958 — New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition
• 1957 — Scott Base established
• 1957–1958 — Luncke Expedition
• 1957–1959 — 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by Yevgeny Tolstikov
• 1958–1959 — New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition
• 1958–1960 — 4th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by Aleksandr Dralkin
• 1959–1961 — 5th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by Yevgeny Korotkevich
• 1960 — South African National Antarctic Expedition
• 1960–1962 — 6th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by V.Driatsky
• 1961–1963 — 7th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by Aleksandr Dralkin
• 1962–1962 — Vostok traverse – led by Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE)
• 1962–1964 — 8th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by Mikhail Somov
• 1963–1965 — 9th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by Mikhail Somov
• 1964-1965 — South Pole—Queen Maud Land Traverse I
• 1964–1966 — 10th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by M.Ostrekin, I.Petrov
• 1965-1966 — South Pole—Queen Maud Land Traverse II
• 1965–1967 — 11th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by D.Maksutov, Leonid Dubrovin
• 1965–1965 — Operación 90 - Terrestrial Argentine Expedition to the South Pole Led by Coronel D. Jorge Leal.
• 1966–1968 — 12th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by Pavel Senko and Vladislav Gerbovich
• 1966–1967 — New Zealand Antarctic Research Programme Mariner Glacier Northern Party Expedition — led by John E S Lawrence
• 1967-1968 — South Pole—Queen Maud Land Traverse III
• 1967–1969 — 13th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by Aleksei Treshnikov
• 1968–1970 — 14th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by D.Maksutov, Ernst Krenkel
• 1969–1970 — New Zealand Geological Survey Antarctic Expedition
• 1969–1971 — 15th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by Pavel Senko and Vladislav Gerbovich
• 1970–1972 — 16th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by I.Petrov and Yury Tarbeyev
• 1971–1973 — 17th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by Yevgeny Korotkevich, V. Averyanov
• 1972–1974 — 18th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by Pavel Senko
• 1973–1975 — 19th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by D.Maksutov, V. Ignatov
• 1974–1976 — 20th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by V.Serdyukov, N. Kornilov
• 1975–1977 — 21st Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by O.Sedov, G. Bardin
• 1976–1978 — 22nd Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by N.Tyabin, Leonid Dubrovin
• 1977–1979 — 23rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by V.Serdyukov, O. Sedov
• 1978–1980 — 24th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by A.Artemyev, O. Sedov
• 1979 — Air New Zealand Flight 901 – airplane crash
• 1979–1980 — 25th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by N.Kornilov, N. Tyabin
• 1980–1981 — Transglobe Expedition – led by Ranulph Fiennes
• 1980–1982 — 26th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by V.Serdyukov, V. Shamontyev
• 1981–1983 — 27th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by D.Maksutov, R. Galkin
• 1981-1982 — First Indian Expedition to Antarctica - led by Dr. Sayed Zahoor Qasim
• 1982 — Falkland Islands War
• 1982-1983 — Second Indian Expedition to Antarctica - led by V. K. Raina
• 1982–1984 — 28th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by N.Kornilov, A. Artemyev
• 1983–1985 — 29th Soviet Antarctic Expedition – led by N.Tyabin, L. Bulatov
• 1983–1985 — Third Indian Expedition to Antarctica
• 1984–1987 — In the Footsteps of Scott – led by Robert Swan
• 1984–1985 — 1st Uruguayan Antarctic Expedition - Antarkos I Led by Lt. Col. Omar Porciúncula
• 1984–1986 — 30th Soviet Antarctic Expedition – led by D.Maksutov, R. Galkin
• 1985–1987 — 31st Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by N. Tyabin, V. Dubovtsev
• 1986–1988 — 32nd Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by V.Klokov, V.Vovk
• 1987 — Iceberg B-9 calves and carries away Little Americas I – III
• 1987–1989 — 33rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by N.A.Kornilov, Yu.A.Khabarov
• 1987–1988 — First Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition — St. Kliment Ohridski Base established
• 1988–1990 — 34th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by S.M.Pryamikov, L.V.Bulatov
• 1989–1991 — 35th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by V.M.Piguzov
• 1991–1992 — 36th Soviet Antarctic Expedition — led by Lev Savatyugin
• 1992-1993 — British Polar Plod — led by Ranulph Fiennes with Mike Stroud (physician), first unassisted expedition crossing the continent by ski, (2,173 km in 95 days)
• 1992-1993 — Erling Kagge, first unassisted, and first solo expedition to the South Pole by ski, (1,310 km in 53 days)
• 1992–1993 — Antarctic Environmental Research Expedition — led by Kenji Yoshikawa
• 1995 — “A Pole at the Poles” – Marek Kamiński solo expedition to the South Pole from Berkner Island (1,400 km in 53 days);
• 1995-1996 - Bernard Voyer and Thierry Pétry unassisted expedition to the South Pole by ski
• 1996 — Lake Vostok discovered
• 1996/97 — “Solo TransAntarctica” – Marek Kamiński attempted solo crossing of Antarctica (1,450 km);

21st century

• 2004 — Scot100 First ever Scottish Expedition to South Pole began in October 2004 - a century after a historic expedition led by William Speirs Bruce, Edinburgh's "unknown" explorer, who Craig Mathieson views as "truly the greatest polar explorer of all time".
• 2004 — Together to the Pole - a Polish four-man expedition led by Marek Kamiński, with Jan Mela (a teenage double amputee, who in the same year reached also the North Pole)
• 2004–2005 — Chilean South Pole Expedition.
• 2004–2005 — Tangra 2004/05 created Camp Academia.
• 2005 — Ice Challenger Expedition travelled to the South Pole in a six-wheeled vehicle.
• 2005–2006 — Spanish Trans-Antarctic Expedition, led by Ramon Larramendi, reached the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility using kite-sleds.
• 2006 Hannah McKeand sets coast-to-pole solo/unsupported record of 39 days, 9 hours and 33 minutes
• 2007- Pat Falvey leads an Irish team to reach the South Pole, skiing 1140 km only weeks after completing an unsupported Ski traverse of the Greenland Ice Cap in August 2007 in honour of Irish Polar Explorers such as Shakelton and Tom Crean. Clare O'Leary becomes the first Iirsh female to reach the South Pole.
• 2007–2008 — Norwegian-U.S. Scientific Traverse of East Antarctica.
• 2007–2008 — British Army Antarctic Expedition 2007–2008
• 2008 — Todd Carmichael sets coast-to-pole solo/unsupported record of 39 days, 7 hours and 49 minutes
• 2008 — First Venezuelan Scientific Expedition to Antarctica.
• 2008–2009 — Impossible 2 Possible (i2P) unsupported South Pole quest by Ray Zahab, Kevin Vallely and Richard Weber.
• 2009 — Azerbaijan Scientific Expedition
• 2009 — Kaspersky Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition, largest and most international group of women to ski to South Pole.
• 2009 — Second Venezuelan Scientific Expedition to Antarctica.
• 2009−2010 — Unsupported/Unassisted Antarctica Ski Traverse from Berkner Island to South Pole to Ross Sea by Cecilie Skog and Ryan Waters.
• 2010 — Moon Regan Transantarctic Crossing, first wheeled transantarctic crossing and first bio-fuelled vehicle to travel to the South Pole.
• 2010 — Third Venezuelan Scientific Expedition to Antarctica.
• 2011 — Fourth Venezuelan Scientific Expedition to Antarctica.
• 2011−2012 — From Novolazarevskaya to Pole of Inaccessibility to South Pole to Hercules inlet by Sebastian Copeland and Eric McNair Landry by kites and skis.
• 2011−2012 — British Services Antarctic Expedition 2012
• 2012 — Felicity Aston becomes the first person to ski alone across Antarctica using only personal muscle power, as well as the first woman to cross Antarctica alone. Her journey began on 25 November 2011, at the Leverett Glacier, and continued for 59 days and a distance of 1,084 miles (1,744 kilometers).
• 2012 — Fifth Venezuelan Scientific Expedition to Antarctica.
• 2012-2013 - Aaron Linsdau becomes the second only American to ski solo from the Hercules Inlet to the South Pole. His original plan was to make a round trip but through a series of problems, like all other expeditions this year, was unable to make the return journey.
• 2012 — Eric Larsen attempts a bicycle ride from coast to South Pole. Completes a quarter of the distance.
• 2012−2013 — Shackleton's centenary re-enactment expedition of the journey of the James Caird aboard the replica Alexandra Shackleton. Six British and Australian Explorers completed the "double journey" on 10 February 2013 after the 800-mile journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia and the mountain crossing.
• 2013 — Sixth Venezuelan Scientific Expedition to Antarctica.
• 2013 — Ben Saunders and Tarka L'Herpiniere attempts to complete in October 2013, the Terra Nova Expedition first taken by Robert Falcon Scott in January 1912.
• 2013 — Parker Liautaud and Douglas Stoup attempt in December 2013 the Willis Resilience Expedition to set a "coast to Pole" speed record by reaching the geographical South Pole on skis in the fastest miles per hour ever recorded from an interior of continent start while being followed by a support vehicle.
• 2013 — Antony Jinman will walk to the South Pole solo for the 2013 ETE Teachers South Pole Mission, during which he will be in daily contact with schoolchildren from across the United Kingdom and will make films using the world's first drone flights at the South Pole.
• 2013 — Maria Leijerstam completes the first tricycle ride from coast to South Pole.
• 2013-14 - Lewis Clarke (aged 16) guided by Carl Alvey (aged 30) became the youngest person to trek from the Antarctic coast at Hercules Inlet to the South Pole. His expedition was in support of the Prince's Trust and his achievement is recognised by Guinness World Records.
• 2013−14 — Daniel P. Burton completes the first bicycle ride from coast to the South Pole.
• 2013−14 — Chris Turney led an expedition, entitled "Spirit of Mawson", aimed at highlighing the decline in sea ice due to climate change. The expedition was abandoned when its Russian ship became stuck in unusually large amounts of sea ice.
• 2013 — In December 2013 the Expeditions 7 Team led by Scott Brady made a successful east-to-west crossing in four-wheel drive vehicles from Novolazarevskaya to the Ross Ice Shelf via the Scott-Amundsen South Pole Station. Expeditions 7’s logistic plan included providing assistance to the Walking With the Wounded expedition, which was required at latitude 88°S. From the Ross Ice Shelf the Expeditions 7 team returned to Novolazarevskaya via the same route.

Agreements

• 1959 — Antarctic Treaty System
• 1964 — Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora
• 1978 — Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals
• 1982 — Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
• 1988 — Convention on the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities
• 1998 — Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty

See also

• Arctic exploration
• European and American voyages of scientific exploration
• Farthest South
• Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration
• History of Antarctica
• History of research ships
• List of Arctic expeditions
• List of polar explorers
• List of Russian explorers
• Research stations in Antarctica

References

• Savatyugin, L. M.; Preobrazhenskaya, M. A. (1999). Российские исследования в Антарктике [Russian Exploration of Antarctica] (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Gidrometeoizdat, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring of Russian Federation (Roshydromet). ISBN 5-286-01265-5. 
• "Soviet Antarctic Expedition". Information Bulletin (Amsterdam: Elsevier Pub. Co). 1958–1974. ISSN 0038-5271. 

Further reading

• Headland, Robert K. (1990). Chronological List of Antarctic Expeditions and Related Historical Events. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-30903-4
• Landis, Marilyn J. (2003). Antarctica: Exploring the Extreme: 400 Years of Adventure. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1-55652-480-3

External links

• Fram.museum.no, map of Antarctic Expeditions 1772 – 1931 at The Fram Museum (Frammuseet)
• SPRI.cam.ac.uk, index to Antarctic Expeditions at the Scott Polar Research Institute's website
• Antarctic Expeditions, information about some of them from the British Antarctic Survey
• Antarctic-circle.org, Chronologies and Timelines of Antarctic Exploration
• Antarctic Exploration Timeline, animated map of Antarctic exploration and settlement
• Listen to Ernest Shackleton describing his 1908 South Pole Expedition, and read more about the recording on [australianscreen online].
• The recording describing Shackleton's 1908 South Pole Expedition was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia Registry in 2007
• Before she’s lost to decay on the West Coast, former Antarctica researchers in Maine want to save their storied 'Hero'. Portland Magazine. 8 November 2012