In brief:
We have lots of family and friends and other related organisations who wish to be a part of our website to share their experiences with everyone. We hope you enjoy these links.
As we know what happens to the Internet over time, please report any suspicious or offending websites or if the links are broken to the Webmaster
Webcams of Interest
Remember that during winter, daylight hours are limited, the actual amount of daylight being related to the latitude of the camera’s location; thus some cameras are only operational during the summer months.
Ship Spotting – Antarctica
International Antarctic Webcams
Australian Antarctic Websites
Antarctic Tasmania is responsible for enhancing Hobart’s role in support of all countries activities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.
The Aurora Australis Foundation (AAF) is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the preservation of the Antarctic icebreaker Aurora Australis.
The Australian Antarctic Division is responsible for conducting Australia’s operations in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic.
BoM maintains an Antarctic and Southern Ocean Section.
Ionospheric Prediction Service (IPS), previously a separate agency, is now also part of BoM and is responsible for monitoring space weather.
The Mawson’s Huts Foundation is a not for profit charity established in 1996 to conserve the historic and fragile wooden huts of Sir Douglas Mawson’s expeditions and other pioneers
Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife are responsible for the management of Macquarie Island, a World Heritage area.
The Tasmanian Polar Network (TPN) is a group, based in Hobart, whose purpose is to further the involvement of Tasmanian businesses in support of all countries’ Antarctic activities.
With the emphasis placed on Hobart as a support city for Antarctica, it is natural that UTAS has a relatively large Antarctic-related component.
The Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) is an internationally recognised centre of excellence at the University of Tasmania.
Other Australian Websites of Interest
The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) is the Commonwealth agency responsible for helping to protect people and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation, e.g. UV radiation from the Sun.
ARPANSA has UV detection and measuring equipment at each Australian Antarctic station.
ARPANSA also operates monitoring equipment in support of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
The Melbourne Aquarium has a very good display of captive-bred King and Gentoo penguins.
Huskies in Antarctica Memorial Appeal.
Geoscience Australia is the Commonwealth agency responsible for the provision of geophysical information to assist in the management of the environment, resources and sustainable energy.
In relation to Antarctica, the main areas of interest are surveying and mapping, seismic monitoring and geomagnetic monitoring.
The National Library of Australia (NLA) holds Frank Hurley’s personal collection of over 30,000 negatives and lantern slides.
TMAG is a high quality museum and art gallery that concentrates on Tasmania and topics related to Tasmania.
The South Australian Museum is home to the Australian Polar Collection (APC).
The APC provides the public with information relating to Sir Douglas Mawson, John Riddoch Rymill and George Hubert Wilkins -early polar leaders who had strong connections to South Australia.
A site for preserving NATMAP’s (The Division of National Mapping) history and maintaining contact with the people who were part of that history.
As the Australian Landsat Station (ALS), later the Australian Centre for Remote Sensing (ACRES) was part of the Division its history also forms part of this site.The section ( http://xnatmap.org/daat/intro/intro.htm ) NatMap in Antarctica not only has detail of Natmap’s survey, mapping and aerial photography activities in the Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT), but also Heard and McDonald Islands and Macquarie Island.
http://xnatmap.org/daat/docs/indexaatops.htm covers Australian Antarctic Territory Operations, while
http://xnatmap.org/daat/docs/index.htm has other documents etc , and
http://xnatmap.org/daat/people/index.htm has info on some of the Natmap people involved.
There are also photos and even video available from the respective links.
International Websites
The National Direction of the Antarctic (DNA) through the Argentinean Antarctic Institute (IAA) is responsible for Argentinean activities in Antarctica.
The Chinese Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE) is run by the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration. China operates a number of Antarctic stations but the one of most interest to Australia is Zhong Shan, with which Davis Station has regular contact.
The French Polar Institute Paul-Emile Victor (IPEV) is responsible for French research in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Australia works closely with the French Antarctic programme and has regular contact with their Antarctic station Dumont d’Urville.
The Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) coordinates Germany’s research activities in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. They operate three stations in Antartcia, the most prominent being Neumayer III.
The National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) is responsible for conducting India’s Antarctic programme.
The National Institute of Polar Research (NiRP) is responsible for Japanese activities in Antarctica and it exercises this responsibility through the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE). Their main station is Syowa and they operate the ship Shirase which has, on occasion, been of use to Australia.
To quote from their website, “Antarctica New Zealand is the Crown Entity responsible for developing, managing and executing New Zealand Government activities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, in particular the Ross Dependency”
The Russian Antarctic Expedition (RAE) is responsible for Russia’s Antarctic programme. RAE operates three stations with which ANARE has regular contact (depending on the season and operational requirements) Vostok, Progress and Mirny. They also operate other stations that do not have the same relevance to Australia.
The South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAP) is responsible for the conduct of the South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE). SANAE is also the name of South Africa’s main Antarctic station.
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom’s primary Antarctic research organisation. BAS is based at Cambridge in the UK and operates four year-round stations in Antarctica plus summer stations and logistic facilities.
The United States Antarctic Program (USAP) operates a number of stations but the two most recognised are McMurdo and South Pole.
International Antarctic Organisations
The Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP) seeks to conserve albatrosses and petrels by coordinating international activity to mitigate threats to their populations.
The Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, Based in Buenos Aires, administers and manages tasked assigned to it by Treaty members at annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM).
The objective of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) is to conserve marine ecosystems; this includes determining the fishing limits for various species so as to not effect the overall ecosystem.
The Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) is effectively a liaison between the official government programs that operate in the Antarctic Treaty Area. Its secretariat is hosted by the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.
The Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) is a section of the US Army Corps of Engineers. Although its primary purpose is to advise the US DoD, it also provides advice to other nations’ Antarctic programmes.
The Scientific Committee on Scientific Research (SCAR) coordinates the the conduct of science in the Antarctic Treaty Area. SCAR also provides advice to ATCMs
General Antarctic Websites
The ANARE Ski Club has a lodge on Mt Baw Baw, close to Melbourne
The Antarctic Family and Friends Association is a support and social group for family and friends of current and former expeditioners. The association aims to be a source of friendship, comfort and information for members.
AntarcticNet (yes, it is one word) is a USA-oriented site that brings together people who have worked in Antarctica.
The Antarctic Circle is a non-commercial forum and resource on historical, literary, bibliographical, artistic and cultural aspects of Antarctica and the South Polar regions. The breadth and quantity of its content expands periodically.
From its website:The Antarctican Society is, as its motto says, “by and for all Antarcticans.” That includes those who have had the good fortune to visit Antarctica as well as anyone interested in any aspect of it. People have always been the focus of The Antarctican Society: explorers, scientists, support persons – both military and civilian – as well as travelers to the continent.
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Club brings together past and present staff of the British Antarctic Survey and its predecessors the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) and Operation Tabarin and others who have been closely associated with these organisations.
Antarctica – Pictures, Facts and Travel
You can scuttle a ship, but you can’t sink comradery.
FND brings together a community of people with an interest in and ties to the polar ship Nella Dan with the purpose of collecting, preserving and sharing stories from an exciting chapter in Danish maritime history to the benefit of a wider audience.
The virtual tour gives a revealing insight into life at the research station at Macquarie Island. This station is being rebuilt, and the tour provides an insight into the station and ammenities including interiors. The virtual tour was supplied to ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) by AAD (Australian Antarctic Division).
Note that after entering the tour, there is a small menu at top left which enables you to look through various aspects of the station.Spotted on the ABC website by Sue Ashford, October 2018. Thanks Sue.
The New Zealand Antarctic Society brings people interested in the Antarctic region together to share their knowledge with others, to foster interest in the region, to seek and support the protection of the Antarctic environment, and to promote New Zealand’s interests.
The aim of the South African Antarctic Club is to maintain contact with members of Expeditions to Antarctica, Marion Island and Gough Island, and with people with Antarctic interests at heart.
Personal Antarctic Sites
Although designed for family and friends, Dave’s more than happy for others to look at his blog if interested.
Justin was a chef at Davis and Jo is in Saudi Arabia. A different type of blog describing two diametrically existences.
Chronology of the first Concordia winter-over
Pete’s Polar Place is a web site dedicated to the literature and philately of polar regions and to a lesser extent to non-polar philately.
Darryn Schneider and Bill Burch have set up an interesting site on the history of Wilkes station.
Filled with photos and a sound ‘bite’ of the huskies being fed, it’s a great record of a station long buried by ice and snow.
This site is largely devoted to Melvin Oakes’ transcription of the diary kept by Richard J Berkely during his year at Wilkes in 1957 as part of the USA’s Operation Deep Freeze during the IGY of 1957-58 plus a considerable amount of material that Prof Oakes has collected about Richard (Dick) Berkely and about Wilkes.
