Category: Stories & Inspiration

Stories & Inspiration

Counting albatrosses for citizen science

It’s an open secret for anyone cruising to Antarctica that you don’t have to spot a penguin on the peninsula to kickstart your wildlife experience. The Drake Passage – that long stretch of sea that separates South America from Antarctica –  offers some tremendous birdwatching. And thanks to a new citizen science programme, cruise passengers […]

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Stories & Inspiration

Getting a microscopic view of Antarctica with citizen science

When you slow down to appreciate the smaller things in life, magic can happen. You can suddenly get an entirely new perspective on the world. I sailed to Antarctica for all the marvels that are on everyone’s ticklist: big ice, whales and lots of penguins. Even so, I didn’t expect to have my perspective altered […]

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Stories & Inspiration

How to count penguins from space

One of the biggest attractions of travelling to Antarctica is getting to see wildlife that has no natural fear of humans. But you don’t always have to get up close to appreciate the penguins and seals: some of the most interesting scientific research can be done from a very long way away indeed. We spoke […]

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Stories & Inspiration

An introduction to citizen science on Antarctic cruise ships

Citizen science is becoming an increasingly popular addition to many Antarctic expedition cruises, but there’s often a lot of confusion about exactly what it entails. In this new Swoop Antarctica series we’re taking a deep dive into the subject to explore all the different citizen projects it’s currently possible to take part in while on […]

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Stories & Inspiration

Antarctica’s fin whales: are their numbers finally in recovery?

Last November I was lucky enough to visit Elephant Island, that bleak mountainous outcrop at the farthest tip of the South Shetlands that points the way from the Antarctic Peninsula to South Georgia.  Elephant Island is forever famous as the location where the stranded men of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance expedition sheltered while ‘the Boss’ […]

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