Antarctica | Peter Schulte

Whale fin, for article on Antarctic whale recovery

Antarctic whale populations are officially rebounding

By Peter Schulte / May 6, 2026 / Good News For Humankind

Antarctic whale recovery is producing scenes scientists hadn’t witnessed in over a century. Near the South Orkney Islands in early 2026, researchers aboard a Sea Shepherd vessel watched groups of more than 100 humpback whales feeding together, with blows stretching “from horizon to horizon.” Humpback numbers are now approaching what they were before industrial whaling began, a comeback traced directly to the global moratorium on commercial whaling. The next challenge is already here: industrial krill trawlers, some 100 times the size of a humpback, are working the same waters, and scientists are calling for a 30-kilometer no-fishing buffer to protect the food web. It’s a reminder that ecological recovery is possible — and that protecting it requires the same cooperation that made it happen.

Ozone layer hits a “significant milestone” as concentrations of harmful chemicals drop 50%

By Peter Schulte / September 21, 2022 / Good news links

In 1987, just seven years after ozone depletion from chemicals was made most obvious, every country on Earth ratified a treaty, known as the Montreal Protocol, to regulate the chemicals to protect Earth.

In comeback moment, up to 150 fin whales spotted feeding off Antarctica

By Peter Schulte / July 21, 2022 / Good news links

The recovery of a large whale population is not only a glimpse of hope; it is also likely to have a stimulating effect on primary production in the Southern Ocean, enhancing CO2 uptake and carbon sink capacities.

Ozone layer on track to be restored to 1980 state by 2050

By Peter Schulte / October 20, 2021 / Good news links

With consumer boycotts, political action, a major international treaty, and huge investment in new technologies, CFC production was effectively brought to a halt over the 1990s and early 2000s.

Blue whales seen in Antarctica for the first time since 1980s

By Peter Schulte / March 9, 2020 / Good news links

Since the international moratorium on whaling in 1982, decades of protection have allowed the critically endangered blue whale to bounce back considerably after losing 97% of the species.

image for article on Mount Vinson first ascent

Nicholas Clinch leads the first American ascent of Mount Vinson

By Peter Schulte / January 1, 1966 / Archive of Human Genius

Mount Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica, was first climbed in December 1966 by a ten-person American team led by Nicholas Clinch. Over three consecutive days, every member reached the 4,892-meter summit — a mountain spotted from the air only eight years earlier, approached without the guidance of any local climbing tradition.

Roald Amundsen at the South Pole, for article on Amundsen South Pole expedition

Roald Amundsen leads the first expedition to reach the South Pole

By Peter Schulte / December 14, 1911 / Archive of Human Genius

Amundsen’s South Pole expedition reached the bottom of the world on 14 December 1911, when five Norwegians planted their flag after a 1,400-mile trek by ski and dog sled. Their success leaned heavily on Inuit cold-weather knowledge Amundsen had studied for years. All five made it home alive — a rare outcome in the heroic age of polar exploration.

image for article on Antarctic exploration

Russia’s Bellingshausen expedition becomes first to sight Antarctica

By Peter Schulte / January 27, 1820 / Archive of Human Genius

Antarctic exploration took a startling leap on January 27, 1820, when Russian sloops Vostok and Mirny glimpsed an ice shelf at the bottom of the world. Commanders Bellingshausen and Lazarev logged the sighting without fanfare, then sailed on, eventually circling the continent over two years. It closed a question European mapmakers had been sketching since the 1500s.

James Cook portrait, for article on Antarctic Circle crossing

James Cook becomes first person known to cross the Antarctic Circle

By Peter Schulte / January 17, 1773 / Archive of Human Genius

Captain James Cook crossed the Antarctic Circle on January 17, 1773, the first documented voyage to push past 66°33′ S. Aboard Resolution and Adventure, he came within about 150 miles of the mainland before ice turned him back. His journey quietly dismantled a centuries-old myth of a warm southern continent waiting to be found.

Schöner’s lost 1523 globe probably shows Terra Australis for the first time

By Peter Schulte / January 1, 1523 / Archive of Human Genius

Terra Australis, the imaginary southern continent, likely first appeared as a distinct landmass on Johannes Schöner’s 1523 globe, now lost. The German mathematician built it on a misread Portuguese voyage report, inscribing it “recently discovered but not yet completely explored.” The phantom continent guided European exploration southward for 250 years, until Antarctica was finally confirmed in the 1820s.