The Unseen Antarctica's Beauty

A killer whale (viewed from above) swims amid floating ice in the Ross Sea in January of 2005. Researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Southwest Fisheries Science Center were studying the whales to determine if there are three separate species of Antarctic killer whales.

Palmer Station seen from the ocean on June 10, 2006. Palmer Station is the smallest of the three U.S. Antarctic Program research stations, located on Anvers Island, near the Antarctic Peninsula.

A molting emperor penguin seen on January 3, 2007.

Sculptured iceberg in North Bay, Rothera Point, Adelaide Island, Antarctica.

The Calkin Glacier, seen on November, 2003. The glacier is located in the Taylor Valley in Victoria Land, named for Parker Calkin, US Antarctic Program geologist who conducted research in the area during the 1960-61 and 1961-62 field seasons.

The aurora australis over the Dark Sector at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station on June 3, 2008. The Dark Sector is so-named due to the absence of light and radio wave interfence. The bright spot above the ground shield in the foreground is Jupiter. The white streaks of light going up are the Milky Way.

Penguins on a massive iceberg near the Antarctic Peninsula on November 28, 2003.

Nacreous clouds near McMurdo, Ross Island, Antarctica on August 28, 2004. These polar stratospheric clouds at 80,000 feet are the highest of all clouds. They only occur in the polar regions when the stratospheric temperature dips below 100 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. They are also the site of chemical reactions that break down ozone in the upper atmosphere and contribute to the creation of the ozone hole above Antarctica.

The Commonwealth Glacier in the Transantarctic Mountains, seen on February 4, 2007. The glacier was named by the British Antarctic Expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott (1910-1913) after the Commonwealth of Australia. This glacier flows in a southeasterly direction, west of Mount Coleman, in Victoria Land.

A balancing stone seen on the Dufek Massif in the Pensacola Mountains of Antarctica on January 18, 2007.

An aurora over the Elevated Station at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station on July 16, 2008.

The northern edge of the giant iceberg B-15A seen on January 29, 2001.

A view of the Antarctic coast from the Research Vessel NATHANIEL B. PALMER in April of 2007.

A person stands silhouetted by the South Pole sunset on April 6, 2008. The sun dipped below the horizon on March 20th and did not appear again until September 22nd.

A person stands underneath a natural arch in a glacier at Norsel Point, Anvers Island, Antarctica on July 30, 2006.

A full moon and 25 second exposure allowed sufficient light into this photo taken at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station during the long Antarctic night in July of 2005. The new station can be seen at far left, power plant in the center and the old mechanic's garage in the lower right. Red lights are used outside during the winter darkness as their spectrum does not pollute the sky, allowing scientists to conduct astrophysical studies without artificial light interference. The green light in the sky is the aurora australis.

The former Russian icebreaker and now cruiseliner Kapitan Khlebnikov breaks through the annual sea ice near the Oates Coast of Antarctica on January 29, 2005

A view from the Research Vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer in April of 2007.

US Antarctic Program participant DJ Jennings shows his frozen beard on October 26, 2006.

The first glow of sunrise appears above McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica on July 13, 2007.

The Dome at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is seen above a field of sastrugi - ridges of snow formed by wind erosion on October 29, 2003.

South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic Ocean, seen on February 23, 2006.

A cable protrudes from the ice wall at Explorer's Cover, New Harbor, McMurdo Sound in this photo taken on November 12, 2005. The cable was used for the Remotely Operable Micro-Environmental Observatory (ROMEO), an underwater camera. Connected to onshore equipment and linked by radio to the Internet, ROMEO allowed scientists to study benthic fauna year-round.

Ross Island as viewed from Black Island, about 25 miles away. The glow of lights of McMurdo Station (US) can be seen, and the glow of the sun just below the horizon creates a sunrise which will last for weeks.

Icebergs near the Antarctic Peninsula in September 2002.

An ice cave near Palmer Station, Anvers Island, Antarctica seen on July 24, 2000.

Adelie penguins launch themselves out of the frigid water onto the ice on December 31, 2005.

U.S. Antarctic Program participants handle ropes to secure the docking of a ship at Palmer Station, Anvers Island, Antarctica in the darkness of June 8, 2000. Swirling snow is illuminated above by the ship's lights.

Soil biologist Dr. Diana Wall, Colorado State University, looks out across the Taylor Valley near Lake Hoare on January 17, 2006. Her group was conducting research on soil biota.

Brooks de Wetter-Smith's photograph of an iceberg titled "Ice Tunnel"