Seals Are Recruited to Study the Ocean Under Antarctic Glaciers

10 February 2026 at 09:13

The environment is changing rapidly around the melting Thwaites Glacier. Seals can collect data in waters that ships could never reach.

The tags themselves don’t seem to bother the animals, but Ms. Cheon and Mr. Chung agreed the tagging process tugs on some complicated heartstrings.

Studying Antarctica’s Ice From the Side of a Helicopter

NYT: Science

By:Raymond Zhong

6 February 2026 at 13:01

The fastest way into the gaps between gigantic blocks of a broken-up glacier is by lowering instruments from above, through the door of a helicopter.

Attempt to Drill Through Thwaites Glacier Is Foiled

NYT: Science

By:Raymond Zhong

2 February 2026 at 13:49

Scientists lost their instruments within Antarctica’s most dangerously unstable glacier, though not before getting a glimpse at the warming waters underneath.

Threading a cable through the Thwaites glacier in an attempt to place monitoring equipment.

Drilling Through the Thwaites Glacier for Clues to Its Melting

NYT: Science

By:Raymond Zhong

30 January 2026 at 12:59

A team hopes to place instruments in the waters beneath the colossal Thwaites Glacier, with the help of a drill that uses hot water to punch through ice.

Camping on Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier

NYT: Science

By:Raymond Zhong

29 January 2026 at 08:53

After working and camping for a week on Thwaites Glacier, scientists were ready to start drilling into the ice, if only the weather would let them.

Radar Scans of Antarctica Offer Clues to What’s Happening on Jupiter’s Moon

NYT: Science

By:Raymond Zhong

27 January 2026 at 16:57

Scientists are using radar to study damaged ice both in Antarctica and, with the help of a NASA spacecraft, on Jupiter’s ocean moon of Europa.

An engineer aboard the icebreaker Araon prepared a helicopter with ice-penetrating radar for a flight over the Thwaites Glacier.

An Antarctic Mission to Recover a Robot’s Data

NYT: Science

By:Raymond Zhong

23 January 2026 at 07:59

In the unforgiving polar wilderness, scientists go to great lengths to safeguard the devices that gather precious data.

Scientists Set Up Camp on Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica

NYT: Science

By:Raymond Zhong

20 January 2026 at 15:45

Low clouds have lifted long enough for helicopters to ferry scientists and their gear to a fast-melting glacier on the edge of Antarctica.

A Look Through a Century of Times Reporting From Antarctica

NYT: Science

By:Raymond Zhong

19 January 2026 at 10:05

Generations of Times journalists have journeyed there with scientists. Their coverage traces humankind’s changing relationship with the most mysterious continent.