In two new studies, scientists say that the vast ice continent of Antarctica seems to have given up tremendous volumes of ice - even sprouting considerable plant life.

Antarctica is the coldest, most remote and naturally hostile place. What kind of maniac would choose to live there? Jamie Morton went there to find out.

Before departing on his Antarctic expedition, the British explorer Henry Worsley explained his motivation for traversing the frozen continent all alone.

In Antarctica, making the slightest mistake can put your life at risk.

Poignant last diary entry and photo of Henry Worsley as he tried to become first person to cross Antarctica unassisted.

Inside the rear cargo bay at Scott Base's Hillary Field Centre, it sounds - and feels - like an anti-aircraft gun is letting loose just a few metres away.

An Antarctica-based Kiwi whose documentary became a runaway global hit is back on the ice for another major project.

Near the margin where Pram Point drops on to the McMurdo ice shelf stands a small shack, set against a dramatic and ever-changing Antarctic backdrop.

Call it extreme geology: a team of Kiwi scientists is venturing to a remote part of Antarctica to dig up ancient evidence of a warmer world.

Herald science reporter Jamie Morton is spending the next week in Antarctica and will be filing a regular diary from Scott Base. Here is his second entry.

Freezing wind storms. Temperatures plunging to -40C. Months of perpetual daylight or darkness. These brutal, barely imaginable conditions seem positively Martian.

Herald science reporter Jamie Morton will be filing regular stories from Antarctica's Scott Base over the next week, along with a daily diary entry. Here is his first.

Minerals released by giant icebergs capturing carbon is slowing the rate of global warming.

A helicopter pilot is in a critical condition in Antarctica after falling down an icy crevasse and laying injured for at least two hours.

A crack along the Antarctic ice is making its way towards an isolated research station, threatening to plunge the scientists into the frozen seas.

Another major study has pointed to the alarming potential impact of climate change on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet - the vast "sleeping giant" of the frozen continent.

The New Zealand Defence Force has marked 50 years of airlift support flights to Antarctica by delivering more than 3000kg of freight to the icy continent.

Firstly, can you describe your research programme on the ice, how this project has been developed, and how many scientists are involved?

A New Zealand bid to establish the world's largest marine reserve in Antarctica is a step closer after China agreed to support the project.

Major Kiwi-led study paints a dire picture of Antarctica's future under climate change, with models simulating heavy ice loss under all but one scenario.

If the vast East Antarctic Ice Sheet melted, oceans would rise by 50 metres. This week, new scientific evidence will be presented that shows it's at risk.

A new study has found that if we burned all the fossil fuel on Earth, the Antarctic ice sheet would completely disappear.

The "declining religiosity" of scientists working on the summer ice of Antarctica has ended a long-standing relationship with New Zealand priests.

An Antarctic explorer who died while travelling with his wife in Machu Picchu has been remembered as a “remarkable and lovely man”.

Research efforts and modern technology have revealed tens of thousands of new creatures we never knew could even survive on Antarctica.

Prosecutions against illegal fishers who tangled with the New Zealand navy have been hailed as a “giant step forward” by Foreign Minister Murray McCully.

Antarctica's Larsen B ice-shelf is on course to disintegrate completely within the next five years, according to a study by US space agency Nasa.

The Xuelong is Beijing's polar workhorse and made headlines in 2013 when its helicopter airlifted passengers from the ice-bound Akademik Shokalskiy.

Luis Andres Henao investigates the South Pole travel industry and finds that tourists now far outnumber scientists.

I spent last week in the Auckland Islands, where only a few people get to go. DoC, the Navy and universities send people down a few times a year.