Russian research vessel and tourist ship Akademik Ioffe anchored off Half Moon Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, Polar Regions

Russian research vessel and tourist ship Akademik Ioffe anchored off Pleneau Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, Polar Regions

Views of Gold Harbor on South Georgia Island, Southern Ocean. MORE INFO Lindblad Expeditions pioneered non-research expedition travel to Antarctica in 1969, and remains one of the premier Antarctic operators to this day.

Gravestone from the Franklin expedition, Beechey island, Nunavut, Canadian Arctic, Canada, North America

A curious young polar bear (Ursus maritimus) approaches the National Geographic Explorer in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

Aerial of Axel Heiberg island, Nunavut, Canadian Arctic, Canada, North America

Views of the abandoned whaling station in Prince Olav Harbor on South Georgia, Southern Ocean, Polar Regions

Views of the Catholic church at the Chilean research base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva, Antarctica, Southern Ocean, Polar Regions

Lindblad Expeditions guests explore Cape Flora on Northbrook Island in Franz Josef Land, Russia, Arctic Ocean, Eurasia

View of Roald Amundsen monument sculpture at The Fram Museum, Bygdoynesveien, Oslo, Norway, Scandinavia, Europe

Ice in all of its myriad forms in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

Views of the Vasilievbreen (Vasiliev Glacier), in Isbukta (Ice Bay) near the island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway, Arctic, Europe

An adult polar bear (Ursus maritimus) swimming and hauling itself onto ice floe in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

Guest from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Explorer holding up a block of ice in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

The Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Explorer near glacial run-off in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

The Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Explorer near a glacier in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

CT Ticknor, staff member from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Explorer using binoculars in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

The Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Explorer at Austfonna in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

The Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Explorer at Austfonna in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

A curious young polar bear (Ursus maritimus) approaches the National Geographic Explorer in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

The Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Explorer near Cape Fanshawe in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

The Lindblad Expeditions ship National Geographic Sea Bird operating in Glacier Bay National Park, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Southeast Alaska, United States of America, North America

The Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Explorer pushing through ice in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

Ice crystals, Science Center, Ilulissat Icefjord, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Western Greenland, Denmark, Polar Regions

Views of the abandoned whaling station in Prince Olav Harbor on South Georgia, Southern Ocean, Polar Regions

The carcass of an eradicated reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) in Fortuna Bay, South Georgia, Polar Regions

Adelie penguin losing down feathers on ice, Antarctica, Polar Regions

Antarctic tern (Sterna vittata), on the wreck of the Guvernoren in the Enterprise Islands, Antarctica, Southern Ocean, Polar Regions

British Antarctic Survey (BAS) research plane landing at the Chilean Research base Frei on King George Island, Antarctica, Polar Regions

Aerial of a little ship floating between the ice below the Eqi glacier, Western Greenland, Denmark, Polar Regions

The Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Explorer in the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Arctic, Europe

Guest from the Lindblad Expeditions ship National Geographic Sea Bird on path beside a skull in Southeast Alaska, United States of America, North America

Views of the wreck of the Guvernoren, a 20th century whale processing ship, in the Enterprise Islands, Antarctica, Polar Regions

British Antarctic Survey (BAS) research plane landing at the Chilean Research base Frei on King George Island, Antarctica, Polar Regions

View of calm seas and icebergs with reflected mountains surrounding Damoy Point in Dorian Bay, Antarctica, Polar Regions

Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae), with chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica), on ice at Booth Island, Antarctica, Polar Regions

The remains of the camp where Fridtjof Nansen over-wintered with Hjalmar Johansen in 1895-96, Franz Josef Land, Russia, Arctic Ocean, Eurasia

Grounded iceberg near Wiencke Island in the Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica, Southern Ocean, Polar Regions

Aerial drone view of particular ice textures formed in the Hoffelsjokull glacier following global warming, Iceland, Polar Regions

Adult black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys), in flight returning to nesting site on West Point Island, Falklands, South America

Views of the abandoned whaling station in Stromness Bay on South Georgia in the Southern Ocean, Polar Regions

Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) bull holding adult female in the surf to mate with her, South Georgia, Polar Regions

View of tidewater glacier deep inside Neko Harbor on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula, Southern Ocean, Polar Regions

Weddell Seal (Leptonychotes weddellii), hauled out on ice at Half Moon Island, Antarctica, Southern Ocean, Polar Regions

Views of the Chilean research base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva, Antarctica, Southern Ocean, Polar Regions

Views of the Trinity Church at Belingshausen Russian Research Station, Antarctica, Southern Ocean, Polar Regions

A large pod of Gerlache Strait type B killer whales (Orcinus orca), traveling and socializing in Gerlache Strait, Antarctica, Polar Regions

Expedition ship The Bremen operating from Ushuaia, Argentina to the Antarctic Peninsula in Antarctica, Polar Regions

Chinstrap penguins (Pygoscelis antarctica), breeding colony at Half Moon Island, Antarctica, Southern Ocean, Polar Regions

Views of the Chilean inactive research base Gonzalez Videla on Waterboat Point in Paradise Bay, Antarctica, Polar Regions

Adelie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae), at breeding colony at Brown Bluff on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, Polar Regions

The Lindblad Expeditions ship National Geographic Explorer on approach to the United States Research Station at Palmer Base, Antarctica, Polar Regions

The Lindblad Expeditions ship National Geographic Explorer on approach to the United States Research Station at Palmer Base, Antarctica, Polar Regions

The Russian research vessel, AkademiK Sergey Vavilov an ice strengthened ship on an expedition cruise to Northern Svalbard, with clients on the prow at over 80 degrees north in rotten sea ice, some 550 miles from the North Pole. Latest research shows the Arctic will be ice free in the summer by around 2054.

Passengers on Zodiaks off the Russian research vessel, AkademiK Sergey Vavilov an ice strengthened ship on an expedition cruise to Northern Svalbard in front of a glacier.

Passengers on Zodiaks off the Russian research vessel, AkademiK Sergey Vavilov an ice strengthened ship on an expedition cruise to Northern Svalbard in front of the Aalkefjellet (79 ̊ 36’n 18 ̊ 27’e) sea bird nesting cliffs, home to over 60,000 pairs of Brunnichs Guillemot, Hinlopenstretet Spitsbergen;

Crew member Jennifer Davidson of the Lindblad Expeditions ship the National Geographic Polaris in the waters surrounding the Galapagos Island Archipelago, Ecuador

Crew member Juan Carlos Alvia of the Lindblad Expeditions ship the National Geographic Polaris in the waters surrounding the Galapagos Island Archipelago, Ecuador

Crew members of the Lindblad Expeditions ship the National Geographic Polaris clowning around in tortoise shells on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Island Archipelago, Ecuador

Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour in LeMaire Channel on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula

Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour in LeMaire Channel on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula

The Lindblad expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour operating with it's fleet of Zodiacs in and around the Antarctic peninsula, Antarctica.

Lindblad Expeditions ship the National Geographic Polaris in the waters surrounding the Galapagos Island Archipelago, Ecuador

Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour doing various things in and around the Antarctic Peninsula

Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour in LeMaire Channel on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula

Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour doing various things in and around the Antarctic Peninsula

Adult reddish egret (Egretta rufescens) hunting for small fish in the shallow waters of Puerto Don Juan in the upper Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), Baja California Norte, Mexcio.

Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour doing various things in and around the Antarctic Peninsula

Lindblad Expeditions ship the National Geographic Polaris in the waters surrounding the Galapagos Island Archipelago, Ecuador

Crew videographer of the Lindblad Expeditions ship the National Geographic Polaris in the waters surrounding the Galapagos Island Archipelago, Ecuador

Lindblad Expeditions guests visiting the Argentine research station Almirante Brown in Paradise Bay in Antarctica as part of expedition travel. NO MODEL RELEASES FOR THIS IMAGE.

Adult reddish egret (Egretta rufescens) hunting for small fish in the shallow waters of Puerto Don Juan in the upper Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), Baja California Norte, Mexcio

The Lindblad Expeditions ship National Geographic Sea Lion operating in Southeast Alaska, USA. Pacific Ocean.

Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour doing various things in and around the Antarctic Peninsula

The Lindblad Expeditions ship National Geographic Sea Lion operating kayaks in Southeast Alaska, USA. Pacific Ocean.

The Lindblad Expedition ship MS Endeavour in Paradise Bay on the Antarctic Peninsula.

Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour doing various things in and around the Antarctic Peninsula

Natural history staff from the Lindblad Expedition ship National Geographic Endeavour in LeMaire Channel on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula

Lindblad Expeditions ship the National Geographic Polaris in the waters surrounding the Galapagos Island Archipelago, Ecuador

Research vessel anchoring in brash ice, Norway, Arctic

Expedition Boat navigating through melting pack ice, Arctic Ocean, 81° North and 26° East, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Europe

Gjoa, first ship to transit the Northwest Passage in 1906, in front of the Fram Museum on Bygdoy Peninsula, Oslo, Norway, Scandinavia, Europe

The "Ra" at the Kon-Tiki Museum on Bygdoy Peninsula, Oslo, Norway, Scandinavia, Europe

Deck, Fram ship at Fram Museum on Bygdoy Peninsula, Oslo, Norway, Scandinavia, Europe

Overhead view compass world map

Cabin aboard Fram ship at Fram Museum on Bygdoy Peninsula, Oslo, Norway, Scandinavia, Europe

German research icebreaker Polarstern, operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Isfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway, Europe

Expedition Boat navigating through melting pack ice, Arctic Ocean, 81° North and 26° East, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway, Europe

Bow, Fram ship at Fram Museum on Bygdoy Peninsula, Oslo, Norway, Scandinavia, Europe

Antarctic Dream ship, Neko Harbor, Gerlache Strait, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica

Antarctic Dream ship, Neumayer Channel, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica

Icebergs near Pleneau Island, Lemaire Channel, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica

Iceberg near Pleneau Island, Lemaire Channel, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica

Shaun Norman, Antarctic Mountaineer, searches for a route across the Polar Plateau.

A ski equipped aircraft is being prepared for takeoff near the South Pole.

Fisheries scientists, Lake Aleknagik, Bristol Bay, Alaska, USA

Tara Oceans Expeditions - May 2011. Tara with deployed plancton nets. On "station", the boat is drifting without engine or sails. Tara Oceans, a unique expedition: Tara Oceans is the very first attempt to make a global study of marine plankton, a form of sea life that includes organisms as small as viruses and bacterias, and as big as medusas. Our goal is to better understand planktonic ecosystems by exploring the countless species, learning about interactions among them and with their environment. Marine plankton is the only ecosystem that is almost continuous over the surface of the Earth. Studying plankton is like taking the pulse of our planet. Recently, scientists have discovered the great importance of plankton for the climate: populations of plankton are affected very rapidly by variations in climate. But in turn they can influence the climate by modifying the absorption of carbon. In a context of rapid physico-chemical changes, for example the acidification observed today in the world's oceans, it is urgent to understand and predict the evolution of these particular ecosystems. Finally, plankton is an astonishing way of going back in time ? a prime source of fossils. Over the eons, plankton has created several hundred meters of sediment on the ocean floors. This allows us to go back in time, to the first oceans on Earth, and better understand the history of our biosphere. More than 12 fields of research are involved in the project, which will bring together an international team of oceanographers, ecologists, biologists, geneticists, and physicists from prestigious laboratories headed by Eric Karsenti of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. Galapagos