A team of NASA scientists operating in Antarctica made a shocking discover about what forms of higher life can thrive beneath the massive ice sheet. The scientists assumed that very little life beyond simple microorganisms thrived 600 feet below the ice, well beyond the reach of any light. And then a cocktail-sized shrimp swam past their camera and attached itself to the cable. Scientists speculated that microorganisms that are able to produce their own food could live in these harsh environs, but they never suspected that such a complex animal could live here and find enough food to survive. Some suggest that the shrimp swam into the camera’s path from far away, but NASA researchers doubt it—the nearest open water was 12 miles away. The scientists also pulled a tentacle from what looked like about a foot-long jellyfish off the cable. How life can survive in such a harsh environment is an intriguing question they’re faced with answering.

When you join Lindblad and National Geographic on an expedition to Antarctica, you’ll have a first-hand chance to help these scientists. National Geographic Explorer’s Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) has been patrolling the Antarctic seafloor down to 1,000ft since the ship launched in 2008, and some of our guests have witnessed the discovery of new species in these icy waters. If you’re considering a trip to Antarctica, sign up for our free, live Webinar with long-time Lindblad Expedition Leader and Antarctica expert Karen Copeland.

As I stepped out onto the tarmac, my stomach twisted violently. Ahead of me the little airplane glinted in the sunlight, and the pilot stood beckoning me towards the cockpit – I’d be riding up front, with him. As I climbed in, my knees knocked into the electronic dashboard, and a paper bag hung ominously within grabbing distance. It was time to fly.

I was in Nazca, Peru, in a four passenger plane about to lift off to view the mysterious Nazca Lines. Created by the Nazca people, who thrived in southern Peru and northern Chile from 200 B.C. through 600 A.D., the Nazca Lines are a series of geoglyphs etched into the sand in one of the driest deserts on earth... 

A blood-red waterfall pouring out of the Taylor Glacier in Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys is actually not a sign of the impending apocalypse. Rather, Blood Falls is a sign of alien encroachment. Stay with me: 2 million years ago the Taylor Glacier sealed off a small body of water that contained a community of microbes. This small pool of wild animals has not seen oxygen, sunlight or heat for over two million years. As the earth warmed and the glaciers in Antarctica melted away, this pool of organisms that has been independently evolving for 2 million years without any outside contact has sprung forth from the glacier. The frothy water is rich in iron, which gives the water its striking red color. These strangely alien microbes may exist nowhere else on earth, and they give scientists an idea of what kind of life may survive after the earth becomes uninhabitable by almost all other life forms.

Click here to see some of the photos that came in from the expedition ships this week. The last photo in the series is of a creature who is a symphony of blended color.

What does a penguin wear under its tuxedo? Apparently not much. A shot featured in our February 26 Daily Expedition Report is pulling down international press attention and turning the heads of scientists around the world. National Geographic photographer Andrew Evans shot this photo of an extremely rare all-black King Penguin on the island of South Georgia while traveling with us on an Antarctica cruise aboard National Geographic Explorer. Andrew Evans traveled from Washington D.C. to the tip of Tierra del Fuego by bus, where we traded in his bus pass for a ticket aboard our ship. He’s posted on our Exploration’s blog about his trip as well as his Twitter feed, @Bus2Antarctica. He’s now safely returned to Washington D.C. with a lifetime of memories, and the aforementioned photo of the “one in a zillion” all-black penguin.

A stream of breathtaking images flows across the desktops here at Lindblad HQ, but once in awhile we see something that serves as a striking reminder of just how close our guests get to the wildlife. A March 9th Daily Expedition Report from our crew on a Galápagos cruise included this amazing shot of a solitary male Orca breaching alongside a Zodiac ferrying our guests. It is precisely the extraordinary, unplanned moments like these that stay with our guests forever, and these eye-level wildlife encounters are only available from the Zodiacs and kayaks that travel with all of our expedition vessels.

Read about the encounter in the March 9th Daily Expedition Report, check out the slideshow, or take a look at our Galápagos itineraries and get started planning your own close encounters.

Climate Goal Is Supported by China and India

By John M. Broder
Published: March 9, 2010
The New York Times

WASHINGTON — China and India formally agreed Tuesday to join the international climate change agreement reached in December in Copenhagen, the last two major economies to sign up.

The two countries, among the largest and fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, submitted letters to the United Nations agreeing to be included on a list of countries covered by the Copenhagen Accord, a three-page nonbinding statement reached at the end of the contentious and chaotic 10-day conference.

China and India join more than 100 countries that have signed up under the accord, which calls for limiting the rise in global temperatures to no more than 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, beyond pre-industrial levels.

Click here to read the article.

by, Ben Lyons, Chief Officer, National Geographic Explorer

Gold Harbour, South Georgia Island

When I am aboard National Geographic Explorer as Chief Officer, I’m often asked what my favorite destination is. While I find it hard to nail down only one destination, I can, however, describe what stands out as my most memorable landing.

In October 2008 I was on the National Geographic Endeavour for an early season expedition to South Georgia and the Falklands. We had anchored for the night in Gold Harbour, South Georgia, in anticipation of a sunrise landing. When my watch on the bridge began at 4am, conditions were clear and perfect, and what was already a beautiful setting slowly became brilliant as the sun approached the horizon. Large sections of ice, broken off from a hanging glacier in the bay, gradually took on a remarkable pink hue. When the sunlight finally shone directly onto the shore, the landing exploded in color with the glistening feathers of the King Penguins and the green grass set against the towering mountains behind…

This week there is quite a range of photos that have been sent in from the expedition ships. Click here for a view.