Citizen Science Onboard with Antarctica21

What is the Citizen Science Program in Antarctica?

An essential aspect of traveling to Antarctica is understanding the destination, its complexity, and significance for all life on Earth. All of Antarctica21’s expeditions offer an education program where education, experience, and science converge.

As guests explore, our team of polar guides and academics share their knowledge about the Antarctic environment, wildlife, and the importance of this unique region. These educational programs range from on-board lectures and real-life participation in Citizen Science programs.

This season Citizen Science programs include the following topics:

The FjordPhyto Project

Run by Allison Cusick, this program engages Antarctic travelers in taking phytoplankton surveys along the fjord-lined coast of the peninsula. You can participate in the FjordPhyto project on any expedition where Allison is working. This project is now nearly four seasons old. Learn more about this program here.

Happy Whale

Participation in this program is fun and exciting! During your expedition with Antarctica21, you look for whales. If you spot one, take a photo of its tail, and upload it into the Happy Whale database, where marine biologists keep track of migrating whales. To learn more about this program, go here.

Citizen science at Magellan Explorer

PolarTag

Here, our citizen scientists can gather photos of wildlife and report on their tags. This information can serve the Arctic and Antarctic research community as a data source. Re-sightings from citizen scientists can become high-value data if the image is of good quality and has a verifiably correct date and location. We can track individual animals over their lifetimes, working with researchers and citizen scientists around the world. Learn more about their project here.

Citizen science program on our Antarctic Air-Cruises. Photography by Sandra Walser.

Seabird Surveys for the Antarctic Site Inventory

By conducting bird surveys while at sea or onshore, we can help scientists understand mesoscale (within tens of kilometers) seabird distribution patterns and habitat usage in the Southern Ocean.

Through our guides, our travelers help collect real data that scientists worldwide use to understand Antarctica and our world better.

If you’re interested in taking one of our air-cruises to Antarctica and learning more about our Citizen Science programs, please let us know.