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Can you plan the perfect adventure? With expedition cruising, you have the best of both worlds – set dates, accommodation, and a rich edutainment schedule, and, at the same time, room for exploration, discovery, and flexibility. This fluid style of travel takes advantage of occasional or rare opportunities. Witnessing a solar eclipse in Antarctica might just be the most unique of them all.
In parts 1 and 2 of our “Ice is Nice” series, you learned about icebergs and glaciers. They are both formed on land and created by the continuous accumulation of snow and calving. In contrast, a rather simple ice feature at first glance – sea ice – forms, grows and melts in the ocean from salty water. It covers about 7% of the world's surface, or 25 million square kilometers, most of it being enclosed in the polar regions – the Arctic Ocean and the Southern Ocean. This floating ice has a profound influence on climate and wildlife.
Travel aboard a cruise ship is like staying in a resort hotel, except that your accommodation is also your transportation. You retire to the same bed each night and awake in a new place each morning. More and more people are discovering the joy and convenience of exploring a string of new destinations without changing hotels or repacking their suitcases.
Icebergs
In part 1 of our “Ice is Nice” series, you learned how glaciers are formed in cold regions through the accumulation of snow for hundreds or thousands of years. In the Arctic and Antarctica, glaciers grow so large that they flow down from the mountains into the sea, where they become tidewater glaciers. Let’s take a closer look at what happens next.
Did you know that Antarctica is twice the size of Australia? I didn’t until I signed up for an Antarctica Cruise with Poseidon Expeditions.
Although Antarctica is larger than Europe, the average person in the street knows very little about the world’s southernmost continent. If anything, they probably imagine an endless stretch of snow devoid of life. The reality is quite different.
Ice is a defining element of the polar environment. It is also a quintessential aspect of the polar expedition experience. On a cruise to the or , you will likely see all kinds of ice, including glaciers, icebergs and sea ice. In preparation for your voyage into the icy realms, let’s take a closer look at how these ice features are formed, starting with glaciers.