For a long time, scientists knew of a “gravity hole” beneath Antarctica—an area with particularly weak gravitational force. Considering the various threats currently faced by the region, scientists are hoping to understand this anomaly better. At last, they may have a new lead.

Gravity feels reliable—stable and consistent enough to count on. But reality is far stranger than our intuition. In truth, the strength of gravity varies over Earth's surface. And it is weakest beneath the frozen continent of Antarctica after accounting for Earth's rotation.

Forte and colleagues now believe Antarctica’s gravity hole was weaker before eventually intensifying around 30 to 50 million years ago. This corresponds to large-scale changes in the continent’s climate that included the arrival of glaciers. These, in turn, exert major influences on Earth’s ecosystems, including sea levels and ocean acidity.

Even Antarctica’s toughest native insect can’t escape the reach of plastic pollution. Scientists have discovered that Belgica antarctica — a tiny, rice-sized midge and the southernmost insect on Earth — is already ingesting microplastics in the wild.

Pink boulders led scientists to a massive granite formation buried under Antarctica’s ice, solving a decades-old geological mystery.

Microscopic particles of plastic have been found across the Earth, from the clouds over Mount Fuji to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. Now, scientists have found microplastics in the bellies of

Learn how Antarctica’s gravity hole formed inside Earth and grew stronger as its ice sheets took hold.

Researchers uncover how slow changes deep inside Earth created Antarctica’s gravity anomaly and may even connect to ancient climate shifts.

F rom space, planet Earth looks like a perfect sphere. But it’s not. Obviously, the crust of the Earth is irregular, covered in jagged mountains and deep oceanic trenches, but even if it were completely smooth and covered in water, the surface of this hypothetical ocean planet would still show some variations.

PONANT EXPLORATIONS is offering bookings for a 62-day luxury circumnavigation of Antarctica aboard Le Commandant Charcot starting in January 2028.