The Svalbard archipelago is the northernmost European territory accessible to a non-professional expedition. Fjords, glaciers and abundant wildlife — polar bears, walruses, migratory birds… — await visitors during the short polar summer. This fascinating land in Europe’s remote north opens to visitors for that brief season.
What is the best time to travel to Antarctica?
1.- Antarctica: NOVEMBER and early DECEMBER
2.- Antarctica from DECEMBER to mid-FEBRUARY
3.- Antarctica from mid FEBRUARY to MARCH
3.- What is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current?
With the arrival of summer, coastal areas are free of ice which allows the ships to leave. A period of five months between November and March when weather conditions are more favourable and where more than 20 hours of sunlight a day for activities.
In November, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current begins to moderate temperatures throughout the southern hemisphere. The Drake Passage offers windows of weather when it is possible to reach Antarctica without facing 10-metre waves.
Late spring and early summer in the southern hemisphere. The continent is covered in snow, and the pack ice begins to break up. At this time of year, Antarctica is a wonderful white landscape, with abundant icebergs and sea ice.
Sunlight encourages abundant phytoplankton growth, attracting marine mammals to feed near the coast.
It is penguin mating season, and birds are laying their eggs.
Midsummer in the southern hemisphere. During this period, the warmest of the year, The snow melts, revealing rocks and tundra that allows us to go for walks.
Almost round-the-clock daylight delights photography enthusiasts.
Less sea ice means easier access to more distant areas. Seal and sea lion pups can be seen. Penguin chicks hatch, and their parents spend hours feeding them.
End of summer and beginning of autumn in the southern hemisphere. Antarctica is preparing for winter. It's the period when the sea ice reaches its smallest extent, allowing access to the most remote areas. It is also the ideal time for activities on land, with less snow.
The whales return to feed and it is the best time to observe them; seals and elephant seals rest on land, and penguins moult.
The Circumpolar Current forms part of the great ocean circulation driven by changes in water temperature. The coldest water flows along the ocean floor towards the equator, while warm surface waters from tropical latitudes flow upwards to replace the colder water that sinks.
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current flows from west to east, counterbalancing the opposite direction of all subtropical currents in an area called the Antarctic Convergence,
an area of approximately 40 km where the waters sink northwards towards the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans.
