New age of Antarctic exploration

People often look at me oddly when I mention that my research focuses on Antarctica. It’s not what they expect from a humanities academic. That’s understandable. Antarctica is the only continent where humans have never lived permanently.

But the longer I work in the Antarctic the more I’m convinced that we need voices from the humanities and social sciences. How can we act sustainably in and for Antarctica if we don’t understand our own histories, perceptions and ways of visiting and inhabiting this unique place?

The importance of this question came home to me starkly when I travelled to the Antarctic Peninsula in early 2020. I had visited Antarctica three times before, as a writer, educator, and teacher, but this time I was travelling on a tourist cruise ship – one of more than 70,000 people doing so that season. This number grew to more than 100,000 in the 2022-23 season.

The experience brought home the potential threats that this industry poses to the Antarctic: disturbance to wildlife, inadvertent introduction of invasive species, increased melt due to black carbon from ships’ exhaust, fuel spills in the case of accidents, and carbon emissions. But I was equally aware of the possibilities for people to learn about this alien and startlingly beautiful environment, and to become its defenders – its advocates.

Most of my previous research had looked at how people discover Antarctica from afar, through stories. But after that trip, I wanted to know how Antarctic tourists’ views were changed – or reinforced – by the experience.

And what could the tour operators do to ensure that they returned as “Antarctic ambassadors”, as they say in the industry?

The result was Transforming Tourists’ Antarctic Experience, a University of Tasmania project supported by the Australian Research Council, which brings academics together with industry to solve practical problems. Our industry partner, Intrepid Travel, is an Australian company committed to sustainable and ethical travel.

The academic team is interdisciplinary. Two social science researchers – Professor Can Seng Ooi and Associate Professor Anne Hardy – provide their expertise on tourist experience and behaviour. Dr Carolyn Philpott is interested in how sensory experience – particularly sound – impacts visitors to Antarctica.

We benefit from the academic and practical experience of Dr Hanne Nielsen, a law and governance researcher at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies who has worked as a tourist guide over multiple seasons. PhD student Katie Marx, who is interested in how people become emotionally attached to Antarctica, is a valued member of the team.

Did you know? 58% of University researchers are engaged in sustainability-related research, including interdisciplinary research Antarctica.

With cruise operator Hurtigruten Australia providing access to its vessel, the Fridtjof Nansen, we’re also looking at the impact of citizen science, and whether these activities can help tourists to understand themselves as part of the solution, not the problem, in Antarctica.

With tourist numbers growing, people are increasingly asking when governments need to intervene to ensure the industry remains sustainable. Our research is helping address this question, and to develop policies aimed at striking a balance between access to the continent and protection of its environment.

The work of humanities and social researchers, including our University teams, is crucial.