Fourteen advanced research projects led by certified National Geographic Explorers and affiliated scientists are scheduled to operate in some of the most remote waters on the planet during the 2025–2026 Southern Ocean season.
National Geographic–Lindblad Expeditions, widely regarded as a pioneer of modern expedition cruising, has announced the selected researchers for its Visiting Scientist Program, an initiative designed to provide scientists with access to difficult-to-reach environments while integrating their work into expedition voyages to Antarctica.
During the season, National Geographic Resolution, National Geographic Endurance, and National Geographic Explorer will function as mobile research laboratories for the program. Across 18 Antarctic voyages, these vessels will host 14 projects, eleven of which are led by National Geographic Explorers, enabling sustained data collection in polar marine and coastal systems while maintaining regular interaction between researchers and expedition travelers.
Lindblad Expeditions has indicated that its approach to exploration emphasizes stewardship and scientific understanding alongside navigation and access. Company leadership has framed the Visiting Scientist Program as a means of ensuring that the regions visited are not only observed but systematically studied, with research efforts contributing to long-term knowledge of fragile polar environments. The program is also positioned as a way to give scientists the logistical support and operational platform required to investigate environmental change in regions where access is otherwise limited.
Participants in the program represent a range of established research institutions, including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the United States, Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom, the University of Tasmania in Australia, the University of Bologna in Italy, and the Spanish National Research Council. While conducting fieldwork in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters, these researchers also share their methods and findings aboard ship through ongoing updates and presentations, linking active research with expedition operations.
Since the program’s introduction in 2022, eighty-eight projects have been supported across more than one hundred voyages. More than half of these efforts have been led by National Geographic Explorers, many of whom have returned for multiple seasons to expand and refine long-term datasets intended to inform conservation and management of polar regions.
Fleet science leadership at Lindblad Expeditions has described the Visiting Scientist Program as a defining element of the company’s expedition model, noting that coordinated efforts among ship crews, naturalists, shoreside teams, and guests are central to the success of onboard research. The emphasis, according to the company, lies in aligning exploration with structured scientific inquiry rather than treating research as a secondary activity.
Among the projects scheduled for the upcoming season is a continuation of a multi-year investigation into microplastics and microfibers in polar environments, led by National Geographic Explorer Rachael Miller. Operating aboard National Geographic Endurance in December 2025, the project will add a seventh season of seawater and air sampling to an existing dataset examining the transport, effects, and mitigation of microscopic plastic pollutants in high-latitude regions.
Another effort focuses on the physical structure and movement of Antarctic icebergs. Led by Dr. Cy Keener, this project will employ artificial intelligence and advanced imaging techniques to construct three-dimensional models of icebergs, both above and below the waterline. Continuing aboard National Geographic Endurance in January 2026, the research aims to improve understanding of iceberg form, stability, and drift, factors that influence ocean processes and maritime navigation.
Marine mammal research will also feature prominently, with National Geographic Explorer Dr. Holly Fearnbach resuming a long-term study of whale health and population trends around the Antarctic Peninsula. Conducted aboard National Geographic Explorer in February 2026, the project builds on more than a decade of observations to assess how shifting environmental conditions are affecting whale populations and the broader marine ecosystem.
Seabird monitoring in the Southern Ocean will be advanced through the Penguin Watch project led by National Geographic Explorer Dr. Tom Hart of Oxford Brookes University. Sailing aboard National Geographic Endurance during November and December 2025, the team will deploy drones to collect imagery of penguin colonies and service time-lapse cameras near landing sites. These instruments are intended to track changes in colony size and behavior over time, including periods when researchers are not present on site.