Dr Kirsten Thompson collects water samples for eDNA testing from a RHIB off the Arctic Sunrise near Paulet Island, in the Erebus and Terror Gulf at the entrance to the Weddell Sea, Antarctica.

eDNA monitoring uses filters to trap free-floating DNA that has been left behind by animals. In the laboratory, the DNA can help identify marine biodiversity, specifically whales, seals, birds and fish.

The research will contribute to a better understanding of Antarctic waters, a marine ecosystem that is rapidly being altered by climate change. 

Greenpeace is back in the Antarctic on the last stage of the Protect The Oceans Expedition. We have teamed up with a group of scientists to investigate and document the impacts the climate crisis is already having in this area.

*This picture was taken in 2020 during the Antarctic leg of the Pole to Pole expedition under the Dutch permit number RWS-2019/40813