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January 6, 2026<\/p>\n
1 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Scientists Just Moved the South Pole. Here\u2019s Why<\/p>\n Antarctica\u2019s New Year\u2019s celebration is unlike any other: every January 1 scientists physically move the South Pole. This is why<\/p>\n By Andrea Thompson edited by Claire Cameron<\/span><\/p>\n Flags mark the ceremonial South Pole.<\/p>\n Galen Rowell\/Getty Images<\/p>\n As the world rang in 2026, scientists in Antarctica did something many of us might think would be impossible: they moved the South Pole.<\/p>\n When we envision the South Pole, we tend to think of a fixed point on Earth. But it is more fluid than you might suppose. For starters, the geographic South Pole is situated at the southern tip of Earth\u2019s axis, pretty much right in the middle of Antarctica. But this place on our planet does not coincide with Earth\u2019s magnetic or geomagnetic South Poles\u2014those are related to the planet\u2019s magnetic field and are located on the Ad\u00e9lie Coast and near Russia\u2019s Vostok Station, respectively. Because Earth\u2019s magnetic field changes along with shifts in the planet\u2019s core, both of these poles are constantly moving.<\/p>\n What the scientists did wasn\u2019t related to the magnetic field, however. They moved the marker stuck in the ice above the geographic South Pole. Technically, this pole doesn\u2019t move. But the marker must: the ice flows about 10 meters a year, so every year, it needs to be put back.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n The Antarctic ice sheet is essentially a very slow-moving frozen river, with ice flowing from the middle of Antarctica out to sea. Warming ocean waters that are lapping away at the ice on the continent\u2019s coast are destabilizing some glaciers; if they collapse, they could significantly raise global sea levels.<\/p>\n This year staff from the U.S. Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station held the New Year\u2019s ceremony, complete with a stuffed penguin, bagpipes and a newly unveiled marker.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" January 6, 2026 1 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Scientists Just Moved the South Pole. Here\u2019s Why Antarctica\u2019s New Year\u2019s celebration is unlike any other: every January 1 scientists physically move the South Pole. This is why By Andrea Thompson edited by Claire Cameron Flags mark the ceremonial South Pole. Galen Rowell\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[613,6361,13160,122],"class_list":{"0":"post-40557","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-heres","9":"tag-moved","10":"tag-pole","11":"tag-south"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/h2>\n