Antarctica cruise
glossary

Helpful
vocabulary for your

Antarctica cruise

You will hear and read these terms during your Antarctica cruise. Knowing their meanings will give you a head start in your Antarctica learning adventure.

There are four
South Poles

Geographic
South Pole

This is what we normally think of when we hear the word "south pole".  By definition, it's the southern point of the axis of our planet's rotation. Its latitude is exactly 90-degrees south.

Ceremonial
South Pole

This is a barber-striped pole encircled with national flags. It is set into the ice at the Geographical South Pole (see map above). It's a photo-op symbol, not a scientific indicator. Because the polar ice cap at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station drifts about 10 meters (33 feet) a year, the Ceremonial South Pole is accurate only when the staff repositions the marker, which seldom occurs.

Magnetic
South Pole

It's where you will end up if you follow the needle of your compass until it points skyward. This pole changes its position regularly. It is now submerged in the ocean, about 2,700 kilometers (1,700 miles) from the Geographic South Pole, in the general direction of Australia.

Geomagnetic
South Pole

It resides approximately midway between the Geographic and Magnetic South Poles - and like the latter, it wanders.

Icebergs and
their descendants

Iceberg

A large floating body of ice broken off a glacier (a process called calving).

Bergy bit

An iceberg is downgraded to a bergy bit when - by melting, splitting or tumbling - it no longer rises at least 5 meters (16 feet) about water.

Growler

A bergy bit is downgraded to a "growler" when it no longer rises at least a meter (3 feet) above the waterline. Ship captains fear them because they are numerous and are hard to spot. Growlers have sunk many a vessel over the centuries. They derive their name from the ominous sound they make when rubbing against a hull.

Antarctica cruise glossary - Page 2

Other ice formations

Antarctica cruise glossary - Page 3

Austral summer

Red penguins

CLIA

IAAT0

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