On the basis of data from other subglacial environments and simulations of the accumulation of methane hydrate in Antarctic sedimentary basins, it seems there could be unsuspected, large stores of methane beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet.

In sharp contrast to the decreasing sea ice coverage of the Arctic, in the Antarctic the sea ice cover has, on average, expanded since the late 1970s. More specifically, satellite passive-microwave data for the period November 1978–December 2010 reveal an overall positive trend in ice extents of 17 100 ± 2300 km2 yr−1. Much of the increase, at 13 700 ± 1500 km2 yr−1, has occurred in the region of the Ross Sea, with lesser contributions from the Weddell Sea and Indian Ocean.

A reconstruction of temperatures along the Wilkes Land coast of Antarctica during the early Eocene epoch shows that the climate supported the growth of near-tropical forests and that winters were very mild and essentially frost-free.

After two decades of hardwork, on 5 February 2012, a team of Russian scientists began drilling at Lake Vostok, the largest of more than 140 sub-glacial lakes and the most deeply buried of the lakes hidden under the Antarctic ice cap.