List of Antarctic women

Argentina

• Viviana Alder, marine microbiologist
• Irene Bernasconi, echinoderm specialist, member of the first team of Argentine scientists to work on Antarctica in 1968
• Patricia Ortúzar, geographer, writer
• Carmen Pujals, botanist, member of the first team of Argentine scientists to work on Antarctica in 1968
• Irene Schloss, plankton biologist

Australia

• Nerilie Abram, climate change environmentalist
• Leanne Armand, marine scientist, diatom ecologist
• Dana Bergstrom, ecologist, biosecurity specialist, writer
• Hope Black, marine biologist, educator, early sub-Antarctic researcher
• Elizabeth Chipman, writer, one of the first Australian women to set foot on the Antarctic mainland in 1975
• Louise Crossley, South-African born environmentalist, station leader
• Amanda Davies, geographer
• Gwen Fenton, biologist, first woman to be chief scientist of the Australian Antarctic Division
• Samantha Hall, environmental researcher
• Catherine King, environmentalist specializing in ecotoxicology research
• Delphine Lannuzel, Belgian-born biogeochemist, educator
• Nel Law, artist, writer, first Australian woman to set foot in Antarctica in 1961
• Diana Patterson, first woman to head an Australian Antarctic station
• Sally Poncet, biologist, ornithologist, explorer
• Anya Marie Reading, seismology and computational methods
• Patricia Margaret Selkirk, plant biologist, ecologist
• Justine Shaw, ecologist, conservation scientist
• Jan Strugnell, evolutionary molecular biologist
• Elizabeth Truswell, palynologist, visual artist
• Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann, one of the first two indigenous Australians to visit Antarctica
• Barbara Wienecke, Namibian-born seabird ecologist
• Nerida Wilson, invertebrate marine biologist
• Elizabeth Leane, Professor of Antarctic Studies at The University of Tasmania, Australian Antarctic Arts Fellow, co-lead Public Engagement with Antarctic Research Action Group as part of SCAR

Belgium

• Annick Wilmotte, microbiologist

Brazil

• Edith Fanta, biologist, Antarctic fish researcher
• Vivian Pellizari, microbiologist
• Venisse Schossler, climatologist

Brunei

• Dk Najibah Era Al-Sufri, first Bruneian to reach the South Pole

Bulgaria

• Roumiana Metcheva, ecotoxicologist

Canada

• Josée Auclair, polar explorer, first Canadian woman to have headed expeditions to the North and South Poles
• Kathleen Conlan, marine biologist, explorer
• Jennie Darlington, explorer, one of the first women to overwinter in Antarctica in 1947–48

Chile

• Veronica Vallejos, marine biologist, conservationist

China

• Yan Liu, iceberg calving specialist, environmentalist
• Lijie Wei, paleontologist, stratigraphist

Czech Republic

• Linda Nedbalova, biologist, writer

Denmark

• Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, geophysicist, ice and climate researcher
• Caroline Mikkelsen, explorer, first woman to set foot on Antarctica or an Antarctic island in 1935

France

• Laurence de la Ferrière, Moroccan-born climber and explorer, first French woman to reach the South Pole alone in 1997
• Catherine Ritz, geographer, climatologist

Germany

• Doris Abele, marine biologist
• Nancy Bertler, geologist, ice core researcher
• Anja Blacha, expeditioner, longest solo, unsupported, unassisted polar expedition by a woman
• Angelika Brandt, deep-sea biologist
• Katrin Linse, marine benthic biologist
• Karin Lochte, oceanographer, climate change specialist
• Cornelia Lüdecke, meteorologist, writer
• Bettina Meyer, marine biologist
• Monika Puskeppeleit, physician, station leader of the first all-woman team to overwinter in Antarctica

India

• Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu, first Indian woman to ski to the South Pole
• Aditi Pant, oceanographer, first Indian woman to visit Antarctica in 1983
• Sudipta Sengupta, structural geologist, mountaineer, visited in 1983
• Meenakshi Wadhwa, cosmochemist, geologist, visited in 1992 and 2012 under ANSMET programs
• Nitya Pandey, physicist and astronomer, visited in 2021 INACH program

Italy

• Cinzia Verde, biologist, writer

Japan

• Junko Tabei, mountaineer, the first woman to climb to the top of Mount Vinson, Antarctica's highest mountain

Malaysia

• Siti Aisyah Alias, marine biologist

Morocco

• Merieme Chadid, astronomer

Netherlands

• Corina Brussaard, viral ecologist
• Anita Buma, marine ecophysiologist
• Monique de Vries, politician, polar research supporter

New Zealand

• Rosemary Askin, geologist, palynologist
• Nancy Bertler, climate scientist and ice core specialist
• Margaret Bradshaw, British-born New Zealand geologist
• Ann Chapman, limnologist, first woman to lead an Antarctic expedition
• Marie Darby, marine biologist and teacher, first New Zealand woman to visit the Antarctic mainland
• Edith Farkas, Hungarian-born meteorologist, ozone researcher
• Roberta Farrell, American-born biologist, educator
• Christina Hulbe, glaciologist
• Pat Langhorne, sea ice physicist
• Victoria Metcalf, marine biologist, educator
• Christina Riesselman, paleoceanographer
• Natalie Robinson, polar oceanographer
• Gillian Wratt, botanist, first woman director of the New Zealand Antarctic Programme
• Pamela Young, first New Zealand woman to live and work in Antarctica

Norway

• Liv Arnesen, educator, cross-country skier, first woman to ski alone to the South Pole in 1994
• Ingrid Christensen, early polar explorer, first woman to land on the Antarctic mainland or at least view land in Antarctica
• Karen Kyllesø, youngest person to ski solo and unassisted to the South Pole in January, 2025
• Lillemor Rachlew, one of the first women to set foot on the Antarctic mainland in 1937
• Cecilie Skog, nurse, explorer, adventurer
• Monica Kristensen Solås, glaciologist, meteorologist, explorer

Pakistan

• Namira Salim, explorer, artist

Poland

• Maria Olech, biologist, lichenologist

Romania

• Florica Topârceanu, biologist, medical researcher

Russia/Soviet Union

• Maria Klenova, marine geologist, first woman to undertake scientific work in Antarctica in 1956, contributing to the first Soviet Antarctic atlas

South Africa

• Bettine van Vuuren, zoologist

South Korea

• In-Young Ahn, benthic ecologist, oceanographer
• Ji Hee Kim, biologist, environmentalist, writer
• Hong Kum Lee, marine biotechnologist

Spain

• Susana Agustí, biological oceanographer
• Josefina Castellví, oceanographer, biologist, writer
• Carlota Escutia Dotti, geologist

Sweden

• Johanna Davidsson, adventurer, skied alone from the coast to the South Pole
• Elisabeth Isaksson, glaciologist, geologist
• Annelie Pompe, adventurer, has climbed all seven summits, including Mount Vinson
• Tina Sjögren, Czech-born mountaineer, explorer, first woman to complete the Three Poles Challenge in 2002
• Anna Wåhlin, physical oceanographer

Trinidad and Tobago

• Marilyn Raphael, climatologist, educator, writer

Turkey

• Şahika Ercümen, freediver
• Burcu Özsoy, scientist

Ukraine

• Halyna Kolotnytska, cook of the second Ukrainian Antarctic expedition, 1997/98
• Oksana Savenko, Ukrainian marine biologist and zoologist, cetacean researcher, staff member of the National Antarctic Scientific Center, participant of the XXIV and XXVI Ukrainian Antarctic expeditions
• Angelika Hanchuk, Ukrainian meteorologist, synoptician, and climatologist, staff member of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center, participant of the XXVII Ukrainian Antarctic expedition
• Oksana Ivaniga, Ukrainian polar researcher, meteorologist and ozonometrist, member of the 27th Ukrainian Antarctic expedition at the National Antarctic Scientific Center “Akademik Vernadsky”
• Anna Soina, Ukrainian scientist, geophysicist, ozonometrist and environmentalist, staff member of the Institute of Radio Astronomy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, participant of the XXV and XXIX Ukrainian Antarctic expeditions
• Olena Leshchenko, Ukrainian polar researcher, cook of the 30th Ukrainian Antarctic expedition at the Akademik Vernadsky Station
• Ivanna Koturbash, Ukrainian physician and polar researcher, participant of the 29th Ukrainian Antarctic expedition, first female physician in the history of Ukrainian year-round expeditions at the Akademik Vernadsky Station
• Valentyna Harbarchuk, Ukrainian meteorologist and polar researcher, participant of the 29th Ukrainian Antarctic expedition, head of the Zhytomyr Meteorological Station of the Zhytomyr Regional Center for Hydrometeorology
• Tetiana Bahlai, Ukrainian scientist, biologist and pharmacologist, participant of the XXIX Ukrainian Antarctic expedition
• Nataliia Babii, Ukrainian physician, military surgeon and combat medic, participant of the XXIV Ukrainian Antarctic expedition at the Akademik Vernadsky Station
• Svitlana Krakovska, Ukrainian climatologist and meteorologist, senior researcher of the National Antarctic Scientific Center of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, participant of the Second Ukrainian Antarctic expedition
• Marina Orlova, Ukrainian geophysicist, participant of the Second Ukrainian Antarctic expedition, one of the first four Ukrainian women to take part in a year-round wintering at the Akademi
• Liudmyla Mankivska, Ukrainian meteorologist and polar researcher, participant of the Second Ukrainian Antarctic expedition at the Akademik Vernadsky Station
• Mariia Pavlovska, Ukrainian marine microbiologist and ecologist, research fellow of the National Antarctic Scientific Center, participant of seasonal expeditions to the Akademik Vernadsky Station
• Anastasiia Chyhareva, Ukrainian meteorologist and climatologist, researcher of the National Antarctic Scientific Center, participant of four seasonal expeditions to the Akademik Vernadsky Station
• Nataliia Shepel, Ukrainian oceanographer of the National Antarctic Scientific Center, participant in Antarctic expeditions, involved in research on ocean current dynamics using Argo floats and CTD measurements aboard the research vessel Noosfera
• Iryna Kozeretska, Ukrainian geneticist, deputy director for scientific affairs of the National Antarctic Scientific Center

United Kingdom

• Louise Allcock, marine biologist, editor
• Felicity Aston, explorer, climate scientist
• Kim Crosbie, environmentalist, citizen scientist, writer
• Ginny Fiennes, explorer, her Transglobe Expedition team was the first to reach the two poles
• Jane Francis, palaeoclimatologist, director of the British Antarctic Survey
• Helen Fricker, glaciologist, writer
• Rosey Grant, meteorologist
• Karen Heywood, oceanographer, educator
• Eleanor Honnywill, contributor to the British Antarctic Survey, writer
• Joanne Johnson, geologist, writer
• Jennifer Lee, specialist in invasion biology
• Hannah McKeand, beat the record for solo skiing from the coast to the pole
• Elizabeth Morris, glaciologist
• Tavi Murray, glaciologist
• Pom Oliver, explorer, film producer
• Sharon Robinson, plant physiologist, climate change biologist
• Jane Rumble, head of the Polar Regions Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, since 2007
• Rosie Stancer, explorer, adventurer
• Janet Thomson, geologist, first British woman to undertake field research in Antarctica
• Fiona Thornewill, explorer
• Jemma Wadham, glacial biogeochemist

United States

• Jenny Baeseman, civil engineer, environmentalist, geoscientist
• Ann Bancroft, writer, educator, adventurer, first woman to complete Arctic and Antarctic expeditions
• Robin Bell, polar ice specialist
• Mary Odile Cahoon, Benedictine nun, early Antarctic biological researcher
• Kelly Falkner, chemical oceanographer, educator
• Patricia Hepinstall, flight attendant, one of the first two women to fly to Antarctica in October 1957
• Barbara Hillary, first African-American woman to reach both poles
• Louise Huffman, educator specializing in polar science
• Christina Hulbe, geologist, educator
• Kelly Jemison, geologist specializing in Antarctic diatoms
• Lois Jones, geochemist, led the first all-woman science team to Antarctica in 1969
• Ruth Kelley, flight attendant, one of the first two women to fly to Antarctica in October 1957
• Amy Leventer, marine biologist, micropaleontologist
• Diane McKnight, environmental engineer, educator, editor
• Mary Alice McWhinnie, biologist, first American woman to head an Antarctic research station
• Jill Mikucki, microbiologist
• Robyn Millan, astronomist, physicist, investigating radiation belts
• Tori Murden, explorer, first woman to reach the South Pole by land in 1989
• Alison Murray, microbiologist
• Jerri Nielsen, physician, writer
• Vanessa O'Brien, mountain climber, explorer
• Julie Palais, glaciologist
• Irene C. Peden, electrical engineer, first American scientist to work in the Antarctic interior in 1970
• Ann Peoples, first American woman to have a management position in Antarctica
• Erin Pettit, glaciologist
• Christina Riesselman, paleoceanographer
• Michelle Rogan-Finnemore, scientist, legal expert
• Jackie Ronne, explorer, first woman to be a working member of an Antarctic expedition
• Karen Schwall, first female Army officer in Antarctica and first woman to manage McMurdo Station
• Christine Siddoway, structural geologist
• Deborah Steinberg, oceanographer, zooplankton ecologist
• Cristina Takacs-Vesbach, microbial ecologist
• Lynne Talley, physical oceanographer
• Trista Vick-Majors, microbial ecologist
• Diana Wall, environmental scientist and soil ecologist
• Sophie Warny, Belgian-born palynologist
• Jane K. Willenbring, geomorphologist and professor
• Terry Wilson, geologist, tectonics specialist