List of Antarctic women

This is a list of Antarctic women. It includes explorers, researchers, educators, administrators and adventurers. They are arranged by the country of their latest citizenship rather than by country of birth.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Argentina

• Viviana Alder (born 1957), marine microbiologist
• Irene Bernasconi (1896–1989), echinoderm specialist, member of the first team of Argentine scientists to work on Antarctica in 1968
• Patricia Ortúzar (graduated 2001), geographer, writer
• Carmen Pujals (1916–2003), botanist, member of the first team of Argentine scientists to work on Antarctica in 1968
• Irene Schloss (PhD 1997), plankton biologist

Australia

• Nerilie Abram (born 1977), climate change environmentalist
• Leanne Armand (born 1968), marine scientist, diatom ecologist
• Dana Bergstrom (born 1962), ecologist, biosecurity specialist, writer
• Hope Black (born 1919), marine biologist, educator, early sub-Antarctic researcher
• Elizabeth Chipman (born 1934), writer, one of the first Australian women to set foot on the Antarctic mainland in 1975
• Louise Crossley (1942–2015), South-African born environmentalist, station leader
• Amanda Davies, geographer
• Gwen Fenton (PhD 1985), biologist, first woman to be chief scientist of the Australian Antarctic Division
• Samantha Hall (born 1982), environmental researcher
• Catherine King (graduated 1992), environmentalist specializing in ecotoxicology research
• Delphine Lannuzel (graduated 2001), Belgian-born biogeochemist, educator
• Nel Law (1914–1990), artist, writer, first Australian woman to set foot in Antarctica in 1961
• Diana Patterson (born early 1950s), first woman to head an Australian Antarctic station
• Sally Poncet (born 1954), biologist, ornithologist, explorer
• Anya Marie Reading (PhD 1997), seismology and computational methods
• Patricia Margaret Selkirk (born 1942), plant biologist, ecologist
• Justine Shaw (graduated 1996), ecologist, conservation scientist
• Jan Strugnell (born 1976), evolutionary molecular biologist
• Elizabeth Truswell (born 1941), palynologist, visual artist
• Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann (born 1950), one of the first two indigenous Australians to visit Antarctica
• Barbara Wienecke (PhD 1993), Namibian-born seabird ecologist
• Nerida Wilson (graduated 1998), invertebrate marine biologist

Belgium

• Annick Wilmotte (graduated 1982), microbiologist

Brazil

• Edith Fanta (1943–2008), biologist, Antarctic fish researcher
• Vivian Pellizari (graduated 1992), microbiologist

Brunei

• Dk Najibah Era Al-Sufri (born 1983), first Bruneian to reach the South Pole

Bulgaria

• Roumiana Metcheva (born 1950), ecotoxicologist

Canada

• Josée Auclair (born 1962), polar explorer, first Canadian woman to have headed expeditions to the North and South Poles
• Kathleen Conlan (born 1950), marine biologist, explorer
• Jennie Darlington (1919–2009), explorer, one of the first women to overwinter in Antarctica in 1947–48

Chile

• Veronica Vallejos (born late 1960s), marine biologist, conservationist

China

• Yan Liu (graduated 2003), iceberg calving specialist, environmentalist
• Lijie Wei (born 1974), paleontologist, stratigraphist

Czech Republic

• Linda Nedbalova (born 1976), biologist, writer

Denmark

• Dorthe Dahl-Jensen (born 1958), geophysicist, ice and climate researcher
• Caroline Mikkelsen (1906 - late 1990s), explorer, first woman to set foot on Antarctica or an Antarctic island in 1935

France

• Laurence de la Ferrière (born 1957), Moroccan-born climber and explorer, first French woman to reach the South Pole alone in 1997
• Catherine Ritz (graduated 1975), geographer, climatologist

Germany

• Doris Abele (graduated 1984), marine biologist
• Nancy Bertler (graduated 1996), geologist, ice core researcher
• Anja Blacha (born 1990) expeditioner, longest solo, unsupported, unassisted polar expedition by a woman
• Angelika Brandt (born 1961), deep-sea biologist
• Katrin Linse (PhD 2000), marine benthic biologist
• Karin Lochte (born 1952), oceanographer, climate change specialist
• Cornelia Lüdecke (born 1954), meteorologist, writer
• Bettina Meyer (PhD 1996), marine biologist
• Monika Puskeppeleit (born 1955), 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

Italy

• Cinzia Verde (graduated 1987), biologist, writer

Japan

• Junko Tabei (born 1939), mountaineer, the first woman to climb to the top of Mount Vinson, Antarctica's highest mountain

Malaysia

• Siti Aisyah Alias (born 1966), marine biologist

Morocco

• Merieme Chadid (born 1969), astronomer

Netherlands

• Corina Brussaard (PhD 1997), viral ecologist
• Anita Buma (graduated 1984), marine ecophysiologist
• Monique de Vries (born 1947), 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 (1937–2009) 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 (1921–1993) 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 (born 1953) educator, cross-country skier, first woman to ski alone to the South Pole in 1994
• Ingrid Christensen (1891–1976), early polar explorer, first woman to land on the Antarctic mainland or at least view land in Antarctica (1931)
• Lillemor Rachlew (1902–1983), one of the first women to set foot on the Antarctic mainland in 1937
• Cecilie Skog (born 1974), nurse, explorer, adventurer
• Monica Kristensen Solås (born 1950), glaciologist, meteorologist, explorer

Pakistan

• Namira Salim (born 1975), explorer, artist

Poland

• Maria Olech (born 1941), biologist, lichenologist

Romania

• Florica Topârceanu (born 1954), biologist, medical researcher

Russia/Soviet Union

• Maria Klenova (1898–1976), marine geologist, first women to undertake scientific work in Antarctica in 1956, contributing to the first Soviet Antarctic atlas

South Africa

• Bettine van Vuuren (graduated 1992), zoologist

South Korea

• In-Young Ahn (graduated 1982), benthic ecologist, oceanographer
• Ji Hee Kim (graduated 1991), biologist, environmentalist, writer
• Hong Kum Lee (graduated 1989), marine biotechnologist

Spain

• Susana Agustí (graduated 1982), biological oceanographer
• Josefina Castellví (born 1935), oceanographer, biologist, writer
• Carlota Escutia Dotti (graduated 1982), geologist

Sweden

• Elisabeth Isaksson (graduated 1986), glaciologist, geologist
• Anna Wåhlin (born 1970), physical oceanographer
• Tina Sjögren (born 1959), Czech-born mountaineer, explorer, first woman to complete the Three Poles Challenge in 2002
• Annelie Pompe (born 1981), adventurer, has climbed all seven summits, including Mount Vinson.
• Johanna Davidsson (born 1983), adventurer, has skied alone from the coast to the South Pole.

Trinidad and Tobago

• Marilyn Raphael (PhD 1990), climatologist, educator, writer

Turkey

• Burcu Özsoy (born 1976), scientist
• Şahika Ercümen (born 1985), freediver

Ukraine

• Halyna Kolotnytska (born 1972), cook of The Second Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition 1997/98

United Kingdom

• Louise Allcock (graduated 1992), marine biologist, editor
• Felicity Aston (born 1977), explorer, climate scientist
• Kim Crosbie (born c.1969), environmentalist, citizen scientist, writer
• Ginny Fiennes (1947–2004), explorer, her Transglobe Expedition team was the first to reach the two poles
• Jane Francis (born 1956), palaeoclimatologist, director of the British Antarctic Survey
• Helen Fricker (graduated 1991), glaciologist, writer
• Karen Heywood (graduated 1983), oceanographer, educator
• Eleanor Honnywill (c.1919–2003), contributor to the British Antarctic Survey, writer
• Joanne Johnson (born 1977), geologist, writer
• Jennifer Lee, specialist in invasion biology
• Hannah McKeand (born 1973) beat the record for solo skiing from the coast to the pole
• Tavi Murray (PhD 1990), glaciologist
• Elizabeth Morris (born 1946), glaciologist
• Pom Oliver (born 1952), explorer, film producer
• Sharon Robinson (born 1961), plant physiologist, climate change biologist
• Jane Rumble, head of the Polar Regions Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, since 2007
• Rosie Stancer (born 1960), explorer, adventurer
• Janet Thomson (born 1942), geologist, first British woman to undertake field research in Antarctica
• Fiona Thornewill (born 1966), explorer
• Jemma Wadham (PhD 1998), glacial biogeochemist

United States

• Ann Bancroft (born 1955), writer, educator, adventurer, first woman to complete Arctic and Antarctic expeditions
• Jenny Baeseman (graduated 1998), civil engineer, environmentalist, geoscientist
• Robin Bell (graduated 1980), polar ice specialist
• Mary Odile Cahoon (1929–2011), Benedictine nun, early Antarctic biological researcher
• Kelly Falkner (born 1960), chemical oceanographer, educator
• Patricia Hepinstall, flight attendant, one of the first two women to fly to Antarctica in October 1957
• Barbara Hillary (1931–2019), first African-American woman to reach both poles
• Louise Huffman (born 1951), educator specializing in polar science
• Christina Hulbe (MSc 1994), geologist, educator
• Lois Jones (1935–2000), geochemist, led the first all-woman science team to Antarctica in 1969
• Kelly Jemison, geologist specializing in Antarctic diatoms
• Ruth Kelley, flight attendant, one of the first two women to fly to Antarctica in October 1957
• Amy Leventer (graduated 1982), marine biologist, micropaleontologist
• Diane McKnight (born 1953), environmental engineer, educator, editor
• Mary Alice McWhinnie (1922–1980), biologist, first American woman to head an Antarctic research station
• Jill Mikucki (graduated 1996), microbiologist
• Robyn Millan (graduated 1995), astronomist, physicist, investigating radiation belts
• Tori Murden (born 1963), explorer, first woman to reach the South Pole by land in 1989
• Alison Murray (graduated 1989), microbiologist
• Jerri Nielsen (1952–2009), physician, writer
• Julie Palais (graduated 1974), glaciologist
• Irene C. Peden (born 1925), electrical engineer, first American scientist to work in the Antarctic interior in 1970
• Ann Peoples (graduated 1979), first American woman to have a management position in Antarctica
• Erin Pettit (born 1971), glaciologist
• Vanessa O'Brien (born 1964), mountain climber, explorer
• Christina Riesselman (graduated 2001), paleoceanographer
• Michelle Rogan-Finnemore (graduated 1981), scientist, legal expert
• Jackie Ronne (1919–2009), explorer, first woman to be a working member of an Antarctic expedition (1947–48)
• Christine Siddoway (born 1961), structural geologist
• Deborah Steinberg (graduated 1987), oceanographer, zooplankton ecologist
• Cristina Takacs-Vesbach (born 1968), microbial ecologist
• Lynne Talley (born 1954), physical oceanographer
• Trista Vick-Majors (graduated early 2000s), microbial ecologist
• Diana Wall (PhD in 1971), environmental scientist and a soil ecologist
• Sophie Warny (born 1969), Belgian-born palynologist
• Terry Wilson (born 1954), geologist, tectonics specialist

See also

• Women in Antarctica
• Timeline of women in Antarctica
• List of female explorers and travelers