Antarctic research enters a new phase as global effort evolves, new report shows

The Antarctic Research Trends Report 2025 analysed nearly 30,000 peer-reviewed publications from 2016 to 2024. It was produced by the Arctic Centre at Umeå University in collaboration with the University of Tasmania and Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU), with support from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and UArctic. The report provides a comprehensive bibliometric assessment of publication volume, research quality, international collaboration, and citation impact in Antarctic and Southern Ocean science. The findings point to a changing landscape.

China’s contribution to research output has grown substantially
The annual number of Antarctic publications peaked in 2021 and has since declined slightly. This comes at a time when dramatic changes have increasingly been observed in the Antarctic, requiring more scientific investigation, not fewer.

However, the most striking development is the shift in effort. Between 2022 and 2024, China’s research contributions grew substantially and surpassed other nations in Antarctic publication output. In 2024, those publications appeared more frequently in top-quartile journals, an important indicator of research quality.

While the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia have traditionally strong Antarctic science output, several of these countries show declining publication trends during the study period. China, by contrast, has nearly tripled its fractionalised publication output since 2017.

Scientific output remains important for the Antarctic Treaty System

The report underscores that scientific publishing is not only an academic matter. Within the Antarctic Treaty System, scientific activity forms the basis for consultative status and influence. Research output remains a critical measure of credibility and presence on the continent.

Antarctic research is one of the most internationally collaborative scientific fields in the world. But we are now seeing an evolution in effort and collaboration patterns of Antarctic research,

As planning for the Fifth International Polar Year (2032–33) accelerates, understanding who produces Antarctic knowledge and how collaboration patterns evolve becomes increasingly relevant for policymakers and research institutions alike.

“Antarctic research is one of the most internationally collaborative scientific fields in the world. But we are now seeing an evolution in effort and collaboration patterns of Antarctic research,” says Gary Wilson, President of Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) “Scientific output continues to shape both knowledge and policy direction in Antarctica. These trends signal an evolution in how Antarctic research is undertaken and presented.”

High-quality science, but declining citation impact

More than half of Antarctic publications between 2022 and 2024 appeared in first-quartile journals, more than double the global average across research fields. Antarctic research continues to be published in highly influential journals.

At the same time, the report identified a notable decline in field-weighted citation impact after 2021. Antarctic research was cited above the global average before 2021, but has since fallen below it.

The reasons for this decline are not yet fully understood and warrant further investigation. The report suggests that the rapid expansion of publication volume in some countries, combined with shifting collaboration patterns, may contribute to the trend.

International collaboration remains strong, but uneven

Antarctic science remains deeply collaborative. Approximately 45 percent of publications involve international co-authorship, significantly higher than the global average across scientific fields.

However, collaboration patterns vary substantially between countries. While many European nations show very high rates of multilateral cooperation, some major publishing countries exhibit lower levels of international co-authorship.

The report maps global collaboration networks in detail, illustrating how Antarctic science functions as a tightly connected yet evolving global research system. Taken together, the findings point to changing scientific effort in Antarctica, with effort shifting even as collaboration remains strong and research quality high.

A baseline for the next decade of polar science

The Antarctic Research Trends Report 2025 provides an evidence-based overview of contemporary Antarctic research and follows a previous report analysing Arctic research trends. Together, these analyses contribute to a broader understanding of global polar science ahead of IPY-5, at a moment when the geography of knowledge production in Antarctica is visibly evolving.

The report will be officially launched in connection with a pre-event to the third Monaco Polar Symposium.