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.

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 woman 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

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

Trinidad and Tobago

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

Turkey

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

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
 * Elizabeth Morris (born 1946), glaciologist
 * Tavi Murray (PhD 1990), 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

 * Jenny Baeseman (graduated 1998), civil engineer, environmentalist, geoscientist
 * Ann Bancroft (born 1955), writer, educator, adventurer, first woman to complete Arctic and Antarctic expeditions
 * 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
 * Kelly Jemison, geologist specializing in Antarctic diatoms
 * Lois Jones (1935–2000), 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 (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
 * Vanessa O'Brien (born 1964), mountain climber, explorer
 * 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
 * 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)
 * Karen Schwall, first female Army officer in Antarctica and first woman to manage McMurdo Station
 * 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