Near the south pole (9)
I believe the answer is:
antarctic
'near the south pole' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is all the clue.
(Other definitions for antarctic that I've seen before include "Penguin's home" , "Relating to southern polar region" , "Of far southern regions" , "Region around the south pole" , "Relating to the southern polar area" .)