Many of those who participated in the Polish national uprisings, including scholars and scientists, were exiled to Siberia. Even today, many Polish place names can be found on the map of north-eastern Russia, e.g. the Cherski (Czerski) Range and the Chekanovskii (Czekanowski) Ridge. In addition, many species of mammals and fish have "dybovskii" as part of their names: a clue that they were discovered by Benedykt Dybowski, an exiled Polish scientist who for many years studied Lake Baikal, where he found almost 400 previously unknown species of animals. This prompted his thesis about that lake's "relict-like" character. The results of his research were published in Fiziko-geograficheskie issledovaniia na Baikale (Physical and Geographical Research at Lake Baikal), published during the years 1869-1876. Ignacy Domeyko, on the other hand, headed west instead,  through Saxony to France, and then to Chile, where in 1838 he became a lecturer at the mining academy in La Serena. After eight years of work, he completed a geological map of his new country, describing the Jurassic rock formations, and discovered deposits of a rare mineral, copper arsenide, which was named domeykite in his honour. During the years 1867-1883, Domeyko was rector of the university in Santiago de Chile. One range in the Andes is named after him (the Domeyko Mountains), as well as several species of extinct animals, including the Chilean amonite (Ammonites domeykanus).

Pawe³ Edmund Strzelecki was one of the foremost nineteenth-century European explorers of Australia. In 1834, he became the first Pole to attempt a journey around the world on his own. The first stage of his journey was North America, where he conducted geological and ethnographic research from the Great Lakes to Mexico. While in Canada, he discovered a copper deposit and observed the customs and way of life of the Huron Indians. Next, he spent some time in South America, and then in Oceania. In April 1839 Strzelecki arrived in Australia. In New South Wales he discovered rich gold deposits. His geological research led him to conclude that the mountains of Tasmania are actually a continuation of the Great Dividing Range which runs along the eastern coast of Australia. In 1840, he climbed that continent's highest peak, which he named Mount Ko¶ciuszko. Mountains, a river and many species of animals were named after Strzelecki as well. After he left Australia in 1843, Strzelecki visited Southeast Asia, China and then Egypt. After he returned to England in 1845, he published his most important work, Physical Description of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land. In 1853, this Polish explorer was made a member of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society in London, and in 1860 was granted an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford. Queen Victoria bestowed the order of St. Michael and St. George on him.