30 October, 2018
Science and support teams from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are gearing up for the start of the Antarctic summer field season. A major focus for the season is the West …
1 October, 2018
A medical evacuation from the British Antarctic Survey’s (BAS) Rothera Research Station was successfully completed this weekend. The evacuation was a precautionary measure in order for the patient to be …
26 September, 2018
The construction team responsible for building a new Antarctic wharf at Rothera Research Station have been practicing full-scale assembly of the 30 tonne steel rigs in Southampton before deployment South. …
16 September, 2018
The 2018 ozone hole began forming in late August and won’t reach its largest for over a fortnight. Already it covers most of the Antarctic continent, an area of 14 …
10 September, 2018
People, Plastics and the Planet is an international workshop to tackle the global plastic waste problem taking place at British Antarctic Survey’s Aurora Innovation Centre from 18th – 21st September 2018. Organised by BAS, Cambridge University and Value in Enterprise offers the unique opportunity for scientists and entrepreneurs to spend four days developing and testing ideas to address challenges posed by plastics in our environment.
The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) has been operating as an international co-operative organisation for over 20 years, and has proved to be one of the most successful tools …
9 June, 2018
A collection of reports and photos from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), documenting the UK’s leading role in the modern era of Antarctic exploration, is being inscribed onto UNESCO’s UK …
Read more on British Antarctic Survey archives awarded United Nations recognition
16 May, 2018
On Monday 14 May, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and the Instituto Antártico Argentino (IAA) signed a memorandum of understanding that aims to provide a formal framework to joint scientific …
Read more on UK-Argentina science collaboration agreement signed
14 May, 2018
The seas around the Antarctic Peninsula are biologically extremely rich, but are climatically sensitive, having experienced some of the fastest warming globally in recent decades. A special issue of the …
3 May, 2018
A new study involving scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) suggests for the first time that warm winds are creating large surface melting of ice shelves in Antarctica during the …
Read more on “Hairdryer winds” cause ice melt during Antarctic winter
30 April, 2018
Professor Mike Meredith wins prize
Read more on Prestigious international award for oceanographer
9 April, 2018
The first comprehensive study of snowfall across Antarctica provides vital information in the study of future sea-level rise. Presenting this week (Monday 9 April 2018) at the European Geosciences Union …
Read more on New study reveals increased snowfall in Antarctica over last two centuries
15 March, 2018 Zoe Roseby
Zoë Roseby is a member of the science team from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) currently aboard the RRS Discovery. Read on to discover what the team will be investigating in …
9 March, 2018 Carwyn Davies
Mechanical engineer Carwyn Davies, from British Antarctic Survey’s Antarctic Marine Engineering (AME) is working onboard the RRS James Clark Ross with our science team to investigate Larsen C Benthos. Find …
5 March, 2018 Kieran Love
Kieran Love tells us what it is like to be the Zoological Field Assistant at King Edward Point Research Station (KEP) on South Georgia. So, what does being a zoological …
2 March, 2018
Heavy sea ice conditions have thwarted a science mission from reaching the Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica from which a large iceberg broke off in July 2017. A team …
Read more on Research mission to Larsen C Ice Shelf thwarted by sea ice
28 February, 2018 Mel Mackenzie
Dr Mel Mackenzie, a Collection Manager of Marine Invertebrates at Museums Victoria in Melbourne, is living and working on board the BAS research ship RRS James Clark Ross for the …
22 February, 2018 Rowan Whittle
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) palaeobiologist Dr Rowan Whittle is a member of the Larsen C Benthos research cruise onboard the RRS James Clark Ross. Rowan’s primary role is to assist …
13 February, 2018 Layla Batchellier
Find out what the South Georgia Right Whale Expedition team have been up to during their first few weeks sailing in the waters around South Georgia. Firstly, Susannah Calderan tells …
Read more on SCIENCE IN THE SEA: Studying Southern Right Whales
12 February, 2018
A team of scientists, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), heads to Antarctica this week (14 February) to investigate a mysterious marine ecosystem that’s been hidden beneath an Antarctic ice …
Read more on First expedition to newly exposed Antarctic ecosystem
11 February, 2018 Zoe Waring
To celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11th February), Zoe Waring, the Marine Assistant at Rothera Research Station, has written a blog about her work at British …
Read more on Celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2018
7 February, 2018 Jennifer Jackson
Whale ecologist Dr Jennifer Jackson, who is leading the first expedition to ‘health-check’ southern right whales since whaling stopped in the 1970s, describes how she and the team prepared for …
5 February, 2018
Our congratulations go to the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), who this week celebrate six decades of successful international collaboration.
19 January, 2018
A new study from British Antarctic Survey shows how five common Antarctic marine invertebrates (animals without a backbone) use less energy to feed, grow and reproduce than their temperate and …
12 January, 2018
A new study from the British Antarctic Survey shows how lanternfish, small bioluminescent fish, are likely to respond to the warming of the Southern Ocean. Lanternfish are one of the …
Read more on Lanternfish reveal how ocean warming impacts the twilight zone
28 December, 2017 Ryan Scott
Following the glider deployments our next destination was Rothera, the UK’s biggest Antarctic research station on Adelaide Island. Good progress was made until we hit the sea ice – 120 …
Read more on SCIENCE IN THE SEA – Part 4: Sea ice and science
20 December, 2017 Ryan Scott
It was finally time to deploy the gliders and I couldn’t be more excited! Autonomous vehicles are regarded as the future of oceanography, and I feel extremely lucky to be …
18 December, 2017 Robert Mulvaney
This Antarctic season BAS scientist Dr Robert Mulvaney is taking part in the ongoing hunt for the oldest ice record Beyond Epica. Using a variety of different techniques, he and …
Read more on SCIENCE ON THE ICE – Part 2: Setting up camp at Little Dome C
12 December, 2017 Ryan Scott
First thing I learn as I begin my trip aboard the RRS James Clark Ross is that, scientist on research cruises need to be able to adapt quickly! Within two …
11 December, 2017
A thinning of small areas of floating ice at Antarctica’s coast can accelerate the movement of ice grounded on rocks hundreds of kilometres away, a new study involving scientists from …
Read more on Tiny ice losses at Antarctica’s fringes can accelerate ice loss far away
11 December, 2017
Cartographers surveying Antarctica have discovered Mt Hope is the tallest mountain in the British Antarctic Territory (BAT) at 3,239 m (10,654 ft) above sea level. Until now, maps showed Mt …
Read more on New satellite imagery reveals new highest Antarctic Peninsula Mountain
4 December, 2017
Applications are invited for the Collaborative Antarctic Science Scheme (CASS) for Antarctic fieldwork in the 2018/19 field season. The closing date is 5th March 2018. CASS provides opportunities for UK-based …
Read more on Collaborative Antarctic Science Scheme – Applications invited
29 November, 2017
An animation of the giant iceberg that calved off the Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica just over two months ago shows an unexpected break up. Satellite images revealed a …
29 November, 2017 Ryan Scott
After 6 days, 9505 miles and 7 mm of beard growth, the cruise has officially started! Thursday 16th November and finally the time had come for me start my journey …
Read more on SCIENCE IN THE SEA – Part 1: Journey to the JCR!
23 November, 2017 Robert Mulvaney
BAS glaciologist Dr Robert Mulvaney journeys deep into Antarctica where he and the team continue their search for the oldest ice record of atmosphere and climate – hopefully stretching back 1.5 million years.
Read more on SCIENCE ON THE ICE – Part 1: The search for the oldest ice continues
20 November, 2017
A UK team of researchers has produced high-resolution maps of the bed beneath a major glacier in West Antarctica, which will help them predict future sea-level rise from this region. …
Read more on Maps reveal landscape beneath Antarctica’s weak underbelly
10 November, 2017
Station opens for 2017 summer season
Read more on Halley VI Research Station ready for 2017 summer season
31 October, 2017
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has decided, for safety reasons, that it will close its Halley VI Research Station during the 2018 Antarctic winter. This will be the second time that …
Read more on Halley Research Station will not winter in 2018
25 October, 2017
Thousands of marks on the Antarctic seafloor, caused by icebergs which broke free from glaciers more than ten thousand years ago, show how part of the Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated …
Read more on ‘Scars’ left by icebergs record West Antarctic ice retreat
23 October, 2017
Blue Planet II – the nature documentary that explores the deepest and darkest realms of the world’s oceans – is back on the BBC some 16 years after it was …
19 October, 2017 Holly Winton
A new blog from Polar Atmospheric Ice Chemist Dr Holly Winton, who is part of the ISOL-ice research project, explaining the process from fieldwork on the Polar Plateau to laboratory work …
Read more on SCIENCE IN THE LAB: From the Polar Plateau to Cambridge
9 October, 2017
A team of scientists, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), is planning an urgent mission to investigate a mysterious marine ecosystem that’s been hidden beneath an Antarctic ice shelf for …
Read more on Scientists to visit hidden Antarctic ecosystem after giant iceberg calving
2 October, 2017
A new multidisciplinary study led by scientists at British Antarctic Study (BAS) stresses the need for an integrated approach to understand the effects of climate change on Antarctic marine ecosystems. …
Read more on New study calls for unified research to understand changing ecosystems
29 September, 2017
Rolls-Royce is marking a major milestone on the journey towards the completion of Britain’s new polar research vessel the RRS Sir David Attenborough being built by Merseyside shipyard Cammell Laird.
Read more on Milestone in construction of RRS Sir David Attenborough
27 September, 2017
Latest satellite images reveal a new 100-square-mile iceberg emerging from Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier. The calving event did not come as a complete surprise, but is a troubling sign with …
19 September, 2017
An international agreement is now in place to give special protection to the area of ocean left exposed when one of the largest icebergs ever recorded broke free from the …
Read more on Special protection for area exposed by Larsen C iceberg
11 September, 2017
This week (Saturday 16 September), marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. It is one of the most successful …
Read more on World Ozone Day: 30th anniversary of Montreal Protocol
Aerial photography at the British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey owns and operates a Zeiss RMK large format aerial photography camera. The camera can be fitted to two of …
4 September, 2017
A new study of the marine invertebrates living in the seas around Antarctica reveals there will be more ‘losers’ than ‘winners’ over the next century as the Antarctic seafloor warms. …
Read more on More losers than winners for Southern Ocean marine life
31 August, 2017
A team of scientists has discovered that a 1°C rise in local sea temperature has massive impacts on an Antarctic marine community. These new results are published this week (31 …
Read more on Antarctic marine life may grow faster in a warming world
29 August, 2017
Temperature plays an important role in the distribution of ocean plankton communities and has the potential to cause major distribution shifts, as recently observed in the Arctic. A new study …
2 August, 2017
The largest remaining ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula lost 10% of its area when an iceberg four times the size of London broke free earlier this month. Since …
Read more on Impact of giant Antarctic iceberg – update on Larsen-C
27 July, 2017 Zoe Waring
Zoe Waring, the Rothera Marine Assistant provides us with an account of the recent Ocean Sampling Day at Rothera. Since 2012, the Rothera Marine Assistant has been collecting samples for World …
Read more on SCIENCE IN THE SEA: Ocean sampling day at Rothera
25 July, 2017 Jerry Gillham
In this blog Jerry Gillham, station leader at King Edward Point Research Station, describes how his team have tackled an unusual cooking challenge. With no dedicated chef at King Edward …
Read more on Cooking up a storm at King Edward Point Research Station
19 July, 2017
A new study on mosses found in the polar regions reveals when and how often they have migrated across the Equator. Mosses are the dominant flora in Antarctica, yet little is known of …
Read more on New study explains moss migration across the globe
17 July, 2017
Polar field guides Julie Baum and Tom Sylvester tied the knot on Saturday (15 July) at British Antarctic Survey’s (BAS) Rothera Research Station. This was the first official wedding to …
12 July, 2017
After months of ‘hanging by a thread’ a vast iceberg the size of Norfolk has finally broken off Antarctica’s Larsen C Ice Shelf. Around 30 metres of this 190m thick …
11 July, 2017
Polar field guides Julie Baum and Tom Sylvester tie the knot this weekend (15-16 July) at British Antarctic Survey’s (BAS) Rothera Research Station. It is the first official wedding to …
5 July, 2017
Reporting this week (Wednesday 5 July) in the journal Nature, an international team of researchers led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) explains that wind-driven incursions of warm water forced the …
Read more on Study shows ice sheet loss over the last 11,000 years
29 June, 2017
Ice-free areas in Antarctica could expand by close to 25 per cent by 2100 and drastically change the biodiversity of the continent, research published this week in Nature has shown. …
Read more on Climate change may cause expansion to ice-free areas across Antarctica
28 June, 2017
Researchers have captured unprecedented data about some of the coldest abyssal ocean waters on earth – known as Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) – during the first voyage of the yellow …
Read more on Boaty McBoatface returns home with unprecedented data
23 June, 2017
A series of unprecedented storms over the Southern Ocean likely caused the most dramatic decline in Antarctic sea ice seen to date, a new study finds. Antarctic sea ice – …
Read more on Storms caused massive Antarctic sea ice loss in 2016
21 June, 2017
As darkness cloaks Antarctica, science and support staff wintering across the white continent will today celebrate Midwinter’s Day – the shortest day in the Austral winter. With some staff experiencing …
20 June, 2017
Researchers have provided new evidence that large sub-glacial lakes existed under the West Antarctic Ice Sheet during the last glacial period – around 20,000 years ago – a period when …
Read more on Team discovers sub-glacial lake from over 20,000 years ago
19 June, 2017
The levels of microplastic particles accumulating in the Antarctic are much worse than expected, a team of experts has warned. The continent is considered to be a pristine wilderness compared …
Read more on Plastic pollution in the Antarctic worse than expected
6 June, 2017
Horizon documentary ‘Antarctica Ice Station Rescue’ broadcasts on Wednesday 7 June @ 21:00 on BBC Two In 2016 British Antarctic Survey (BAS) invited BBC film-maker Natalie Hewit to its Halley …
Read more on Horizon Antarctica Ice Station Rescue on BBC Two
18 May, 2017 Klaus Dodds
On March 27 2017, British Antarctic Survey played host to a lively and well attended workshop on polar governance. Throughout the day an array of scientists, social scientists, and humanities …
25 April, 2017
New research describes for the first time the role that warm, dry winds play in influencing the behaviour of Antarctic ice shelves. Presenting this week at a European conference scientists …
Read more on New insight into what weakens Antarctic ice shelves
11 April, 2017
One of Antarctica’s biggest gentoo penguin colonies was repeatedly decimated by eruptions of the Deception Island volcano in recent millennia.
Read more on Penguin colony repeatedly decimated by volcanic eruptions
7 April, 2017
The unmanned submersible Boaty McBoatface was deployed in the Antarctic for the first time.
28 March, 2017
An international study involving scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has debunked the popular view that Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are in a much better environmental shape than the …
21 February, 2017
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) recently captured this video footage of a huge crack in the Larsen C Ice Shelf, on the Antarctic Peninsula. Currently a huge iceberg, roughly the size …
17 February, 2017
Local weather plays an important part in the retreat of the ice shelves in West Antarctica, according to new research published in the journal Nature Communications today (Friday 17 February). …
16 February, 2017
This year the extent of summer sea ice in the Antarctic is the lowest on record. The Antarctic sea ice minimum marks the day – typically towards end of February …
15 February, 2017
The longest and most comprehensive study to date of what penguins eat is published this month. The study, published in the journal Marine Biology, examines the diets of gentoo penguins …
2 February, 2017
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has successfully relocated Halley VI Research Station to its new home on the Brunt Ice Shelf. Operational teams have spent the past 13 weeks moving each …
Read more on Halley VI Research Station – relocation success
31 January, 2017
Scientists from University of Manchester are preparing for the first ever UK-led meteorite hunting expedition to Antarctica, where they will seek out the ‘lost’ meteorites of the icy continent, which …
Read more on Expedition to uncover the ‘lost’ meteorites of Antarctica
30 January, 2017
An international team of researchers has discovered why fresh water, melted from Antarctic ice sheets, is often detected below the surface of the ocean, rather than rising to the top …
Read more on Scientists explain how meltwater reaches ocean depths
23 January, 2017 Holly Winton
A new blog post from atmospheric and glaciochemist Markus Frey who’s just arrived on the Polar plateau as part of the ISOL-ice research project. Read the team’s earlier post here. …
20 January, 2017
The first molecular study of an organism able to survive intracellular freezing (freezing within its cells) is published this week by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), in collaboration with researchers from …
Read more on Study of roundworm that returns to life after freezing
16 January, 2017
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has decided not to winter at Halley VI Research Station for safety reasons. The station, which is located on the floating Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica, …
Read more on Halley Research Station Antarctica to close for winter
15 January, 2017
A new blog post from a team comprising polar atmosphere and ice chemist Holly Winton, analytical chemist Rebecca Tuckwell and atmospheric and glaciochemist Markus Frey who are working on the …
13 January, 2017
A new blog post from atmospheric and glaciochemist Markus Frey who’s just arrived on the Polar plateau as part of the ISOL-ice research project. Read the team’s earlier post here. …
13 January, 2017
Dr Mervyn Freeman, Senior Space Weather Researcher at British Antarctic Survey, has been awarded the prestigious Chapman Medal in Geophysics by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). The medal recognises his …
Read more on Royal Astronomical Society honours BAS scientist
11 January, 2017 BAS Communications
A new blog post from ecologist Jes Bartlett, who is working at Signy research station for the Austral summer, about her journey South. Read her previous post about pre-deployment training here. …
6 January, 2017
A huge iceberg, roughly the size of Norfolk, looks set to break away from the Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. Larsen C is more than twice the size …
Read more on Giant iceberg set to calve from Larsen C Ice Shelf
31 December, 2016
Two leading polar scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have received awards in the 2017 New Year Honours list from Her Majesty the Queen. BAS Director, Professor Jane Francis, …
Read more on Double New Year Honours for British Antarctic Survey Directors
25 December, 2016
Dr Lucy Quinn is zoological field assistant at the British Antarctic Survey research station on Bird Island, South Georgia – a job which involves daily expeditions come rain or shine …
20 December, 2016 Holly Winton
Our journey to the Antarctic Polar Plateau, where we will be spending the next few weeks as part of the ISOL-ICE research project, began on 7 December. We boarded a …
24 November, 2016 Yvonne Firing
Follow ORCHESTRA project scientist Yvonne Firing’s amazing fieldwork blog from the Southern Ocean here. On the 2016/2017 Drake Passage cruise on the RRS James Clark Ross, we sail south from …
23 November, 2016
New study reveals when West Antarctica’s largest glacier started retreating Reporting this week (Wednesday 23 November) in the journal Nature an international team led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) explains …
Read more on New study shows when Pine Island Glacier retreat began
14 November, 2016
First phase of project to collect 1.5 million years of climate data in Antarctica A team of European scientists heads to East Antarctica this month to locate the oldest ice …
11 November, 2016
A new study on how molluscs build their shells in the sub-zero waters of Antarctica is published today (Friday 11 November) in the journal Scientific Reports. A team of European …
28 October, 2016
HOBART, Australia: The world’s experts on Antarctic marine conservation have this week agreed to establish a marine protected area (MPA) in Antarctica’s Ross Sea. At the meeting of the Commission …
Read more on UK welcomes agreement on largest Marine Protected Area
27 October, 2016
Shallow-water ecosystems are a major carbon sink, as many species living on the seafloor use carbon to build their tissue and shells. This carbon can become part of seafloor sediment …
Read more on Iceberg scouring disturbs carbon-fixing seafloor ecosystems
27 October, 2016
A forty year study on a remote Antarctic island shows that while populations of two penguin species are declining, a third is increasing. Analysis of census data from Signy Island …
17 October, 2016
Keel-laying ceremony at Cammell Laird
Read more on New polar ship reaches first construction milestone