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
13 October, 2016 BAS Communications
New blog from ecologist Jes Bartlett who will be spending the Austral summer working at Signy Island Research station. Here she describes her pre-deployment training. Shortly after the sigh of …
Read more on Polar ecologist prepares for the ice – Blog No 2
8 October, 2016
Data as art captivates a London audience
Read more on Ancient ice inspires Royal College of Art glass artist
4 October, 2016
Celebrating 25 years of environmental protection in Antarctica
Read more on Protecting the Antarctic Environment: 25 years on
3 October, 2016
New blog from ecologist Jes Bartlett who’s heading to spend the summer working at Signy Island Research station. Here she talks about preparing cargo in her blog: The Cargo Deadline …
Read more on Polar ecologist prepares for the ice – Blog no. 1
22 September, 2016
Research beneath Antarctica’s vast ice sheets has revealed mountain ranges the size of the Alps, lakes bigger than Windermere, rivers, streams and ancient volcanoes. But why should we care? Professor …
Read more on Antarctica’s hidden world revealed at New Scientist Live
1 September, 2016
A new marine biodiversity study in one of the largest Marine Protected Areas in the world reveals the impact of environmental change on subantarctic seabed animals and answers big questions …
23 August, 2016
Researchers and games developers have joined forces to explain how climate change is affecting Antarctica. A new game called ‘Ice Flows’ launches today (Tuesday 23 August) at an international science meeting in Malaysia.
Read more on New interactive game ‘Ice Flows’ launches today
16 August, 2016
A team of British climate scientists comparing today’s environment with the warm period before the last ice age has discovered a 65% reduction of Antarctic sea ice around 128,000 years …
Read more on New Antarctic ice discovery aids future climate predictions
5 August, 2016 Richard Inman
As the winterers at Halley VI look forward to seeing the sun come up above the horizon again, electrical services technician, Richard Inman describes how they’ve been coping with the …
1 August, 2016
A review of breeding distributions, population trends, threats and key priorities for conservation actions on land and at sea for the 29 species covered by the Agreement on the Conservation …
26 July, 2016
An international team of scientists have used air bubbles in polar ice from pre-industrial times to measure the sensitivity of the Earth’s land biosphere to changes in temperature.
Read more on Polar ice reveals secrets of carbon-climate feedbacks
20 July, 2016
The rapid warming of the Antarctic Peninsula, which occurred from the early-1950s to the late 1990s, has paused. Stabilisation of the ozone hole along with natural climate variability were significant in bringing about the change. Together these influences have now caused the northern part of the peninsula to enter a temporary cooling phase. Temperatures remain higher than measured during the middle of the 20th Century and glacial retreat is still taking place. However, scientists predict that if greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise at the current rate, temperatures will increase across the Antarctic Peninsula by several degrees Centigrade by the end of this century.
The RRS Sir David Attenborough, commissioned by NERC, built by Cammell Laird for operation by British Antarctic Survey, is one of the most advanced polar research vessels in the world.
14 July, 2016
A new study has found for the first time that ocean warming is the primary cause of retreat of glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula. The Peninsula is one of the largest current contributors to sea-level rise and this new finding will enable researchers to make better predictions of ice loss from this region.
11 July, 2016
The Farnborough International Air Show is the next stop for a touring exhibition which highlights what space missions can learn about the isolation that confronts people who work in Antarctica. …
1 July, 2016
An international team of researchers has identified the “first fingerprints of healing” of the Antarctic ozone layer, published this week (30 June 2016) in the journal Science.
Read more on First signs of healing in the Antarctic ozone hole
27 June, 2016
Antarctic sea ice is constantly on the move as powerful winds blow it away from the coast and out toward the open ocean. A new study published today in the journal Nature Geoscience (Monday 27 June) shows how that ice migration may be more important for the global ocean circulation than anyone realized.
Read more on Wind-blown Antarctic sea ice helps drive ocean circulation
20 June, 2016
On Tuesday June 21st, scientists and support staff based at research stations in Antarctica will celebrate Midwinter’s Day, the shortest day of the Austral Winter. In a tradition that goes …
20 June, 2016
The medical evacuation from the US South Pole station via British Antarctic Survey’s Rothera Research Station has been completed successfully. A Twin Otter arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile in the …
16 June, 2016
Levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere – which is the leading driver of recent climate change – have reached a milestone at British Antarctic Survey’s …
13 June, 2016
This paper shows that, contrary to long-held ideas, the intensity of competition (density of direct, physical spatial contests) differs little with latitude. However, the severity of competition (contests with a …
10 June, 2016 Timothy Morley
Tim Morley, Zoological Field Assistant at Bird Island, shares a typical week at Bird Island Research Station as he prepares for midwinter…. With many of our species finishing breeding for …
Read more on ANTARCTIC BLOG: Typical week at Bird Island Station
8 June, 2016
An exhibition showing how the isolation of Antarctica is used as a platform for understanding space opens this week (7-12 June) at The Times Science Festival in Cheltenham.
Read more on Antarctic ‘space’ exhibition opens in Cheltenham
Accessing subglacial environments
31 May, 2016
International declaration marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty
Read more on UK reaffirms commitment to protecting Antarctica
19 May, 2016
Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica is currently one of the single biggest contributors to sea-level rise with an estimated volume loss of 1.2mm sea-level equivalent per decade. The loss …
Read more on FEATURED PAPER: Improved modelling of ice-ocean processes
6 May, 2016
UK’s £200m Polar Research Ship to be named after Sir David Attenborough, days before the broadcaster’s 90th birthday “Boaty McBoatface” to live on as the name of the ship’s high-tech …
Read more on UK’s £200m Polar Research Ship named in honour of Sir David Attenborough
26 April, 2016
New research highlights differences between the tropics and the poles Rivalry between species is common the world over as animals fight for territory and resources such as food. But, according …