1 June, 2023
Concern is rising about tipping points in the Antarctic region. Recent heatwaves, changes in the Southern Ocean, and a reduction in the extent of Antarctic sea ice suggest that we …
31 May, 2023
The ground beneath Antarctica’s most vulnerable glacier has been mapped for the first time, helping scientists to better understand how it is being affected by climate change. Analysis of the …
Read more on Ground beneath Thwaites Glacier mapped for first time
30 May, 2023
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is shrinking, with many glaciers across the region retreating and melting at an alarming rate. However, this was not always the case according to new …
Read more on Rocks beneath Antarctic Ice Sheet reveal surprising past
22 May, 2023
Natural Environment Research Council’s pioneering Pushing the Frontiers scheme has funded four projects led by scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS). The projects, which received grants totaling £3.8m, are part …
Read more on BAS science funded by Pushing the Frontiers scheme
19 May, 2023
GeoMAP Antarctica, an open-access and comprehensive geological mapping database of Antarctica, was released today in Nature Scientific Data. Understanding Antarctica’s geosphere is, and has been, critical for understanding the continent’s …
Read more on New map unlocks deep digital data of Antarctica’s history
15 May, 2023
Shelled pteropods, commonly known as sea butterflies, are increasingly exposed to ocean changes, but some species are more vulnerable to this threat. In a new study, published this month (11 …
Read more on Sea butterfly life cycle threatened by climate change
11 May, 2023
The 2022/23 Antarctic field season has ended, marking the conclusion of another successful year of scientific exploration in one of the world’s most remote and challenging environments. This field season, …
Read more on British Antarctic Survey completes Antarctic field season
9 May, 2023
A tiny flightless midge which has colonised Antarctica’s Signy Island is driving fundamental changes to the island’s soil ecosystem. Research by experts at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in collaboration …
8 May, 2023
A series of studies on the Southern Ocean, which encircles Antarctica, reveal how it is changing. A special issue of the Journal Proceedings of the Royal Society, led by the …
25 April, 2023 Michael Dunn
No, it’s not a Penguin joke! This World Penguin Day (25 April 2023) we spoke to some of our resident experts, Mike Dunn and Peter Fretwell, to find out more …
29 March, 2023
A new study led by researchers at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) discovered microplastics in krill (Euphausia superba), a small shrimp-like crustacean, and salps (Salpa thompsoni), a gelatinous marine invertebrate. The …
Read more on Microplastic found in Antarctic krill and salps
21 March, 2023
A new study highlights how extreme snowfall events significantly alter the amount of ice lost by the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. A team of scientists from British Antarctic Survey, along …
Read more on Extreme snowfall in West Antarctica driving sea-level rise
21 March, 2023 Huw Griffiths
We are marine biologists that study seafloor creatures, Jamie is doing a PhD investigating Antarctic sea spiders in the University of Galway and Huw works at BAS. Both of us …
Read more on Breaking records and exploring life in the abyss
13 March, 2023
ANTARCTICA – 13 March 2023. British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has released the first aerial pictures of the massive A81 iceberg that calved from the Brunt Ice Shelf in late January. …
Read more on First images of giant iceberg from Brunt Ice Shelf
28 February, 2023
Global challenges due to COVID-19 have impacted research, fieldwork, facilities and infrastructure in the polar regions, resulting in an accumulation of funded projects to be supported. NERC is committed to …
22 February, 2023 Emily Newton
Last week, the team aboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough produced the first significant scientific data set with the ship’s oceanography equipment – a significant milestone in the life of …
Read more on Science Trials on the RRS Sir David Attenborough add to historic dataset
15 February, 2023
The rapid retreat of Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica appears to be driven by different processes under its floating ice shelf than researchers previously understood. Novel observations from where the …
Read more on New close-up view of melting beneath Thwaites Glacier
14 February, 2023 Huw Griffiths
The RRS Sir David Attenborough has begun its polar science trials in Antarctica. A team of 30 national and international scientists, engineers and technical staff are working on the ship …
Read more on First science: aboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough Science Trials
7 February, 2023
Scientists in East Antarctica drilling to find the Earth’s oldest ice have reached a key milestone after two months of fieldwork in sub-zero temperatures. The team is part of Beyond …
Read more on Oldest ice drilling campaign reaches key milestone
3 February, 2023
A team of scientists are currently conducting a major experiment over the Southern Ocean that will help to improve climate modelling. The Southern Ocean Clouds project team are performing several …
Read more on Flying campaign to improve climate modelling begins
2 February, 2023
Researchers at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) will develop new and ambitious ideas to tackle critical global environmental challenges, such as global sea-level rise from Antarctica, thanks to new funding. The …
Read more on New funding to predict future sea-level rise in Antarctica
31 January, 2023
The UK’s new polar ship RRS Sir David Attenborough begins its polar science trials in Antarctica this week. A team of 30 national and international scientists, engineers and technical staff …
Read more on RRS Sir David Attenborough begins polar science trials
20 January, 2023
Scientists have discovered a new emperor penguin colony in Antarctica using satellite mapping technology. This new colony makes a total of 66 known emperor penguin colonies around the coastline of …
19 January, 2023
A project studying the at-sea distributions of white-chinned petrels from South Georgia is now running for a second season – and early data suggest there are important differences in foraging …
Read more on Vulnerable seabirds tracking reveals foraging patterns
16 January, 2023
This week (17 January) British Antarctic Survey and WWF are inviting the public to become ‘walrus detectives’ and get involved in the Walrus from Space project to help with vital …
Read more on ‘Walrus detectives’ sought for conservation science
20 December, 2022
An ambitious flying campaign out of British Antarctic Survey’s Rothera Research Station over the Weddell Sea this month (December) aims to calibrate the data collected from two important satellites that …
Read more on Flying campaign to future-proof sea ice measurements
13 December, 2022
Nearly 60 scientists and support staff are on their way to Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. It’s part of an ambitious international effort to understand the glacier and surrounding ocean …
7 December, 2022
Scientists return to East Antarctica this month (December) to locate the oldest ice on Earth. The team is part of an EU-funded research consortium from 10 European countries whose aim …
30 November, 2022
Global warming and ocean acidification are threatening marine organisms, such as corals, bryozoans, molluscs, sea urchins or crustaceans, that build their skeletons and shells with calcium carbonate (chalk) according to …
24 November, 2022
Today, 24 November 2022, marks World Walrus Day, and British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and WWF are inviting the British public to become ‘walrus detectives’ and get involved in their Walrus …
Read more on Calling for ‘Walrus Detectives’ on World Walrus Day
23 November, 2022
Scientists on a research vessel in Antarctica watched the front of a glacier disintegrate and their measurements ‘went off the scale’. As well as witnessing disruptions on the ocean surface, …
17 November, 2022
Next generation fixed-wing drones, capable of operating autonomously beyond the standard visual line of sight, are creating datasets of major wildlife populations around South Georgia for long-term monitoring to aid …
Read more on Drones survey wildlife populations in remote Sub-Antarctic island
15 November, 2022
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will enable ships navigating in polar ocean conditions to be more efficient using a new route planning tool created by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) researchers. The tool …
7 November, 2022
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists will participate in the 27th session of the United National Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP27), hosted by the Arab Republic of …
3 November, 2022
Our Antarctic field season has begun, with a challenging and ambitious range of projects to be delivered at five British Antarctic Survey (BAS) research stations and across the wider continent. …
Read more on British Antarctic Survey’s 2022-2023 field season begins
18 October, 2022
Satellites face greater chances of collision with space debris as a result of reduced density in the upper atmosphere. Increasing levels of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere will result in …
Read more on Climate change to increase lifetime of space pollution
14 October, 2022
Scientists have discovered one million year old marine DNA in deep-sea sediments of the Scotia Sea, north of the Antarctic continent. This is the oldest DNA recovered of this kind …
Read more on Oldest marine DNA discovered in Antarctic sediments
12 October, 2022
The amazing survival strategies of polar marine creatures might help to explain how the first animals on Earth could have evolved earlier than the oldest fossils suggest according to new …
Read more on Learning about the first animals from life at the poles
11 October, 2022
How much water the mountain glaciers of the Himalayas contain and how the mighty Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica will contribute to global sea-level rise form part of the final …
Read more on Glaciers in the spotlight on BBC’s Our Frozen Planet
5 October, 2022
Deep valleys buried under the seafloor of the North Sea record how the ancient ice sheets that used to cover the UK and Europe expelled water to stop themselves from …
Read more on Ice age valleys give clues to future ice sheet change
29 September, 2022
A new study, led by British Antarctic Survey and the University of Bristol, provides the first evidence that a controversial evolutionary process may be responsible for lanternfishes becoming one of …
Read more on Study hints at how fishes in the twilight zone evolved
26 September, 2022 Martin Siegert
Professor Martin Siegert is a glaciologist at Imperial College London and co-director of the Grantham Institute. He’s co-Chair of the Diversity in Polar Science Initiative and Chair of the UK …
21 September, 2022
Pine Island Ice Shelf in West Antarctica, which holds back enough ice to raise sea levels by 0.5 metres, could be more vulnerable to complete disintegration than previously thought. A …
Read more on Scientists expose vulnerabilities of critical Antarctic ice shelf
8 September, 2022
New equipment designed by British Antarctic Survey is helping scientists to study the impact of microplastics in the ocean. The Ocean Plastic Incubator Chamber (OPIC) exposes various types of plastics …
Read more on New kit enables study of microplastics in the ocean
5 September, 2022
New high resolution images of the the seafloor in West Antarctica show past retreat of Thwaites Glacier. They reveal that at times in its past, retreat of the massive Thwaites …
Read more on Seafloor images explain Thwaites Glacier retreat
4 September, 2022
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and RSPB are recruiting albatross detectives to help to search for wandering albatrosses in satellite images taken from space. This is to help us learn more …
Read more on Albatrosses from space: wildlife detectives needed!
30 August, 2022 Richard Horne
We speak to a British Antarctic Survey Scientist on becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society… Professor Richard Horne FRS is the former Head of Space Weather at the British …
Read more on Read, read, read and new ideas will come to you
22 August, 2022
Scientists have unlocked the mysteries of how shark and ray species move up and down the ocean water column, in efforts to better understand them and protect their future. …
11 August, 2022
Scientists are flying research aircraft through the heart of Arctic storms this summer to better understand how weather systems are affecting polar sea ice. Arctic cyclones are the main type …
Read more on Arctic flights to shed light on sea ice and storms link
21 July, 2022
The second of six winter krill surveys in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is underway. The first winter krill survey was completed successfully on board the South Georgia …
19 July, 2022
Scientists have reconstructed more than 60 million years of evolutionary history to reveal how penguins became oceanic birds. An international team of 40 researchers analysed the genomes – the complete …
13 July, 2022
Researchers are heading to the Arctic to begin fieldwork to study walrus populations for the next stage in the Walrus from Space project.
7 July, 2022
A new study featuring contributions from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists has predicted the top emerging threats to ocean biodiversity over the coming decades.
5 July, 2022
Today, Tuesday 5 July, the Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) announced the designation of the entire landmass of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands …
27 June, 2022
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists will investigate critical challenges facing the UK, thanks to new funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). A £47m investment to several UK research …
15 June, 2022
A special issue of the journal Deep-Sea Research which includes contributions from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists features a range of new research which increases our understanding of the understudied South Sandwich Islands.
10 June, 2022
A new Data Portal is being launched today by the British Antarctic Survey and the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI), which will help to enhance the management of one of the world’s largest Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
10 June, 2022
A new map of the seafloor of the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica provides the most accurate representation of this vast area to date. An international team of scientists, including several …
1 June, 2022 Huw Griffiths
Huw Griffiths is a polar research scientist with British Antarctic Survey. During June PRIDE month he shares his personal experience of research as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, the …
Read more on Carrying the PRIDE message to the Polar Regions
The BAS AI Lab is a cross-disciplinary group of scientists and engineers developing AI and machine learning technologies to address polar environmental and sustainability challenges. Our digital technologies are embedded …
29 March, 2022
A £5m project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to investigate the complex changes seen in sea ice around the Antarctic begins this month (March 2022) as the …
Read more on Study underway as Antarctic sea ice extent at record level
9 March, 2022
Looking for a new challenge? British Antarctic Survey has launched its latest recruitment campaign for a wide range of jobs in Antarctica for the 2022/23 Antarctic season. Antarctica is the …
28 February, 2022
A new report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published today (28 February) has outlined the causes, impacts and solutions to climate change.
21 February, 2022
A new study has found that the world’s second-largest ice sheet is generating huge amounts of heat. Researchers including BAS oceanographer Dr Keith Nicholls have observed extremely high rates of melting at the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
Read more on Heat source melting Greenland Ice Sheet discovered
18 February, 2022
The first ice core drilling campaign of Beyond Epica-Oldest Ice has been successfully completed at the remote Little Dome C site in Antarctica – one of the most extreme places …
16 February, 2022
British Antarctic Survey has teamed up with the National Oceanography Centre and the University of Glasgow to champion the FindAScienceBerth project, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. The project …
Read more on Connecting under-represented groups with science berths
11 February, 2022 Melody Clark
Today, 11 February, is International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a global initiative led by UNESCO and UN-Women. To celebrate, we have asked some of our female staff …
Read more on BAS celebrates International Day of Women and Girls in Science
9 February, 2022
Scientists have deployed a network of seismometers onto Antarctica’s Brunt Ice Shelf in an experiment that will test the instrument’s ability to operate on icy moons in the Solar System. …
Read more on Antarctica as testing site ahead of mission to icy moons
8 February, 2022
New research papers from the one-year MOSAiC expedition to study the Arctic have yielded new understanding about the region. Hundreds of international researchers are currently analysing observations from the MOSAiC …
Read more on Deep insight into Arctic from MOSAiC expedition
7 February, 2022
A new study highlights there could be up to four times more fish in the mesopelagic, or ‘twilight’, zone of the Southern Ocean than previously thought. Scientists at British Antarctic …
Read more on More fish in ‘twilight zone’ than previously thought
2 February, 2022 Emily Neville
Neil Brims is the Electrician at Halley VI Research Station. In our latest blog, find out what life is like at Halley and how it feels to live at the …
20 January, 2022
Scientists monitoring the giant A68a iceberg from space reveal that a huge amount of fresh water was released as it melted around the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. An …
Read more on ‘Mega iceberg’ releases billions of tonnes of fresh water into ocean
14 January, 2022
The Royal Astronomical Society has awarded the 2022 Gold Medal for Geophysics to Professor Richard B Horne for his outstanding contributions to our understanding of the physics underlying space weather. …
Read more on BAS scientist awarded Gold Medal by Royal Astronomical Society
13 January, 2022
A new project to improve scientists understanding of the impact of space weather and climate change on the atmosphere starts this month (January 2022). A team from British Antarctic Survey, …
Read more on Grant to understand future impacts on atmospheric prediction
10 January, 2022
Marine life hitching a ride on ocean-crossing ships poses a threat to Antarctica’s pristine ecosystems, with the potential for invasive species to arrive from almost anywhere across the globe, say …
Read more on Invasive species ‘hitchhiking’ on ships threaten Antarctica’s unique ecosystems
10 January, 2022
The fossilised remains of Britain’s largest ichthyosaur, known as a ‘Sea Dragon’, has been discovered at the Rutland Water Nature Reserve, in the East Midlands. It is the biggest and …
Read more on BAS palaeontologist part of discovery of ‘sea dragon’ fossil
21 December, 2021 Christopher Robert Lloyd
Christopher Robert Lloyd, Contract Manager for Ramboll, will be working in Antarctica on constructing the new scientific support facility at Rothera, the Discovery Building. He first travelled to Antarctica in …
Read more on The challenges of running Antarctic stations during a pandemic
20 December, 2021
Far beneath the ice shelves of the Antarctic, there is more marine life than expected, finds a recent study in the journal Current Biology, published this week (20 December 2021). …
Read more on Abundance of life discovered beneath an Antarctic ice shelf
20 December, 2021
Science and support teams from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are gearing up for the start of the Antarctic summer field season. All five of our research stations will be open …
Read more on British Antarctic Survey’s 2021-2022 field season is underway
14 December, 2021
Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier is retreating rapidly as a warming ocean slowly erases its ice from below, leading to a faster flow, more fracturing and a threat of collapse, according to …
Read more on The threat from Thwaites: the retreat of Antarctica’s riskiest glacier
14 December, 2021
Data collected from a long-term study by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists shows declining populations of an already relatively rare Antarctic seabird, the South Georgia shag. Published in the journal …
10 December, 2021
Applications for PhD projects with British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are now open for October 2022 admission. BAS currently supports over 100 PhD students, working on a huge variety of projects. …
Read more on PhD opportunities with British Antarctic Survey in 2022
8 December, 2021
The RRS Sir David Attenborough completes the first leg of its journey to Antarctica, arriving in the Falkland Islands on 9 December. The draft of Britain’s new polar ship is …
Read more on RRS Sir David Attenborough arrives in Falkland Islands
3 December, 2021
A rare total solar eclipse in Antarctica this weekend (Saturday 4 December) is giving researchers a unique opportunity to learn more about how solar eclipses affect space weather. The next …
Read more on Antarctica experiences rare total solar eclipse
29 November, 2021
The Polar Regions play a crucial role in balancing global climate – with the poles heating up much faster than the rest of the world. Yet, climate projections for these …
Read more on Improving climate projections in the Polar Regions
18 November, 2021
An international team of scientists led by British Antarctic Survey have published research today on using new technology to study mass stranding of whales from space and how the technology …
Read more on Space technology and artificial intelligence to monitor whale mass stranding events
16 November, 2021
Britain’s new polar research ship, the RRS Sir David Attenborough, departs the UK this week for its maiden voyage to Antarctica. It will leave Harwich today (16 November), with 66 …
Read more on RRS Sir David Attenborough makes maiden voyage to Antarctica
15 October, 2021
Humpback whale populations are strongly recovering on their feeding grounds in the South Atlantic, with over 24,543 whales now estimated to use polar waters in the Scotia Arc each summer. …
13 October, 2021
A network of international researchers launches a European collaboration this week ( 14 October 2021). This collaboration will train a new generation of scientists to understand how past climate changes …
Read more on DEEPICE: Network of young researchers to unveil past climate change in Antarctica
Specialist ice core facility to measure concentration and isotopic composition of greenhouse gases
16 September, 2021
The Future of Life Award, which honors those who take exceptional measures to safeguard the collective future of humanity, is announced today (16 September) on the International Day for the …
14 September, 2021
New research by scientists at British Antarctic Survey and Bielefeld University explains how the chaotic formation of genetic islands can occur in marine molluscs. Usually, the individuals of a population …
Read more on Chaotic formation of genetic islands among marine molluscs