British Antarctic Survey image & video library

A woman and a man in an ice cave

British Antarctic Survey (BAS) holds one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of polar photography and video.

Our archive spans decades of scientific endeavour in Antarctica and the Arctic, capturing everything from landmark research milestones to the raw, unspoiled beauty of the world’s most remote environments.

What’s in the collection?

Our image and video library contains thousands of high-resolution photographs and hours of professionally shot video footage, organised across four key subject areas:

  • Science in action — field work, laboratory research, instrument deployment, ice core drilling, atmospheric monitoring, and collaborative science aboard our research vessels and at our stations.
  • Infrastructure and operations — BAS research stations including Rothera, Halley VI, Bird Island and King Edward Point, our polar research ship the RRS Sir David Attenborough, Twin Otter and Dash-7 aircraft, and field camp operations across the continent.
  • Polar wildlife — penguins, seals, albatrosses, whales and the full breadth of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic biodiversity, documented across decades by our scientists and expedition photographers.
  • Landscapes and environments — glaciers, icebergs, sea ice, the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia, the Weddell Sea, and the stark, luminous beauty of the polar regions across all seasons.
  • Historic Collection – our Archive holds images dating back to the 1940’s when the UK first had permanent stations on the white continent.

Licensing and reproduction rights

If you are a publisher, picture editor, documentary maker, or picture researcher, our online collection allows you to search the full archive, agree licensing terms, and download full-resolution files directly.

Images are also available for editorial use under a range of licensing arrangements.

For bespoke licensing enquiries please contact our Communications Team directly.

Why use BAS images?

BAS has been conducting research in the polar regions since the 1940s. Our photographers and scientists have documented environments and events that very few people will ever witness in person — from the calving of giant icebergs to the first signs of new life in an Antarctic spring. Our collection represents a unique and authoritative visual record of polar science, climate change in action, and life at the ends of the Earth.

All images are captioned and credited, and many include scientific context to support accurate reporting and educational use.

Explore the image collection

Where we hope you will be able to search, find, agree rights and download the image.

Any problems please contact us by emailing pictures@bas.ac.uk