Celebrating a successful Antarctic science season
British Antarctic Survey scientists and support staff are coming to the end of another successful Antarctic science season. Teams are now preparing for the transition to winter operations as the austral autumn brings longer nights and challenging conditions to the continent.
This field season saw more than 450 scientists, technicians and support staff working at various locations and with collaborators across the continent.
Around 60 science projects took place: a mixture of standalone and multi-season field and marine science projects, as well as ongoing data collection for projects such as the Rothera Time Series which collects information about the ocean.
Science on stations
Rothera Research Station is BAS’ hub for marine research and access to the deep field. This season, researchers were collecting samples for the SiCLING project. They are testing ideas that sediment particles – which form as glaciers and ice grind underlying rock – can release critical elements such as iron and silicon that are needed by algae. They deployed sensors to measure different properties of the ocean and collected 12 sediment cores which will be analysed to measure concentrations of different nutrients, and to find out how quickly nutrients are released.
The team at Halley VI Research Station, our platform for earth, atmosphere and space weather science, set up a new meteor wind radar system which uses radio pulses to detect meteor trails in the middle atmosphere (an altitude of 80-100km). By looking at the trails, scientists can work out the wind speeds in this part of the atmosphere, and study solar atmospheric tides – helping us learn more about how the middle atmosphere responds to changing weather and climate. The radar is detecting around 4,500 meteors a day, with wind speeds ranging from 40-150mph.
The RIFT-TIP team were also back at Halley Research Station for their second season. The team were deploying fibre-optic sensors to capture data about ice shelf fracturing, and drilling ice cores to investigate how the ice’s structure affects calving events – when huge icebergs ‘calve’ off the ice shelves. The team drilled four holes with a combined depth of 297m, deployed 66 seismometers and collected 150km of ground-based radar measurements which they will now begin to analyse back in Cambridge.
Scientists at King Edward Point Research Station conducted their biennial groundfish survey. Despite challenging conditions, the team completed more trawls and tagged more toothfish than in any survey over the past twenty years. The team also surveyed deeper than ever before, with explorations into waters between 400 and 750 metres uncovering unique deep-sea species. This research plays a key part in helping the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands to manage the local fishery sustainably.
On land, a team of researchers also used drones and satellite images to count southern elephant seals on South Georgia to update the last island-wide census which took place almost three decades ago. These charismatic creatures play a crucial role in the Southern Ocean food web and so understanding the state of their population is crucial for protecting them into the future.
At Bird Island Research Station, a new automatic burrow monitoring system for white-chinned petrel birds is now up and running. The sensors will record when tagged birds come and go from their burrow entrances. This minimal-disturbance monitoring will provide unprecedented data on survival and breeding success of these birds.
In a good news story, more Antarctic fur seal pups were born and survived at Bird Island than in the last three years. While the population continues to decline, it’s a sign that the availability of food (mostly krill) was good for mothers and pups. At the long-term study site, the researchers also counted higher than usual numbers of mothers. However, this was coupled with an unusually high mortality rate of males, which could be linked to avian flu.
Science at sea
As part of the Hungry Humpbacks project, another team of researchers were using drones to monitor the condition of whales in the waters around South Georgia and attaching satellite tags to track their diving behaviour. The research was a big success, with the team collecting more biopsy samples and drone images than last season, despite having half the number of boating hours and challenging weather conditions.
The team also collected some data from the RRS Sir David Attenborough while at Signy Research Station. They collected six humpback whale samples and what the team believe the first ever biopsy samples from southern right whales in that part of the Southern Ocean.
Scientists returned to the Southern Ocean on board RRS Sir David Attenborough (SDA) for the second season of research as part of the BIOPOLE project – this time in the Antarctic summer to autumn. Over 51 days, the team collected a wealth of data to help answer questions about how nutrients drive the global carbon cycle – this included 76 ocean transects to observe marine mammals, spotting over 2000 whales, redeploying seven moorings and 71 CTDs (which measure, among other things, conductivity, temperature and depth). A film crew joined the ship to film science in action for their upcoming documentary Ages of Ice.
The SDA was also involved in the second season of the Southern Ocean Clouds project. Long-term aerosol measurements from Rothera Research Station were combined with measurements taken by aircraft and the ship to improve how clouds are represented in climate models. The team have already identified several different types of cloud nuclei – the particles that clouds form around – and are now working out their sources.
In the field
A field team returned to King George Island for the second season of research. They spent 33 days on the island to study and collect samples from rocks that were deposited from around 54 million years ago to learn more about historic seafloor animals and their environment. They studied 18 different sites, uncovering some remarkable finds including previously unreported brittle stars and echinoid specimens.
This season also saw one of the most ambitious logistics operations undertaken by BAS. Three expert teams made their way across Antarctica by sea, land and air to meet at a place called the English Coast – 600km away from the nearest research station in Antarctica. Their aim was to recover scientific equipment from previous projects and establish depots for future deep-field operations.
The mission took years of planning, and despite challenging conditions (exacerbated by warm weather) the operation was a success. You can read all about it in our latest Long Read: A rendezvous in the middle of nowhere.
The Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Programme continues to make good progress as our new scientific support and operations facility at Rothera Research Station, the Discovery Building, nears completion with an expected handover later in 2025. Now generating its own power and water 24/7 as well as distributing these essential services to other buildings at Rothera, it will help transform the way BAS works on station and aims to reduce Rothera’s carbon emissions by an estimated 25%.
Features include a brand-new operations tower equipped with the latest technology to oversee all flying to and from Rothera, a new vehicles workshop, field preparation area and central stores. Its completed wind deflector will save time and resource clearing snow at the start of each season. BAS’s move to the new building ensures Rothera’s world-leading polar research capabilities for decades to come.
Prof Dame Jane Francis, Director of British Antarctic Survey says:
“This has been another fantastic season of research – one of collaborative, ambitious science that is bringing us ever closer to understanding how Antarctic is responding to our changing climate.
A huge well done to all our teams on the ground and back in Cambridge for pulling off such a long and successful season – both for science, engineering and operations!
A winter season with a difference
As temperatures drop and daylight diminishes, the 50 or so staff members remaining across our stations will transition to winter operations. Through the winter, long-term monitoring and data collection continues.
The highlight of winter will be the Midwinter celebration on June 21st, a longstanding Antarctic tradition marking the southern winter solstice. Across our three wintering stations, our colleagues will join in festivities shared across all Antarctic stations, including special meals and the exchange of handmade gifts that has become a cherished custom.
While the end of the research season marks the departure of many of the BAS team from Antarctica, for many, their work is only just beginning. The data collected during the season will be used by scientists around the world to advance our understanding of the continents and its role in our changing climate.