Hamish Pritchard, Author at British Antarctic Survey

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Hamish Pritchard

Glacial Processes Satellite

My focus is on the two great glaciology issues: ice-sheet deglaciation and sea level rise, and the role and future of mountain glaciers as a water resource. My contributions include:

IPCC lead-authorship of the Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC);
a new assessment; of the role of Asia’s mountain glaciers in regional hydrology and socio-economics that identifies their importance in protecting societies against acute drought stress;
highly cited studies identifying the extent, mechanism and underlying cause of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet and tidewater glacier loss through accelerated glacier flow and ocean-driven ice-shelf thinning;
the Bedmap2 (and now Bedmap3) project that I managed and for which I created the core data products of topography and ice thickness that are proving fundamental to much contemporary continental-scale Antarctic Ice Sheet modelling.

My ongoing work involves finding two of the major missing pieces in hydrology’s jigsaw: auditing glacier ice volumes on the river-basin scale using a new airborne radar survey platform that I have developed and have deployed successfully in the Nepal Himalayas; developing a better way to measure mountain snowfall (SWE) over much larger areas than has so far been possible. My technical background is in synthetic aperture radar and laser remote sensing, low-frequency radar field surveys of glaciers and ice sheets, GIS and mountain water resources.

These are tools that I apply in both a polar and alpine context, and the use of Antarctic research techniques and equipment to glaciers in High Mountain Asia fits well with the increasing focus of UK science on overseas development issues.

Publications from NERC Open Research Archive

2026

Muszynski, Grzegorz . Orr, Andrew . Roy, Indrani . Di Capua, Giorgia . Pritchard, Hamish . Hosking, J. Scott . (2026) Using a causal effect network approach to quantify the impact of ENSO teleconnections on summer monsoon precipitation over the Himalayas and key regional circulations.

2025

Nie, Yong . Wang, Wen . Pritchard, Hamish D. . Gu, Chang-Jun. Lyu, Qi-Yuan . Wu, Yu-Hong. Li, Su-Ju. (2025) Daily imaging from China’s HJ-2A/B satellites enables yearly mapping of regional glacial lakes.

Biget, Titouan. Brun, Fanny . Immerzeel, Walter . Martin, Léo. Pritchard, Hamish . Collier, Emily . Lei, Yanbin . Yao, Tandong. (2025) Brief communication: Sharp precipitation gradient on the southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau during cold season.

Pritchard, Hamish . Editors: Drewry, David J (2025) Will our mountains lose their snow and ice? And does it matter if they do?.

Pritchard, Hamish D. . Editors: Azhgaliyeva, Dina. Rahut, Dil. Sonobe, Tetsushi (2025) Scaling Up the Collection of Mountain Snow and Ice Data for Managing Future Water Resource Risk in the Hindu Kush Himalayas.

Pritchard, Hamish D. . King, Edward C. . Goodger, David J. Boyle, Douglas. Goldberg, Daniel N. . Recinos, Beatriz . Orr, Andrew . Regmi, Dhananjay. (2025) Towards Bedmap Himalayas: a new airborne glacier thickness survey in Khumbu Himal, Nepal.

Liu, Wen. Li, Yiyi. Li, Dongfeng . Lin, Peirong. Wang, Xiaoming . Pritchard, Hamish D. . Kraaijenbrink, Philip D.A. . (2025) Impacts of changes in climate, cryosphere, and vegetation on freshwater supply in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau.

Hayman, Garry . Huntingford, Chris . Kelley, Douglas . Price, Jeff. Jevrejeva, Svetlana . Jacobs, Zoe . Popova, Katya. Findlay, Helen S. Pritchard, Hamish . (2025) Annex 5: Natural system impacts of overshoot pathways.

Pritchard, Hamish D. . Fretwell, Peter T. . Fremand, Alice C. . Bodart, Julien A. . Kirkham, James D. . Aitken, Alan. Bamber, Jonathan. Bell, Robin. Bianchi, Cesidio. Bingham, Robert G. . Blankenship, Donald D. Casassa, Gino. Christianson, Knut. Conway, Howard. Corr, Hugh F.J. Cui, Xiangbin. Damaske, Detlef. Damm, Volkmar. Dorschel, Boris . Drews, Reinhard . Eagles, Graeme. Eisen, Olaf . Eisermann, Hannes. Ferraccioli, Fausto . Field, Elena . Forsberg, René. Franke, Steven . Goel, Vikram . Gogineni, Siva Prasad. Greenbaum, Jamin . Hills, Benjamin. Hindmarsh, Richard C.A. . Hoffman, Andrew O. Holschuh, Nicholas. Holt, John W. Humbert, Angelika . Jacobel, Robert W. Jansen, Daniela. Jenkins, Adrian. Jokat, Wilfried. Jong, Lenneke . Jordan, Tom A. . King, Edward C. . Kohler, Jack. Krabill, William. Maton, Joséphine. Gillespie, Mette Kusk. Langley, Kirsty. Lee, Joohan . Leitchenkov, German. Leuschen, Cartlon. Luyendyk, Bruce . MacGregor, Joseph A. . MacKie, Emma. Moholdt, Geir. Matsuoka, Kenichi . Morlighem, Mathieu . Mouginot, Jérémie . Nitsche, Frank O. . Nost, Ole A. Paden, John . Pattyn, Frank. Popov, Sergey. Rignot, Eric . Rippin, David M. . Rivera, Andrés . Roberts, Jason L. . Ross, Neil . Ruppel, Antonia. Schroeder, Dustin M. Siegert, Martin J. . Smith, Andrew . Steinhage, Daniel. Studinger, Michael . Sun, Bo. Tabacco, Ignazio. Tinto, Kirsty J. . Urbini, Stefano. Vaughan, David G. . Wilson, Douglas S. Young, Duncan A. Zirizzotti, Achille. (2025) Bedmap3 updated ice bed, surface and thickness gridded datasets for Antarctica.

2024

Pritchard, Hamish D. . (2024) A new instrumental way to measure accumulating SWE in mountain and polar catchments directly, on the kilometre-scale and in near-real time.

2023

Nie, Yong. Deng, Qian. Pritchard, Hamish D. . Carrivick, Jonathan L. Ahmed, Farooq. Huggel, Christian. Liu, Lijun. Wang, Wen. Lesi, Muchu. Wang, Jida. Zhang, Huayu. Zhang, Bo. Lü, Qiyuan. Zhang, Yili. (2023) Glacial lake outburst floods threaten Asia’s infrastructure.

Wang, Shuhong. Liu, Jintao. Pritchard, Hamish D. . Ke, Linghong. Qiao, Xiao. Zhang, Jie. Xiao, Weihua. Zhou, Yuyan. (2023) Characterizing 4 decades of accelerated glacial mass loss in the west Nyainqentanglha Range of the Tibetan Plateau.

2022

Frémand, Alice C. . Fretwell, Peter . Bodart, Julien A. Pritchard, Hamish D. . Aitken, Alan. Bamber, Jonathan L. Bell, Robin. Bianchi, Cesido. Bingham, Robert G. Blankenship, Donald D. Casassa, Gino. Catania, Ginny. Christianson, Knut. Conway, Howard. Corr, Hugh F.J. Cui, Xiangbin. Damaske, Detlef. Damm, Volkmar. Drews, Reinhard. Eagles, Graeme. Eisen, Olaf. Eisermann, Hannes. Ferraccioli, Fausto . Field, Elena . Forsberg, René. Franke, Steven. Fujita, Shuji. Gim, Yonggyu. Goel, Vikram. Gogineni, Siva Prasad. Greenbaum, Jamin. Hills, Benjamin. Hindmarsh, Richard C.A. . Hoffman, Andrew O. Holmlund, Per. Holschuh, Nicholas. Holt, John W. Horlings, Anneka N. Humbert, Anglika. Jacobel, Robert W. Jansen, Daniela. Jenkins, Adrian. Jokat, Wilfried. Jordan, Tom . King, Edward . Kohler, Jack. Krabill, William. Langley, Kirsty. Lee, Joohan. Leitchenkov, German. Leuschen, Carlton. Luyendyk, Bruce. MacGregor, Joseph. MacKie, Emma. Matsuoka, Kenichi. Morlighem, Mathieu. Mouginot, Jérémie. Nitsche, Frank O. Nogi, Yoshifumi. Nost, Ole A. Paden, John. Pattyn, Frank. Popov, Sergey V. Rignot, Eric. Rippin, David M. Rivera, Andrés. Roberts, Jason. Ross, Neil. Ruppel, Anotonia. Schroeder, Dustin M. Siegert, Martin J. Smith, Andrew M. . Steinhage, Daniel. Studinger, Michael. Sun, Bo. Tabacco, Ignazio. Tinto, Kirsty. Urbini, Stefano. Vaughan, David . Welch, Brian C. Wilson, Douglas S. Young, Duncan A. Zirizzotti, Achille. (2022) Antarctic Bedmap data: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) sharing of 60 years of ice bed, surface, and thickness data.

Su, Fengge. Pritchard, Hamish D. . Yao, Tandong. Huang, Jingheng. Ou, Tinghai. Meng, Fanchong. Sun, He. Li, Ying. Xu, Baiqing. Zhu, Meilin. Chen, Deliang. (2022) Contrasting fate of western Third Pole’s water resources under 21st century climate change.

Dorschel, Boris. Hehemann, Laura. Viquerat, Sacha. Warnke, Fynn. Dreutter, Simon. Tenberge, Yvonne Schulze. Accetella, Daniela. An, Lu. Barrios, Felipe. Bazhenova, Evgenia. Black, Jenny. Bohoyo, Fernando. Davey, Craig. De Santis, Laura. Dotti, Carlota Escutia. Fremand, Alice C. . Fretwell, Peter T. . Gales, Jenny A. Gao, Jinyao. Gasperini, Luca. Greenbaum, Jamin S. Henderson Jencks, Jennifer. Hogan, Kelly . Hong, Jong Kuk. Jakobsson, Martin. Jensen, Laura. Kool, Johnathan. Larin, Sergei. Larter, Robert D. . Leitchenkov, German. Loubrieu, Benoît. Mackay, Kevin. Mayer, Larry. Millan, Romain. Morlighem, Mathieu. Navidad, Francisco. Nitsche, Frank O. Nogi, Yoshifumi. Pertuisot, Cécile. Post, Alexandra L. Pritchard, Hamish D. . Purser, Autun. Rebesco, Michele. Rignot, Eric. Roberts, Jason L. Rovere, Marzia. Ryzhov, Ivan. Sauli, Chiara. Schmitt, Thierry. Silvano, Alessandro. Smith, Jodie. Snaith, Helen. Tate, Alex J. . Tinto, Kirsty. Vandenbossche, Philippe. Weatherall, Pauline. Wintersteller, Paul. Yang, Chunguo. Zhang, Tao. Arndt, Jan Erik. (2022) The International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean Version 2.

2021

Dell, Rebecca L. Banwell, Alison F. Willis, Ian C. Arnold, Neil S. Halberstadt, Anna Ruth W. Chudley, Thomas R. Pritchard, Hamish D. . (2021) Supervised classification of slush and ponded water on Antarctic ice shelves using Landsat 8 imagery.

Pritchard, Hamish D. . (2021) Global data gaps in our knowledge of the terrestrial cryosphere.

Individual contributors, including. Pritchard, Hamish D. . Turner, John . (2021) State of the global climate in 2020.

Nie, Yong. Pritchard, Hamish D. . Liu, Qiao. Hennig, Thomas. Wang, Wenling. Wang, Wiaoming. Liu, Shiyin. Nepal, Santosh. Samyn, Denis. Hewitt, Kenneth. Chen, Xiaoqing. (2021) Glacial change and hydrological implications in the Himalaya and Karakoram.

Pritchard, Hamish D. . Farinotti, Daniel. Colwell, Steve. (2021) Measuring changes in snowpack SWE continuously on a landscape scale using lake water pressure.

2020

Dell, Rebecca. Arnold, Neil. Willis, Ian. Banwell, Alison. Williamson, Andrew. Pritchard, Hamish . Orr, Andrew . (2020) Lateral meltwater transfer across an Antarctic ice shelf..

Pritchard, H.D. . King, E.C. . Goodger, D.J. McCarthy, M. . Mayer, C. Kayastha, R. (2020) Towards Bedmap Himalayas: development of an airborne ice-sounding radar for glacier thickness surveys in High-Mountain Asia.

Meredith, Michael . Sommerkorn, M. Cassotta, S. Derksen, C. Ekaykin, A. Hollowed, A. Kofinas, G. Mackintosh, A. Melbourn-Thomas, J. Muelbert, M.M.C. Ottersen, G. Pritchard, Hamish . Schuur, E.A.G. Editors: Pörtner, H.-O. Roberts, D.C. Masson-Delmotte, V. Zhai, P. Tignor, M. Poloczanska, E. Mintenbeck, K. Alegría, A. Nicolai, M. Okem, A. Petzold, J. Rama, B. Weyer, N.M (2020) Chapter 3: Polar Regions.

2019

Pritchard, Hamish . (2019) Asia’s shrinking glaciers protect large populations from drought stress.

2018

Nicholson, Lindsey I. McCarthy, Michael . Pritchard, Hamish D. . Willis, Ian. (2018) Supraglacial debris thickness variability: impact on ablation and relation to terrain properties.

Christie, Frazer D.W. Bingham, Robert G. Gourmelen, Noel. Steig, Eric J. Bisset, Rosie R. Pritchard, Hamish D. . Snow, Kate. Tett, Simon F.B. (2018) Glacier change along West Antarctica’s Marie Byrd Land Sector and links to inter-decadal atmosphere–ocean variability.

2017

Felikson, Denis. Urban, Timothy J. Gunter, Brian C. Pie, Nadege. Pritchard, Hamish D. . Harpold, Robert. Schutz, Bob E. (2017) Comparison of elevation change detection methods from ICESat altimetry over the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Spagnolo, Matteo. Bartholomaus, Timothy C. Clark, Chris D. Stokes, Chris R. Atkinson, Nigel. Dowdeswell, Julian A. Ely, Jeremy C. Graham, Alistair G.C. Hogan, Kelly A. . King, Edward C. . Larter, Robert D. . Livingstone, Stephen J. Pritchard, Hamish D. . (2017) The periodic topography of ice stream beds: insights from the Fourier spectra of mega-scale glacial lineations.

Pritchard, Hamish D. . (2017) Asia’s glaciers are a regionally important buffer against drought [Retracted article].

McCarthy, Michael . Pritchard, Hamish . Willis, Ian. King, Edward . (2017) Ground-penetrating radar measurements of debris thickness on Lirung Glacier, Nepal.

2016

King, Edward C. . Pritchard, Hamish D. . Smith, Andy M. . (2016) Subglacial landforms beneath Rutford Ice Stream, Antarctica: detailed bed topography from ice-penetrating radar.

2015

Smith, E.C. Smith, A.M. . White, R.S. Brisbourne, A.M. . Pritchard, H.D. . (2015) Mapping the ice-bed interface characteristics of Rutford Ice Stream, West Antarctica, using microseismicity.

Matsuoka, Kenichi. Hindmarsh, Richard C.A. . Moholdt, Geir. Bentley, Michael J. Pritchard, Hamish D. . Brown, Joel. Conway, Howard. Drews, Reinhard. Durand, Gael. Goldberg, Daniel. Hatterman, Tore. Kingslake, Jonathan. Lenaerts, Jan T.M. Martin, Carlos . Mulvaney, Robert . Nicholls, Keith . Pattyn, Frank. Ross, Neil. Scambos, Ted. Whitehouse, Pippa L. (2015) Antarctic ice rises and rumples: their properties and significance for ice-sheet dynamics and evolution.

2014

Kingslake, Jonathan. Hindmarsh, Richard C.A. . Aðalgeirsdóttir, Guðfinna. Conway, Howard. Corr, Hugh F.J. Gillet-Chaulet, Fabien. Martin, Carlos . King, Edward C. . Mulvaney, Robert . Pritchard, Hamish D. . (2014) Full-depth englacial vertical ice-sheet velocities measured using phase-sensitive radar.

Pritchard, Hamish . (2014) Bedgap – where next for Antarctic subglacial mapping?.

2013

Harland, S.R. Kendall, J.-M. Stuart, G.W. Lloyd, G.E. Baird, A.F. Smith, A.M. . Pritchard, H.D. . Brisbourne, A.M. (2013) Deformation in Rutford Ice Stream, West Antarctica: measuring shear-wave anisotropy from icequakes.

Fretwell, P. . Pritchard, H.D. . Vaughan, D.G. . Bamber, J.L. Barrand, N.E. Bell, R. Bianchi, C. Bingham, R. G. Blankenship, D.D. Casassa, G. Catania, G. Callens, D. Conway, H. Cook, A.J. Corr, H.F.J. Damaske, D. Damm, V. Ferraccioli, F. . Forsberg, R. Fujita, S. Gim, Y. Gogineni, P. Griggs, J.A. Hindmarsh, R.C.A. . Holmlund, P. Holt, J.W. Jacobel, R.W. Jenkins, A. . Jokat, W. Jordan, T. . King, E.C. . Kohler, J. Krabill, W. Riger-Kusk, M. Langley, K.A. Leitchenkov, G. Leuschen, C. Luyendyk, B.P. Matsuoka, K. Mouginot, J. Nitsche, F.O. Nogi, Y. Nost, O.A. Popov, S.V. Rignot, E. Rippin, D.M. Rivera, A. Roberts, J. Ross, N. Siegert, M.J. Smith, A.M. . Steinhage, D. Studinger, M. Sun, B. Tinto, B.K. Welch, B.C. Wilson, D. Young, D.A. Xiangbin, C. Zirizzotti, A. (2013) Bedmap2: improved ice bed, surface and thickness datasets for Antarctica.

2012

Shepherd, Andrew. Ivins, Erik R. A, Geruo. Barletta, Valentina R. Bentley, Mike J. Bettadpur, Srinivas. Briggs, Kate H. Bromwich, David H. Forsberg, René. Galin, Natalia. Horwath, Martin. Jacobs, Stan. Joughin, Ian. King, Matt A. Lenaerts, Jan T.M. Li, Jilu. Ligtenberg, Stefan R.M. Luckman, Adrian. Luthcke, Scott B. McMillan, Malcolm. Meister, Rakia. Milne, Glenn. Mouginot, Jeremie. Muir, Alan. Nicolas, Julien P. Paden, John. Payne, Antony J. Pritchard, Hamish . Rignot, Eric. Rott, Helmut. Sandberg Sørensen, Louise. Scambos, Ted A. Scheuchl, Bernd. Schrama, Ernst J.O. Smith, Ben. Sundal, Aud V. van Angelen, Jan H. van de Berg, Willem J. van den Broeke, Michiel R. Vaughan, David G. . Velicogna, Isabella. Wahr, John. Whitehouse, Pippa. Wingham, Duncan J. Yi, Donghui. Young, Duncan. Zwally, H. Jay. (2012) A reconciled estimate of ice sheet mass balance.

Pritchard, Hamish . (2012) Review of Polar remote sensing. Vol. II: Ice sheets by R. Massom and D. Lubin. Berlin, Springer; Chichester, Praxis, 2006.

Bingham, Robert G. Ferraccioli, Fausto . King, Edward C. . Larter, Robert D. . Pritchard, Hamish D. . Smith, Andrew M. . Vaughan, David G. . (2012) Inland thinning of West Antarctic Ice Sheet steered along subglacial rifts.

Pritchard, H.D. . Ligtenberg, S.R.M. Fricker, H.A. Vaughan, D.G. . van den Broeke, M.R. Padman, L. (2012) Antarctic ice-sheet loss driven by basal melting of ice shelves.

2011

Humbert, A. Pritchard, H.D. . (2011) Numerical simulations of the ice flow dynamics of the Brunt Ice Shelf – Stancomb Wills Ice Tongue System.

Pritchard, Hamish D. . Vaughan, David G. . (2011) Widespread acceleration of tidewater glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula.

Pritchard, Hamish . Editors: Riffenburgh, B (2011) Antarctic Peninsula, glaciology of.

Pritchard, Hamish D. . Luthcke, S.B. Fleming, Andrew H. . (2011) Understanding ice-sheet mass balance: progress in satellite altimetry and gravimetry.

Holland, Paul R. . Corr, Hugh F.J. Pritchard, Hamish D. . Vaughan, David G. . Arthern, Robert J. . Jenkins, Adrian . Tedesco, Marco. (2011) The air content of Larsen Ice Shelf.

Bingham, Robert G. King, Edward C. . Smith, Andrew M. . Pritchard, Hamish D. . (2011) Glacial geomorphology: towards a convergence of glaciology and geomorphology.

Vaughan, David G. . Corr, Hugh F.J. Smith, Andy M. . Pritchard, Hamish D. . Shepherd, Andrew. (2011) Flow-switching and water piracy between Rutford Ice Stream and Carlson Inlet, West Antarctica.

2010

Martin, Carlos . Gudmundsson, G. Hilmar . Pritchard, Hamish D. . Gagliardini, Olivier. (2010) On the effects of anisotropic rheology on ice flow, internal structure, and the age-depth relationship at ice divides.

Pritchard, H.D. . Arthern, R.J. . Vaughan, D.G. . Edwards, L.A. (2010) Extensive dynamic thinning on the margins of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.

Scott, J.B.T. Gudmundsson, G.H. . Smith, A.M. . Bingham, R.G. Pritchard, H.D. . Vaughan, D.G. . (2010) Increased rate of acceleration on Pine Island Glacier strongly coupled to changes in gravitational driving stress.

2008

Pritchard, Hamish . Murray, Tavi. Luckman, Adrian. Strozzi, Tazio. Barr, Stuart. (2008) Glacier surge dynamics of Sortebræ, east Greenland, from synthetic aperture radar feature tracking.

Rignot, E. Casassa, G. Gogineni, S. Kanagaratnam, P. Krabill, W. Pritchard, H. . Rivera, A. Thomas, R. Turner, J. . Vaughan, D. . (2008) Recent ice loss from the Fleming and other glaciers, Wordie Bay, West Antarctic Peninsula.

Pritchard, H., King, E., Goodger, D., Boyle, D., Goldberg, D., Recinos, B., & Orr, A. (2025). Raw and processed helicopter-borne radio-echo sounding ice thickness data from the glaciers of the Khumbu Himal, Nepal (2019) (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/e39647f5-fb72-4d16-acbd-9784ed2167b8
Pritchard, H., Fretwell, P., Fremand, A., Bodart, J., Kirkham, J., Aitken, A., Bamber, J., Bell, R., Bianchi, C., Bingham, R., Blankenship, D., Casassa, G., Catania, G., Christianson, K., Conway, H., Corr, H., Cui, X., Damaske, D., Damn, V., … Zirizzotti, A. (2024). BEDMAP3 – Ice thickness, bed and surface elevation for Antarctica – gridding products (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/2d0e4791-8e20-46a3-80e4-f5f6716025d2
Arthern, R., Williams, R., Hindmarsh, R., & Pritchard, H. (2022). Fields and parameters related to the flow of ice in the Antarctic Ice Sheet recovered using inverse methods and satellite data (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/5f0ac285-cca3-4a0e-bcbc-d921734395ab
Fretwell, P., Pritchard, H., Fremand, A., Bodart, J., Aitken, A., Bamber, J., Bell, R., Bianchi, C., Bingham, R., Blankenship, D., Casassa, G., Catania, G., Christianson, K., Conway, H., Corr, H., Cui, X., Damaske, D., Damn, V., Drews, R., … Zirizzotti, A. (2022). BEDMAP3 – Ice thickness, bed and surface elevation for Antarctica – standardised shapefiles and geopackages (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/a72a50c6-a829-4e12-9f9a-5a683a1acc4a
Fremand, A., Fretwell, P., Bodart, J., Pritchard, H., Aitken, A., Bamber, J., Bell, R., Bianchi, C., Bingham, R., Blankenship, D., Casassa, G., Catania, G., Christianson, K., Conway, H., Corr, H., Cui, X., Damaske, D., Damn, V., Drews, R., … Zirizzotti, A. (2022). BEDMAP3 – Ice thickness, bed and surface elevation for Antarctica – standardised data points (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/91523ff9-d621-46b3-87f7-ffb6efcd1847
Fretwell, P., Pritchard, H., Vaughan, D., Bamber, J., Barrand, N., Bell, R., Bianchi, C., Bingham, R., Blankenship, D., Casassa, G., Catania, G., Callens, D., Conway, H., Cook, A., Corr, H., Damaske, D., Damn, V., Ferraccioli, F., Forsberg, R., … Bodart, J. (2022). BEDMAP2 – Ice thickness, bed and surface elevation for Antarctica – standardised shapefiles and geopackages (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/0f90d926-99ce-43c9-b536-0c7791d1728b
Fretwell, P., Fremand, A., Bodart, J., Pritchard, H., Vaughan, D., Bamber, J., Barrand, N., Bell, R., Bianchi, C., Bingham, R., Blankenship, D., Casassa, G., Catania, G., Callens, D., Conway, H., Cook, A., Corr, H., Damaske, D., Damn, V., … Zirizzotti, A. (2022). BEDMAP2 – Ice thickness, bed and surface elevation for Antarctica – standardised data points (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/2fd95199-365e-4da1-ae26-3b6d48b3e6ac
Fretwell, P., Pritchard, H., Vaughan, D., Bamber, J., Barrand, N., Bell, R., Bianchi, C., Bingham, R., Blankenship, D., Casassa, G., Catania, G., Callens, D., Conway, H., Cook, A., Corr, H., Damaske, D., Damn, V., Ferraccioli, F., Forsberg, R., … Zirizzotti, A. (2022). BEDMAP2 – Ice thickness, bed and surface elevation for Antarctica – gridding products (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/fa5d606c-dc95-47ee-9016-7a82e446f2f2
Pritchard, H., Farinotti, D., & Colwell, S. (2021). Time series of water pressure, water temperature and ground temperature from lakes Orajarvi (Finland), and Tomasee and Silsersee (Switzerland) from winters 2018-2021 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/170fc6fa-9878-43fc-9abd-e6196bad60a2
Pritchard, H. (2017). Ground-penetrating radar data from Lirung and Langtang Glaciers, Nepal, 2015 (Version “1.0”) [Data set]. Polar Data Centre; British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council; Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK.. https://doi.org/10.5285/b14057b1-1951-45a0-a055-7d0d17102263
King, E., Pritchard, H., & Smith, A. (2015). Rutford Ice Stream bed elevation DEM from radar data (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/54757cbe-0b13-4385-8b31-4dfaa1dab55e

PRESCIENT

PRESCIENT supports long-term, strategically important measurements and capabilities for the wider science community.

Read more of: PRESCIENT
The Big Thaw

The Big Thaw studies snow and glacier changes in the Alps and Himalayas to improve forecasts of mountain water resources for global communities.

Read more of: The Big Thaw
Bedmap3

Bedmap3 is a collaborative community project with the aim to produce a new map and datasets of Antarctic ice thickness and bed topography.

Read more of: Bedmap3
Bedmap

Bedmap is a collaborative community that has produced maps and datasets of Antarctic ice thickness and bed topography

Read more of: Bedmap
Antarctic surface mass and energy exchanges

SURFEIT unites UK and international scientists to study Antarctic ice and atmosphere interactions, improve sea-level projections, and support climate action.

Read more of: Antarctic surface mass and energy exchanges
GRADES-IMAGE

The aim of this programme was to image englacial layering and bedrock topography over this sensitive catchment of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and Antarctic Peninsula.

Read more of: GRADES-IMAGE
Water Resources of the Upper Indus Basin

This project investigated how much water is stored in the glaciers and snow of the Upper Indus Basin, and how climate variability influences water availability.

Read more of: Water Resources of the Upper Indus Basin
National Capability for Global Challenges

Polar Expertise – Supporting Development

Read more of: National Capability for Global Challenges
Bedmap2

Bedmap2 is a suite of gridded products describing surface elevation, ice-thickness and the sea ﬂoor and subglacial bed elevation of the Antarctic.

Read more of: Bedmap2
Bedmap Himalayas

Bedmap Himalayas measures how much water is stored as glacier ice in High Mountain Asia by mapping ice thickness using radar.

Read more of: Bedmap Himalayas
Ocean-driven ice-shelf thinning in Antarctica

By exploiting advances in ice sheet modelling, and new Antarctic-wide datasets, this project aims to predict how far and how fast the observed ocean-driven thinning of floating ice shelves will propagate into the interior of the Antarctic ice sheet, and assess the consequences for global sea level over decadal-to-centennial timescales.

Read more of: Ocean-driven ice-shelf thinning in Antarctica

UK scientists contribute to global UNESCO report warning of unprecedented glacier loss

A scientist from the British Antarctic Survey has contributed to a major new international publication, coordinated by the UK National Commission for UNESCO, which highlights the accelerating decline of glaciers […]

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New map of landscape beneath Antarctica unveiled

The most detailed map yet of the landscape beneath Antarctica’s ice sheet has been assembled by a team of international scientists led from the British Antarctic Survey.

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Hamish Pritchard awarded Innovation in Meteorology Prize

British Antarctic Survey glaciologist Hamish Pritchard has won the 2023 Harry Otten Prize for Innovation in Meteorology.

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Glaciers in the spotlight on BBC’s Our Frozen Planet

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 […]

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BBC’s Frozen Planet II: science into television

In 2011, Frozen Planet gave BBC viewers an unprecedented insight into life in the Poles. The final episode featured British Antarctic Survey (BAS) glaciologist Dr Andy Smith using explosives to […]

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Study sets course for research on Himalayan waters

A new study featuring contributions from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists has identified 100 pressing research questions on climate change and water resources in the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) that must be answered to protect the communities that live there.

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Measuring glaciers in the Himalayan mountains

Technology pioneered in Antarctica could soon be providing much-needed data on the amount of ice in the glaciers of High Mountain Asia thanks to an ingenious helicopter-mounted, low-frequency radar developed […]

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NEWS STORY: Bedmap opens up Antarctica

Bedmap2 gives scientists a more detailed view of Antarctica”s landmass Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey have been working with a host of international collaborators to present the most detailed […]

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NEWS STORY: Sea level rise calculated

British Antarctic Survey researchers part of landmark study to improve projections for future sea level An international team of satellite experts including researchers at British Antarctic Survey has produced the […]

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PRESS RELEASE: Secrets of hidden rift valley

Hidden rift valley discovered beneath West Antarctica reveals new insight into accelerating ice loss Scientists have discovered a one mile deep rift valley hidden beneath the ice in West Antarctica, […]

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NEWS STORY: Assessing potential sea level rise

New studies improve scientists’ understanding of the potential contribution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to global sea level rise Three peer-reviewed papers in Nature and Nature Geoscience published in recent […]

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PRESS RELEASE: Ocean currents driving ice loss

Warm ocean currents cause majority of ice loss from Antarctica Reporting this week (Thursday 26 April) in the journal Nature, an international team of scientists led by British Antarctic Survey […]

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New map reveals what lies beneath the frozen continent

Scientists at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have produced the most detailed map of underneath Antarctica — its rock bed. BEDMAP is a close-up view of the landscape beneath the Antarctic […]

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PRESS RELEASE: Ice thinning captured by satellites

Lasers from space show thinning of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets The most comprehensive picture of the rapidly thinning glaciers along the coastline of both the Antarctic and Greenland ice […]

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Hundreds of Antarctic Peninsula glaciers accelerating as climate warms

Hundreds of glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula are flowing faster, further adding to sea level rise according to new research published this week in the Journal of Geophysical Research. Climate […]

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Widespread acceleration of tidewater glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula

Hundreds of glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula are flowing faster, further adding to sea-level rise. Climate warming, that is already causing Antarctic Peninsula increased summer snow melt and ice shelf […]

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