Dr Peter Fretwell  is a senior geographic and remote sensing scientist in the Mapping and Geographic Information Centre (MAGIC) at BAS. He leads the Wildlife From Space group and has over the past decade published a number of ground-breaking remote sensing and GIS studies that have increase our understanding of a range of Polar environments.

He has worked at BAS since January 2002 and spent the first seven year of that career in a mainly cartographic role. That changed in 2009, when by chance he discovered that he could detect emperor penguins using satellite imagery. A number of high-profile science papers followed which changed his role to focus primarily on remote sensing and GIS. Two primary strands of research include the Bedmap project and the detection, counting and understanding polar predators from satellite imagery, from which he has published a number of ground breaking,  influential and novel studies. This focus led to the creation of the Wildlife From Space Group in 2022, which Peter managers, which now has multiple ERCS and funded projects looking at a range of wildlife including emperor penguin, seals, walrus whales and flying seabirds.

In 2023 he received a prestigious Erskine Fellowship and is currently the chair of the SCAR Bedmap3 Action Group and the SOOS Censusing Animal Populations from Space (CAPS) group. He has published over a hundred papers and currently (2025) has a H index of 40.

He has also sat on a number of international steering committees and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Research interests

My work currently involves geospatial analysis and applied remote sensing across a range of environmental fields. Recent emphasis has been on the use of very high resolution satellite imagery to count and study wildlife, and the construction of digital elevation models such as the Bedmap3 project which mapped the bed topography of Antarctica. Additionally my roll includes supporting BAS science and logistics with mapping and geospatial analysis and managing the BAS Wildlife from Space group.

see https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=5qOogLUAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

Publications from NERC Open Research Archive

• Macdonald, G., Jamieson, S., Stokes, C., Fretwell, P., LaRue, M., Foster-Dyer, R., & Jenouvrier, S. (2026). Year-round estimates of penguin colony locations at the Atka Bay, Coulman Island, and Cape Washington colonies, 2017-2024 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/02155

• Fretwell, P., Bamford, C., Skachkova, A., Trathan, P., & Forcada, J. (2025). Model input and output statistics on fifteen-year assessment of emperor penguin breeding populations from the Bellingshausen sea to the Weddell sea from VHR satellite imagery, 2009-2023 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/c8d8ffe6-0aff-493c-b40f-e63f0c35f081

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., Cooper, P., & Skachkova, A. (2025). Medium resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.11 (Version 7.11) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/333065a9-633d-4005-ae41-fb7ae5ae7a91

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., Cooper, P., & Skachkova, A. (2025). Medium resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.11 (Version 7.11) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/981b1444-c57e-40f1-b6e9-884b44cad00e

• Skachkova, A., Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2025). Medium resolution vector polygons of Antarctic rock outcrop – VERSION 7.11 (Version 7.11) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/3f0c400f-04b9-4819-98cb-f6b53716aca5

• Davey, M., Thomson, A., Thomas, N., Gray, A., Smith, A., Colesie, C., Walshaw, C., Fretwell, P., Peck, L., Moulton, H., & Convey, P. (2025). Locations, descriptors, cell observations and model output for snow algae samples, Robert Island, South shetland islands, 2023 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/afd8a811-6e5e-4441-a409-0e6924c36fc4

• Fretwell, P., & Ireland, L. (2025). Imagery and crabeater seal point locations from aerial surveys of Crystal Sound and Marguerite Bay, West Antarctic Peninsula 2015 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/8262f384-88e7-4dad-89f5-45687b4e2d5a

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., Cooper, P., & Skachkova, A. (2025). High resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.11 (Version 7.11) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/cc0b73c0-3b53-40fb-ae84-b5dce4ac163a

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., Cooper, P., & Skachkova, A. (2025). High resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.11 (Version 7.11) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/7d6793c2-2513-4752-8f37-11db5b791fb5

• Skachkova, A., Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2025). High resolution vector polygons of Antarctic rock outcrop – VERSION 7.11 (Version 7.11) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/815525ca-cefe-4fbf-9224-3ee784e7de4e

• Gray, A., Davey, M., Thomson, A., Colesie, C., Convey, P., Fretwell, P., & Peck, L. (2025). Habitable area model output for green and red snow algae on the Antarctic peninsula with current and future climatic conditions, 2021 and 2100 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/3c636579-0389-4ba1-bf3d-d53f32892079

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2024). Medium resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.9 (Version 7.9) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/f2792d06-1e9d-4e00-a5c6-37d43bee5297

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2024). Medium resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.10 (Version 7.10) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/bc81931c-4e8e-439a-b3c9-d3d1fdb109df

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2024). Medium resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.9 (Version 7.9) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/aaec1295-b0a8-4c49-a751-d964c326ce8d

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2024). Medium resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.10 (Version 7.10) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/93ac35af-9ec7-4594-9aaa-0760a2b289d5

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2024). Medium resolution vector polygons of Antarctic rock outcrop – VERSION 7.10 (Version 7.10) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/4b179c31-9515-49f2-9859-542f4f0b0854

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2024). Medium resolution Antarctic moraine dataset – VERSION 7.10 (Version 7.10) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/4ed44a66-a39c-424a-b127-60c3b198831a

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2024). Medium resolution Antarctic lakes dataset – VERSION 7.10 (Version 7.10) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/c7aa01e5-9af4-453e-8836-16ef3e932c3b

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2024). High resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.9 (Version 7.9) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/45c3cc90-098b-45e3-a809-16b80eed4ec2

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2024). High resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.10 (Version 7.10) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/567c0911-83a0-493c-9dc7-15245c1c5f5e

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2024). High resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.9 (Version 7.9) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/9b4fab56-4999-4fe1-b17f-1466e41151c4

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2024). High resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.10 (Version 7.10) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/4ecd795d-e038-412f-b430-251b33fc880e

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2024). High resolution vector polygons of Antarctic rock outcrop – VERSION 7.10 (Version 7.10) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/48995a4f-bf1f-4ca5-adf9-ab0ec6b03e54

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2024). High resolution Antarctic moraine dataset – VERSION 7.10 (Version 7.10) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/bc9dbcff-a485-4e06-83d4-889d263c7ba2

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2024). High resolution Antarctic lakes dataset – VERSION 7.10 (Version 7.10) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/c5f17526-4ef5-412e-859a-2e7c45522d3c

• Francis, J., Wakefield, E., Jamieson, S., McClymont, E., Southwell, C., Emmerson, L., Hodgson, D., Phillips, R., & Fretwell, P. (2024). Global breeding distribution of the snow petrel (1843-2020) (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/3155805f-6d8b-4a27-8dbf-91f2c10a4ba7

• Fretwell, P. (2024). Emperor penguin colony locations derived from satellite remote sensing across Antarctica, 2023 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/fb0547e4-d2c1-4580-8c98-182f1da7d9ae

• 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

• Panigada, V., Bowler, E., & Fretwell, P. (2024). Annotated dataset of wandering albatrosses detected in Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery of South Georgia, Crozet Islands and Kerguelen Islands, from 2015-2017. (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/276367fa-03dd-4c80-9f7b-7652eb1664d9

• Panigada, V., Cubaynes, H., Fretwell, P., & Jackson, J. (2024). Annotated dataset of grey whales detected in Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery of Baja California Sur lagoons in 2009, 2013 and 2015. (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/2d8a4b45-e21f-47d4-8279-b4362489301e

• Panigada, V., Cubaynes, H., & Fretwell, P. (2024). Annotated dataset of beluga whales detected in Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery of the southern Kara Sea (Russia) in July 2016. (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/ae34b490-4838-4740-a78e-924d23dc5540

• Fretwell, P. (2023). Sentinel2 satellite imagery and derived geographic locations of emperor penguin colonies in the central and eastern Bellingshausen Sea between October and December, 2022 (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/a777e89c-ffcc-4ff4-981c-8f37e5ca84c2

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2023). Medium resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.8 (Version 7.8) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/cddac04f-ea6e-439f-9e54-36db0d8c843f

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2023). Medium resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.7 (Version 7.7) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/480d9361-4254-4250-9c3f-3342fbdabe5e

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2023). Medium resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.8 (Version 7.8) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/3ea85903-e068-4242-a63f-46767e16f85c

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2023). Medium resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.7 (Version 7.7) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/cc111b81-5066-42dd-be60-9f05abcb5873

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2023). High resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.8 (Version 7.8) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/98d7c98c-b223-4774-b20e-886630632b12

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2023). High resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.7 (Version 7.7) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/70ac5759-34ee-4f39-9069-2116db592340

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2023). High resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.8 (Version 7.8) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/c7fe759d-e042-479a-9ecf-274255b4f0a1

• Gerrish, L., Ireland, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2023). High resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.7 (Version 7.7) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/0be5339c-9d35-44c9-a10f-da4b5356840b

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2022). Medium resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.6 (Version 7.6) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/1db7f188-6c3e-46cf-a3bf-e39dbd77e14c

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2022). Medium resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.5 (Version 7.5) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/4e09c5d9-edf4-448e-aea7-2e56e9376aae

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2022). Medium resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.6 (Version 7.6) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/b5eaca58-2fce-4a68-bea5-fbafd7c90fa2

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2022). Medium resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.5 (Version 7.5) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/d30fa109-67e0-4c1d-8da9-c443834a366d

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2022). High resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.6 (Version 7.6) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/45174e8c-7ce8-4d87-a6f7-570db476c6c9

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2022). High resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.5 (Version 7.5) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/bc71347d-298a-4df3-88b0-cb9a908db166

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2022). High resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.6 (Version 7.6) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/e6cf8946-e493-4c36-b4f5-58f7a2ee2a74

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2022). High resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline – VERSION 7.5 (Version 7.5) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/ee7c6af2-da57-4519-8637-812eec5ff782

• 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

• Cubaynes, H., & Fretwell, P. (2021). Whales from Space Database: Image chips (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/90fab89e-5d07-4d5c-b619-60799a4d09f8

• Cubaynes, H., & Fretwell, P. (2021). Whales from Space Database (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/c1afe32c-493c-4dc7-af9f-649593b97b2c

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2021). Medium resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline (Version 7.4) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/824b5350-763e-4933-bb76-09f5d24cb033

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2021). Medium resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline (Version 7.4) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/e747e63e-9d93-49c2-bafc-cf3d3f8e5afa

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2021). High resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline (Version 7.4) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/e46be5bc-ef8e-4fd5-967b-92863fbe2835

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2021). High resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline (Version 7.4) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/cdeb448d-10de-4e6e-b56b-6a16f7c59095

• Belcher, A. (2021). Antarctic krill reflectance measurements – Spectroradiometer data (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/54643342-f2ed-43f4-ada2-87e81181ff88

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). Medium resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline (Version 7.2) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/3e2dee3a-8e15-4145-a3e2-68d532bd40d1

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). Medium resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline (Version 7.3) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/38f95030-09dd-4097-a97a-745fbbe27891

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). Medium resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline (Version 7.3) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/ed0a7b70-5adc-4c1e-8d8a-0bb5ee659d18

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). Medium resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline (Version 7.2) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/58f290ec-b729-40fa-95de-2fa1ac1ba265

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). Medium resolution vector polygons of Antarctic rock outcrop (Version 7.3) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/077e1f04-7068-4327-a4f2-71d863f70064

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). Medium resolution vector polygons of Antarctic rock outcrop (Version 7.2) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/33d793a4-b38c-4479-90de-5ad3cec03e17

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). Medium resolution vector contours for Antarctica (Version 7.3) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/0779002b-b95d-432f-b035-b952c36aa5c9

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). Medium resolution vector contours for Antarctica (Version 7.2) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/f46cf1f9-1a25-40d4-bfbc-5c6bb07cfc15

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). Medium resolution Antarctic moraine dataset (Version 7.2) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/6b6f968f-a04c-4652-9983-4c63f4b70ab6

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). Medium resolution Antarctic moraine dataset (Version 7.3) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/0f2e16f3-48cb-4d52-ba73-7ebc44a1985b

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). Medium resolution Antarctic lakes dataset (Version 7.2) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/c8570c1a-a75d-443e-a690-66fbe7d2f94c

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). Medium resolution Antarctic lakes dataset (Version 7.3) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/2f5f6c0a-4949-4153-8b22-a86337235a77

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). Low resolution vector contours for Antarctica (Version 7.2) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/4ca214fb-6fa5-4aae-877f-f86a87ab4f2d

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). High resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline (Version 7.2) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/b046fd0d-11ce-48a0-8e49-44694a4b889d

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). High resolution vector polylines of the Antarctic coastline (Version 7.3) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/ad7d345a-0650-4f44-b7eb-c48e1999086b

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). High resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline (Version 7.3) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/0a6d85d7-fc9c-4d68-a58d-e792f68ae9f4

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). High resolution vector polygons of the Antarctic coastline (Version 7.2) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/065b9abc-1b5a-4fc6-aa57-9052428aa6ca

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). High resolution vector polygons of Antarctic rock outcrop (Version 7.3) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/cbacce42-2fdc-4f06-bdc2-73b6c66aa641

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). High resolution vector polygons of Antarctic rock outcrop (Version 7.2) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/e30908fb-307e-4508-b391-3ccb55da9167

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). High resolution vector contours for Antarctica (Version 7.2) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/571c967c-d007-45b3-b327-64d11cb496f4

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). High resolution Antarctic moraine dataset (Version 7.3) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/84725134-262f-4c5c-a72e-0c7601c2f0da

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). High resolution Antarctic moraine dataset (Version 7.2) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/15da6d7d-481d-415d-bd87-b46ce8d1fa05

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). High resolution Antarctic lakes dataset (Version 7.3) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/6a27ab9e-1258-49b1-bd2c-fcbed310ab45

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). High resolution Antarctic lakes dataset (Version 7.2) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/40b92abc-b721-41e5-993d-ff5b2200f617

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). Antarctic streams dataset (Version 7.2) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/a96db7dd-d938-46cf-bc4d-cb4a92c8f429

• Gerrish, L., Fretwell, P., & Cooper, P. (2020). Antarctic streams dataset (Version 7.3) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/6a4d6fa2-d713-45ab-a30a-7130795e29d2

• Hodgson, D., Jordan, T., de Rydt, J., Fretwell, P., Seddon, S., Becker, D., Hogan, K., Smith, A., & Vaughan, D. (2019). Gravity enhanced bathymetric model beneath the Brunt Ice Shelf and Stancomb-Wills Glacier Tongue (Version 1) [Data set]. UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation. https://doi.org/10.5285/40bcedbe-fea0-4b41-b2f7-bf2d8494b5ad

• Fretwell, P., Hodgson, D., Hogan, K., Smith, J., Hillenbrand, C., Allen, C., Peck, V., Arndt, J., Dorschel, B., Hubscher, C., Smith, A., Larter, R., & Graham, A. (2019). A bathymetric compilation of the Brunt Sub-Iceshelf, Antarctica (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01134

• Burton-Johnson, A., Black, M., Fretwell, P., & Kaluza-Gilbert, J. (2016). Rock outcrop map of the Antarctic continent derived from Landsat 8 imagery (Version 1.0) [Data set]. Polar Data Centre; British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council; Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK.. https://doi.org/10.5285/f7947381-6fd7-466f-8894-25d3262cbcf5

• Fretwell, P. (2015). A bathymetric and topographic compilation of the South Sandwich Island Volcanic Arc (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/b8143952-421c-4544-8437-58f339253d30

• Fretwell, P., & PDC, U. (2008). Antarctic Peninsula Lake Database (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://data.bas.ac.uk/full-record.php?id=GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/00324

1. Counting Walruses from Space

   Despite their importance to Arctic ecosystems, we don’t know how many walruses exist. We’re using satellite images and citizen science to count walruses.

   Read more of: Counting Walruses from Space

   

2. South Georgia seabirds from space

   This project tests whether satellite imagery can be used to monitor breeding seabirds across the island group.

   Read more of: South Georgia seabirds from space

   

3. Snow Hill Emperor Penguin Expedition

   A BAS science team has returned from Snow Hill emperor penguin colony, where they have conducted survey work, collected guano samples for DNA analysis and deployed the first tracking tags on emperor penguins in the Weddell Sea.

   Read more of: Snow Hill Emperor Penguin Expedition

   

4. Zavodovski Expedition

   The first comprehensive scientific survey of Zavodovski Island, home to the world’s largest penguin colony.

   Read more of: Zavodovski Expedition

   

5. 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

   

6. Bedmap

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

   Read more of: Bedmap

   

7. Albatrosses from Space

   Albatrosses face multiple threats to their long-term survival. Using very high-resolution satellites, we are able to estimate the number of breeding pairs in remote locations.

   Read more of: Albatrosses from Space

   

8. Higher Predators – Long-Term Science

   Higher Predators carries out long-term science to measure changes in Antarctic ecosystems. The aim is to understand the processes that drive these changes.

   Read more of: Higher Predators – Long-Term Science

   

9. Wildlife from Space

   Many populations of wildlife are remote, inaccessible or difficult to monitor. The advent of sub-metre, Very-High-Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery has enabled us study these animals in a much more efficient way.

   Read more of: Wildlife from Space

   

10. 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

    

11. Hyperspectral imaging for Antarctic mapping

    The project has focused on exploiting information present in hyperspectral images, with a view to developing mapping tools to aid in the geological investigations.

    Read more of: Hyperspectral imaging for Antarctic mapping

    

1. Accidental discovery reveals grim future for emperor penguins

   Scientists studying satellite images of Antarctica have stumbled upon a discovery that sheds new light on emperor penguins – and reveals a troubling threat to their survival.

   Read more of: Accidental discovery reveals grim future for emperor penguins

   

2. 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.

   Read more of: New map of landscape beneath Antarctica unveiled

   

3. Satellite observations show accelerating greening of Antarctic Peninsula

   New research released today in Nature Geoscience reveals that vegetation cover on the Antarctic Peninsula has increased more than tenfold in the past four decades.

   Read more of: Satellite observations show accelerating greening of Antarctic Peninsula

   

4. First Antarctic-wide survey of plant life to aid conservation efforts

   The first continent-wide mapping study of plant life across Antarctica reveals growth in previously uncharted areas, and is set to inform conservation measures across the region.

   Read more of: First Antarctic-wide survey of plant life to aid conservation efforts

   

5. ‘Penguin detectives’ required for new counting app

   British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is inviting the public to become ‘penguin detectives’ and spend five minutes counting emperor penguins to help with vital research into these iconic animals.

   Read more of: ‘Penguin detectives’ required for new counting app

   

6. Emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica suffer as sea-ice diminishes

   Record low levels of Antarctic sea-ice in late 2023 resulted in breeding failures in a fifth of the continent’s emperor penguin colonies, according to a new study from British Antarctic Survey (BAS).  

   Read more of: Emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica suffer as sea-ice diminishes

   

7. Four new emperor penguin colonies found by satellite

   Scientists from British Antarctic Survey have discovered four previously unknown emperor penguin breeding sites.

   Read more of: Four new emperor penguin colonies found by satellite

   

8. Loss of sea ice causes catastrophic breeding failure for emperor penguins

   Emperor penguin colonies experienced unprecedented breeding failure in a region of Antarctica where there was total sea ice loss in 2022.

   Read more of: Loss of sea ice causes catastrophic breeding failure for emperor penguins

   

9. 60 years of Antarctic ice sheet data released

   In a significant milestone for Antarctic research, detailed and extensive information on ice thickness and bed topography is now available for the first time in a centralised and standardised format. […]

   Read more of: 60 years of Antarctic ice sheet data released

   

10. New emperor penguin colony discovered

    Scientists have discovered a new emperor penguin colony in Antarctica using satellite mapping technology. This new colony makes a total of 62 known emperor penguin colonies around the coastline of […]

    Read more of: New emperor penguin colony discovered

    

11. ‘Walrus detectives’ sought for conservation science

    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 of: ‘Walrus detectives’ sought for conservation science

    

12. Albatrosses from space: wildlife detectives needed!

    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 of: Albatrosses from space: wildlife detectives needed!

    

13. Scientists begin work counting Arctic walrus

    Researchers are heading to the Arctic to begin fieldwork to study walrus populations for the next stage in the Walrus from Space project.

    Read more of: Scientists begin work counting Arctic walrus

    

14. Whale images aid crucial research

    A new dataset featuring hundreds of satellite images of whales has been published to support the development of artificial intelligence systems which will aid crucial conservation work.

    Read more of: Whale images aid crucial research

    

15. Space technology and artificial intelligence to monitor whale mass stranding events

    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 of: Space technology and artificial intelligence to monitor whale mass stranding events

    

16. Universities Network: COP26 Images of Innovation Exhibition

    The Innovation Showcase explains how innovative science and technology is helping or, in future, could substantially help the goals of COP26 and of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enabling adaptation to climate change or informing action related to climate change.

    Read more of: Universities Network: COP26 Images of Innovation Exhibition

    

17. WALRUS FROM SPACE: Animal spotters wanted to join mass survey!

    British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and WWF are seeking the public’s help to search for walrus in thousands of satellite images taken from space, with the aim of learning more about […]

    Read more of: WALRUS FROM SPACE: Animal spotters wanted to join mass survey!

    

18. Climate change risk to emperor penguins

    British Antarctic Survey scientists have contributed to a new study published today (3 August)  which provides valuable new data highlighting how emperor penguins extinction risk is increased due to rapid […]

    Read more of: Climate change risk to emperor penguins

    

19. Global Biodiversity Festival

    Are you ready to explore the world from your living room? British Antarctic Survey scientists are taking part in the online Global Biodiversity Festival 2021. The Global Biodiversity Festival is […]

    Read more of: Global Biodiversity Festival

    

20. Using AI to track whales from space

    British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists will work with an Artificial Intelligence company after being awarded a contract from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to support the protection of an endangered […]

    Read more of: Using AI to track whales from space

    

21. A68 iceberg heads towards South Georgia

    An iceberg is heading towards the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. A68a – the size of the UK county of Somerset – broke off from the Larsen C ice shelf […]

    Read more of: A68 iceberg heads towards South Georgia

    

22. Scientists discover new penguin colonies from space

    A new study using satellite mapping technology reveals there are nearly 20% more emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica than was previously thought. The results provide an important benchmark for monitoring […]

    Read more of: Scientists discover new penguin colonies from space

    

23. ‘Emperor Penguin: Super Bird’ – Online Talk

    Homeschoolers and penguin fans! Join British Antarctic Survey penguin expert Dr Peter Fretwell this Tuesday 5 May at 2:00pm (UK time) for free online talk ‘Emperor Penguin: Super Bird’. Peter […]

    Read more of: ‘Emperor Penguin: Super Bird’ – Online Talk

    

24. New high-precision map of Antarctica’s bed topography

    A team of glaciologists has unveiled the most accurate portrait yet of the contours of the land beneath Antarctica’s ice sheet – and, by doing so, has helped identify which […]

    Read more of: New high-precision map of Antarctica’s bed topography

    

25. Stranded whales detected from space

    A new technique for analysing satellite images may help scientists detect and count stranded whales from space. Researchers tested a new detection method using Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite images […]

    Read more of: Stranded whales detected from space

    

26. Study recommends special protection of emperor penguins

    In a new study published this week (Wednesday 9 October) in the journal Biological Conservation, an international team of researchers recommends the need for additional measures to protect and conserve […]

    Read more of: Study recommends special protection of emperor penguins

    

27. Discovery of rare lava lake on remote sub-Antarctic island

    A team of scientists has discovered a rare lava lake on a remote and inaccessible sub-Antarctic island. This volcano in the South Sandwich Islands is only the 8th to be identified worldwide to have a persistent lava lake. 

    Read more of: Discovery of rare lava lake on remote sub-Antarctic island

    

28. “Catastrophic” breeding failure at one of world’s largest emperor penguin colonies

    Researchers at British Antarctic Survey have discovered “catastrophic” breeding failure at one of world’s largest emperor penguin colonies.

    Read more of: “Catastrophic” breeding failure at one of world’s largest emperor penguin colonies

    

29. Krill swarms responsible for ‘hidden’ carbon storage

    Large krill swarms in the Southern Ocean could help remove additional carbon from the atmosphere, in a way that is currently ‘hidden’ in global models. The new study is published […]

    Read more of: Krill swarms responsible for ‘hidden’ carbon storage

    

30. Watching whales from space

    Scientists have used detailed high-resolution satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies’ DigitalGlobe, to detect, count and describe four different species of whales. Reported this week in the journal Marine Mammal […]

    Read more of: Watching whales from space

    

31. Penguin colony repeatedly decimated by volcanic eruptions

    One of Antarctica’s biggest gentoo penguin colonies was repeatedly decimated by eruptions of the Deception Island volcano in recent millennia.

    Read more of: Penguin colony repeatedly decimated by volcanic eruptions

    

32. Penguin colonies at risk from erupting volcano

    A volcano erupting on a small island in the Sub Antarctic is depositing ash over one of the world’s largest penguin colonies.

    Read more of: Penguin colonies at risk from erupting volcano

    

33. NEWS STORY: Satellites spot seabird poo!

    Seabird poo has unique spectral signature visible from satellite images Scientists have discovered that penguin and seabird poo (guano) from colonies around the Antarctic Peninsula has a unique spectral signature […]

    Read more of: NEWS STORY: Satellites spot seabird poo!

    

34. NEWS STORY: New maps show unseen world

    New maps of the polar regions reveal unseen world beneath the ice and highlight dramatic decline in Arctic sea ice cover New maps of the sub-ice features in Antarctica and […]

    Read more of: NEWS STORY: New maps show unseen world

    

35. NEWS STORY: Emperor Penguins’ adaptation skills

    New research using satellite images reveals that emperor penguins are more willing to relocate than previously thought A new study led by the University of Minnesota offers new insights on […]

    Read more of: NEWS STORY: Emperor Penguins’ adaptation skills

    

36. PRESS RELEASE: Satellites identify whales

    Satellites help spot whales Scientists have demonstrated how new satellite technology can be used to count whales, and ultimately estimate their population size. Using Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery, […]

    Read more of: PRESS RELEASE: Satellites identify whales

    

37. PRESS RELEASE: Antarctic emperor penguins

    Antarctic emperor penguins may be adapting to warmer temperatures A new study of four Antarctic emperor penguin colonies suggest that unexpected breeding behaviour may be a sign that the birds […]

    Read more of: PRESS RELEASE: Antarctic emperor penguins

    

38. NEWS STORY: Award for innovative map

    Map makers rewarded for stunning recreation of Antarctic without ice A colourful British Antarctic Survey map has won a coveted award. The map, created by the institution’s MAGIC (Mapping and […]

    Read more of: NEWS STORY: Award for innovative map

    

39. 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 […]

    Read more of: NEWS STORY: Bedmap opens up Antarctica

    

40. PRESS RELEASE: Penguins surveyed from space

    Scientists count penguins from space A new study using satellite mapping technology reveals there are twice as many emperor penguins in Antarctica than was previously thought. The results provide an […]

    Read more of: PRESS RELEASE: Penguins surveyed from space