SEANA
Global shipping is undergoing significant changes. In January 2020 the maximum sulphur emission by ships in international waters will reduce from 3.5% to 0.5% by mass, as a result of …
The scientific evidence that the world’s climate is changing is extensive and clear. Understanding the role of the Polar Regions in climate change is not only a huge scientific challenge but also an urgent priority for society.
The Antarctic is a pivotal part of the Earth’s climate system and a sensitive barometer of environmental change. Although remote and inhospitable, Antarctica is Earth’s most powerful natural laboratory. Understanding how the Antarctic is responding to current climate change – and what the continent was like in the past – is essential if scientists are to be able to more accurately predict future climate change and provide accurate information to politicians and policy makers.
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has for the past 60 years been responsible for most of the UK’s scientific research in Antarctica and its current five-year research strategy is focussed on deepening our understanding of climate change.
Antarctic ice cores reveal the clearest link between levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the Earth’s temperature. They show that the temperature of the climate and the levels of greenhouse gases are intimately linked. In 2004, ice core scientists at BAS working together with colleagues from other European nations successfully extracted a three-kilometre ice core from the Antarctic. This core contains a record of the Earth’s climate stretching back 800,000 years – giving us by far the oldest continuous climate record yet obtained from ice cores.
BAS geologists can look back even further in time. By studying Antarctic rocks and sediments from the sea and lake beds, they are able to get a picture of what the Antarctic was like millions of years ago when the continent was warm and supported plants and animals such as dinosaurs. Understanding how the ice sheets that currently cover the continent developed and how they have receded in the past is essential if we are to be able to predict how those ice sheets will behave in a warmer world.
Much of BAS science is done on the Antarctic Peninsula – one of the fastest warming parts of the planet. BAS glaciologists are also studying the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, parts of which are thinning rapidly. Their work is crucial to understanding whether this thinning could signal the start of the ice sheet’s collapse, an event that would cause sea levels to rise much more than currently predicted.
On sea as well as on land, BAS scientists are investigating climate change. As the waters warm around Antarctica, ecologists at BAS are looking at how penguins, seals and the other species that make up one of the world’s largest marine ecosystems are responding.
Because the causes and effects of climate change are extraordinarily complex, assembling all the pieces of the climate change jigsaw is a huge challenge. By conducting world-class science in the Antarctic, BAS is making a significant contribution to meeting this challenge.
North Sea Methane
Offshore gas fields worldwide are major sources of methane emissions. Developing reliable methods to locate emissions and pinpoint sources is critical for quantifying the volume of methane emissions from gas …
Whole Atmosphere Climate Change
The near-Earth space environment is host to an increasing amount of advanced, satellite-based technology, used for both commercial and scientific purposes. To safeguard this technology and ensure that we can …
Percussive Rapid Access Isotope Drill
The ice sheets of Antarctica can be several kilometres thick, and contain precious information about the past climate. However, the bottoms of the ice sheets are melting, erasing this information. …
Stability and Instability – Records of External Drivers and Resulting Behaviour of Thwaites Glacier
THOR is a ship-based and ice-based project that will examine sedimentary record both offshore from the glacier and beneath the ice shelf, together with glacial landforms on the sea bed, …
Geological History Constraints on the Magnitude of Grounding Line Retreat in the Thwaites Glacier System
GHC (“Geological History Constraints”) will gather information about past ice sheet behaviour and relative sea level change in the Thwaites Glacier system. Determining the timing and magniture of past episodes …
Larsen-C Benthos
On 12 July 2017, the Larsen-C Ice Shelf calved one of the largest iceberg originating from the Antarctic Peninsula ever recorded. As iceberg A68 moves north, it leaves behind an …
Retreat of Southern Hemisphere Sea Ice, 127 000 years BP
Sea ice is the cause of the largest uncertainties in climate model projections of polar change in the Southern Hemisphere (SH). During the Last Interglacial (LIG), between 130 000 and …
Southern Ocean Carbon
The Southern Ocean is one of the most important and poorly understood components of the global carbon cycle that profoundly shapes Earth’s climate. It is the primary hot spot for …
National Capability for Global Challenges
Polar Expertise – Supporting Development
SubICE – Sub-Antarctic Ice Coring Expedition
The Sub-Antarctic – ice coring expedition (SubICE), part of the international Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE), successfully drilled several shallow ice cores, from five of the remote and globally significant sub-Antarctic …
Methane Observations and Yearly Assessments
Methane is one of the most important greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and changes in its concentration could have major influences on the Earth’s climate. Measurements made around the world …
Beyond Epica
A decade ago, the European EPICA project completed drilling a deep ice core at Dome C, revealing the close link between climate and atmospheric greenhouse gases over the past 800,000 …
Meteorology and Ozone Monitoring
Long-term meteorological and ozone observations and data help determine the causes of climate change in the polar regions. Meteorology Meteorological observations are made regularly throughout the day at Halley and …
Dynamics of the Orkney Passage Outflow (DynOPO)
Dynamics of the Orkney Passage Outflow (DynOPO) is a collaboration between BAS, the University of Southampton and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC). The project aims to investigate the flow of …
Weddell Sea ice sheet and climate
In the south of the Weddell Sea lies the Ronne and Filchner Ice Shelves. During the coldest part of the last glacial period about 25,000 years ago, the ice in …
The role of Antarctic sea-ice in global climate
Sea-ice is frequently cited as a likely driver and propagator of abrupt climate change because of the rapid and far-reaching impact of its feedbacks. However, numerical climate models are still …
The role of the Southern Ocean in regulating atmospheric CO2 on glacial-interglacial timescales
The cause of the variability in atmospheric CO2 over glacial-interglacial timescales has been a puzzle since its discovery in the early 1980s. It is widely believed to be related to …
Climate and Ice during the Last Interglacial
During the Last Interglacial (129-116 thousand years ago, ka) CO2 and global temperature were both higher than they were before human industrialisation. By examining Last Interglacial climate, we thus gain …
Antarctic Climate over the last millennia
The Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctica have warmed dramatically in recent decades, with some climate records indicating that these are among the most rapidly warming regions on Earth. The Antarctic …
Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Sea-Surface
In order to assess the impact of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) on the oceans today we are investigating the effect of decreasing upper ocean pH on calcifying zooplankton. Pteropods, …
West Antarctica wind strength and atmospheric circulation
Changes in wind strength and circulation patterns above the Antarctic Peninsula are linked to its warming and increased upwelling of warm circumpolar deep water, resulting in accelerated melting and thinning …
Late Quaternary changes in the Westerly Winds over the Southern Ocean
In this NERC-funded project, we are generating Southern Hemisphere Westerlies (SHW) proxy records from each of the three major sectors of the Southern Ocean, focusing on subantarctic islands situated in …
Arctic marine geophysics
This research focuses on investigating the glacial histories of Arctic ice sheets and ice caps using the marine geological record preserved on continental margins. By reconstructing past ice sheets, their …
BEAMISH: Basal Conditions on Rutford Ice Stream
The polar ice sheets play a major role in controlling Earth’s sea level and climate, but our understanding of their history and motion is poor. The biggest uncertainty in predicting …
ANiSEED – AmuNdsen Sea Embayment Exposure Dating
This project will reconstruct millennial-scale ice sheet change in the western Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica, using high-precision exposure dating.
Filchner Ice Shelf System, Antarctica
Understanding the contribution that polar ice sheets make to global sea-level rise is recognised internationally as urgent. The mission of this five-year project is to capture new observations and data …
ICE-ARC
physicists, chemists, biologists, economists, and sociologists from 21 institutes in 11 countries across Europe assess the rapid retreat and collapse of Arctic sea-ice cover
ISOL-ICE
PI: Markus M. Frey Co-I’s: X. Yang, R. Mulvaney NERC Grant: NE/N011813/1 The ozone layer shields all land-based life forms from harmful ultraviolet radiation; and indirectly influences the climate at …
iStar-D The contribution to sea-level rise from the Amundsen Sea sector of Antarctica
iStar-D will identify the potential contribution to sea-level rise, from ice locked in the Amundsen Sea sector of Antarctica
EU-PolarNet
A strategic framework to connect science and society
Antarctic temperature variability and change from station data
30 October, 2019
West Antarctic surface melt triggered by atmospheric rivers
28 October, 2019
Fungus-invertebrate interactions in Antarctica
1 June, 2019
Sea-level rise
21 May, 2019
Why is sea-level rise important? Sea-level rise increases the frequency and severity of storm surges and coastal flooding, causing serious damage to critical infrastructure and leading to the displacement of …
Global environmental consequences of 21st century ice sheet melt
6 February, 2019
Predicting which species succeed in climate-forced polar seas
17 January, 2019
Condition of pteropod shells near a volcanic CO2 vent region
1 January, 2019
The EU-PolarNet White Papers
1 January, 2019
Polar climate change as manifest in atmospheric circulation
1 December, 2018
Soil fungal responses to warming in polar regions
1 December, 2018
Blue carbon on polar and subpolar seabeds
5 November, 2018
Marine plastics threatens giant Atlantic Marine Protected Areas
20 October, 2018
Plastics in the Southern Ocean. (Guest editorial)
1 October, 2018
Revisiting the Relationship among Metrics of Tropical Expansion
1 September, 2018
Intense winter surface melt on an Antarctic ice shelf
1 August, 2018
Southern Ocean [in “State of the Climate in 2017”]
1 August, 2018
Microplastics in the Southern Ocean
16 May, 2018
Choosing the future of Antarctica
1 January, 2018
Plastics in the ocean: challenges and solutions
1 January, 2018
Surface temperatures of albatross eggs and nests
1 January, 2018
Response to van der Meer
18 December, 2017
The Response of Ice Sheets to Climate Variability
1 December, 2017
Heat flux distribution of Antarctica unveiled
28 November, 2017
The spatial structure of the 128 ka Antarctic sea ice minimum
16 November, 2017
Regional climate of the Larsen B embayment 1980–2014
1 August, 2017
Solve Antarctica’s sea-ice puzzle
19 July, 2017
A stochastic dynamical model of Arctic sea ice
1 July, 2017
Warm waters in West Antarctica
16 June, 2017
Polar oceans in a changing climate
1 June, 2017
Antarctica and climate change
1 April, 2017
According to the IPCC fifth assessment report, it is extremely likely (95-100% confidence) that human activities have been the dominant driver of global climate change since the mid-20th century. Antarctica, …
The Ozone Hole
1 April, 2017
It’s over 30 years since the discovery of the Ozone Hole drew world attention to the impact of human activity on the global environment. Why is the ozone layer important? …
Sea ice at both poles
17 March, 2017
What’s new about sea-ice data? Record low monthly sea-ice extents were observed in the Arctic in January, February, April, May, June, October, and November 2016, and then further records were …
Sources, dispersal and impacts of wastewater in Antarctica
30 September, 2016
How warm was Greenland during the last interglacial period?
29 September, 2016
Impact of melt water on high latitude early Last Interglacial climate
29 September, 2016
Vulnerability of Southern Ocean biota to climate change
27 April, 2016
Interglacials of the last 800,000 years
1 March, 2016
Robert Mossman, Endurance and the Weddell Sea ice
1 January, 2016
Multiple causes of the Younger Dryas cold period
1 December, 2015
Feedbacks on climate in the Earth system: introduction
13 November, 2015
Antarctic sea ice losses drive gains in benthic carbon drawdown
21 September, 2015
The ocean sampling day consortium
1 June, 2015
Foehn jets over the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica
1 April, 2015
Investigating Climate Change from the Stratosphere to Space
11 February, 2015
From ice to space
1 January, 2015
Boundary mixing in Orkney Passage outflow
1 December, 2014
Environment: Social change affects Antarctic priorities
24 September, 2014
Greenland deglaciation puzzles
5 September, 2014
Environmental setting
1 August, 2014
Bryozoa
1 August, 2014
Biogeographic Atlas of the Southern Ocean
1 August, 2014
Assessing status and change in Southern Ocean ecosystems
1 August, 2014
A fluid situation
1 May, 2014
Geothermal activity helps life survive glacial cycles
15 April, 2014
The thermal limits to life on Earth
1 April, 2014
How significant is West Antarctic warming?
28 March, 2014
Ice cores and climate change
1 March, 2014
Slices of ice core, drilled from the depths of the Earth’s ice sheets, reveal details of the planet’s past climate. Introduction Ice cores are cylinders of ice drilled out of …
Emperor penguins breeding on iceshelves
8 January, 2014
A horizon scan of global conservation issues for 2014
1 January, 2014
A 308-year record of climate variability in West Antarctica
28 October, 2013
A climatic history of West Antarctica
1 October, 2013
Entanglement of Antarctic fur seals at Bird Island, South Georgia
15 September, 2013
Mapping climate change in European temperature distributions
11 September, 2013
Polar fohn winds and warming over the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica
1 September, 2013
East Antarctica’s Achilles heel
21 July, 2013
Ice sheets and nitrogen
5 July, 2013
Ice core methods, conductivity studies
19 June, 2013
Paleoclimate, Paleoclimate history of the Arctic
19 June, 2013
Uncertain sea levels (Letter)
15 June, 2013
Unlocking the secrets of Antarctic moss banks
1 June, 2013
Sharp rise in summer melt on Antarctic Peninsula
1 June, 2013
On estimating local climate sensitivity
28 May, 2013
Climate change and the polar regions
1 May, 2013
Antarctica: global science from a frozen continent
4 April, 2013
Communicating climate science
1 April, 2013
Editorial: Past4Future – learning from interglacials
1 March, 2013
Contrasting climate change in the two polar regions
1 January, 2013
Summary for policymakers
1 January, 2013
Antarctica: a global change perspective
1 January, 2013
A reconciled estimate of ice sheet mass balance
19 December, 2012
Biological processes on glacier and ice sheet surfaces
18 December, 2012
The Antarctic Peninsula’s retreating ice shelves
1 January, 2012
The breakout in March 2008 of the Wilkins Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula is the latest drama in a region that has experienced unprecedented warming over the last 50 …
Weather and climate
1 January, 2012
Implementing a Southern Ocean Observing System
1 January, 2012
The Southern Ocean Observing System
1 January, 2012
A tale of two hemispheres
1 January, 2012
Editors’ comment
1 January, 2012
Can we predict the duration of an interglacial?
1 January, 2012
Phytoplankton phenology in the global ocean
1 January, 2012
Recent mass changes of glaciers in the Russian High Arctic
1 January, 2012
The Amundsen Sea and the Antarctic Ice Sheet
1 January, 2012
Wind-driven trends in Antarctic sea-ice drift
1 January, 2012
The Emperor strikes back
1 January, 2012
Climate of change?
1 January, 2012
Impact of climate change on Antarctic krill
1 January, 2012
The impacts of climate change on circumpolar biodiversity
1 January, 2012
Climate scientists need to study the public, too
1 January, 2012
Fixing a hole
1 January, 2012
Detection and attribution of Antarctic climate change
1 January, 2012
Polar marine ecosystems
1 January, 2012
Antarctic Peninsula. A visitor’s guide
1 January, 2012
Complexity and extreme events in geosciences: an overview
1 January, 2012
Sensitivity of Pliocene ice sheets to orbital forcing
15 August, 2011
Icy response
1 January, 2011
Methane and monsoons
1 January, 2011
Climate change in the polar regions
1 January, 2011
The hole in the ozone layer
1 January, 2011
The Antarctic ozone during 2010
1 January, 2011
Organisms and responses to environmental change
1 January, 2011
Climate change and ice cores
1 January, 2011
The Antarctic ozone hole during 2008 and 2009
1 January, 2011
Antarctic accumulation seasonality
1 January, 2011
The Mid-Brunhes Event and West Antarctic Ice Sheet stability
1 January, 2011
Antarctic terrestrial biodiversity in a changing world
1 January, 2011
The Twentieth Century Reanalysis Project
1 January, 2011
800,000 years of abrupt climate variability
1 January, 2011
A global continuous plankton recorder programme
1 January, 2010
History of sea ice in the Arctic
1 January, 2010
Setting the record straight on climate change
1 January, 2010
The future of ocean drilling in the Southern Ocean
1 January, 2010
A horizon scan of global conservation issues for 2010
1 January, 2010
Reflections on the ozone hole
1 January, 2010
Searching for the oldest ice
1 January, 2010
Antarctic clouds
1 January, 2010
Climate change: warm bath for an ice sheet
1 January, 2010
An analysis of cloud observations from Vernadsky, Antarctica
1 January, 2010
Update on CO2 emissions
1 January, 2010
Poor acclimation capacities in Antarctic marine ectotherms
1 January, 2010
Temperature and precipitation history of the Arctic
1 January, 2010
EPICA Dome C record of glacial and interglacial intensities
1 January, 2010
Trends in the land and ocean carbon uptake
1 January, 2010
Assessing the regional disparities in geoengineering impacts
1 January, 2010
Palaeoclimate Southern westerlies and CO2
1 January, 2010
Macroplastics at sea around Antarctica
1 January, 2010
Trends in the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide
17 November, 2009
Unlayering the ozone. An Earth sans sunscreen
1 January, 2009
The Arctic cryosphere in the Mid-Pliocene and the future
1 January, 2009
Freshwater transport at Fimbulisen, Antarctica
1 January, 2009
Ice sheets: indicators and instruments of climate change
1 January, 2009
Climate change: a cold blast of reality
1 January, 2009
Surface-ocean CO2 variability and vulnerability
1 January, 2009
Mixing on the continental slope of the southern Weddell Sea
1 January, 2009
Review. Antarctic climate change and the environment
1 January, 2009
The memory of polar ocean
1 January, 2009
Macrophysiology: a conceptual reunification
1 January, 2009
Warming on Antarctica’s western fringes
1 January, 2009
Impacts of the oceans on climate change
1 January, 2009
Closing the global budget for CO2
1 January, 2009
Antarctic biology, the International Polar Year, and beyond
1 January, 2009
Contrasting climate change in the two polar regions
1 January, 2009
Strong wind events in the Antarctic
1 January, 2009
Penguin responses to climate change in the Southern Ocean
1 January, 2009
Marine ice in Larsen Ice Shelf
1 January, 2009
Super-volcanic eruptions: noctilucent clouds
1 January, 2009
Geomagnetic and Solar Variability and Natural Climate Change
1 February, 2008
The Arctic and Antarctic: two faces of climate change
1 January, 2008
The heat is on
1 January, 2008
Saturated sink
1 January, 2008
The past 800 ka viewed through Antarctic ice cores
1 January, 2008
Cool chemistry
1 January, 2008
Ancient air in an Antarctic ice core
1 January, 2008
Minimizing our scientific footprints
1 January, 2008
The 2007 Antarctic ozone hole
1 January, 2008
The myth of the 1970s global cooling scientific consensus
1 January, 2008
Brachiopods and climate change
1 January, 2008
Antarctic climate change – why it matters to us
1 January, 2008
Pteropods in Southern Ocean ecosystems
1 January, 2008
High-latitude paleolimnology
1 January, 2008
West Antarctic links to sea level estimation
1 January, 2007
Perspectives on marine zooplankton lipids
1 January, 2007
Melting of floating ice and sea level rise
1 January, 2007
An Antarctic assessment of IPCC AR4 coupled models
1 January, 2007
Polar meltdown
1 January, 2007
Paleoclimatology
1 January, 2007
Ice core analysis and dating techniques
1 January, 2007
Frozen in time: the chemistry of polar ice cores
1 January, 2007
Workshop on the Antarctic wind field
1 January, 2007
Polar meteorology – understanding global impacts
1 January, 2007
Rapid climate change and the role of ocean circulation
1 January, 2007
Ozone and the polar stratosphere
1 January, 2007
Meteorological observing
1 January, 2007
Energy surveys of Antarctic research buildings
1 January, 2007
Global and regional drivers of accelerating CO2 emissions
1 January, 2007
The EDC3 chronology for the EPICA Dome C ice core
1 January, 2007
Toward a new generation of ice sheet models
1 January, 2007
Climate change
1 January, 2007
Antarctic climate variability and change
1 January, 2007
Seasonality
1 January, 2007
Observations: oceanic climate change and sea level
1 January, 2007
Marine debris
1 January, 2007
Climate change and invasibility of the Antarctic benthos
1 January, 2007
Polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic)
1 January, 2007
Synoptic-scale weather systems, fronts and jets
1 January, 2007
Temperature
1 January, 2007
Wind
1 January, 2007
Polar lows and other high latitude weather systems
1 January, 2007
European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA)
1 January, 2006
Antarctica: closer than you think
1 January, 2006
The future of ice core science
1 January, 2006
Antarctica and climate change – implications for governance
1 January, 2006
The unknown and the uncertain in Earth system modeling
1 January, 2006
Oil pollution in the Antarctic terrestrial environment
1 January, 2006
Physiological traits of organisms in a changing environment
1 January, 2006
The future of El Niño?
1 January, 2006
Forecasting future weather from rocks
1 January, 2006
The Antarctic: local signals, global messages
1 January, 2006
Polar systems
1 January, 2005
Distribution of soluble impurities in cold glacial ice
1 January, 2004
The EPICA challenge to the Earth system modeling community
1 January, 2004
Revealing Antarctica’s secrets
1 January, 2004
On Antarctic climate and change
1 January, 2004
The El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Antarctica
1 January, 2004
Possible descent across the ‘Tropopause’ in Antarctic winter
1 January, 2004
Cretaceous (Wealden) climates: a modelling perspective
1 January, 2004
Maastrichtian stratigraphy of Antarctica
1 January, 2004
Natural and plastic flotsam strading in the Indian Ocean
1 January, 2004
Eight glacial cycles from an Antarctic ice core
1 January, 2004
A review of stratospheric H2O and NO2
1 January, 2004
The international Antarctic weather forecasting handbook
1 January, 2004
Antarctic Climate Evolution (ACE) Research Initiative
1 January, 2003
Long-term variation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave
1 January, 2003
An ice core indicator of Antarctic sea ice production?
1 January, 2003
Whither Antarctic sea ice?
1 January, 2003
Air-ice chemical interactions (AICI)
1 January, 2003
Case study of a Chinese dust plume reaching the French Alps
1 January, 2003
Solar activity levels in 2100
1 January, 2003
Polar marine ecosystems: major threats and future change
1 January, 2003
Hermit crab real estate
1 January, 2003
Climatic control of ultraviolet radiation effects on lakes
1 January, 2003
Introduction
1 January, 2003
Conclusion and further research needs
1 January, 2003
Polar lows: mesoscale weather systems in the polar regions
1 January, 2003
Theoretical investigations
1 January, 2003
Serial development of polar lows
1 January, 2003
Forecasting of polar lows
1 January, 2003
Stable-isotope records from Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica
1 January, 2002
Environmental change and Antarctic seabird populations
1 January, 2002
Antarctic glacial history and sea-level change
1 January, 2002
Polar punches and tropical truces
1 January, 2002
Extending the ice core record beyond half a million years
1 January, 2002
Ecological responses to recent climate change
1 January, 2002
Recent temperature trends in the Antarctic
1 January, 2002
Antarctic climate
1 January, 2002
Extreme responses to climate change in Antarctic lakes
1 January, 2002
1000 year ice-core records from Berkner Island, Antarctica
1 January, 2002
Invasions by marine life on plastic debris
1 January, 2002
Climate change: Devil in the detail
1 January, 2001
Measurements of NOx emissions from the Antarctic snowpack
1 January, 2001
Killing Kyoto
1 January, 2001
The International Antarctic Weather Forecasting Handbook
1 January, 2001
Ice in the earth system: the view from above
1 January, 2001
Polar regions (Arctic and Antarctic)
1 January, 2001
An extreme wind event at Casey Station, Antarctica
1 January, 2001
Macrofossils from CRP-2/2A, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica
1 January, 2000
Migration of methane sulphonate in Antarctic firn and ice
1 January, 2000
Climate change and Antarctica
1 January, 2000
Ice work
1 January, 2000
A good millennium?
1 January, 2000
History of the atmosphere from ice cores
1 January, 2000
What is the state of the Antarctic environment? (editorial)
1 January, 2000
A potent greenhouse gas identified in the atmosphere: SF5CF3
1 January, 2000
Long term change – introduction
1 January, 2000
The international Antarctic weather forecasting handbook
1 January, 2000
Meteor, South Atlantic Ocean, 22 March 1999
1 January, 2000
Cutting edge
19 December, 1999
Global change and the polar regions
1 January, 1999
An assessment of three automatic depression tracking schemes
1 January, 1999
Climatic change and global warming: an Antarctic Case Study
1 January, 1999
Surface ablation rates on Moraine Corrie Glacier, Antarctica
1 January, 1999
Climate change from an Antarctic perspective
1 January, 1998
Background to CRP-1, Cape Roberts Project, Antarctica
1 January, 1998
Preface [to special section on Greenland Summit Ice Cores]
1 November, 1997
Climate change: Icy message from the Antarctic
1 September, 1997
Climate change from an Antarctic perspective
1 September, 1997
An evolutionary framework for the polar regions
1 January, 1997
Synthesis: polar deserts as indicators of change
1 January, 1997
Environmental monitoring – measuring the damage
1 January, 1997
The Antarctic temperature inversion
1 December, 1996
Location, movement and reactions of impurities in solid ice
1 January, 1996
Interpreting natural climate signals in ice cores
1 November, 1995
Ice cores: profiles of the past
1 January, 1995
Oiled penguins observed at Bird Island, South Georgia
1 January, 1995
Shipboard oil pollution emergency plan: RRS Bransfield
1 January, 1995
Shipboard oil pollution emergency plan: RRS James Clark Ross
1 January, 1995
Nitrate in polar ice
1 January, 1995
Vascular plants as bioindicators of regional warming in Antarctica
1 September, 1994
Temperature and extinction in the sea: a physiologist’s view
1 January, 1993
The sedimentary record of Antarctic climate change
1 November, 1992
Global climate models and Antarctica
1 January, 1992
The response of large ice sheets to climatic change
1 January, 1992
Estimating ice-sheet response to climate change
1 January, 1992
Snow surface temperatures in West Antarctica
1 January, 1992
Ice core evidence from the Antarctic Peninsula region
1 January, 1992
Merely the tip of the ice core
1 January, 1992
Ocean circulation beneath the Ronne ice shelf
1 November, 1991
Hydrocarbons in the Antarctic marine environment
1 September, 1991
Polar ice cores and climate history
1 April, 1991
The response of the Antarctic ice sheet to climatic change
1 January, 1991
Global warming and Antarctica
1 January, 1991
Antarctic ice studies in global climatic change: a comment
1 January, 1991
Stratospheric ozone 1991
1 January, 1991
Signals of atmospheric pollution in polar snow and ice
1 September, 1990
Effects on ecosystems
1 January, 1990
Warmest year on record on the Antarctic Peninsula?
1 January, 1990
Sea level rise
1 January, 1990
Analysis of Antarctic snow and ice
1 January, 1990
Ice-age clues for warmer world
1 June, 1989
Trace metals and organic compounds in ice cores
1 January, 1989
Leg 113 explores climatic changes
1 January, 1987
Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems
1 January, 1987
Late Mesozoic bipolar bivalve faunas
1 January, 1986
Climate, pollution and ice
1 January, 1986
Trace elements in Antarctic air and snowfall
1 January, 1985
The record of global pollution in polar snow and ice
1 January, 1985
Recent temperature changes in the Arctic and Antarctic
1 January, 1983
Towards an inventory of the great ice sheets
1 January, 1983
Effect of climatic warming on the West Antarctic ice sheet
1 January, 1979
Hydrocarbons in the marine environment
1 January, 1978
The search for organochlorine residues in Antarctic snow
1 January, 1977
Organochlorine residues in Antarctic snow
1 January, 1975
The study of global atmospheric pollution in Antarctica
1 January, 1975
Stranded whales detected from space
17 October, 2019
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 …
Solar heat drives rapid melting of Antarctic Ice Shelf
29 April, 2019
A section of the world’s largest ice shelf in Antarctica – around the size of Spain – is melting 10 times faster than average and warm ocean currents beneath it …
“Catastrophic” breeding failure at one of world’s largest emperor penguin colonies
25 April, 2019
Researchers at British Antarctic Survey have discovered “catastrophic” breeding failure at one of world’s largest emperor penguin colonies.
New mission for 1.5 million year climate record
9 April, 2019
This week a team of European researchers announces its plans for an ambitious mission to find the oldest ice on Earth (9 April 2019). Antarctica’s ice has the potential to …
Antarctic snowfall dominated by a few extreme snowstorms
25 March, 2019
A new study reveals the importance of a small number of intense storms around Antarctica in controlling the amount of snow falling across the continent.
Arctic sea ice loss in past linked to abrupt climate events
12 February, 2019
A new study on ice cores shows that reductions in sea ice in the Arctic in the period between 30-100,000 years ago led to major climate events. During this period, …
Study shows melting ice sheets will disrupt climate
7 February, 2019
Water entering the oceans from melting ice sheets could cause extreme weather and a change in ocean circulation not currently accounted for in global climate policies, a new study published …
Scientists drill to record depths in West Antarctica
24 January, 2019
A team of scientists and engineers has for the first time successfully drilled over two kilometres through the ice sheet in West Antarctica using hot water. This research will help …
Scientists highlight Arctic at World Economic Forum
23 January, 2019
A team of Arctic scientists – including British Antarctic Survey (BAS) climate scientist Dr Jeremy Wilkinson – are hosting their Arctic Basecamp in Davos this week (23 January) at the …
Funding to assess shipping emissions and climate hazards
13 December, 2018
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists have been awarded funding to enable them to assess the impact of emissions from shipping and to quantify and manage the risk of climate hazards. …
Discovery of high geothermal heat at South Pole
14 November, 2018
Scientists have discovered an area near the South Pole where the base of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is melting unexpectedly quickly. Using radar to look through three km of ice, …
Prestigious award for BAS early career scientist
6 November, 2018
Congratulations to Dr Emilie Capron who has been awarded the prestigious Early Career Scientist Award of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG). Dr Capron is a palaeoclimatologist at British …
Increases in winds weaken Southern Ocean carbon sink
23 July, 2018
A new study of lake sediments from the sub-Antarctic reveals for the first time that increases in westerly winds are likely to reduce the ability of the Southern Ocean to …
FEATURED PAPER: Sea-ice loss impacts Northern Hemisphere
20 June, 2018
This study, led by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey, suggests that sea-ice loss in different regions of the Arctic, and of different amounts, leads to different effects on surface …
Hay Festival short film highlights Antarctic climate science
29 May, 2018
Leading climate scientist and BAS oceanographer Dr Emily Shuckburgh worked with award-winning author and illustrator Chris Haughton to create the short film Message from Antarctica. This is part of the …
European wind energy generation potential in a 1.5˚C world
17 May, 2018
The UK and large parts of northern Europe could become windier if global temperatures reach 1.5˚C above pre-industrial levels, according to a new study. This has implications for wind energy …
Most detailed study of global climate variability around the world
8 February, 2018
The most comprehensive study of the variability of temperature globally is published this week in the journal Nature. It reveals the degree to which temperature fluctuations reduced from the last …
Scientists gather in Davos to highlight Arctic climate change
23 January, 2018
A team of leading Arctic scientists – including British Antarctic Survey glaciologist Dr Jeremy Wilkinson – are gathering in Davos this week at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting (23-24 …
New map reveals landscape beneath Greenland’s ice sheet
14 December, 2017
A new map of what lies beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet is published this week (Thursday 14 December 2017). By providing scientists with the most comprehensive, high resolution and accurate …
Tiny ice losses at Antarctica’s fringes can accelerate ice loss far away
11 December, 2017
A thinning of small areas of floating ice at Antarctica’s coast can accelerate the movement of ice grounded on rocks hundreds of kilometres away, a new study involving scientists from …
Giant West Antarctic iceberg disintegrates
29 November, 2017
An animation of the giant iceberg that calved off the Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica just over two months ago shows an unexpected break up. Satellite images revealed a …
Albatrosses in decline from fishing and environmental change
20 November, 2017
The populations of wandering, black-browed and grey-headed albatrosses have halved over the last 35 years on sub-antarctic Bird Island according to a new study published today (20 November) in the …
Study sheds new light on krill larvae survival
14 November, 2017
An international study involving British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists has shed light on how the larvae of Antarctic krill – small shrimp-like crustaceans – use sea ice to ensure their …
FEATURED PAPER: Temperature change in Sichuan
13 November, 2017
The Sichuan basin is one of the most densely populated regions of China. Along with insufficient arable land and economic underdevelopments, this region is particularly vulnerable to climate-related stresses. Improving …
New Antarctic heat map reveals sub-ice hotspots
13 November, 2017
An international team of scientists, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), has produced a new map showing how much heat from the Earth’s interior is reaching the base of the …
BAS scientists at 2017 COP23 climate event in Bonn
8 November, 2017
This week (10-11 November) leading scientists and experts from EU-funded research programmes engage with political leaders from the Pacific Ocean and the Arctic to examine the economic and social consequences …
New study calls for unified research to understand changing ecosystems
2 October, 2017
A new multidisciplinary study led by scientists at British Antarctic Study (BAS) stresses the need for an integrated approach to understand the effects of climate change on Antarctic marine ecosystems. …
Large iceberg breaks off Pine Island Glacier
27 September, 2017
Latest satellite images reveal a new 100-square-mile iceberg emerging from Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier. The calving event did not come as a complete surprise, but is a troubling sign with …
Arctic sea ice at minimum extent for 2017
25 September, 2017
Arctic sea ice extent has likely reached its minimum extent for the year, at 4.64 million square kilometers (1.79 million square miles) on September 13, 2017, according to a team …
More losers than winners for Southern Ocean marine life
4 September, 2017
A new study of the marine invertebrates living in the seas around Antarctica reveals there will be more ‘losers’ than ‘winners’ over the next century as the Antarctic seafloor warms. …
Climate Scientist awarded Prestigious Mathematical prize
18 July, 2017
Last week (12th July) Dr Emily Shuckburgh travelled to Pittsburgh, USA, and received the prestigious 2017 I. E. Block Community Lecture prize from SIAM – the Society for Industrial and …
Huge Antarctic iceberg finally breaks free
12 July, 2017
After months of ‘hanging by a thread’ a vast iceberg the size of Norfolk has finally broken off Antarctica’s Larsen C Ice Shelf. Around 30 metres of this 190m thick …
Study shows ice sheet loss over the last 11,000 years
5 July, 2017
Reporting this week (Wednesday 5 July) in the journal Nature, an international team of researchers led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) explains that wind-driven incursions of warm water forced the …
UK scientists to explore Changing Arctic Ocean
3 July, 2017
A new £10 million research programme to investigate how the Arctic Ocean is changing kicked off last week (Friday 30 June) with its first research expedition to the Barents Sea. …
Climate change may cause expansion to ice-free areas across Antarctica
29 June, 2017
Ice-free areas in Antarctica could expand by close to 25 per cent by 2100 and drastically change the biodiversity of the continent, research published this week in Nature has shown. …
Storms caused massive Antarctic sea ice loss in 2016
23 June, 2017
A series of unprecedented storms over the Southern Ocean likely caused the most dramatic decline in Antarctic sea ice seen to date, a new study finds. Antarctic sea ice – …
New insight into what weakens Antarctic ice shelves
25 April, 2017
New research describes for the first time the role that warm, dry winds play in influencing the behaviour of Antarctic ice shelves. Presenting this week at a European conference scientists …
Penguin colony repeatedly decimated by volcanic eruptions
11 April, 2017
One of Antarctica’s biggest gentoo penguin colonies was repeatedly decimated by eruptions of the Deception Island volcano in recent millennia.
Ice cap once covered sub-antarctic island of South Georgia
17 March, 2017
A new study reveals the sub-antarctic island of South Georgia – famous for its wildlife – was covered by a massive ice cap during the last ice age. The results …
Raising Horizons: Portraits of women in science
2 March, 2017
BAS Director features in photographic portraits of women in science
Signy Island is hottest place in the Antarctic
1 March, 2017
A World Meteorological Organization (WMO) committee of experts announces this week (Wed 1 March) new records for the highest temperatures recorded in the Antarctic Region. The results are part of …
New footage shows crack in Larsen C Ice Shelf
21 February, 2017
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) recently captured this video footage of a huge crack in the Larsen C Ice Shelf, on the Antarctic Peninsula. Currently a huge iceberg, roughly the size …
Antarctic sea ice extent lowest on record
16 February, 2017
This year the extent of summer sea ice in the Antarctic is the lowest on record. The Antarctic sea ice minimum marks the day – typically towards end of February …
Scientists gather for urgent meeting on Arctic change
18 January, 2017
Leading scientists gather at Davos today (18 January), with Al Gore and Christiana Figueres, for an urgent meeting on Arctic change. Growing concern prompts ‘Arctic Basecamp’ at World Economic Forum …
Polar oceanographer co-authors climate change Ladybird book with HRH Prince of Wales and Tony Juniper
15 January, 2017
British Antarctic Survey scientist Dr Emily Shuckburgh OBE has co-authored a book on climate change as part of the new Ladybird Expert series, it was announced today. Her co-authors are His …
ANTARCTIC BLOG: Working on the Polar Plateau
15 January, 2017
A new blog post from a team comprising polar atmosphere and ice chemist Holly Winton, analytical chemist Rebecca Tuckwell and atmospheric and glaciochemist Markus Frey who are working on the …
Arctic Basecamp will move to Davos
21 December, 2016
Science Summit will call on global leaders for immediate action on the Arctic A group of leading scientists have announced an Arctic Science Summit that will take place in Davos, …
Quest begins for oldest ice on Earth
14 November, 2016
First phase of project to collect 1.5 million years of climate data in Antarctica A team of European scientists heads to East Antarctica this month to locate the oldest ice …
FEATURED PAPER: Sea-ice reduction
18 October, 2016
A team of British climate scientists comparing today’s environment with the warm period before the last ice age has discovered a 65% reduction of Antarctic sea ice around 128,000 years …
New polar ship reaches first construction milestone
17 October, 2016
Keel-laying ceremony at Cammell Laird
Arctic sea ice heading towards second lowest on record
15 September, 2016
This year the extent of summer sea ice in the Arctic is heading towards being the second lowest on record. The Arctic sea ice minimum marks the day – typically …
New Antarctic ice discovery aids future climate predictions
16 August, 2016
A team of British climate scientists comparing today’s environment with the warm period before the last ice age has discovered a 65% reduction of Antarctic sea ice around 128,000 years …
Polar ice reveals secrets of carbon-climate feedbacks
26 July, 2016
An international team of scientists have used air bubbles in polar ice from pre-industrial times to measure the sensitivity of the Earth’s land biosphere to changes in temperature.
A recent pause in Antarctic Peninsula warming
20 July, 2016
The rapid warming of the Antarctic Peninsula, which occurred from the early-1950s to the late 1990s, has paused. Stabilisation of the ozone hole along with natural climate variability were significant in bringing about the change. Together these influences have now caused the northern part of the peninsula to enter a temporary cooling phase. Temperatures remain higher than measured during the middle of the 20th Century and glacial retreat is still taking place. However, scientists predict that if greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise at the current rate, temperatures will increase across the Antarctic Peninsula by several degrees Centigrade by the end of this century.
Ocean warming primary cause of glacier retreat
14 July, 2016
A new study has found for the first time that ocean warming is the primary cause of retreat of glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula. The Peninsula is one of the largest current contributors to sea-level rise and this new finding will enable researchers to make better predictions of ice loss from this region.
Wind-blown Antarctic sea ice helps drive ocean circulation
27 June, 2016
Antarctic sea ice is constantly on the move as powerful winds blow it away from the coast and out toward the open ocean. A new study published today in the journal Nature Geoscience (Monday 27 June) shows how that ice migration may be more important for the global ocean circulation than anyone realized.
Carbon dioxide level breached at Halley VI
16 June, 2016
Levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere – which is the leading driver of recent climate change – have reached a milestone at British Antarctic Survey’s …
FEATURED PAPER: Circulation changes off West Antarctica
17 March, 2016
The Amundsen Sea Low (ASL) is a climatological low pressure system located over the southern Pacific Ocean, off the coast of West Antarctica. Atmospheric variability in this region is larger …
NEWS STORY: Consultation – polar research priorities for Europe
17 February, 2016
Take part in an online consultation about Europe’s research priorities for the Polar Regions
NEWS STORY: Lake drainage affected climate
17 February, 2016
The catastrophic release of fresh water from a vast South American lake at the end of the last Ice Age was significant enough to change circulation in the Pacific Ocean …
FEATURED PAPER: Improving climate predictions
19 November, 2015
The Earth’s climate was warmer than today by at least 1°C during the Last Interglacial (between 129,000 and 116,000 years ago). Thus, the Last Interglacial represents an invaluable case study …
PRESS RELEASE: West Antarctica snow accumulation
4 November, 2015
West Antarctic coastal snow accumulation rose 30 percent during 20th century Annual snow accumulation on West Antarctica’s coastal ice sheet increased dramatically during the 20th century, according to a new …
NEWS STORY: New polar ship bidder selected
12 October, 2015
Government announces preferred bidder to build new polar ship Minister of State for Universities and Science, Jo Johnson announced today that the preferred bidder to build a new polar research …
NEWS STORY: Arctic sea ice 2015
17 September, 2015
Arctic sea ice 2015 On September 11, the National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) reported that Arctic sea ice reached its likely minimum extent for 2015. The minimum ice …
NEWS STORY: NERC to invest £16m in Arctic Ocean change research
30 July, 2015
The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has announced it will invest £16m in research to study the effects of dramatic changes in Arctic ice cover over the last three decades on …
NEWS STORY: Polar ice cores reveal volcanic eruptions
8 July, 2015
Polar ice cores reveal volcanic eruptions that changed human history Researchers find new evidence that large eruptions were responsible for cold temperature extremes recorded since early Roman times A freshly …
NEWS STORY: Frozen in to the Arctic winter
10 March, 2015
Extreme science in extreme conditions: frozen in to the Arctic winter Dr Markus Frey, a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) ice and atmospheric scientist, is living and working aboard the Norwegian …
NEWS STORY: Events in Cambridge and Manchester
6 February, 2015
‘Ice-Spy in the Antarctic’ Thursday 19 February 11.00 – 11:25 14:00 – 14:25 Cambridge Science Centre, Jesus Lane, Cambridge How do you track the ice that floats in the polar …
PRESS RELEASE: Mapping the ice from below
24 November, 2014
Underwater robot sheds new light on Antarctic sea ice The first detailed, high-resolution 3-D maps of Antarctic sea ice have been developed using an underwater robot. Scientists from the UK, …
NEWS STORY: Sea ice minimum explained
18 September, 2014
Arctic sea ice summer minimum 2014: A scientific perspective The Arctic sea ice minimum marks the day – typically in September – when sea ice reaches its smallest extent at …
NEWS STORY: Changes in winds in south
12 May, 2014
Ocean winds keep Australia dry and Antarctica cold New research explains why Antarctica is not warming as much as other continents, and why southern Australia is recording more droughts. Analysis …
NEWS STORY: Unlocking clues to past climate
1 May, 2014
Earth’s last warm phase exposed Analysis of data collected from ice cores and marine sediment cores in both polar regions has given scientists a clearer picture of how the Earth’s …
NEWS STORY: Arctic sea ice trends
13 February, 2014
British Antarctic Survey coordinates Arctic sea-ice investigation Arctic sea-ice cover is retreating at an unprecedented rate. Scientists fear we may see the complete loss of sea ice during the summer …
PRESS RELEASE: Antarctic emperor penguins
8 January, 2014
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 …
PRESS RELEASE: Pine Island Glacier and climatic variability
2 January, 2014
Pine Island Glacier sensitive to climatic variability A new study published in Science this month suggests the thinning of Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica is much more susceptible to …
NEWS STORY: World’s coldest place identified
12 December, 2013
Scientists working at the United States National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) said this week they have identified the coldest place on Earth using satellite observations of surface temperature. …
NEWS STORY: Climate records from ice cores
5 December, 2013
New ice core record shows climate variability in West Antarctica A 308-year ice core record provides new data on climate variability in coastal West Antarctica and shows that a clear …
NEWS STORY: IPCC climate report published today
27 September, 2013
The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is published today. The report entitled Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis, presents a synthesis of …
NEWS STORY: Storm events link identified
17 April, 2013
Jet stream influences extreme storms A new study of Europe’s extreme storm events reveals that they often occur near the jet stream – the fast flowing air currents that flow …
PRESS RELEASE: Summer melt season extending
28 March, 2013
Summer melt season is getting longer on the Antarctic Peninsula, new data show New research from the Antarctic Peninsula shows that the summer melt season has been getting longer over …
NEWS STORY: Greenland ice shows past trends
23 January, 2013
Greenland ice core reveals warm past temperatures British Antarctic Survey scientists have contributed to a new study published in Nature (Thursday 24 January) that provides surprising details on changes in …
PRESS RELEASE: Changing winds increasing sea ice cover
11 November, 2012
Why Antarctic sea ice cover has increased under the effects of climate change The first direct evidence that marked changes to Antarctic sea ice drift have occurred over the last …
PRESS RELEASE: Antarctica’s climate timeline
22 August, 2012
New climate history adds to understanding of recent Antarctic Peninsula warming Results published this week by a team of polar scientists from Britain, Australia and France adds a new dimension …
PRESS RELEASE: Air flows explain record low
11 January, 2010
New research sheds light on Earth”s coldest temperatures Results from the first detailed analysis of the lowest ever temperature recorded on the Earth’s surface can explain why it got so …
PRESS RELEASE: Warmer spells detected in ice cores
18 November, 2009
Mysteriously warm times in Antarctica A new study of Antarctica’s past climate reveals that temperatures during the warm periods between ice ages (interglacials) may have been higher than previously thought. …