SIWHA
SIWHA is a trilateral project between India, the UK and Norway. The aim is to drill a 500 m ice core in coastal East Antarctica. The ice core will provide …
Understanding the role of the Polar Regions in climate change is a huge scientific challenge and an urgent priority for society. Our multidisciplinary climate research programmes investigate a wide range of science questions providing accurate information to politicians and policy makers.
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.
SIWHA is a trilateral project between India, the UK and Norway. The aim is to drill a 500 m ice core in coastal East Antarctica. The ice core will provide …
In order to accurately predict impacts of space weather and climate variability on the whole atmosphere we need an accurate representation of the whole atmosphere. The mesosphere (~50-95 km altitude) …
Polar Zero forms a major part of British Antarctic Survey’s (BAS) multi-media engagement plan for COP 26. Ice Stories draws on personal anecdotes, memories and oral testimonies from the national …
The Polar Zero experience at Glasgow Science Centre is a fusion of science and art made for COP26 climate summit
This collaborative project is born from exploring novel ways of visualising environmental data and telling the climate change story. Read more about the project and the science behind it through the project page.
The biases observed in climate models over the Southern Ocean in surface radiation and sea surface temperature are larger than anywhere else in the world. They have a fundamental impact …
This work is part of the EU Tipping Points in the Earth System (TiPES) project (https://www.tipes.dk/) . We will add water tracers (including stable water isotopes) to the UK Earth …
We are constructing observationally-constrained estimates of the state of the Weddell Gyre, including associated ice shelves and sea ice Introduction In the 25 years between 1992 and 2017, ocean melting …
Ice Floor, is an immersive exhibition commissioned by engineering consultants Arup. UK born artist Wayne Binitie created the installation.
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Polar Expertise – Supporting Development
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 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 …
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 …
Reliable projections of the Earth’s climate are at the heart of scientific support for international efforts to address global change. There is increasing recognition that reliable projections require that physical …
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) is a collaboration between BAS, the University of Southampton and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC). The project aims to investigate the flow of …
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 …
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 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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
This project will reconstruct millennial-scale ice sheet change in the western Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica, using high-precision exposure dating.
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 …
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
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 will identify the potential contribution to sea-level rise, from ice locked in the Amundsen Sea sector of Antarctica
A strategic framework to connect science and society
1 January, 2021
1 January, 2021
1 January, 2021
6 January, 2020
28 October, 2019
1 June, 2019
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 …
6 February, 2019
17 January, 2019
1 January, 2019
1 January, 2019
1 January, 2019
1 January, 2019
1 December, 2018
1 December, 2018
5 November, 2018
20 October, 2018
1 October, 2018
1 September, 2018
1 August, 2018
1 August, 2018
16 May, 2018
1 January, 2018
1 January, 2018
1 January, 2018
18 December, 2017
1 December, 2017
28 November, 2017
16 November, 2017
1 August, 2017
19 July, 2017
1 July, 2017
16 June, 2017
1 June, 2017
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, …
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? …
17 March, 2017
What’s new about sea-ice data? Conditions in the Arctic in 2020 look set to be the hottest on record. We will soon learn of the impact of these conditions on …
30 September, 2016
29 September, 2016
29 September, 2016
27 April, 2016
1 March, 2016
1 January, 2016
1 December, 2015
13 November, 2015
21 September, 2015
1 June, 2015
1 April, 2015
11 February, 2015
1 January, 2015
1 December, 2014
28 November, 2014
24 September, 2014
5 September, 2014
1 August, 2014
1 August, 2014
1 August, 2014
1 August, 2014
1 May, 2014
15 April, 2014
1 April, 2014
28 March, 2014
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 …
8 January, 2014
1 January, 2014
28 October, 2013
1 October, 2013
15 September, 2013
11 September, 2013
1 September, 2013
21 July, 2013
5 July, 2013
19 June, 2013
19 June, 2013
15 June, 2013
1 June, 2013
1 June, 2013
28 May, 2013
1 May, 2013
4 April, 2013
1 April, 2013
1 March, 2013
1 January, 2013
1 January, 2013
1 January, 2013
19 December, 2012
18 December, 2012
15 December, 2012
24 October, 2012
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 …
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
1 January, 2012
15 August, 2011
1 January, 2011
1 January, 2011
1 January, 2011
1 January, 2011
1 January, 2011
1 January, 2011
1 January, 2011
1 January, 2011
1 January, 2011
1 January, 2011
1 January, 2011
1 January, 2011
1 January, 2011
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
1 January, 2010
17 November, 2009
18 September, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2009
1 January, 2008
1 January, 2008
1 January, 2008
1 January, 2008
1 January, 2008
1 January, 2008
1 January, 2008
1 January, 2008
1 January, 2008
1 January, 2008
1 January, 2008
1 January, 2008
1 January, 2008
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2007
1 January, 2006
1 January, 2006
1 January, 2006
1 January, 2006
1 January, 2006
1 January, 2006
1 January, 2006
1 January, 2006
1 January, 2006
1 January, 2006
1 January, 2005
1 January, 2004
1 January, 2004
1 January, 2004
1 January, 2004
1 January, 2004
1 January, 2004
1 January, 2004
1 January, 2004
1 January, 2004
1 January, 2004
1 January, 2004
1 January, 2004
1 January, 2003
1 January, 2003
1 January, 2003
1 January, 2003
1 January, 2003
1 January, 2003
1 January, 2003
1 January, 2003
1 January, 2003
1 January, 2003
1 January, 2003
1 January, 2003
1 January, 2003
1 January, 2003
1 January, 2003
1 January, 2002
1 January, 2002
1 January, 2002
1 January, 2002
1 January, 2002
1 January, 2002
1 January, 2002
1 January, 2002
1 January, 2002
1 January, 2002
1 January, 2002
1 January, 2001
1 January, 2001
1 January, 2001
1 January, 2001
1 January, 2001
1 January, 2001
1 January, 2000
1 January, 2000
1 January, 2000
1 January, 2000
1 January, 2000
1 January, 2000
1 January, 2000
1 January, 2000
1 January, 2000
1 January, 2000
1 January, 2000
19 December, 1999
1 January, 1999
1 January, 1999
1 January, 1999
1 January, 1999
1 January, 1998
1 January, 1998
1 November, 1997
1 September, 1997
1 September, 1997
1 January, 1997
1 January, 1997
1 January, 1997
1 December, 1996
1 January, 1996
1 November, 1995
1 January, 1995
1 January, 1995
1 January, 1995
1 January, 1995
1 January, 1995
1 September, 1994
1 January, 1993
1 November, 1992
1 January, 1992
1 January, 1992
1 January, 1992
1 January, 1992
1 January, 1992
1 January, 1992
1 November, 1991
1 September, 1991
1 April, 1991
1 January, 1991
1 January, 1991
1 January, 1991
1 January, 1991
1 September, 1990
1 January, 1990
1 January, 1990
1 January, 1990
1 January, 1990
1 June, 1989
1 January, 1989
1 January, 1987
1 January, 1987
1 January, 1986
1 January, 1986
1 January, 1985
1 January, 1985
1 January, 1983
1 January, 1983
1 January, 1979
1 January, 1978
1 January, 1977
1 January, 1975
1 January, 1975
1 January, 1974
1 January, 1970
27 June, 2022
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists will investigate critical challenges facing the UK, thanks to new funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). A £47m investment to several UK research …
24 May, 2022
A new report published today (Tuesday 24 May) sends a strong message to countries responsible for Antarctic governance meeting this week in Berlin, that there’s a need for urgent action on minimising climate change impacts in Antarctica and their far-reaching global consequences.
22 April, 2022
A new study featuring contributions from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists has identified 100 pressing research questions on climate change and water resources in the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) that must be answered to protect the communities that live there.
6 April, 2022
Researchers have used advanced ocean modelling techniques to reveal how greenhouse gas emissions contribute to warmer oceans and resulting melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
29 March, 2022
A £5m project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to investigate the complex changes seen in sea ice around the Antarctic begins this month (March 2022) as the …
28 February, 2022
A new report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published today (28 February) has outlined the causes, impacts and solutions to climate change.
21 February, 2022
A new study has found that the world’s second-largest ice sheet is generating huge amounts of heat. Researchers including BAS oceanographer Dr Keith Nicholls have observed extremely high rates of melting at the bottom of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
18 February, 2022
The first ice core drilling campaign of Beyond Epica-Oldest Ice has been successfully completed at the remote Little Dome C site in Antarctica – one of the most extreme places …
14 December, 2021
Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier is retreating rapidly as a warming ocean slowly erases its ice from below, leading to a faster flow, more fracturing and a threat of collapse, according to …
30 November, 2021
The first campaign to drill Antarctica’s oldest ice starts this month (November). Beyond EPICA-Oldest Ice aims to drill an ice core to collect a record of past climate spanning 1.5 million years
3 November, 2021
British Antarctic Survey is one of seven Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) supported centres and the Met Office, which will work together as the new UK National Climate Science Partnership (UKNCSP) to respond to threats posed by a rapidly changing climate by putting climate science at the forefront of the solutions agenda.
13 October, 2021
A network of international researchers launches a European collaboration this week ( 14 October 2021). This collaboration will train a new generation of scientists to understand how past climate changes …
12 October, 2021
A dramatic art installation symbolising our warming climate will be launched at the Cambridge Cleantech annual conference on 20 October as the city’s innovators and scientists gather together to brainstorm …
29 September, 2021
A new immersive exhibition, Polar Zero, opens at Glasgow Science Centre this weekend (2 October), injecting an artistic and cultural dimension to the climate negotiations at the Conference of the …
26 August, 2021
A new AI (artificial intelligence) tool is set to enable scientists to more accurately forecast Arctic sea ice conditions months into the future. The improved predictions could underpin new early-warning …
17 August, 2021
Warming water and receding sea ice in the Western Antarctic Peninsula is changing the local plankton community with potential consequences for climate change, according to an international team of researchers. …
9 August, 2021
CAMBRIDGE: British Antarctic Survey welcomes the publication of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group 1 component of its Sixth Assessment Report. This assessment brings together the latest advances in …
3 August, 2021
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 …
20 July, 2021
The UK and Australia’s two new polar research ships get together off the coast of Falmouth during sea trials.
1 July, 2021
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has today (1 July 2021) recognised a new record high temperature for the Antarctic continent of 18.3° Celsius on 6 February 2020 at the Esperanza …
30 June, 2021
The RRS Sir David Attenborough (SDA) is getting ready for its next round of sea trials. This is an important part of the preparations for the ship’s first Antarctic mission. The …
4 June, 2021
A study of two alternative methods for reconstructing ancient temperatures has given climate researchers a better understanding of how cold it was in Antarctica during the last Ice Age, around …
28 May, 2021
This summer, British Antarctic Survey (BAS) will be an official partner for the Good Business Festival youth programme in the Liverpool City Region. BAS already has an important connection with the area – Britain’s new polar ship, RRS Sir David Attenborough …
24 May, 2021
British Antarctic Survey researchers will work on a new Horizon 2020 project to advance their understanding of polar processes in the global climate system. The CRiceS project, or Climate relevant …
21 May, 2021
An enormous iceberg has calved from the western side of the Ronne Ice Shelf, in Antarctica. The iceberg, newly named A-76, measures around 4320 sq km in size and is …
19 May, 2021
For the first time, geological records have been used to reconstruct the history of Larsen C Ice Shelf in Antarctica. The ice shelf is the largest remaining remnant of a …
19 April, 2021
For the first time, researchers have collected data from underneath the remote Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica using an underwater robot.
9 December, 2020
Polar climate scientists have created the most high resolution past record of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds. The results, published this week (9 December) in the journal Communications Earth and …
27 November, 2020
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. Scientists knew that the carbon-rich …
25 November, 2020
Applications for PhD projects with British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are now open for October 2021 admission. There are currently over 100 PhD students associated with BAS, working on a huge variety …
23 September, 2020
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has recognized a temperature of -69.6°C (-93.3°F) at an automatic weather station in Greenland on 22 December 1991 as the coldest ever recorded in the …
21 August, 2020
New research has revealed that climate changes associated with past episodes of abrupt warming in Greenland occurred synchronously across a region extending from the Arctic to the Southern Hemisphere subtropics. …
10 August, 2020
A new study, published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change, supports predictions that the Arctic could be free of sea ice by 2035. High temperatures in the Arctic …
29 June, 2020
The South Pole has warmed at over three times the global rate since 1989, according to a paper published in Nature Climate Change today (29 June 2020). This warming period was …
25 June, 2020
BAS researchers have contributed to a new briefing paper about the Arctic published this week (25 June 2020). Working with a team at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London, …
17 June, 2020
Scientists have discovered that summer sea ice in the Weddell Sea area of Antarctica has decreased by one million square kilometres – an area twice the size of Spain – …
20 May, 2020
Scientists have discovered where a whale species that feeds around the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia breeds during the winter months. This understanding of where the animals migrate from will …
7 May, 2020
Warm winter spells have increased in frequency and duration two- to three times over since 1878, according to a new study published this week (6 May 2020). In a new …
29 April, 2020
Two new research projects – in partnership with British Antarctic Survey engineers – will drill deeper than ever before in Antarctica and in space. The first project, called INCISED, is …
1 April, 2020
An international team of researchers has provided a new and unprecedented perspective on the climate history of Antarctica. From a sediment core collected from the seafloor in West Antarctica, they …
26 February, 2020
Climate change could add around 20% to the global cost of extreme weather events by 2040, according to early findings from Cambridge researchers. The findings come from the Cambridge Climate …
28 January, 2020
Teams from the US and UK have successfully completed scientific fieldwork in one of the most remote and hostile areas of West Antarctica – coinciding with the 200th anniversary of …
29 November, 2019
Two studies published in a special issue of the journal Science Advances this week (27 November 2019) highlight the fragility of the Antarctic and its ecosystems in the lead up …
26 November, 2019
A new climate change artwork – Ice Floor, a new Phase 2 by Wayne Binitie, opens this week at Arup’s Fitzroy Street offices in London. The work was developed in …
14 November, 2019
Nearly 100 scientists and support staff depart this week (13 November 2019) for the most ambitious mission to date for Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. In the second year of …
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 …
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 …
25 April, 2019
Researchers at British Antarctic Survey have discovered “catastrophic” breeding failure at one of world’s largest emperor penguin colonies.
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 …
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.
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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. …
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 – …
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 …
11 April, 2017
One of Antarctica’s biggest gentoo penguin colonies was repeatedly decimated by eruptions of the Deception Island volcano in recent millennia.
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 …
2 March, 2017
BAS Director features in photographic portraits of women in science
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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 …
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 …
17 October, 2016
Keel-laying ceremony at Cammell Laird
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 …
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 …
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 …
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 …
17 February, 2016
Take part in an online consultation about Europe’s research priorities for the Polar Regions
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …