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.

A collection of small marine creatures

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 …

A person riding a wave on top of a mountain.

SONATA

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 …

A close up of a hand.

SubICE

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 …

Diagram.

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 …

UKESM logo

UKESM-BAS

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 …

A person riding a snowboard down a snow covered mountain.

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 …

A group of people on a boat in the water.

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 …

Icicles

Antarctica and climate change

30 June, 2022

Introduction According to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, human activities have been the dominant driver of global climate change since the mid-20th century. Antarctica, and the Southern Ocean that surrounds …

Nacreous (also known as mother of pearl or stratospheric) clouds. These clouds form at around 20km altitude in the ozone layer and are instrumental in the process of ozone depletion. Because of their altitude they remain illuminated by the sun, long after sunset on the ground.

The Ozone Hole

30 June, 2022

Introduction It’s over 30 years since the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole drew world attention to the impact of human activity on the global environment. Why is the ozone …

A view of water and a mountain in the background.

Sea ice at both poles

30 June, 2022

What’s new about sea-ice data? The maximum sea-ice extent happens around February in the Arctic. For the year 2022, the maximum extent was recorded at nearly 15 million square kilometres. …

ocean glider

Sea-level rise

30 June, 2022

Introduction Sea-level rise increases the frequency of coastal flooding events and threatens coastal populations around the world. Why is sea-level rise important? Around 148 million people are exposed to coastal …

A person is sitting in the snow.

Ice cores and climate change

30 June, 2022

Introduction Ice cores are cylinders of ice drilled out of an ice sheet or glacier. Most ice core records come from Antarctica and Greenland, and the longest ice cores extend …

A snow covered mountain.

The Antarctic Peninsula’s retreating ice shelves

30 June, 2022

Introduction The Antarctic Peninsula experienced unprecedented warming during the latter part of the 20th Century. This caused seven floating ice shelves to retreat dramatically with very little of their area …

A body of water surrounded by green grass and trees

DNA reveals unique microorganisms evolved at poles

14 February, 2024

Communities of microorganisms at the bottom of polar lakes evolved independently from other regions, influenced by the particular geological, biological and climate history of their regions. The unique character of …

Polar Medal

BAS staff awarded the Polar Medal 2024

9 January, 2024

Congratulations to British Antarctic Survey (BAS) staff who have been awarded a Polar Medal in the 2024 New Year’s Honours List for their contributions to improving our understanding of Antarctica …

An octopus

Octopus DNA solves mystery of ice sheet’s past

22 December, 2023

Scientists, including from British Antarctic Survey, have used octopus DNA to discover that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) likely collapsed during the Last Interglacial period around 120,000 years ago …

RRS Sir David Attenborough completes ice trials

First Antarctic research mission on polar ship

20 November, 2023

A team of international researchers set sail on the RRS Sir David Attenborough today (20 November) to answer some of the big questions about how Antarctic ecosystems and sea ice …