Arctic Summer-time Cyclones
The Arctic Summer-time Cyclone Project is a joint project of scientists from the University of Reading, University of East Anglia and the British Antarctic Survey with expertise in atmospheric dynamics, …
Sea-ice extent
Digital Twins of the Polar Regions
Digital Twinning is next generation technology for data fusion and computer modelling enabling us to rapidly get answers to “what-if” questions. Digital Twins (DTs) are already in operation in industry …
SIWHA
The NERC funded SIWHA_CO2 project “Sea Ice and Westerly winds during the Holocene in coastal Antarctica, to better constrain oceanic CO2 uptake” will be a breakthrough in our understanding of how …
SO-WISE
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 …
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 …
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
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. …
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 …
Emperor penguin populations in Antarctica declining faster than thought
10 June, 2025
Antarctica’s emperor penguin population may be decreasing faster than some of the most pessimistic predictions. A new analysis of up-to-date satellite imagery suggests the birds’ numbers declined 22% over a …
Antarctica’s sea ice could impact seabirds’ food supply
13 September, 2024
Antarctica’s rapidly receding sea ice could have a negative impact on the food supply of seabirds that breed hundreds of miles away from the continent. New research led by the …
Record low Antarctic sea ice ‘extremely unlikely’ without climate change
20 May, 2024
Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have found that the record-low levels of sea ice around Antarctica in 2023 were extremely unlikely to happen without the influence of climate …
Emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica suffer as sea-ice diminishes
25 April, 2024
Record low levels of Antarctic sea-ice in late 2023 resulted in breeding failures in a fifth of the continent’s emperor penguin colonies, according to a new study from British Antarctic …
Retreating sea ice keeps zooplankton in the depths
28 August, 2023
Climate change is affecting the vertical migration of zooplankton in the Arctic, with potential implications for the entire Arctic ecosystem, finds a new study, published today in Nature Climate Change. …
Flying campaign to future-proof sea ice measurements
20 December, 2022
An ambitious flying campaign out of British Antarctic Survey’s Rothera Research Station over the Weddell Sea this month (December) aims to calibrate the data collected from two important satellites that …
AI tool to revolutionise polar ship navigation
15 November, 2022
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will enable ships navigating in polar ocean conditions to be more efficient using a new route planning tool created by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) researchers. The tool …
Funding addresses environmental challenges
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 …
Study underway as Antarctic sea ice extent at record level
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 …
Heat source melting Greenland Ice Sheet discovered
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.