Sea-ice extent

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, …


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. DTs are already in operation in industry and involve …


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 …


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 …



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.





Antarctic sea ice loss explained in new study

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 – …