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. …
Exploring the climate history and the geological structure and evolution of the rocks and mountains of Antarctica’s continental interior provides clues to past, present and future environmental change. Under-ice lakes, mountain chains buried by up to 4km ice, and sea bed sediments surrounding the frozen continent provide an unparalleled record of how the Earth’s climate has changed over millions of years.
Antarctica — our fifth largest continent — is 58-times the size of the UK. Buried beneath the snow and ice that cover more than 99% of its surface are chains of mountains the size of the Alps, while around the edge of the continent, and running across its centre, are other large mountain ranges that rise above the ice.
Geologists have studied the rocks in these mountains for more than a century. These rocks reveal that Antarctica has moved vast distances over millions of years. More than 500 million years ago, Antarctica straddled the equator, and the warm, shallow seas that covered the continent supported trilobites and other organisms long since extinct.
For hundreds of millions of years, Antarctica was locked in the centre of a giant continent called Gondwana. Around 150 million years ago, this supercontinent began to split apart, forming the modern continents of Australia, India, South America and Africa. At that time, instead of ice and snow, Antarctica was covered in dense forest and dinosaurs roamed its coastal plains.
Rocks and fossils tell us that the continent began to cool about 80 million years ago and around 35 million years ago, a vast ice sheet blanketed East Antarctica.
Locked in Antarctica’s rocks and in the sea bed around the continent is an unparalleled record of how the Earth’s climate has changed over millions of years. During the past 50 years, geologists at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have built up the world’s largest archive of Antarctic rocks and fossils and made major contributions to our understanding of Antarctica’s ancient history.
Today, using BAS’s Royal Research Ship James Clark Ross to carry out surveys at sea and BAS aircraft to study remote corners of the continent, BAS geologists are using these ancient records to help predict how future climate change will affect not only Antarctica, but also the rest of the world.
Scientists at BAS are using advanced computer models to show what the Antarctic may have looked like 3 million years ago. The models suggest that during the mid-Pliocene warm period, the ice retreated significantly from the edges of the continent and was replaced by a sparse tundra vegetation. That a rise in temperature of only a few degrees centigrade had such a profound effect on Antarctica is a stark reminder of what might happen in the near future.
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 …
ApRES and groundwater
The aim of this study is to investigate whether a technique developed to measure the basal meltrate of ice shelves can be used to monitor groundwater in arid and semi-arid …
Data As Art
DATA AS ART is a science/art project in development at NERC’s British Antarctic Survey (BAS). It visualises science data (in its widest definition), to create stunning and thought-provoking artworks, using real Antarctic …
Seismic investigation of a subglacial lake
Field Team includes: Alex Brisbourne (BAS), Andrés Rivera (CECs), Rodrigo Zamora (CECs), Field Guide (BAS). Antarctic subglacial lakes contain unique records of ice sheet history and microbial life; they may …
GOCE+Antarctica
GOCE+Antarctica- Dynamic Antarctic Lithosphere -is an international project supported by the European Space Agency (ESA) that is using GOCE satellite gravity gradient data, GPS data and innovative 3D modelling to …
PolarGAP
The polar regions have the capacity to amaze and astound, but despite the considerable progress of recent decades we still know far less about them than less remote parts of …
Automated lithological mapping using airborne hyperspectral remote sensing
Antarctica is a unique and geographically remote environment. Field campaigns in the region encounter numerous challenges including the harsh polar climate, steep topography, and high infrastructure costs. Additionally, field campaigns …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Depositional patterns and records in sediment drifts off the Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctica
The biggest uncertainty in predictions of sea-level rise is what the contribution will be from the great ice sheets on Antarctica and Greenland as climate warms. The West Antarctic Ice …
Aero geophysical investigation of Institute and Moller Ice Streams
West Antarctic ‘rivers’ of ice
AGAP exploration of Antarctica’s hidden world
Exploring Antarctica’s ‘ghost mountains’
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 …
Antarctic Seabed Carbon Capture Change
The ASCCC Project has been funded by ACE (Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition) to investigate, quantify and understand the role of polar and subpolar seabeds in the carbon cycle, particularly in response …
The geological history and evolution of West Antarctica
27 January, 2020
Investigating volcanic and glacial processes using microseismicity
20 November, 2019
Statistical analysis of the oceanic magnetic anomaly data
1 November, 2018
New magnetic anomaly map of the Antarctic
16 July, 2018
Deep crustal melt plumbing of Bárðarbunga volcano, Iceland
16 September, 2017
Widespread Antarctic glaciation during the Late Eocene
1 January, 2017
Interglacials of the last 800,000 years
1 March, 2016
Crescentic scours on palaeo-ice stream beds
1 January, 2016
Bedrock channels in Pine Island Bay, West Antarctica
1 January, 2016
Debris-flow deposits on the West Antarctic continental slope
1 January, 2016
Stratified glacimarine basin-fills in West Greenland fjords
1 January, 2016
Micro‐XRF core scanning in palaeolimnology: recent developments
14 September, 2015
Holocene glacier fluctuations
1 March, 2015
The global relevance of the Scotia Arc: An introduction
1 February, 2015
Antarctic palynology and palaeoclimate – a review
1 January, 2015
Environmental setting
1 August, 2014
Evolutionary setting
1 August, 2014
The origin of Jupiter’s outer radiation belt
1 May, 2014
The subglacial geology of Wilkes Land, East Antarctica
16 April, 2014
Geothermal activity helps life survive glacial cycles
15 April, 2014
Deep ocean carbonate ion increase during mid Miocene CO2 decline
26 February, 2014
A review of sea ice proxy information from polar ice cores
1 November, 2013
Understanding the evolution of the Scotia Arc
30 July, 2013
Antarctic crabs: invasion or endurance?
1 July, 2013
Paleoclimate, Paleoclimate history of the Arctic
19 June, 2013
New continental margin magnetic anomalies of East Antarctica
11 February, 2013
Preface
11 February, 2013
Early Cenozoic differentiation of polar marine faunas
16 January, 2013
Antarctic palaeoenvironments and earth-surface processes
1 January, 2013
Love numbers of a generalized Maxwell sphere
1 January, 2013
Volcano-ice interactions
1 January, 2013
Long-term trends in geomagnetic daily variation
2 November, 2012
Geomagnetic and Solar Variability and Natural Climate Change
24 October, 2012
The Holocene history of George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula
19 January, 2012
Trend and abrupt changes in long-term geomagnetic indices
1 January, 2012
Geology of Graham Land
1 January, 2012
Can we predict the duration of an interglacial?
1 January, 2012
Antarctic topography at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary
1 January, 2012
Sensitivity of Pliocene ice sheets to orbital forcing
15 August, 2011
Putting the Earth into Earth System Science
1 January, 2011
A benchmark study for glacial-isostatic adjustment codes
1 January, 2011
800,000 years of abrupt climate variability
1 January, 2011
The Pleistocene glaciations of the North Sea Basin
1 January, 2011
History of sea ice in the Arctic
1 January, 2010
A numerical study of glacier advance over deforming till
1 January, 2010
Ice cores and astronauts
1 January, 2009
Pockmarks: refuges for marine benthic biodiversity
1 January, 2009
The Arctic cryosphere in the Mid-Pliocene and the future
1 January, 2009
Gondwana breakup and plate kinematics: business as usual
1 January, 2009
West Antarctic Rift System in the Antarctic Peninsula
1 January, 2009
Super-volcanic eruptions: noctilucent clouds
1 January, 2009
Airborne gravity reveals interior of Antarctic volcano
1 January, 2009
Tardigrade remains from lake sediments
1 January, 2008
Metamorphic rocks in the Antarctic Peninsula region
1 January, 2008
Origin of Jovian hiss in the extended Io torus
1 January, 2008
Late Miocene marine trace fossils from James Ross Island
1 January, 2008
Gyro-resonant electron acceleration at Jupiter
1 January, 2008
High-latitude paleolimnology
1 January, 2008
The past 800 ka viewed through Antarctic ice cores
1 January, 2008
Flow stripes, GPR stratigraphy and RADARSAT imagery
1 January, 2008
Tectonic overview of the West Gondwana margin
1 January, 2008
UNCLOS versus the Antarctic Treaty
1 January, 2008
On the long-distance transport of Ferrar magmas
1 January, 2008
South Sandwich Islands
1 January, 2007
Coniacian ammonites from James Ross Island, Antarctica
1 January, 2007
The ice-rock interface
1 January, 2007
Rodinia
1 January, 2007
Scotia Arc kinematics from GPS geodesy
1 January, 2007
Did ice streams shape the largest channels on Mars?
1 January, 2007
Bransfield Strait and South Shetland Islands, geology of
1 January, 2007
When is the “present”?
1 January, 2007
Paleoclimatology
1 January, 2007
Ice core analysis and dating techniques
1 January, 2007
South Shetland Islands
1 January, 2007
The EDC3 chronology for the EPICA Dome C ice core
1 January, 2007
Scaling and universality in rock fracture
1 January, 2007
Drake Passage, opening of
1 January, 2007
Heated ground
1 January, 2007
ADMAP – a digital magnetic anomaly map of the Antarctic
1 January, 2006
The East Scotia Sea: mantle to microbe
1 January, 2006
The future of El Niño?
1 January, 2006
The physical setting of the Antarctic
1 January, 2006
The scientific case for human space exploration
1 January, 2005
Lithospheric mantle domains beneath Antarctica
1 January, 2005
RADAR: the Cassini Titan radar mapper
1 January, 2004
Terrane processes at the Pacific-margin of Gondwana (TAPMOG)
1 January, 2004
Life of the Bellingshausen plate
1 January, 2004
The uses of Martian ice
1 January, 2004
A Planetary Park system for Mars
1 January, 2004
A customised GIS to aid Gondwana research
1 January, 2004
Cretaceous (Wealden) climates: a modelling perspective
1 January, 2004
Maastrichtian stratigraphy of Antarctica
1 January, 2004
Ancient Antarctica
1 January, 2004
Solar UV irradiation conditions on the surface of Mars
1 January, 2003
IGCP 436 Pacific Gondwana margin – introduction
1 January, 2003
Back-arc spreading and mantle flow in the East Scotia Sea
1 January, 2003
Magmatism in the South Sandwich arc
1 January, 2003
Past UVR environments and impacts in lakes
1 January, 2003
Structure and tectonic evolution of the South Sandwich arc
1 January, 2003
Motion of the Scotia Sea plates
1 January, 2003
Intra-oceanic subduction systems: introduction
1 January, 2003
A scientific response to small asteroid and comet impacts
1 January, 2003
Explosive subaqueous volcanism
1 January, 2003
Topographic maps
1 January, 2002
Gazetteer
1 January, 2002
South Georgia : a landscape from rock, ice and sea
1 January, 2002
Geology
1 January, 2002
Submarine morphology and seismic stratigraphy of Port Foster
1 January, 2002
The biology of impact craters – a review
1 January, 2002
Impact excavation and the search for subsurface life on Mars
1 January, 2002
Opening history of Powell Basin, Antarctic Peninsula
1 January, 2002
Editorial: The International Journal of Astrobiology
1 January, 2002
Geology and geomorphology of Deception Island
1 January, 2002
Introduction
1 January, 2002
Geological and geomorphological evolution: summary
1 January, 2002
Mars is an awful place to live
1 January, 2002
Volcano-ice interaction on Earth and Mars
1 January, 2002
Extending the ice core record beyond half a million years
1 January, 2002
Stable-isotope records from Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica
1 January, 2002
Fossilised forests in a frozen land
1 January, 2002
Introduction: volcano-ice interaction on Earth and Mars
1 January, 2002
Volcanic hazard
1 January, 2002
Chronology of eruptions on Deception Island
1 January, 2002
Exo/astrobiology in Europe
1 January, 2001
A photobiological history of Earth
1 January, 2001
Ultraviolet radiation and exobiology
1 January, 2001
Why astrobiology needs collaboration
1 January, 2001
Martian polar expeditions: problems and solutions
1 January, 2001
‘Astrobiology’ and the ethics of new science
1 January, 2001
Ecosystems, evolution, and ultraviolet radiation
1 January, 2001
Chronology and chronostratigraphy for CRP-3: introduction
1 January, 2001
A tentative chronology for the EPICA Dome Concordia Ice Core
1 January, 2001
Palaeontological studies for CRP-3: introduction
1 January, 2001
Sedimentary pigments
1 January, 2001
Study of volcano/ice interactions gains momentum
1 January, 2001
Age of pre-break-up Gondwana magmatism
1 January, 2001
Exobiological prospecting
1 January, 2000
The state and future of Mars polar science and exploration
1 January, 2000
Macrofossils from CRP-2/2A, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica
1 January, 2000
Migration of methane sulphonate in Antarctic firn and ice
1 January, 2000
When volcanoes erupt under ice
1 January, 2000
Subglacial eruptions
1 January, 2000
Mars on Earth
1 January, 1999
Antarctica as a model for ancient Mars
1 January, 1999
Exobiology in the UK
1 January, 1998
Atmospheric near-surface nitrate at coastal Antarctic sites
1 January, 1998
The proto-Andean margin of Gondwana: an introduction
1 January, 1998
Quaternary strata in CRP-1, Cape Roberts Project, Antarctica
1 January, 1998
Miocene strata in CRP-1, Cape Roberts Project, Antarctica
1 January, 1998
The stratigraphy and geochronology of Adelaide Island
1 January, 1998
Summary results from CRP-1, Cape Roberts Project, Antarctica
1 January, 1998
The present configuration of the Bouvet triple junction
1 January, 1998
Background to CRP-1, Cape Roberts Project, Antarctica
1 January, 1998
Early evolution of the Proto-Andean margin of South America
1 January, 1998
Preface [to special section on Greenland Summit Ice Cores]
1 November, 1997
The last inoceramid bivalves in Antarctica
1 April, 1997
An evolutionary framework for the polar regions
1 January, 1997
Crustal structure and sedimentation in Powell Basin
1 January, 1997
Glacially-influenced sediment drifts in the Rockall Trough
1 January, 1997
Aeromagnetic anomaly map of the central Antarctic Peninsula
1 January, 1997
An active mantle mechanism for Gondwana breakup
1 January, 1997
Mesozoic geodynamic evolution of the Antarctic Peninsula
1 January, 1997
Maps of Deception Island, South Shetland Islands
1 January, 1997
Late Cretaceous extinction patterns in Antarctica
1 August, 1996
Location, movement and reactions of impurities in solid ice
1 January, 1996
New seismic data from the Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica
1 January, 1996
Weddell Sea tectonics and Gondwana break-up: an introduction
1 January, 1996
Mesozoic seafloor spreading in the southern Weddell Sea
1 January, 1996
Weddell Sea tectonics and Gondwana break-up: an introduction
1 January, 1996
Microplates and mantle plumes in Antarctica
1 January, 1996
Geology and seismic stratigraphy of the Antarctic Margin
1 January, 1995
Tectonic framework of the east Scotia Sea
1 January, 1995
On the Antarctic Peninsula batholith
1 January, 1995
Structural development of the Falkland Islands region
1 January, 1995
Evolution of an englacial volcano: Brown Bluff, Antarctica
1 December, 1994
Evolutionary history of Antarctica
1 January, 1994
Ice sheet retreat from the Antarctic Peninsula shelf
1 January, 1994
Belemnite battlefields
1 January, 1993
The seismic wavefield recorded on an Antarctic ice shelf
1 January, 1993
The sedimentary record of Antarctic climate change
1 November, 1992
Palynology of the James Ross Island area, Antarctic Peninsula
1 September, 1992
Devonian trilobites at Buill, Chile (42°S)
1 January, 1992
Merely the tip of the ice core
1 January, 1992
The potential for Cretaceous coal in Antarctica
1 January, 1992
Magmatism and the causes of continental break-up
1 January, 1992
Magmatism and the causes of continental break-up
1 January, 1992
Antarctica: the cornerstone of two supercontinents
1 January, 1992
Pangea in Permian to Jurassic time
1 February, 1991
The diatom genus Proboscia in Antarctic waters
1 January, 1991
Fossil members of the diatom genus Proboscia
1 January, 1991
Sedimentation, tectonics, eustasy
1 January, 1991
Tectonic development of the Scotia arc region
1 January, 1991
Magmatism related to the break-up of Gondwana
1 January, 1991
Trophic structure
1 January, 1990
trace fossils
1 January, 1990
Subantarctic volcanoes of the Pacific plate
1 January, 1990
Antarctic volcanoes
1 January, 1990
Beethoven Peninsula
1 January, 1990
Hornpipe Heights
1 January, 1990
Mount Pinafore-Debussy Heights
1 January, 1990
Volcanoes of the Antarctic Plate and Southern Ocean
1 January, 1990
Amsterdam and Saint Paul Island
1 January, 1990
Iles Crozet
1 January, 1990
Iles Kerguelen
1 January, 1990
Southeastern Alexander Island
1 January, 1990
Rydberg Peninsula
1 January, 1990
Alexander Island, Palmer Island, and Ellsworth Land. Summary
1 January, 1990
Merrick Mountains
1 January, 1990
Bridgeman Island
1 January, 1990
Cain and Abel Nunataks, Trinity Peninsula
1 January, 1990
Graham Land and South Shetland Islands
1 January, 1990
Islands in northern Prince Gustav Channel
1 January, 1990
Melville Peak, King George Island
1 January, 1990
Northern Livingston and Greenwich Islands
1 January, 1990
Paulet Island
1 January, 1990
Penguin Island
1 January, 1990
Seal Nunataks
1 January, 1990
Southern Tabarin Peninsula and islands in Antarctic Sound
1 January, 1990
Argo Point
1 January, 1990
James Ross Island
1 January, 1990
Henry Nunataks
1 January, 1990
Snow Nunataks
1 January, 1990
Rothschild Island
1 January, 1990
Macquarie Island
1 January, 1990
Oceanic islands on the Antarctic plate
1 January, 1990
Krakow Peninsula, King George Island
1 January, 1990
Comprehensive sonar imaging of the Easter microplate
1 October, 1989
Origins and evolution of the Antarctic biota
1 January, 1989
Some aspects of iron cycling in maritime Antarctic lakes
1 January, 1989
Deception Island
1 January, 1989
Trinity Peninsula and James Ross Island area
1 January, 1989
New Zealand intraplate volcanism: isotope geochemistry
1 January, 1989
Weddell sea palaeoceanography: Preliminary results of ODP Leg 113
1 September, 1988
The margins of the South Orkney microcontinent
1 January, 1988
South Georgia
1 January, 1987
Late Mesozoic bivalve biogeography of Antarctica
1 January, 1987
The exploitation of Antarctic minerals
1 January, 1987
Polar origins of marine invertebrate faunas
1 January, 1986
Non thermal continuum radiation at the radio planets
1 January, 1985
Sedimentology of Ablation Valley, Alexander Island
1 January, 1985
The prospects for Antarctic minerals
1 January, 1985
Ignimbrites of the Cerro Galan caldera, NW Argentina
1 January, 1985
Source of saturnian myriametric radiation
1 January, 1983
‘European’ ammonites in the Lower Cretaceous of Antarctica
1 January, 1983
Tectonic significance of the Shackleton Range
1 January, 1982
Preliminary bivalve zonation of the Latady Formation
1 January, 1981
Early Mesozoic marine fossils from central Alexander Island
1 January, 1980
Moving a volcano to and from Antarctica
1 January, 1980
Angiosperm fossils from latitude 70°S
1 January, 1977
Towards a more certain reconstruction of Gondwanaland
1 January, 1977
First marine Triassic fauna from the Antarctic Peninsula
1 January, 1975
Fossils from the South Orkney Islands: II. Matthews Island
1 January, 1975
Upper Jurassic Mollusca from Carse Point, Palmer Land
1 January, 1975
Fossils from the South Orkney Islands: I. Coronation Island
1 January, 1975
Distribution of epicentres in the Scotia Arc, 1957-1962
1 January, 1972
Evolution of volcanism in the Antarctic Peninsula
1 January, 1972
Past environments and climates of Antarctica
1 January, 1970
Plate tectonics of the Scotia Sea region
1 January, 1970
A volcano erupts beneath the Antarctic ice
1 January, 1969
Volcanic activity at Deception Island in 1967 and 1969
1 January, 1969
Aptian ciripedes from Alexander Island
1 January, 1965
Pumice eruption in the area of the South Sandwich Islands
1 January, 1963
Jurassic beetles from Grahamland, Antarctica
1 January, 1959
Traces of rainforests found in West Antarctica
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 …
Discovery of rare lava lake on remote sub-Antarctic island
3 July, 2019
A team of scientists has discovered a rare lava lake on a remote and inaccessible sub-Antarctic island. This volcano in the South Sandwich Islands is only the 8th to be identified worldwide to have a persistent lava lake.
Marine life recovery following the dinosaurs’ extinction
19 June, 2019
A new study shows how marine life around Antarctica returned after the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs. A team led by British Antarctic Survey studied just under 3000 …
International research expedition heads to West Antarctica
28 January, 2019
An international team of scientists is travelling to the Amundsen Sea – one of the most vulnerable sectors of the Antarctic Ice Sheet – to answer vital scientific questions about …
“Thermal scar” from dinosaur era still warming base of Greenland Ice Sheet, new findings show
1 August, 2018
A new ‘heat map’ shows, in unprecedented detail, how geothermal heat is escaping through the Earth’s surface beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet. This is critical information for enabling scientists to …
New magnetic anomaly map helps unveil Antarctica
17 July, 2018
The most comprehensive magnetic map of Antarctica ever produced is published this week (15 July 2018). The new map – which includes 3.5 million line-kilometres of magnetic anomaly data collected …
New maps show why glacier ice front suddenly shrank
15 June, 2018
Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica is one of the fastest-flowing glaciers in Antarctica. Over the last eleven years, four major icebergs have broken off from its floating ice shelf. …
Subglacial valleys and mountain ranges discovered near South Pole
24 May, 2018
Revealing Antarctica’s hidden world
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 …
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 …
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 …
Team discovers sub-glacial lake from over 20,000 years ago
20 June, 2017
Researchers have provided new evidence that large sub-glacial lakes existed under the West Antarctic Ice Sheet during the last glacial period – around 20,000 years ago – a period when …
Raising Horizons: Portraits of women in science
2 March, 2017
BAS Director features in photographic portraits of women in science
New study shows when Pine Island Glacier retreat began
23 November, 2016
New study reveals when West Antarctica’s largest glacier started retreating Reporting this week (Wednesday 23 November) in the journal Nature an international team led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) explains …
FEATURED PAPER: Modelling Gondwana break-up
17 November, 2016
Gondwana break-up changed the global continental configuration, leading to the opening of major oceanic gateways, shifts in the climate system and significant impacts on the biosphere, hydrosphere and cryosphere. Although …
Antarctic fossils show creatures wiped out by asteroid
26 May, 2016
A study of more than 6,000 marine fossils from the Antarctic shows that the mass extinction event that killed the dinosaurs was sudden and just as deadly to life in the polar regions.
NEWS STORY: New gravity dataset
23 January, 2016
Scientists now have a new tool to investigate the deep structure of the least understood continent on Earth
FEATURED PAPER: New geological history for Antarctic Peninsula
29 September, 2015
This paper revised the geological history of the Antarctic Peninsula to show how it developed over the last 500 million years, and used this history to tell us about the …
NEWS STORY: Thousands enjoy Fossil Festival
8 May, 2015
THIS year’s Lyme Regis Fossil Festival was another success, with thousands of people visiting the three-day event.
NEWS STORY: BAS at leading fossil festival
1 April, 2015
British Antarctic Survey exhibits at Lyme Regis Fossil Festival Staff from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are displaying some amazing Antarctic fossil and biological collections at the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival …
NEWS STORY: Mountains frozen in time
19 November, 2014
Antarctic “ghost mountains” preserved by ice sheet A new study reveals how the rugged ridgelines of East Antarctica’s ancient and mysterious ‘ghost mountains’ have been preserved for millions of years …
NEWS STORY: BAS to host workshop
13 October, 2014
British Antarctic Survey hosts Chemical Air-Snow-Sea Ice Interaction workshop in Cambridge More than 60 scientists from over 15 countries are attending a workshop in Cambridge this week (13-15 October) to …
NEWS STORY: Geology under the ice
11 April, 2014
An international research team has generated the first comprehensive map of geology beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet that will help to understand long-term changes in the largest ice sheet …
NEWS STORY: Volcanoes helped life survive ice ages
10 March, 2014
New research suggests that life survived past ice ages with the help of volcanoes. An international collaboration, including scientists from the British Antarctic Survey, has found new evidence that the …
NEWS STORY: Airborne geophysics in the Antarctic
27 January, 2014
In this month’s International Innovation journal Dr Fausto Ferraccioli discusses how airborne geophysics can be used to uncover the geology of Antarctica and explore some of the Earth’s final frontiers. …
NEWS STORY: UK leading scientists listed
16 January, 2014
A list published this week by the Science Council features British Antarctic Survey Director, Professor Jane Francis as one of 100 UK leading practising scientists The list is the result …
NEWS STORY: Giant trench under Antarctic Ice
15 January, 2014
What lies beneath – scientists discover giant trench under Antarctic Ice A massive ancient subglacial trough — deeper than the Grand Canyon — has been discovered by a team of …
NEWS STORY: Mapping Antarctica’s last frontier
13 December, 2013
Mapping of remote Antarctic frontier will help model its reaction to climate change and unlock secrets of Earth’s ancient supercontinents. For the first time scientists have begun mapping one of …
NEWS STORY: Earthquakes strike Scotia Sea
18 November, 2013
Series of large earthquakes in Scotia Sea close to South Orkney Islands A series of earthquakes has been detected in the Scotia Sea region close to the British Antarctic Survey’s …
NEWS STORY: Award for innovative map
3 October, 2013
Map makers rewarded for stunning recreation of Antarctic without ice A colourful British Antarctic Survey map has won a coveted award. The map, created by the institution’s MAGIC (Mapping and …
NEWS STORY: Lake Ellsworth project leader honoured
2 July, 2013
Lake Ellsworth project leader awarded international prize Professor Martin Siegert, the principal investigator on the sub-glacial Lake Ellsworth project, has been awarded the 2013 Muse Prize. The award is in …
NEWS STORY: Bedmap opens up Antarctica
8 March, 2013
Bedmap2 gives scientists a more detailed view of Antarctica”s landmass Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey have been working with a host of international collaborators to present the most detailed …
PRESS RELEASE: Assessing potential sea level rise
16 January, 2013
New Antarctic geological timeline aids future sea-level predictions Radiocarbon dates of tiny fossilised marine animals found in Antarctica’s seabed sediments offer new clues about the recent rapid ice loss from …
PRESS RELEASE: Secrets of hidden rift valley
25 July, 2012
Hidden rift valley discovered beneath West Antarctica reveals new insight into accelerating ice loss Scientists have discovered a one mile deep rift valley hidden beneath the ice in West Antarctica, …
PRESS RELEASE: Challenging mission accomplished
16 January, 2012
Engineering team completes ambitious Antarctic expedition in the ‘deep-field’ A team of four British Antarctic Survey (BAS) engineers has returned to the UK after completing a gruelling journey to one …
PRESS RELEASE: Buried mountain range mapped
16 November, 2011
Gamburtsev Mountains enigma unraveled in interior East Antarctica The birth of the Gamburtsev Subglacial Mountains buried beneath the vast East Antarctic Ice Sheet — a puzzle mystifying scientists since their …
PRESS RELEASE: Mission to submerged lake
11 October, 2011
British Antarctic Survey engineering team heads to Antarctica to explore hidden lake Next week a British engineering team from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) heads off to Antarctica for the first …
PRESS RELEASE: Underwater volcanoes discovered
11 July, 2011
Underwater Antarctic volcanoes discovered in the Southern Ocean Scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have discovered previously unknown volcanoes in the ocean waters around the remote South Sandwich Islands. Using …
PRESS RELEASE: New discovery from “ghost mountains”
3 March, 2011
Ice structures found among hidden Antarctic mountains The discovery of numerous large ice structures within Antarctica’s Dome A region, the site of the buried ‘ghost mountains’, reveals new understanding about …
PRESS RELEASE: How marine animals crossed continent
31 August, 2010
Marine animals suggest evidence for a trans-Antarctic seaway A tiny marine filter-feeder, that anchors itself to the sea bed, offers new clues to scientists studying the stability of the West …
PRESS RELEASE: Submerged lake drill site chosen
4 June, 2010
Drilling into the unknown – the first exploration of a sub-glacial Antarctic lake is a major step closer Scientists have located the ideal drill site for the first ever exploration …
PRESS RELEASE: Mission to buried mountain range
13 October, 2008
Challenge to discover Antarctica”s hidden world Later this month teams of scientists, engineers, pilots and support staff from British Antarctic Survey (BAS), USA, Germany, Australia, China and Japan will join …