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. …
Over the past 40 years, ice cores have revealed more about climate change than any other scientific technique. Over the last few decades, satellites have detected changes to the amount of sea ice that covers the polar oceans. Since 1979 summer sea-ice extent in the Arctic has reduced at 10% per decade. Some major glaciers that drain the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets have accelerated by as much as 50%.
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 …
Geophysical Habitat of Subglacial Thwaites
GHOST is an ice-based project which will examine the bed beneath the Thwaites Glacier, to assess whether conditions are likely to allow rapid retreat, or if the retreat may slow …
Melting at Thwaites Grounding Zone and its Control on Sea Level
MELT is an ice-based project that will use autonomous sensors to monitor the ice column and ocean beneath the ice shelf in the critical area of the grounding line (the …
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 …
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 …
Brunt Ice Shelf movement
British Antarctic Survey is monitoring cracks on the Brunt Ice Shelf. Find out how here
SubICE – Sub-Antarctic Ice Coring Expedition
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 …
Impact of Melt on Ice Shelf Dynamics and Stability (MIDAS)
Project MIDAS (Impact of Melt on Ice Shelf Dynamics And Stability) is a UK-based Antarctic research project, investigating the effects of a warming climate on the Larsen C ice shelf …
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 …
Data as art – Aesthetics of water
British Antarctic Survey has an ongoing science & art collaboration with glass artist and Royal College of Art MPhil candidate Wayne Binitie. Wayne has visited BAS a number of times …
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 …
DATA AS ART #10
Ice layers Radio waves can be transmitted down through an ice sheet, ice stream or glacier and are reflected off the internal layers in the ice as well as off …
DATA AS ART #09
Volcanic ash Ice cores are cylinders of ice (approximately 10cm wide) drilled out of an ice sheet or glacier. On the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, these can be up to …
Bedmap Himalayas
Bedmap Himalayas is an ongoing BAS core-funded and grant-funded programme that aims to measure how much water much is stored as glacier ice in High Mountain Asia. In warm weather, …
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 …
Ocean-driven ice-shelf thinning in Antarctica
By exploiting advances in ice sheet modelling, and new Antarctic-wide datasets, this project aims to predict how far and how fast the observed ocean-driven thinning of floating ice shelves will …
Dating and modelling fast ice-sheet grounding-line retreat in Antarctica
This project aims to exploit the peculiar way in which ice flows to provide new constraints on the retreat of the grounding line – the line that separates grounded ice …
Ice Sheet Modelling
The research of the ice sheet modelling group focuses on integrating observational data with dynamical models that describe how the ice flows in order to improve our representation of how …
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 …
Antarctic Climate over the last millennia
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 …
West Antarctica wind strength and atmospheric circulation
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 …
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’
BEAMISH: Basal Conditions on Rutford Ice Stream
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 …
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 …
iSTAR – Stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
Science on the move – the mission to understand the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
iSTAR-C Dynamical control on the response of Pine Island Glacier
iStar-C – strives to understand the dynamical control and response to change of Pine Island Glacier
Investigating volcanic and glacial processes using microseismicity
20 November, 2019
Cycle of sea ice dynamics in the Earth System working group
1 November, 2019
West Antarctic surface melt triggered by atmospheric rivers
28 October, 2019
Sea ice – ocean feedbacks in the Antarctic shelf seas
1 September, 2019
Understanding past changes in Southern Ocean sea ice
8 April, 2019
Anomalously high geothermal flux near the South Pole
15 November, 2018
Basal freeze-on generates complex ice-sheet stratigraphy
7 November, 2018
Intense winter surface melt on an Antarctic ice shelf
1 August, 2018
How dynamic are ice-stream beds?
4 May, 2018
The far reach of ice-shelf thinning in Antarctica
1 January, 2018
Subglacial access and investigation
1 January, 2018
Polar sea ice as a barometer and driver of change
1 January, 2018
The Response of Ice Sheets to Climate Variability
1 December, 2017
Heat flux distribution of Antarctica unveiled
28 November, 2017
Diverse landscapes beneath Pine Island Glacier influence ice flow
20 November, 2017
The spatial structure of the 128 ka Antarctic sea ice minimum
16 November, 2017
Regional Antarctic snow accumulation over the past 1000 years
10 November, 2017
Ice-sheet and glacier modelling
1 November, 2017
Impacts of the Larsen-C Ice Shelf calving event
1 August, 2017
Regional climate of the Larsen B embayment 1980–2014
1 August, 2017
Solve Antarctica’s sea-ice puzzle
19 July, 2017
A stochastic dynamical model of Arctic sea ice
1 July, 2017
Firn Model Intercomparison Experiment (FirnMICE)
1 June, 2017
Glacial meltwater identification in the Amundsen Sea
20 April, 2017
Tidal modulation of ice shelf buttressing stresses
1 April, 2017
Oceanography and sea ice in the Southern Ocean
1 March, 2017
Widespread Antarctic glaciation during the Late Eocene
1 January, 2017
Bed conditions of Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica
1 January, 2017
Radar observations of Arctic ice
1 January, 2017
Sensitivity of Pine Island Glacier to observed ocean forcing
28 October, 2016
Modeling Ice Shelf/Ocean Interaction in Antarctica: A Review
1 October, 2016
How warm was Greenland during the last interglacial period?
29 September, 2016
Journey of an Arctic ice island
1 June, 2016
Tidal controls on the flow of ice streams
16 May, 2016
Interglacials of the last 800,000 years
1 March, 2016
Introduction: an atlas of submarine glacial landforms
1 January, 2016
Nordvestfjord: a major East Greenland fjord system
1 January, 2016
Crescentic scours on palaeo-ice stream beds
1 January, 2016
Mapping submarine glacial landforms using acoustic methods
1 January, 2016
Bedrock channels in Pine Island Bay, West Antarctica
1 January, 2016
Stratified glacimarine basin-fills in West Greenland fjords
1 January, 2016
Debris-flow deposits on the West Antarctic continental slope
1 January, 2016
Modelling ice-ocean interactions in and around ice shelves
7 September, 2015
Glacial melt under a porous debris layer
1 September, 2015
Wind-driven upwelling around grounded tabular icebergs
1 August, 2015
Recent changes in Antarctic sea ice
1 July, 2015
Chaotic dynamics of a glaciohydraulic model
1 June, 2015
Foehn jets over the Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctica
1 April, 2015
Cryosphere: Entry beneath ice
16 March, 2015
Holocene glacier fluctuations
1 March, 2015
Föhn winds on South Georgia and their impacts on regional climate
28 November, 2014
The BAS ice shelf hot water drill: design, methods and tools
1 November, 2014
Greenland deglaciation puzzles
5 September, 2014
Measuring turbulent dissipation rates beneath an Antarctic ice shelf
1 September, 2014
Basal terraces on melting ice shelves
16 August, 2014
Bryozoa
1 August, 2014
Environmental setting
1 August, 2014
The seasonality of Antarctic sea ice trends
28 June, 2014
How old is the ice beneath Dome A, Antarctica?
27 June, 2014
A fluid situation
1 May, 2014
The subglacial geology of Wilkes Land, East Antarctica
16 April, 2014
Geothermal activity helps life survive glacial cycles
15 April, 2014
Ice cores and climate change
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 …
Rapid thinning of Pine Island Glacier in the early Holocene
21 February, 2014
Modelling ice-ocean interaction in ice shelf crevasses
1 February, 2014
Ice-Ocean Interactions in North West Greenland
1 January, 2014
The effect of basal channels on oceanic ice-shelf melting
1 December, 2013
A novel and low cost sea ice mass balance buoy
1 November, 2013
Exploration of a simple model for ice ages
1 November, 2013
A review of sea ice proxy information from polar ice cores
1 November, 2013
Modelling channelized surface drainage of supraglacial lakes
31 October, 2013
Pine Island Glacier ice shelf melt distributed at kilometre scales
26 September, 2013
Getz Ice Shelf melting response to changes in ocean forcing
1 September, 2013
East Antarctica’s Achilles heel
21 July, 2013
Ice sheets and nitrogen
5 July, 2013
Ice core methods, conductivity studies
19 June, 2013
Uncertain sea levels (Letter)
15 June, 2013
Sustained retreat of the Pine Island Glacier
28 May, 2013
Antarctica: global science from a frozen continent
4 April, 2013
BEDMAP2: Bedrock topography of Antarctica
15 March, 2013
Sea level variations during the last interglacial
1 March, 2013
Beyond point measurements: sea ice floes characterized in 3-D
12 February, 2013
Wintertime water mass modification near an Antarctic ice front
1 February, 2013
Observations: Cryosphere
1 January, 2013
A reconciled estimate of ice sheet mass balance
19 December, 2012
Biological processes on glacier and ice sheet surfaces
18 December, 2012
Ice-stream stability on a reverse bed slope
18 December, 2012
Sea Ice Proxy Working Group (SIP)
1 December, 2012
Iodine emissions from the sea ice of the Weddell Sea
27 November, 2012
Oceanographic conditions beneath Fimbul Ice Shelf, Antarctica
9 February, 2012
The Holocene history of George VI Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula
19 January, 2012
Can we predict the duration of an interglacial?
1 January, 2012
The Amundsen Sea and the Antarctic Ice Sheet
1 January, 2012
Wind-driven trends in Antarctic sea-ice drift
1 January, 2012
Ice-shelf basal channels in a coupled ice/ocean model
1 January, 2012
Icebergs and sea ice
1 January, 2012
Antarctic Peninsula. A visitor’s guide
1 January, 2012
Antarctic topography at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary
1 January, 2012
Frequency response of ice streams
1 January, 2012
Albedo of the ice covered Weddell and Bellingshausen Seas
1 January, 2012
The ice sheet
1 January, 2012
Subglacial lakes
1 January, 2012
Rock debris in an Antarctic ice shelf
1 January, 2012
Recent mass changes of glaciers in the Russian High Arctic
1 January, 2012
Antarctic palaeo-ice streams
1 January, 2012
Insignificant change in Antarctic snowmelt volume since 1979
1 January, 2012
The stability of grounding lines on retrograde slopes
1 January, 2012
A wireless subglacial probe for deep ice applications
1 January, 2012
Detection and attribution of Antarctic climate change
1 January, 2012
The consolidation and bond strength of rafted sea ice
1 January, 2012
Sensitivity of Pliocene ice sheets to orbital forcing
15 August, 2011
Inverse methods in glaciology
1 January, 2011
Present weather-sensor tests for measuring drifting snow
1 January, 2011
Methane and monsoons
1 January, 2011
Potential seaways across West Antarctica
1 January, 2011
The basal roughness of Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica
1 January, 2011
Kinematic waves in polar firn stratigraphy
1 January, 2011
A rate and state friction law for saline ice
1 January, 2011
The air content of Larsen Ice Shelf
1 January, 2011
The Mid-Brunhes Event and West Antarctic Ice Sheet stability
1 January, 2011
Antarctic ice-shelf thickness from satellite radar altimetry
1 January, 2011
The Pleistocene glaciations of the North Sea Basin
1 January, 2011
Impact of bedrock description on modeling ice sheet dynamics
1 January, 2011
The future of ocean drilling in the Southern Ocean
1 January, 2010
Searching for the oldest ice
1 January, 2010
Palaeoclimate Southern westerlies and CO2
1 January, 2010
Faunal evidence for a late quaternary trans-Antarctic Seaway
1 January, 2010
A model for the consolidation of rafted sea ice
1 January, 2010
Temperature and precipitation history of the Arctic
1 January, 2010
EPICA Dome C record of glacial and interglacial intensities
1 January, 2010
A numerical study of glacier advance over deforming till
1 January, 2010
Climate change: warm bath for an ice sheet
1 January, 2010
Air-Ice-Chemical Interactions (AICI)
1 January, 2009
Review. Antarctic climate change and the environment
1 January, 2009
The memory of polar ocean
1 January, 2009
Warming on Antarctica’s western fringes
1 January, 2009
Generalized Maxwell Love numbers
1 January, 2009
Sea-ice proxies in Antarctic ice cores
1 January, 2009
Validation of three global ocean models in the Weddell Sea
1 January, 2009
The Arctic cryosphere in the Mid-Pliocene and the future
1 January, 2009
Freshwater transport at Fimbulisen, Antarctica
1 January, 2009
Contrasting climate change in the two polar regions
1 January, 2009
Ice cores and astronauts
1 January, 2009
Antarctic climate change – why it matters to us
1 January, 2008
Analysis of GPS data from an Antarctic ice stream
1 January, 2008
The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica
1 January, 2008
The past 800 ka viewed through Antarctic ice cores
1 January, 2008
Cool chemistry
1 January, 2008
Ancient air in an Antarctic ice core
1 January, 2008
Ice/ocean interactions: urgent questions for AUVs
1 January, 2008
Ice scour disturbance in Antarctic waters
1 January, 2008
The heat is on
1 January, 2008
Flow stripes, GPR stratigraphy and RADARSAT imagery
1 January, 2008
Sat nav
1 January, 2008
Ice core analysis and dating techniques
1 January, 2007
Frozen in time: the chemistry of polar ice cores
1 January, 2007
The EDC3 chronology for the EPICA Dome C ice core
1 January, 2007
Did ice streams shape the largest channels on Mars?
1 January, 2007
Use of shear waves to measure Poisson’s ratio in polar firn
1 January, 2007
The ice-rock interface
1 January, 2007
Polar meltdown
1 January, 2007
Antarctic ice sheet: definitions and description
1 January, 2007
West Antarctic links to sea level estimation
1 January, 2007
Mass balance of Devon Ice Cap, Canadian Arctic
1 January, 2007
Antarctic Peninsula, glaciology of
1 January, 2007
Toward a new generation of ice sheet models
1 January, 2007
Melting of floating ice and sea level rise
1 January, 2007
Ice shelves
1 January, 2007
Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf
1 January, 2007
Tides and the flow of Rutford Ice Stream, West Antarctica
1 January, 2007
A continuum model of melt pond evolution on Arctic sea ice
1 January, 2007
An Antarctic assessment of IPCC AR4 coupled models
1 January, 2007
European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA)
1 January, 2006
The Antarctic ice sheet
1 January, 2006
Suspended frazil ice crystals below Filchner Ice Shelf
1 January, 2006
Antarctica: closer than you think
1 January, 2006
The Antarctic ice sheet and sea level rise
1 January, 2006
Future hot water drilling on Rutford Ice Stream 2004/05
1 January, 2006
Tidal vertical mixing beneath Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf
1 January, 2006
The future of ice core science
1 January, 2006
Ocean processes below Fimbulisen – modeling results
1 January, 2005
The EPICA challenge to the Earth system modeling community
1 January, 2004
Eight glacial cycles from an Antarctic ice core
1 January, 2004
Revealing Antarctica’s secrets
1 January, 2004
Frazil ice formation in an ice shelf water plume
1 January, 2004
Ice flow direction change in interior West Antarctica
1 January, 2004
Ronne inflow experiment – fieldwork
1 January, 2004
Ancient Antarctica
1 January, 2004
Oceanographic observations at the Amundsen shelf break
1 January, 2004
Thermoviscous stability of ice-sheet flows
1 January, 2004
The uses of Martian ice
1 January, 2004
Distribution of soluble impurities in cold glacial ice
1 January, 2004
An ice core indicator of Antarctic sea ice production?
1 January, 2003
Air-ice chemical interactions (AICI)
1 January, 2003
Modelling the ocean circulation beneath the Ross Ice Shelf
1 January, 2003
Optimal estimation of changes in the mass of ice sheets
1 January, 2003
Whither Antarctic sea ice?
1 January, 2003
From Port Stanley, 4th April, 2003
1 January, 2003
Thermomechanical coupling of ice flow with the bedrock
1 January, 2003
Transmission of basal variability to a glacier surface
1 January, 2003
Antarctic Climate Evolution (ACE) Research Initiative
1 January, 2003
SEM studies of the morphology and chemistry of polar ice
1 January, 2003
Subsurface crevasse formation in glaciers and ice sheets
1 January, 2003
Extending the ice core record beyond half a million years
1 January, 2002
Risk estimation of collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet
1 January, 2002
Fracture of Antarctic shelf ice
1 January, 2002
A medium-depth ice core drill
1 January, 2002
South Georgia : a landscape from rock, ice and sea
1 January, 2002
Introduction: volcano-ice interaction on Earth and Mars
1 January, 2002
1000 year ice-core records from Berkner Island, Antarctica
1 January, 2002
Stable-isotope records from Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica
1 January, 2002
Tide-induced lateral movement of Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica
1 January, 2002
Volcano-ice interaction on Earth and Mars
1 January, 2002
Antarctic glacial history and sea-level change
1 January, 2002
A tentative chronology for the EPICA Dome Concordia Ice Core
1 January, 2001
Ice stream shear margins
1 January, 2001
Ice in the earth system: the view from above
1 January, 2001
Rutford Ice Stream, Antarctica
1 January, 2001
Influence of channelling on heating in ice-sheet flows
1 January, 2001
Measurements of NOx emissions from the Antarctic snowpack
1 January, 2001
Inland Thinning of Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica
1 January, 2001
A day in the life of a glaciologist
1 January, 2001
History of the atmosphere from ice cores
1 January, 2000
When volcanoes erupt under ice
1 January, 2000
Subglacial eruptions
1 January, 2000
Migration of methane sulphonate in Antarctic firn and ice
1 January, 2000
Glacier surge propagation by thermal evolution at the bed
1 January, 2000
Sliding over anisotropic beds
1 January, 2000
Reassessment of net surface mass balance in Antarctica
1 January, 1999
Surface ablation rates on Moraine Corrie Glacier, Antarctica
1 January, 1999
Pore-water signal of marine ice-sheets
1 January, 1999
Differential scanning calorimetry studies on enchytraeids
1 January, 1999
The impact of melting ice on ocean waters
1 January, 1999
On the numerical computation of temperature in an ice sheet
1 January, 1999
The influence of ice on polar nearshore benthos
1 January, 1999
Antarctic glacial history and sea-level change
1 January, 1999
Local glaciers surrounding the continental ice sheets
1 January, 1998
Background to CRP-1, Cape Roberts Project, Antarctica
1 January, 1998
Snowmelt modelling on Signy Island, South Orkney Islands
1 January, 1998
Preface [to special section on Greenland Summit Ice Cores]
1 November, 1997
Historical observations of Prince Gustav Ice Shelf
1 October, 1997
Climate change: Icy message from the Antarctic
1 September, 1997
Photogrammetry as a research tool for glaciology
1 April, 1997
Normal modes of an ice sheet
1 March, 1997
Deforming beds: Viscous and plastic scales of deformation
1 January, 1997
Modelling temperature variations in polar snow using DAISY
1 January, 1997
Glacial flutes and iceberg furrows, Antarctic Peninsula
1 January, 1997
Glacially-influenced sediment drifts in the Rockall Trough
1 January, 1997
Stability of ice rises and uncoupled marine ice sheets
1 January, 1996
Stochastic perturbation of divide position
1 January, 1996
Interpreting natural climate signals in ice cores
1 November, 1995
Geology and seismic stratigraphy of the Antarctic Margin
1 January, 1995
A phase-changing dry snowpack model
1 January, 1995
Ice cores: profiles of the past
1 January, 1995
Tidal flexure at ice shelf margins
1 January, 1995
Nitrate in polar ice
1 January, 1995
Stabilists strike again
1 January, 1995
Snow surface temperatures in West Antarctica
1 December, 1994
Is this little PIG in hot water
1 January, 1994
Numerical modelling of Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf
1 January, 1994
Observation of a rift in the Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica
1 January, 1994
The BAS hot water drill
1 January, 1994
BAS hot water drilling on Ronne Ice Shelf, Antarctica
1 January, 1994
Ice sheet retreat from the Antarctic Peninsula shelf
1 January, 1994
Ocean circulation beneath Ronne Ice Shelf
1 January, 1994
Glacier geophysics fieldwork on Ronne Ice Shelf in 1992/1993
1 January, 1994
ERS-1 SAR: stress indicator for Antarctic ice streams
1 January, 1994
Updated Mapping Datasets for Antarctica
12 May, 2020
A newly updated Antarctic Digital Database is released today (12 May 2020). Aimed at the science and logistics communities, the maps include updates to the ice shelf front around Thwaites …
Drilling projects set to break new ground
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 …
Earth Day 2020: The Song of the Ice
22 April, 2020
*Did you miss the live event on 22 April? The recording is now available: https://youtu.be/8r3xdrp5GGI* Join us tonight (22 April) for the online launch of The Song of the Ice …
Scientists drill for first time on remote Antarctic Glacier
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 …
New high-precision map of Antarctica’s bed topography
12 December, 2019
A team of glaciologists has unveiled the most accurate portrait yet of the contours of the land beneath Antarctica’s ice sheet – and, by doing so, has helped identify which …
Ice core inspired art installation opens in London
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 …
New mission for 1.5 million year climate record
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 …
Study shows melting ice sheets will disrupt climate
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 …
Scientists drill to record depths in West Antarctica
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 …
Essential cargo delivered for science on Thwaites Glacier
14 January, 2019
The British Antractic Survey’s vessel RRS Ernest Shackleton teamed up with the Royal Navy survey ship HMS Protector to help scientists begin a five-year mission to understand how West Antarctica …
Scientists complete remote ice core drilling mission
10 January, 2019
A team of scientists and engineers from British Antarctic Survey and the University of Cambridge has successfully drilled over 650 metres in to an Antarctic ice cap to obtain an …
Ice sheets growing from the base
7 November, 2018
Fresh water freezing onto the bottom of the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets leads to the formation of spectacular plume-shaped features, according to new research published today (7th November) in …
Prestigious award for BAS early career scientist
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 …
Measuring glaciers in the Himalayan mountains
11 October, 2018
Technology pioneered in Antarctica could soon be providing much-needed data on the amount of ice in the glaciers of High Mountain Asia thanks to an ingenious helicopter-mounted, low-frequency radar developed …
Melt-rate of West Antarctic Ice Sheet highly sensitive to changes in ocean temperatures
13 August, 2018
Melting of ice shelves in West Antarctica speeds up and slows down in response to changes in deep ocean temperature, and is far more variable than previously thought, according to …
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. …
New study reveals increased snowfall in Antarctica over last two centuries
9 April, 2018
The first comprehensive study of snowfall across Antarctica provides vital information in the study of future sea-level rise. Presenting this week (Monday 9 April 2018) at the European Geosciences Union …
Boaty returns from first mission under the ice
13 March, 2018
The yellow high-tech autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), affectionately known as Boaty McBoatface, has successfully returned from an ambitious science expedition deep below half a kilometre of ice. It is the …
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 …
Tiny ice losses at Antarctica’s fringes can accelerate ice loss far away
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 …
Giant West Antarctic iceberg disintegrates
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 …
Maps reveal landscape beneath Antarctica’s weak underbelly
20 November, 2017
A UK team of researchers has produced high-resolution maps of the bed beneath a major glacier in West Antarctica, which will help them predict future sea-level rise from this region. …
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 …
FEATURED PAPER: Wind, warm water and ice-sheet loss
5 October, 2017
Wind-driven incursions of warm, deep water forced the retreat of West Antarctic glaciers from the end of the last ice age until 7,500 years ago and since the 1940s. These …
Large iceberg breaks off Pine Island Glacier
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 …
Impact of giant Antarctic iceberg – update on Larsen-C
2 August, 2017
The largest remaining ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula lost 10% of its area when an iceberg four times the size of London broke free earlier this month. Since …
Huge Antarctic iceberg finally breaks free
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 …
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 …
Ice cap once covered sub-antarctic island of South Georgia
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 …
New footage shows crack in Larsen C Ice Shelf
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 …
Giant iceberg set to calve from Larsen C Ice Shelf
6 January, 2017
A huge iceberg, roughly the size of Norfolk, looks set to break away from the Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. Larsen C is more than twice the size …
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 …
Quest begins for oldest ice on Earth
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 …
FEATURED PAPER: Tidal controls on ice streams
18 October, 2016
The often large ocean tides around Antarctica can greatly affect the flow of ice streams even long distances upstream of their grounding lines. Observing and modelling this interaction serves as …
Polar ice reveals secrets of carbon-climate feedbacks
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.
A recent pause in Antarctic Peninsula warming
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.
Ocean warming primary cause of glacier retreat
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.
FEATURED PAPER: Improved modelling of ice-ocean processes
19 May, 2016
Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica is currently one of the single biggest contributors to sea-level rise with an estimated volume loss of 1.2mm sea-level equivalent per decade. The loss …
On the ice opportunity for PhD students and Early Career Researchers
7 April, 2016
16 PhD students and Early Career Researchers have a unique opportunity to gain practical skills for working safely and effectively in the polar regions.
FEATURED PAPER: Recent snowfall increase
16 December, 2015
This paper reveals that the amount of snowfall in coastal West Antarctica has increased during the 20th century, with annual snow accumulation since the 1990s the highest we have observed …
PRESS RELEASE: West Antarctica snow accumulation
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 …
NEWS STORY: New polar ship bidder selected
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 …
NEWS STORY: Predicting polar ice loss
28 August, 2015
Most comprehensive ice loss model A new international study is the first to use a high-resolution, large-scale computer model to estimate how much ice the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could …
FEATURED PAPER: Glacier response to ice shelf collapse
12 August, 2015
In February 2002, satellite images from a remote location in Antarctica revealed how an immense volume of floating ice, up to 1km thick, suddenly collapsed. Over the course of a …
NEWS STORY: Polar ice cores reveal volcanic eruptions
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 …
PRESS RELEASE: Ice shelf at double risk
13 May, 2015
New study shows Antarctic ice shelf is thinning from above and below A decade-long scientific debate about what’s causing the thinning of one of Antarctica’s largest ice shelves is settled …
NEWS STORY: BAS at recruitment exhibition
17 April, 2015
British Antarctic Survey takes part in the National Engineering & Construction Recruitment Exhibition 2015 British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is recruiting for engineers and construction workers at this year’s National Engineering …
NEWS STORY: Melting rates accelerate
26 March, 2015
New research shows volume loss from Antarctic ice shelves is accelerating New research published today in the journal Science Express (Thursday 26 March) describes how the ice shelves around Antarctica …
NEWS STORY: Frozen in to the Arctic winter
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 …
NEWS STORY: Glacier project on stamps
25 November, 2014
Stamp of approval for iSTAR The iSTAR programme, which is looking at the stability of Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica, is featured in a new set of British Antarctic Territory …
NEWS STORY: New iSTAR season starts
11 November, 2014
Scientists head to Pine Island Glacier for new research season A team of twelve scientists and support staff has arrived on Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica in the second …
NEWS STORY: Ice shelf break up explained
12 September, 2014
Antarctic Team Discovers Mechanism for Massive Ice Shelf Collapse New research has found that the cataclysmic break-up of a large floating ice shelf in the early 2000’s was primarily the …
NEWS STORY: Sea levels rising faster in Antarctica
1 September, 2014
Antarctic sea-level rising faster than global rate A new study of satellite data from the last 19 years reveals that fresh water from melting glaciers has caused the sea-level around …
NEWS STORY: Unlocking clues to past climate
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 …
PRESS RELEASE: Glacier’s thinning charted
20 February, 2014
Previous rapid thinning of Pine Island Glacier sheds light on future Antarctic ice loss New research, published this week in Science, suggests that the largest single contributor to global sea …
NEWS STORY: First phase of glacier mission ends
10 February, 2014
First leg of Antarctic iSTAR mission accomplished A team of British scientists has returned from a gruelling 1500km journey across the ice of West Antarctica after successfully completing the first …
NEWS STORY: Glacier thinning at point of no return
14 January, 2014
Focus on Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica Pine Island Glacier, on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is the largest single contributor to sea-level rise in Antarctica. The stability of the …
PRESS RELEASE: Pine Island Glacier and climatic variability
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 …
NEWS STORY: Climate records from ice cores
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 …
NEWS STORY: “Stripes” hinder ice flow
8 November, 2013
Tiger stripes’ under Antarctic glacier slow the flow Narrow stripes of dirt and rock beneath massive Antarctic glaciers create friction zones that slow the flow of ice toward the sea, …
NEWS STORY: Ice melt rates measured
13 September, 2013
Antarctic research details ice melt below massive glacier An expedition of international scientists to the far reaches of Antarctica’s remote Pine Island Glacier has yielded exact measurements of an undersea …
PRESS RELEASE: Evidence of life in frozen sediments
10 September, 2013
Life found in the sediments of an Antarctic subglacial lake for the first time Evidence of diverse life forms dating back nearly a hundred thousand years has been found in …
NEWS STORY: Mission to Pine Island Glacier
9 September, 2013
Ambitious science mission sets off for Antarctica A team of British scientists is making final preparations for an ambitious Antarctic science mission. They aim to discover what’s causing the recent …
NEWS STORY: Measuring icequakes
28 August, 2013
Icequakes unlock secrets of icestreams Measuring tiny icequakes is helping British Antarctic Survey scientists investigate ice streams despite the challenging environment they have to work in. The work of Emma …
PRESS RELEASE: Increase in melt rates on Antarctic Peninsula
14 April, 2013
New insight into accelerating summer ice melt on the Antarctic Peninsula A new 1000-year Antarctic Peninsula climate reconstruction shows that summer ice melting has intensified almost ten-fold, and mostly since …
NEWS STORY: Royal Society accolade for expert
20 March, 2013
Top scientist receives Royal Society Research Professorship to fund long-term UK research A Royal Society Research Professorship has been awarded to one of British Antarctic Survey’s leading climate scientists Professor …
NEWS STORY: Greenland ice shows past trends
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 …
NEWS STORY: Sea level rise calculated
30 November, 2012
British Antarctic Survey researchers part of landmark study to improve projections for future sea level An international team of satellite experts including researchers at British Antarctic Survey has produced the …
PRESS RELEASE: Ice sheet behaviour analysed
17 October, 2012
Ice sheet retreat controlled by the landscape Ice-sheet retreat can halt temporarily during long phases of climate warming, according to scientists. A UK team led by Durham University has found …
NEWS STORY: Assessing potential sea level rise
10 May, 2012
New studies improve scientists’ understanding of the potential contribution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to global sea level rise Three peer-reviewed papers in Nature and Nature Geoscience published in recent …
PRESS RELEASE: Ocean currents driving ice loss
25 April, 2012
Warm ocean currents cause majority of ice loss from Antarctica Reporting this week (Thursday 26 April) in the journal Nature, an international team of scientists led by British Antarctic Survey …
PRESS RELEASE: Study of largest glacier
5 December, 2011
Scientist on BBC Frozen Planet investigates how world’s largest glacier is contributing to sea-level rise A team of scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is to survey the largest glacier …
PRESS RELEASE: Glacier’s melt rate quickens
27 June, 2011
Warm ocean speeds melting of Antarctic glacier New results from an investigation into a large glacier in Antarctica and its impact on global sea level rise are published this week …
PRESS RELEASE: Greenland drilling progress
2 August, 2010
Greenland Ice Core Team Reaches Bedrock Bedrock has been reached Tuesday July 27 2010 at the deep ice core drilling site North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (NEEM) on the Greenland …
PRESS RELEASE: Ice thinning captured by satellites
23 September, 2009
Lasers from space show thinning of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets The most comprehensive picture of the rapidly thinning glaciers along the coastline of both the Antarctic and Greenland ice …
PRESS RELEASE: 3D map aids ice flow estimates
20 July, 2009
New research provides insight into ice sheet behaviour A new study published this week takes scientists a step further in their quest to understand how Antarctica’s vast glaciers will contribute …