Understanding Antarctic and Arctic marine ecosystems by exploring biodiversity and resilience to environmental change is critical for making policy decisions that will lead to effective stewardship and sustainable management of marine resources. This strand of research combines existing long-term data with new field-based and experimental observations to explore the impact of environmental change on marine ecosystems.
It is now estimated that >30,000 whales visit South Georgia in summer, making this sub-Antarctic island the highest-density UK hotspot for recovering whales, including critically endangered Antarctic blue whales. The …
The evolution and ecology of Antarctic sea floor communities is a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, led by Dr Rowan Whittle, looking at the past, present and future of life at …
Whales are the largest krill predators in the UK Overseas territory of South Georgia, yet their impacts on krill stocks are poorly understood. Recently, whale surveys revealed high summer abundance …
CONSEC is addressing the challenge to understand the links between the biodiversity, structure and function of Southern Ocean ecosystems and the impacts of rapid environmental changes to improve scientific knowledge …
This is a Darwin Plus project, funded by Defra, and its activities are focussed in the UK Overseas Territory (OT) of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands. The project …
The South Georgia Pelagic Biodiversity project is a Darwin-funded project, led by BAS, and in partnership with the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI) and the …
The Greenland Ice Sheet is decaying at an accelerating rate in response to climate change. Warm ocean waters moving through the fjords eventually meet the faces of marine-terminating glaciers, increasing …
This Darwin Plus funded project aims to improve our understanding of how Antarctic krill, foraging whales and the krill fishery interact in space and time, to improve krill fishery management …
The HEXPLORES project aims to explore for active hydrothermal vents in the Red Sea Rift. Although the Red Sea Rift hosts the world’s largest submarine metalliferous sulphide deposit, no active …
The Winter Krill project is a Darwin Plus project, funded by Defra, and its activities are focussed on South Georgia (SG), which is part of the UK Overseas Territory (OT) …
1 June, 2023
Concern is rising about tipping points in the Antarctic region (Armstrong et al., 2022). Recent heatwaves, changes in the Southern Ocean, and a reduction in the extent of Antarctic sea …
12 October, 2022
The amazing survival strategies of polar marine creatures might help to explain how the first animals on Earth could have evolved earlier than the oldest fossils suggest according to new …
8 September, 2022
New equipment designed by British Antarctic Survey is helping scientists to study the impact of microplastics in the ocean. The Ocean Plastic Incubator Chamber (OPIC) exposes various types of plastics …
10 June, 2022
A new Data Portal is being launched today by the British Antarctic Survey and the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI), which will help to enhance the management of one of the world’s largest Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
8 June, 2022
A new dataset featuring hundreds of satellite images of whales has been published to support the development of artificial intelligence systems which will aid crucial conservation work.
10 March, 2022
New research shows the slow growth in Antarctic fish is linked to problems making proteins.
7 February, 2022
A new study highlights there could be up to four times more fish in the mesopelagic, or ‘twilight’, zone of the Southern Ocean than previously thought. Scientists at British Antarctic …
10 January, 2022
Marine life hitching a ride on ocean-crossing ships poses a threat to Antarctica’s pristine ecosystems, with the potential for invasive species to arrive from almost anywhere across the globe, say …
17 August, 2021
Warming water and receding sea ice in the Western Antarctic Peninsula is changing the local plankton community with potential consequences for climate change, according to an international team of researchers. …
20 July, 2021
The UK and Australia’s two new polar research ships get together off the coast of Falmouth during sea trials.
30 June, 2021
The RRS Sir David Attenborough (SDA) is getting ready for its next round of sea trials. This is an important part of the preparations for the ship’s first Antarctic mission. The …