Rothera Time Series
Earth System indicators in Antarctica
Oceanography
Polar oceans influence the entire Earth System in all areas, including the seas around the UK. The polar oceans have an enormous capacity to store and redistribute fresh water, heat, carbon dioxide and other climatically-important substances. Oceanographic studies help make more accurate predictions about global impacts.
The role of the Southern Ocean in regulating atmospheric CO2 on glacial-interglacial timescales
The cause of the variability in atmospheric CO2 over glacial-interglacial timescales has been a puzzle since its discovery in the early 1980s. It is widely believed to be related to …
Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Sea-Surface
In order to assess the impact of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) on the oceans today we are investigating the effect of decreasing upper ocean pH on calcifying zooplankton. Pteropods, …
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 …
SONA
The Southern Ocean Network of Acoustics (SONA) represents a group of scientific institutes and industrial partners who have united to measure an under-sampled component of the ecosystem – the mid-trophic …
iSTAR-B Ocean circulation and melting beneath the ice shelves of the south-eastern Amundsen Sea
iStar-B studies ocean circulation and melting beneath the ice shelves of the south-eastern Amundsen Sea
iSTAR-A Ocean2Ice Processes and variability
iStar-B strives to better understand ocean and ice interaction, processes and variability
iSTAR – Stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
Science on the move – the mission to understand the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
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 …
ASCCC
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 …
Antarctic tipping points
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 …
Un-mixing the ocean: double diffusion and turbulence in polar oceans
19 January, 2022
Boaty McBoatface returns home with unprecedented data
28 June, 2017
Researchers have captured unprecedented data about some of the coldest abyssal ocean waters on earth – known as Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) – during the first voyage of the yellow …
Plastic pollution in the Antarctic worse than expected
19 June, 2017
The levels of microplastic particles accumulating in the Antarctic are much worse than expected, a team of experts has warned. The continent is considered to be a pristine wilderness compared …
British Antarctic Survey at Bluedot Festival 2017
14 June, 2017
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is delighted to be participating in this year’s Bluedot music festival in Macclesfield 7-9 July. The event, which last year attracted over 20,000 visitors, is billed …
The first dive of Boaty McBoatface
7 April, 2017
The unmanned submersible Boaty McBoatface was deployed in the Antarctic for the first time.
Local weather plays part in retreat of glacier
17 February, 2017
Local weather plays an important part in the retreat of the ice shelves in West Antarctica, according to new research published in the journal Nature Communications today (Friday 17 February). …
Scientists explain how meltwater reaches ocean depths
30 January, 2017
An international team of researchers has discovered why fresh water, melted from Antarctic ice sheets, is often detected below the surface of the ocean, rather than rising to the top …
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 …
New polar ship reaches first construction milestone
17 October, 2016
Keel-laying ceremony at Cammell Laird
Ship assists satellite missions
26 September, 2016
On 20 September 2016 the British Antarctic Survey ship, the RRS James Clark Ross, set sail on its long voyage from Immingham in the UK to Stanley in the Falkland …
Nature’s ocean fertiliser
20 September, 2016
Scientists have discovered that Antarctic krill – a tiny shrimp-like crustacean – plays a key role in fertilising the Southern Ocean with iron, which stimulates the growth of phytoplankton, the …