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 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 …
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, …
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 …
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 studies ocean circulation and melting beneath the ice shelves of the south-eastern Amundsen Sea
iStar-B strives to better understand ocean and ice interaction, processes and variability
Science on the move – the mission to understand the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
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 …
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 …
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 …
19 January, 2022
24 July, 2025
A new study has revealed that ocean tides can directly influence when massive Antarctic icebergs break off from the ice shelves surrounding the continent, a process known as calving. The research marks a major step toward accurately forecasting ice loss from the Antarctic Ice Sheet and improving projections of global sea level rise.
25 June, 2025
Professor Mike Meredith is an oceanographer at British Antarctic Survey. He concludes a first of its kind science cruise on the RRS Sir David Attenborough conducting research in the polar …
4 April, 2025
For the first time, scientists have collected measurements close to a giant iceberg, giving an unprecedented window into the impact of meltwater on the surrounding Southern Ocean and ecosystem. The …
5 February, 2025
Scientists return to the Southern Ocean this week (5 February 2025), as part of the BIOPOLE project, to answer fundamental questions about how nutrients drive the global carbon cycle and …
20 November, 2024
New research shows that increased levels of plastic pollution in the Southern Ocean could reduce the ability of Antarctic krill, a tiny shrimp-like crustacean, to help take CO2 from the atmosphere. The …
19 November, 2024
An international research team, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), has been awarded £3.7M to advance a ground-breaking study on how underwater tsunamis are triggered by glacier calving around Antarctica. …
20 November, 2023
A team of international researchers set sail on the RRS Sir David Attenborough today (20 November) to answer some of the big questions about how Antarctic ecosystems and sea ice …
18 August, 2023
Today, hundreds of international scientists are sounding a clarion call for urgent expansion of Southern Ocean research in the emerging climate crisis. 300 scientists from 25 nations have been meeting …
12 June, 2023
Antarctic Bottom Water is the coldest, densest water mass on the planet and plays a pivotal role in regulating the ocean’s ability to store heat and capture carbon. In a …
23 November, 2022
Scientists on a research vessel in Antarctica watched the front of a glacier disintegrate and their measurements ‘went off the scale’. As well as witnessing disruptions on the ocean surface, …