Digital Twins of the Polar Regions
Digital Twinning is next generation technology for data fusion and computer modelling enabling us to rapidly get answers to “what-if” questions. DTs are already in operation in industry and involve …
Sea-level rise
Changes to the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets affects sea level all over the world.
Changes to the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets affects sea level all over the world. On the Antarctic Peninsula and in West Antarctica, the ice sheet is thinning, and satellite data reveals this rate is accelerating. Warm ocean currents deep beneath the ice shelves are melting the ice and causing it to flow into the sea faster than snow can accumulate.
SO-WISE
We are constructing observationally-constrained estimates of the state of the Weddell Gyre, including associated ice shelves and sea ice Introduction In the 25 years between 1992 and 2017, ocean melting …
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 …
International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration
This joint UK-US research programme aims to improve the understanding of the processes affecting ice sheet stability to predict, with more certainty, the future impact of sea-level rise from Thwaites …
Data As Art
DATA AS ART is an ongoing science & art project in development at NERC’s British Antarctic Survey (BAS). It visualises science data (in its widest definition), to create stunning and …
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 …
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 …
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
This project will reconstruct millennial-scale ice sheet change in the western Amundsen Sea Embayment, Antarctica, using high-precision exposure dating.
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 …
Sea-level rise
30 June, 2022
Introduction Sea-level rise increases the frequency of coastal flooding events and threatens coastal populations around the world. Why is sea-level rise important? Around 148 million people are exposed to coastal …
Seafloor images explain Thwaites Glacier retreat
5 September, 2022
New high resolution images of the the seafloor in West Antarctica show past retreat of Thwaites Glacier. They reveal that at times in its past, retreat of the massive Thwaites …
The threat from Thwaites: the retreat of Antarctica’s riskiest glacier
14 December, 2021
Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier is retreating rapidly as a warming ocean slowly erases its ice from below, leading to a faster flow, more fracturing and a threat of collapse, according to …
Antarctic glacier is ripping apart at ice front, causing it to gain speed
11 June, 2021
For decades, the ice shelf helping to hold back one of the fastest-moving glaciers in Antarctica – Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica – has gradually thinned. Analysis of satellite …
Underwater robot reveals how Thwaites Glacier is melting
19 April, 2021
For the first time, researchers have collected data from underneath the remote Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica using an underwater robot.
New autonomous robotic for RRS Sir David Attenborough
15 March, 2021
A new unmanned robotic vehicle on the RRS Sir David Attenborough will help scientists to understand the impact of glaciers on sea-level rise.
Do your PhD with British Antarctic Survey in 2021
25 November, 2020
Applications for PhD projects with British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are now open for October 2021 admission. There are currently over 100 PhD students associated with BAS, working on a huge variety …
Deep channels link ocean to Antarctic glacier
9 September, 2020
Newly discovered deep seabed channels beneath Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica may be the pathway for warm ocean water to melt the underside of the ice. Data from two research …
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 …
Scientists head to Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier
14 November, 2019
Nearly 100 scientists and support staff depart this week (13 November 2019) for the most ambitious mission to date for Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. In the second year of …
Solar heat drives rapid melting of Antarctic Ice Shelf
29 April, 2019
A section of the world’s largest ice shelf in Antarctica – around the size of Spain – is melting 10 times faster than average and warm ocean currents beneath it …