BAS-Arctic Working Group
Working Group purpose
The Arctic Working Group is a group of more than 60 BAS scientists and operations staff who are currently working in the Arctic or have aspirations to work there. The AWG was started in 2018 to bring together researchers in different fields to share their experiences of Arctic research, to enable new collaborations, and to maximise the potential output of this group by coordinating efforts and knowledge regarding Arctic projects, funding calls and logistics.
Terms of Reference
Content coming soon
Our priorities
Content coming soon
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 …SDOO
Abrupt warming episodes punctuate Greenland ice core records throughout the last glacial period. These events were first identified in two Greenland stable water isotope records (Dansgaard et al., 1993), and …
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 …
TEA-COSI
TEA_COSI assesses Arctic Sea-ice which has an important impact on currents and ocean circulations around the globe
UKESM-BAS
Reliable projections of the Earth’s climate are at the heart of scientific support for international efforts to address global change. There is increasing recognition that reliable projections require that physical …
ESA IAP ArcticSat project
Situational awareness in the ArcticAerosol-Cloud and Climate interations in the Arctic
Developing a better understanding of cloud and aerosol processes in the Arctic in order to improve climate models.
ICE-ARC
physicists, chemists, biologists, economists, and sociologists from 21 institutes in 11 countries across Europe assess the rapid retreat and collapse of Arctic sea-ice cover
SIOS
Svalbard Integrated Earth Observing System (SIOS) is an international infrastructure project. There are 26 partners from Europe and Asia involved. The essential objective is to establish better coordinated services for …
SEANA
Global shipping is undergoing significant changes. In January 2020 the maximum sulphur emission by ships in international waters will reduce from 3.5% to 0.5% by mass, as a result of …
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 …
ICEMAR
The EC-funded ICEMAR project is a GMES pilot service delivering sea ice information products directly to ships navigating through sea ice in the Arctic.
EISCAT Science Support
The UK EISCAT support group (UKESG) is a collaboration between the British Antarctic Survey and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, funded via the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) EISCAT, the …Iceland Greenland seas Project
PI: Ian Renfrew (University of East Anglia) CO-I’s: Tom Bracegirdle, Tom Lachlan-Cope, Alexandra Weiss PDRA’s: Andrew Elvidge (University of East Anglia), James Pope NERC Grant: NE/N009924/1 Project Partners: Robert Pickart …
ACSIS
Major changes are occurring across the North Atlantic climate system: in the ocean and atmosphere temperatures and circulation, in sea ice thickness and extent, and in key atmospheric constituents such …
Britain’s Arctic Research Station celebrates 30 years of science and monitoring climate change
28 September, 2021
The Arctic Station in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard in Norway, the UK’s permanent Arctic research facility, celebrates its 30 years anniversary this week (Tuesday 28 September) as it continues to undertake critical …
BAS celebrates International Day of Women and Girls in Science
11 February, 2022 by Melody Clark
Today, 11 February, is International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a global initiative led by UNESCO and UN-Women. To celebrate, we have asked some of our female staff …
Diversity and ecology of fungal assemblages present in lake sediments at Clearwater Mesa, James Ross Island, Antarctica, assessed using metabarcoding of environmental DNA
12 August, 2022 by Peter Convey
We detected the fungal assemblages present in lake sediments on James Ross Island, Antarctica, using DNA metabarcoding. A total of 132 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were assigned, dominated by taxa…Variations in Observations of Geosynchronous Magnetopause and Last Closed Drift Shell Crossings with Magnetic Local Time
10 August, 2022 by Mervyn Freeman, Richard Horne, Sarah Glauert, Thomas Daggitt
We analyse a set of events in which both electron flux dropouts caused by magnetopause shadowing and geosynchronous magnetopause crossings (GMCs) are observed. These observations are compared to event-specific last…Royal Geographical Society (with IBG ) Medals and Awards celebration 2022 [Speech]
8 August, 2022 by Jane Francis
The Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) annual Medals and Awards recognise achievements in researching, communicating and teaching a wide range of geographical knowledge. The speeches and citations are a record…Read more on Royal Geographical Society (with IBG ) Medals and Awards celebration 2022 [Speech]
Latitudinal variance in the drivers and pacing of warmth during mid‐Pleistocene MIS 31 in the Antarctic Zone of the Southern Ocean
5 August, 2022 by Lara Perez Miguel, Victoria Peck
Early Pleistocene Marine Isotope Stage (MIS)-31 (1.081 to 1.062 Ma) is a unique interval of extreme global warming, including evidence of a West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) collapse. Here we…First record of the Indian meal moth Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) at a research station in Antarctica
3 August, 2022 by Peter Convey
We report the first formal record of the Indian meal moth Plodia interpunctella from a location within the Antarctic Treaty area, with the capture of a live adult male within…Microbiomic analysis of bacteria associated with rock tripe lichens in Continental and Maritime Antarctic regions
3 August, 2022 by Peter Convey
Increased research attention is being given to bacterial diversity associated with lichens. Rock tripe lichens (Umbilicariaceae) were collected from two distinct Antarctic biological regions, the continental region near the Japanese…Simulated winter warming negatively impacts survival of Antarctica’s only endemic insect
3 August, 2022 by Peter Convey
1. Antarctic winters are challenging for terrestrial invertebrates, and species that live there have specialised adaptations to conserve energy and protect against cold injury in the winter. However, rapidly occurring…New confirmed depth limit of Antarctic macroalgae: Palmaria decipiens found at 100 m depth in the Southern Ocean
3 August, 2022 by Ben Robinson, Simon Morley
Living specimens of the macroalga Palmaria decipiens were collected from 100 m depth, representing a new confirmed depth record, considerably exceeding the previous record of 42 m depth. Previous deeper…Antarctic sea ice over the past 130 000 years, Part 1: A review of what proxy records tell us
2 August, 2022 by Claire Allen, Louise Sime, Matthew Chadwick
Antarctic sea ice plays a critical role in the Earth system, influencing energy, heat and freshwater fluxes, air–sea gas exchange, ice shelf dynamics, ocean circulation, nutrient cycling, marine productivity and…History of the Anvers-Hugo Trough, western Antarctic Peninsula shelf, since the Last Glacial Maximum. Part II: Palaeo-productivity and palaeoceanographic changes during the Last Glacial Transition
1 August, 2022 by Claire Allen, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, James Smith, Kelly Hogan, Robert Larter, Zoe Roseby
Following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ca. 23-19 calibrated [cal.] kyr before present [BP]), atmospheric and oceanic warming, together with global sea-level rise, drove widespread deglaciation of the Antarctic Ice…Seven snail species hidden in one: Biogeographic diversity in an apparently widespread periwinkle in the Southern Ocean
1 August, 2022 by Simon Morley
Aim: The Antarctic Circumpolar Current imparts significant structure to the Southern Ocean biota. The Antarctic Polar Front is a major barrier to dispersal, with separate species (or sometimes intraspecific clades)…Stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the pre-industrial Holocene
1 August, 2022 by James Smith, Joanne Johnson, Liz Thomas
The rate and magnitude of the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) contribution to global sea-level rise beyond 2100 CE remains highly uncertain. Past changes of the AIS, however, offer opportunities to…Read more on Stability of the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the pre-industrial Holocene
Does maritime Antarctic permafrost harbor environmental fungi with pathogenic potential?
1 August, 2022 by Peter Convey
We assessed the potentially pathogenic fungi in Antarctic permafrost and the overlying active layer on King George, Robert, Livingston and Deception Islands in the South Shetland Islands archipelago, maritime Antarctica.…A record of microplastic in the marine nearshore waters of South Georgia
1 August, 2022 by Clara Manno, Claire Waluda
The polar plastics research community have recommended the spatial coverage of microplastic investigations in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean be increased. Presented here is a baseline estimate of microplastics in…Read more on A record of microplastic in the marine nearshore waters of South Georgia
Tipping cycles
1 August, 2022 by Michael Thorne
Instability in Jacobians is determined by the presence of an eigenvalue lying in the right half plane. The coefficients of the characteristic polynomial contain information related to the specific matrix…Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen cycling along the west Antarctic Peninsula during summer
1 August, 2022 by Michael Meredith
The cycling of dissolved organic matter in the productive west Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) region is not well understood. For this study, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) concentrations and…Increasing Accumulation of Perfluorocarboxylate Contaminants Revealed in an Antarctic Firn Core (1958–2017)
26 July, 2022 by Anna Jones, Markus Frey, Robert Mulvaney, Holly Winton
Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are synthetic chemicals with a variety of industrial and consumer applications that are now widely distributed in the global environment. Here, we report the measurement of six…Crustal block origins of the South Scotia Ridge
26 July, 2022 by Alex Burton-Johnson, Kelly Hogan, Philip Leat, Teal Riley
The Cenozoic development of the Scotia Sea and opening of Drake Passage evolved in a complex tectonic setting with sea-floor spreading accompanied by the dispersal of continental fragments and the…Read more on Crustal block origins of the South Scotia Ridge
Understanding Sources and Drivers of Size-Resolved Aerosol in the High Arctic Islands of Svalbard Using a Receptor Model Coupled with Machine Learning
25 July, 2022 by Amelie Kirchgaessner, Anna Jones
Atmospheric aerosols are important drivers of Arctic climate change through aerosol–cloud–climate interactions. However, large uncertainties remain on the sources and processes controlling particle numbers in both fine and coarse modes.…Variety and distribution of diatom-based sea-ice proxies in Antarctic marine sediments of the past 2ka
22 July, 2022 by Claire Allen, Zelna Weich
Antarctic sea ice is an essential component of the global climate system. Reconstructions of Antarctic sea ice from marine sediment cores are a vital resource to improve the representation of…
