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
Map of Arctic Working Group projects
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 Arctic
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 …
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 …
Increasing ship traffic in Inuit Nunangat
17 August, 2023
Researchers from British Antarctic Survey are heading to the Canadian Arctic this week to learn more about the impacts of increasing ship traffic in Inuit Nunangat. In recent years, climate …
Poet Laureate visits UK Arctic Research Station
14 July, 2023
The UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage CBE has travelled to the UK Arctic Research Station, where he will create new works inspired by the visit. While hosted at the UK …
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 …
Inferring the ice sheet sliding law from seismic observations: A Pine Island Glacier case study
21 January, 2026 by Alex Brisbourne, Andy Smith, Rosie Williams, James Smith, Kevin Hank, Robert Arthern
The response of the Antarctic ice sheet to climate change and its contribution to sea level under different emission scenarios are subject to large uncertainties. A key uncertainty is the…Thermal responses and climate change implications of spring and autumn spawning Patagonian squid (Doryteuthis gahi) embryos
17 January, 2026 by Simon Morley
Ocean warming affects ectotherm physiological and phenological processes, potentially creating mismatches between early life stages and their prey. Seasonal spawning cohorts are thought to provide flexibility in responding to environmental…New Folsomotoma species (Collembola) found on Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands
14 January, 2026 by Peter Convey
Here we describe a new springtail species found on Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island. The new species, Folsomotoma punctata, is known from sub-Antarctic South Georgia, but this is a first occurrence…The development of a Global Ocean Wildlife Analysis Network of Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems – Drivers, successes, challenges and future aspirations
13 January, 2026 by Simon Morley
The Global Biodiversity Framework underpins global policies driving marine protection and conservation. Meeting the targets of these policies requires an understanding of how marine ecosystems respond to anthropogenic pressures such…Putative drivers of maritime Antarctic soil resistomes in the early 21st century: A baseline for monitoring environmental change and human influence
9 January, 2026 by Kevin Newsham
Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are present in all ecosystems and encode the defences that microorganisms have naturally evolved to defend themselves against antimicrobial agents. The use and synthesis of antibiotics…Diatom lipids open window to past ocean temperatures in the polar regions
9 January, 2026 by Claire Allen
Sea surface temperature is a key indicator of climate change on Earth and is central to all related modelling endeavours. However, sea surface temperature is notoriously difficult to reconstruct accurately…Read more on Diatom lipids open window to past ocean temperatures in the polar regions
Modelled dynamics of floating and grounded icebergs, with application to the Amundsen Sea
8 January, 2026 by Andrew Fleming, Andrew Meijers, James Smith, Kelly Hogan, Paul Holland, Yavor Kostov
Icebergs that ground on the submarine Bear Ridge in the Amundsen Sea are known to block the drift of sea ice, playing a crucial role in maintaining shelf sea ocean…Talking About the Weather: The Feasibility of Using Very High-Resolution Optical Satellite Imagery to Monitor Live and Stranded Cetaceans Around the UK and UK Overseas Territories
1 January, 2026 by Aliaksandra Skachkova, Hannah Cubaynes, Jennifer Jackson, Penny Clarke, Peter Fretwell
Monitoring live and stranded cetaceans can be expensive and logistically challenging, resulting in knowledge gaps. Very high-resolution (VHR) optical satellites are considered a potential solution to addressing some of these…A Deep Learning Approach to Detecting Atmospheric Rivers in the Arctic
1 January, 2026 by Hua Lu
The Arctic is warming rapidly, with atmospheric rivers (ARs) amplifying ice melt, extreme precipitation, and abrupt temperature shifts. Detecting ARs in the Arctic remains challenging, because AR detection algorithms designed…Read more on A Deep Learning Approach to Detecting Atmospheric Rivers in the Arctic
Features of interest from a multi-season satellite survey of baleen whales on the West Antarctic Peninsula
31 December, 2025 by Connor Bamford, Hannah Cubaynes, Jennifer Jackson, Penny Clarke
The application of very high-resolution satellite imagery for the purpose of studying wildlife, particularly in remote regions, has gained significant traction in recent years. With this, there has been an…Standardising research on marine biological carbon pathways required to estimate sequestration at Polar and sub-Polar latitudes
23 December, 2025 by Chester Sands, David Barnes, Simon Morley
Marine biological (‘blue’) carbon pathways are crucial components of the global carbon budget due to the ecosystem services they provide through the fixation of CO2 from the atmosphere. CO2 is…Deep-sea gas hydrate mounds and chemosynthetic fauna discovered at 3640 m on the Molloy Ridge, Greenland Sea
22 December, 2025 by Katrin Linse
Methane seepage at the seafloor can form gas hydrate and sustain chemosynthetic communities of deep-sea animals. Most known hydrate seeps occur shallower than 2000 m on continental slopes, whereas hydrothermal…Unpouching Peracarida relationships with ultraconserved elements
19 December, 2025 by Katrin Linse
Peracarida is a large group containing twelve orders of brooding crustaceans, including the large orders Amphipoda, Isopoda, Tanaidacea and Cumacea, and a series of smaller orders, some restricted to isolated…Read more on Unpouching Peracarida relationships with ultraconserved elements
Major paleogeographic and paleoclimatic changes during the late Paleozoic, Early Cretaceous and Cenozoic of central Australia and their influence on recycling of sediments
17 December, 2025 by Jane Francis
During the late Paleozoic glacial ice extended from Antarctica across most of the Australian part of Gondwana. Maximum ice thickness over Antarctica was ∼5400–8000 m and over central Australia 2700–4000…Variability and Trends of the Amundsen Sea Low since the Early Twentieth Century from Seasonal-Station-Based Reconstructions
15 December, 2025 by Thomas Bracegirdle
The Amundsen Sea is dominated by a quasi-stationary low-pressure region, the Amundsen Sea Low (ASL). ASL variability impacts on regional weather and the basal melting of ice shelves, an important…How the small host the small: cryptogam trait-mediated structuring of Antarctic microarthropod communities
12 December, 2025 by Peter Convey
Primary producers shape terrestrial biodiversity, but most research has focused on vascular plants, while the role of cryptogams (mosses, lichens and algae) remains under-explored. Cryptogams dominate Antarctic vegetation and support…Reconstructing Eocene Antarctic river drainage from provenance analysis of Amundsen Sea embayment sediments
12 December, 2025 by Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, James Smith
Sedimentary records can illuminate relationships between the climate, topography, and glaciation of West Antarctica by revealing its Cenozoic topographic and paleoenvironmental history. Eocene fluvial drainage patterns have previously been inferred…Glacier biogeochemical cycling and downstream impacts
11 December, 2025 by Kate Hendry
Far from being frozen and sterile environments, glaciers are biogeochemical reactors and regulators. In this Review, we discuss the hydrology and biogeochemistry of glacierized environments and their impact on downstream…Read more on Glacier biogeochemical cycling and downstream impacts
Metacommunity structural changes of Antarctic benthic invertebrates over the late Maastrichtian
8 December, 2025 by Huw Griffiths, Rowan Whittle, Tasnuva Khan
Seymour (Marambio) Island, Antarctica has one of the most expanded onshore Cretaceous–Paleogene sedimentary successions in the world. The deposition of the López de Bertodano Formation (~70–65.6 Ma) covered a time of…
