Mapping and GIS team
The Mapping and Geographic Information Centre provides geospatial information support to BAS science and operations programmes. It takes a leading role in international projects to improve geospatial information resources for Antarctica through new techniques and data sources.
Team priorities
- Provide geospatial information support to BAS science and operations programmes and other external stakeholders
- Develop the geospatial infrastructure for British Antarctic Territory
- Take a leading role in international projects to improve polar geospatial information
Technology, innovation and training
- Pursue opportunities from new geospatial techniques and data sources, developing innovative methods for measuring historical glacier change and detection of wildlife and vegetation
- Satellite imagery, aerial photography and GPS are key data sources for supporting BAS science and operations and new topographic mapping
- Provide the wider Antarctic science and operations community with web –based systems for easy access to geospatial information
Influencing and leading international programmes - Play a key role in international programmes providing accurate and up-to-date sea ice and iceberg information from satellite imagery for polar maritime operations
- Represent UK interests on the International Ice Charting Working Group
- Take leading roles on the SCAR Standing Committee on Geographic Information and Action Group on Remote Sensing
Stakeholder and public engagement
- Publishing topographic maps, and managing the Antarctic Place-names Committee, gazetteer and online map for the FCO supports UK foreign policy interests in Antarctica
- Collaborating with international partners to provide accessible geospatial data sets and resources for the wider Antarctic community
- Publish high quality maps aimed at tourist visitors to Antarctica, in association with the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust
- Participate in BAS media and public engagement programmes through public talks and STEM ambassador roles
- Present the work of MAGIC and BAS through scientific and general -interest publications and at national and international events
EC Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service
The Copernicus marine environment monitoring service provides regular and systematic reference information on the state of the physical oceans and regional seas. The observations and forecasts produced by the service …
ESA IAP ArcticSat project
Situational awareness in the Arctic
South Georgia GIS
Visualise and download topographic, management and scientific data for South Georgia.
Polar View
Polar View delivers information about sea ice direct to ships operating in the Southern Ocean.
Antarctic Digital Database
The SCAR ADD is a seamless compilation of topographic data for Antarctica to 60°S. It is the place to go to get data such as Antarctic coastline or contours for working in desktop GIS.
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.
Scientists discover new penguin colonies from space
5 August, 2020
A new study using satellite mapping technology reveals there are nearly 20% more emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica than was previously thought. The results provide an important benchmark for monitoring …
Updated Mapping Datasets for Antarctica
12 May, 2020
A newly updated Antarctic Digital Database is released today (12 May 2020). Aimed at the science and logistics communities, the maps include updates to the ice shelf front around Thwaites …
New high-precision map of Antarctica’s bed topography
12 December, 2019
A team of glaciologists has unveiled the most accurate portrait yet of the contours of the land beneath Antarctica’s ice sheet – and, by doing so, has helped identify which …
Stranded whales detected from space
17 October, 2019
A new technique for analysing satellite images may help scientists detect and count stranded whales from space. Researchers tested a new detection method using Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite images …
New map of Greenland reveals fast-changing environment
13 June, 2019
Cartographers at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has produced the most detailed and up-to-date published map of Greenland available.
“Catastrophic” breeding failure at one of world’s largest emperor penguin colonies
25 April, 2019
Researchers at British Antarctic Survey have discovered “catastrophic” breeding failure at one of world’s largest emperor penguin colonies.
Watching whales from space
1 November, 2018
Scientists have used detailed high-resolution satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies’ DigitalGlobe, to detect, count and describe four different species of whales. Reported this week in the journal Marine Mammal …
New map of South Georgia wins award
7 September, 2018
British Antarctic Survey’s detailed map of the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia featuring the epic “Shackleton Crossing” has won an award at the 2018 British Cartography Society Awards. The map, …
New satellite imagery reveals new highest Antarctic Peninsula Mountain
11 December, 2017
Cartographers surveying Antarctica have discovered Mt Hope is the tallest mountain in the British Antarctic Territory (BAT) at 3,239 m (10,654 ft) above sea level. Until now, maps showed Mt …
New map of South Georgia unveiled
24 August, 2017
A team of cartographers at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has re-produced a high-resolution updated map of the sub-antarctic island of South Georgia. The island, situated at 37°W 54°10’S is a …
Penguin colony repeatedly decimated by volcanic eruptions
11 April, 2017
One of Antarctica’s biggest gentoo penguin colonies was repeatedly decimated by eruptions of the Deception Island volcano in recent millennia.
Giant iceberg set to calve from Larsen C Ice Shelf
6 January, 2017
A huge iceberg, roughly the size of Norfolk, looks set to break away from the Larsen C ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula. Larsen C is more than twice the size …
Penguin colonies at risk from erupting volcano
6 July, 2016
A volcano erupting on a small island in the Sub Antarctic is depositing ash over one of the world’s largest penguin colonies.
On the ice opportunity for PhD students and Early Career Researchers
7 April, 2016
16 PhD students and Early Career Researchers have a unique opportunity to gain practical skills for working safely and effectively in the polar regions.
NEWS STORY: New maps show unseen world
25 September, 2014
New maps of the polar regions reveal unseen world beneath the ice and highlight dramatic decline in Arctic sea ice cover New maps of the sub-ice features in Antarctica and …
NEWS STORY: Emperor Penguins’ adaptation skills
24 June, 2014
New research using satellite images reveals that emperor penguins are more willing to relocate than previously thought A new study led by the University of Minnesota offers new insights on …
NEWS STORY: Award for innovative map
3 October, 2013
Map makers rewarded for stunning recreation of Antarctic without ice A colourful British Antarctic Survey map has won a coveted award. The map, created by the institution’s MAGIC (Mapping and …
NEWS STORY: Bedmap opens up Antarctica
8 March, 2013
Bedmap2 gives scientists a more detailed view of Antarctica”s landmass Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey have been working with a host of international collaborators to present the most detailed …
NEWS STORY: Queen Elizabeth land
18 December, 2012
UK names part of Antarctica in honour of the Queen The Foreign Secretary, William Hague, has announced that the southern part of British Antarctic Territory has been named Queen Elizabeth …
International ice experts caution that ‘Open’ Arctic shipping routes does not mean ice-free waters
21 October, 2011
Ice experts from agencies from nine countries this week issued a statement urging marine and shipping companies operating in the region of the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route …
Polar View in the Antarctic
8 February, 2010
As the Antarctic field season continues with the usual mix of exciting research programmes new enhancements to the online satellite image system that improves ship safety and efficiency are launched. …
PRESS RELEASE: Interactive map highlights diversity
22 October, 2008
New visualisation of South Georgia A new visualisation tool for exploring the subantarctic islands of South Georgia is unveiled today (22 October 2008). The South Georgia Geographic Information System (SGGIS) …
Giant iceberg breaks off from Antarctic glacier
16 October, 2007
Giant iceberg breaks off from Antarctic glacier British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists have spotted a huge iceberg, which has broken off from Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica. The iceberg, …
PODCAST – Iceworld, Episode 5 – Seals from Space
9 April, 2020 by Robert Taylor
Episode 5: Seals from Space In Episode 5 of Iceworld, Rob Taylor is joined by Prem Gill who has just completed two weeks of fieldwork as part of his PhD …
PODCAST – Iceworld, Episode 1 – Maps
1 November, 2019 by Robert Taylor
Mapping in Antarctica – podcast
The Impact of the Amundsen Sea Freshwater Balance on Ocean Melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
18 September, 2020 by Andrew Fleming, David Bett, Paul Holland
The Amundsen Sea has the highest thinning rates of ice shelves in Antarctica. This imbalance is caused by changes in ocean melting induced by warm Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) intrusions.…
Long-term changes in habitat and trophic level of Southern Ocean squid in relation to environmental conditions
16 September, 2020 by Louise Ireland, Richard Phillips
Long-term studies of pelagic nekton in the Southern Ocean and their responses to ongoing environmental change are rare. Using stable isotope ratios measured in squid beaks recovered from diet samples…
Deglaciation of Pope Glacier implies widespread early Holocene ice sheet thinning in the Amundsen Sea sector of Antarctica.
11 August, 2020 by James Smith, Joanne Johnson, Louise Ireland, Stephen Roberts
The Amundsen Sea sector of the Antarctic ice sheet presently dominates the contribution from Antarctica to sea level rise. Several large ice streams that currently drain the sector have experienced…
Discovery of new colonies by Sentinel2 reveals good and bad news for emperor
4 August, 2020 by Phil Trathan, Peter Fretwell
The distribution of emperor penguins is circumpolar, with 54 colony locations currently reported of which 50 are currently extant as of 2019. Here we report on eight newly discovered colonies…
A comparison of baleen whale density estimates derived from overlapping satellite imagery and a shipborne survey
31 July, 2020 by Connor Bamford, Hannah Cubaynes, Hannah Cubaynes, Jennifer Jackson, Laura Gerrish, Phil Trathan, Peter Fretwell
As whales recover from commercial exploitation, they are increasing in abundance in habitats that they have been absent from for decades. However, studying the recovery and habitat use patterns of…
The spatial flux of Earth’s meteorite falls found via Antarctic data
1 July, 2020 by Laura Gerrish
Contemporary calculations for the flux of extraterrestrial material falling to the Earth’s surface (each event referred to as a “fall”) rely upon either short-duration fireball monitoring networks or spatially limited…
Using Deep Learning to Count Albatrosses from Space: Assessing Results in Light of Ground Truth Uncertainty
24 June, 2020 by Peter Fretwell
Many wildlife species inhabit inaccessible environments, limiting researchers ability to conduct essential population surveys. Recently, very high resolution (sub-metre) satellite imagery has enabled remote monitoring of certain species directly from…
Sea-ice information and forecast needs for industry maritime stakeholders
12 June, 2020 by Andrew Fleming
Profound changes in Arctic sea-ice, a growing desire to utilize the Arctic’s abundant natural resources, and the potential competitiveness of Arctic shipping routes, all provide for increased industry marine activity…Remote sensing reveals Antarctic green snow algae as important terrestrial carbon sink
20 May, 2020 by Lloyd Peck, Peter Convey, Peter Fretwell
We present the first estimate of green snow algae community biomass and distribution along the Antarctic Peninsula. Sentinel 2 imagery supported by two field campaigns revealed 1679 snow algae blooms,…
Spectral reflectance of whale skin above the sea surface: a proposed measurement protocol
10 March, 2020 by Hannah Cubaynes, Hannah Cubaynes, Jennifer Jackson, Jaume Forcada, Phil Trathan, Peter Fretwell
Great whales have been detected using very‐high‐resolution satellite imagery, suggesting this technology could be used to monitor whales in remote areas. However, the application of this method to whale studies…The emperor penguin – vulnerable to projected rates of warming and sea ice loss
1 January, 2020 by Phil Trathan, Peter Fretwell
We argue the need to improve climate change forecasting for ecology, and importantly, how to relate long-term projections to conservation. As an example, we discuss the need for effective management…Deep glacial troughs and stabilizing ridges unveiled beneath the margins of the Antarctic ice sheet
12 December, 2019 by Fausto Ferraccioli, Peter Fretwell
The Antarctic ice sheet has been losing mass over past decades through the accelerated flow of its glaciers, conditioned by ocean temperature and bed topography. Glaciers retreating along retrograde slopes…Using deep learning to count albatrosses from space
1 November, 2019 by Peter Fretwell
In this paper we test the use of a deep learning approach to automatically count Wandering Albatrosses in Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery. We use a dataset of manually…Using remote sensing to detect whale strandings in remote areas: the case of sei whales mass mortality in Chilean Patagonia
17 October, 2019 by Jennifer Jackson, Peter Fretwell
We test the ability of Very High Resolution satellite (VHR) imagery to detect stranded whales using both manual and automated methods. We use the 2015 mass mortality event in the…
Semiautomated detection and mapping of vegetation distribution in the Antarctic environment using spatial-spectral characteristics of WorldView-2 imagery.
15 August, 2019 by Peter Convey, Peter Fretwell
Effective monitoring of changes in the geographic distribution of cryospheric vegetation requires high-resolution and accurate baseline maps. The rationale of the present study is to compare multiple feature extraction approaches…
Evidence for a lava lake on Mt. Michael volcano, Saunders Island (South Sandwich Islands) from Landsat, Sentinel-2 and ASTER satellite imagery
15 July, 2019 by Alex Burton-Johnson, Peter Fretwell
Mt. Michael is an active stratovolcano on Saunders Island in the South Sandwich Islands; a remote, oceanic island arc in the southern Atlantic Ocean, bordering the Southern Ocean. The arc…Sex-specific effects of fisheries and climate on the demography of sexually dimorphic seabirds
11 June, 2019 by Andy Wood, Deborah Pardo, Jaume Forcada, Louise Ireland, Richard Phillips
1.Many animal taxa exhibit sex‐specific variation in ecological traits, such as foraging and distribution. These differences could result in sex‐specific responses to change, but such demographic effects are poorly understood.…
From observation to information and users: The Copernicus Marine Service perspective
22 May, 2019 by Andrew Fleming
The Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) provides regular and systematic reference information on the physical and biogeochemical ocean and sea-ice state for the global ocean and the European regional…Emperors on thin ice: three years of breeding failure at Halley Bay
1 May, 2019 by Phil Trathan, Peter Fretwell
Satellite imagery is used to show that the world's second largest emperor penguin colony, at Halley Bay, has suffered three years of almost total breeding failure. Although, like all emperor…Whales from space: Four mysticete species described using new VHR satellite imagery
1 April, 2019 by Connor Bamford, Hannah Cubaynes, Hannah Cubaynes, Jennifer Jackson, Laura Gerrish, Peter Fretwell
Large‐bodied animals such as baleen whales can now be detected with very high resolution (VHR) satellite imagery, allowing for scientific studies of whales in remote and inaccessible areas where traditional…
