Predicting non-native ‘invasions’ in Antarctica
13 January, 2020
A new study identifies the non-native species most likely to ‘invade’ the Antarctic Peninsula region over the next decade. It provides a baseline for all operators in the region to …
The Environment Office coordinates and monitors environmental activities on BAS stations and ships and at its headquarters in Cambridge to ensure minimum environmental impact.
The day-to-day responsibility for environmental and waste management in the Antarctic lies with the Station Leaders, Ship Captains and Field Leaders, but Environment Office staff spend at least part of each summer field season in the Antarctic making environmental inspections or audits of BAS research stations and vessels, as well as leading environmental projects, such as the clean-up of abandoned facilities.
13 January, 2020
A new study identifies the non-native species most likely to ‘invade’ the Antarctic Peninsula region over the next decade. It provides a baseline for all operators in the region to …
4 October, 2016
Celebrating 25 years of environmental protection in Antarctica
31 May, 2016
International declaration marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty
13 July, 2012
Challenges facing the future of Antarctica A century ago, Antarctica was one of Earth’s last frontiers, but now the continent is under threat from human activity. An international team of …
6 May, 2022 by Kevin Hughes, Kudzai Hwengwere, Lloyd Peck, Melody Clark
Although the rapid spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), particularly in relation to clinical settings, is causing concern in many regions of the globe, remote, extreme environments, such as Antarctica, are…Read more on Antimicrobial resistance in Antarctica: is it still a pristine environment?
1 October, 2021 by John Turner, Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
Antarctica is increasingly vulnerable to climate change impacts, with the continent predicted to warm by ∼4 °C by 2100 under a ‘business as usual’ greenhouse gas emission scenario. Simultaneously, human…1 October, 2021 by Anna Jones, Kevin Hughes, Michael Meredith, Mervyn Freeman, Nadine Johnston, Peter Convey
• The Antarctic region has been experiencing rapid change in recent decades due to human induced factors. Most notably, climate heating is causing ice sheet melting, leading to sea level…4 August, 2021 by Chester Sands, David Barnes, Eugene Murphy, Geraint Tarling, Jennifer Jackson, Kevin Hughes, Nadine Johnston, Philip Trathan, Richard Phillips, Rachel Cavanagh, Ryan Saunders, Sally Thorpe
Southern Ocean ecosystems are globally important. Processes in the Antarctic atmosphere, cryosphere, and the Southern Ocean directly influence global atmospheric and oceanic systems. Southern Ocean biogeochemistry has also been shown…Read more on Global connectivity of Southern Ocean ecosystems
24 June, 2021 by Claire Waluda, David Barnes, Huw Griffiths, Jennifer Jackson, Kevin Hughes, Simon Morley, Susie Grant
Local drivers are human activities or processes that occur in specific locations, and cause physical or ecological change at the local or regional scale. Here, we consider marine and land-derived…1 June, 2021 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
Antarctica currently has few non-native species, compared to other regions of the planet, due to the continent’s isolation, extreme climatic conditions and the lack of habitat. However, human activity, particularly…1 June, 2021 by Kevin Hughes, Susie Grant
Antarctic ecosystem services are rich and diverse and include global climate modulation, biodiversity and habitat protection, cultural heritage, scientific knowledge, education and recreation as well as the extraction of marine…1 February, 2021 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
The flightless midge Eretmoptera murphyi is thought to be continuing its invasion of Signy Island via the treads of personnel boots. Current boot-wash biosecurity protocols in the Antarctic region rely…14 January, 2021 by David Barnes, Eugene Murphy, Kevin Hughes, Michael Meredith, Rachel Cavanagh, Simeon Hill, Susie Grant
The Southern Ocean supports ecosystem services that are important on a global scale. Climate change and human activities (tourism, fishing, and research) will affect both the demand for, and the…Read more on Future risk for Southern Ocean ecosystem services under climate change
1 January, 2021 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey, Sally Thorpe
The non-native midge Eretmoptera murphyi is Antarctica’s most persistent non-native insect and is known to impact the terrestrial ecosystems. It inhabits by considerably increasing litter turnover and availability of soil…15 December, 2020 by David Barnes, Kevin Hughes, Simon Morley
The manuscript assesses the current and expected future global drivers of Southern Ocean (SO) ecosystems. Atmospheric ozone depletion over the Antarctic since the 1970s, has been a key driver, resulting…1 December, 2020 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
To date, Antarctica is the only continent to have escaped the COVID-19 pandemic. This was facilitated by the continent's isolation and low human presence, combined with the global emergence of…Read more on Implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for Antarctica
1 April, 2020 by David Vaughan, David Barnes, Jonathan Shanklin, Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey, Simon Morley
The Antarctic is considered to be a pristine environment relative to other regions of the Earth, but it is increasingly vulnerable to invasions by marine, freshwater and terrestrial non‐native species.…1 March, 2020 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
Aim Correlative species distribution models (SDMs) are subject to substantial spatio‐temporal limitations when historical occurrence records of data‐poor species provide incomplete and outdated information for niche modelling. Complementary mechanistic modelling…1 March, 2020 by Claire Waluda, Iain Staniland, Kevin Hughes, Mari Whitelaw, Michael Dunn, Sally Thorpe
We report on three decades of repeat surveys of beached marine debris at two locations in the Scotia Sea, in the Southwest Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. Between October…1 January, 2020 by Kevin Hughes, Peter Convey
1. Biodiversity loss has increased globally in recent years. The major threat to Antarctica’s unique terrestrial biodiversity is the establishment of non-native species. Nonetheless, while preventing the introduction of non-native…Read more on Humans and wind, shaping Antarctic soil arthropod biodiversity
1 January, 2020 by Kevin Hughes, Lloyd Peck
Antarctica is one of the least anthropogenically-impacted areas of the world. Metal sources to the marine environment include localised activities of research stations and glacial meltwater containing metals of lithogenic…