Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab
The British Antarctic Survey’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab is at the forefront of innovative research and innovation, employing AI and machine learning techniques to tackle a broad spectrum of challenges within the institute’s remit. From sea ice forecasting and space weather, ice dynamics and sea level rise, seasonal polar operations and automation, to tracking wildlife and icebergs from space and benthic biology on the seafloor.
Extracting knowledge from the diverse range of datasets and domain areas which span various spatial and time scales poses significant challenges. The BAS AI Lab leverages the power of AI to intelligently integrate different types of data to pave the way for new discoveries and unlocking previously inaccessible information.
One of the AI Lab’s focuses is optimising data collection processes in remote and hostile environments to reduce carbon emissions and maximise science output. By integrating satellite observations, surface sensors, and optimising task planning for infrastructure and logistics (including ships and autonomous marine vehicles) the AI Lab strives to streamline data acquisition and improve the efficiency of scientific expeditions. This approach ensures that valuable resources are used sustainably, minimising carbon footprint.
As a leading national entity, BAS’s AI Lab actively collaborates with national and international partners to co-develop and co-deliver AI methods that are tailored to meet the unique requirements of polar research. By working closely with experts from diverse backgrounds, the lab ensures that the developed AI techniques are fit for purpose and aligned with global standards to enable wider adoption.
An important aspect of the AI Lab’s mission is to put novel, freely available digital solutions into the hands of decision-makers. By leveraging the power of AI, the lab creates operational tools and technologies that aid policymakers and stakeholders in making informed decisions to safeguard our planet. These solutions provide valuable insights and enable proactive mitigation and adaptation measures to help address the climate and biodiversity crisis.
PhD opportunities
- Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in the Application of Artificial Intelligence to the study of Environmental Risks, University of Cambridge and British Antarctic Survey
IceNet
IceNet is a probabilistic, deep learning sea ice forecasting system developed by an international team and led by British Antarctic Survey and The Alan Turing Institute [Andersson et al., 2021]. …
Autonomous Marine Operations Planning
AI systems will provide automated decision support in polar navigation delivering optimal fuel economy and minimising carbon emissions.
AI for smart conservation
In the AI for smart conservation project BAS are collaborating with the Government of Nunavut and WWF to develop practical tools for conservation decision making. By combining satellite observations, GPS …
DI4EDS
Environmental research relies on digital infrastructure (hardware, software and methods) to provide services that help researchers answer questions about the environment around us, and innovators to work out ways that …
AI tool to revolutionise polar ship navigation
15 November, 2022
Artificial Intelligence (AI) will enable ships navigating in polar ocean conditions to be more efficient using a new route planning tool created by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) researchers. The tool …
Space technology and artificial intelligence to monitor whale mass stranding events
18 November, 2021
An international team of scientists led by British Antarctic Survey have published research today on using new technology to study mass stranding of whales from space and how the technology …
Artificial intelligence to help predict Arctic sea ice loss
26 August, 2021
A new AI (artificial intelligence) tool is set to enable scientists to more accurately forecast Arctic sea ice conditions months into the future. The improved predictions could underpin new early-warning …
Using AI to track whales from space
4 February, 2021
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists will work with an Artificial Intelligence company after being awarded a contract from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to support the protection of an endangered …
PhD centre will nurture new leaders in Earth observation
9 January, 2020
A new centre will enable 50 fully-funded PhD researchers to harness satellite data to tackle global environmental challenges. The Centre for Satellite Data in Environmental Science (SENSE) will bring together expertise in …
Using AI to help tackle global environmental challenges
26 February, 2019
A new Centre for Doctoral Training, involving researchers from British Antarctic Survey, will develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to address critical environmental challenges. Climate change and environmental hazards pose some …
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 …
Seeing double: Digital twins and net zero
5 July, 2022 by Jonathan Smith
Reaching net zero, as a country or a business, requires new measures, technology and innovations. Digital twins are an example of this; they can be a powerful tool to drive innovation and efficiency.
BLOG: Predicting September 2021 Arctic sea ice using artificial intelligence
24 September, 2021 by Tom Andersson
Tom Andersson, a data scientist at British Antarctic Survey Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab, shares the latest predictions from a new Arctic sea ice forecasting AI tool as this year’s Arctic …
Innovative Research Sprints Tackle Challenges in Biodiversity and Exposure
11 May, 2021 by Anita Faul
Over the last decade, digital technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, developed rapidly as did our capability to monitor our home planet from space with Earth Observation satellites. How can we most …
Earth Day 2020: A new age of Arctic science discovery – the AI way
24 April, 2020 by Scott Hosking
When we see news reports on climate change on our TV, they are often accompanied by footage of a polar bear walking over the icy Arctic landscape. But the Arctic …
Official launch of the BAS AI Lab!
4 December, 2019 by Risa Ueno
Today we officially launched the BAS AI Lab – thank you everyone for coming!
AI Lab presents at the First Artificial Intelligence for Copernicus Workshop
22 November, 2019 by Anita Faul
Andrew Fleming and Anita Faul present their research at the First Artificial Intelligence for Copernicus Workshop
Machine Learning for Environmental Sciences
21 July, 2019 by Rachel Furner
Rachel Furner is a PhD student at British Antarctic Survey, which has recently opened up its new AI Lab, that aims to foster the application of various machine learning (and …
Data Study Group: Automated monitoring of seals via high-resolution satellite imagery
8 April, 2019 by Premdeep Gill
Prem hosted at Data Study Group at the Alan Turing Institute Seals from space: automated Antarctic ecosystem monitoring via high-resolution satellite imagery Antarctic seal populations are potential indicators for the …
Automated clustering of storm tracks for interpreting ice core records
22 August, 2017 by Scott Hosking
Accumulation in coastal West Antarctic ice core records and the role of cyclone activity Cyclones are an important component of Antarctic climate variability, yet quantifying their impact on the polar …
Histopathological screening of Pontogammarus robustoides (Amphipoda), an invader on route to the United Kingdom
1 September, 2023 by Martin Rogers
Biological invasions may act as conduits for pathogen introduction. To determine which invasive non-native species pose the biggest threat, we must first determine the symbionts (pathogens, parasites, commensals, mutualists) they…Unsupervised machine learning detection of iceberg populations within sea ice from dual-polarisation SAR imagery
1 September, 2023 by Andrew Fleming, Anita Faul, Ben Evans, David Vaughan, Scott Hosking
Accurate quantification of iceberg populations is essential to inform estimates of Southern Ocean freshwater and heat balances as well as shipping hazards. The automated operational monitoring of icebergs remains challenging,…The downstream impacts of dams on the seasonally flooded riverine forests of the Mekong River in northeastern Cambodia
22 August, 2023 by Michael Thorne
On the Mekong River, north of Stung Treng town in northeastern Cambodia, and below the border with Laos, lies an area of riverine seasonally flooded forest designated as an internationally…Using Probabilistic Machine Learning to Better Model Temporal Patterns in Parameterizations: a case study with the Lorenz 96 model
10 August, 2023 by Scott Hosking, Raghul Parthipan
The modelling of small-scale processes is a major source of error in climate models, hindering the accuracy of low-cost models which must approximate such processes through parameterization. Red noise is…Navigating Gender at Sea
1 August, 2023 by Dani Jones
Fieldwork, including work done at sea, is a key component of many geoscientists' careers. Recent studies have highlighted the pervasive harassment faced by women and LGBTQ+ people during fieldwork. However,…Antarctic Bottom Water Sensitivity to Spatio‐Temporal Variations in Antarctic Meltwater Fluxes
16 July, 2023 by Dani Jones
Ice sheet melting into the Southern Ocean can change the formation and properties of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). Ocean models often mimic ice sheet melting by adding freshwater fluxes…Ocean Heat Content responses to changing Anthropogenic Aerosol Forcing Strength: Regional and multi-decadal variability
1 July, 2023 by Dani Jones, Emma Boland
The causes of decadal variations in global warming are poorly understood, however it is widely understood that variations in ocean heat content are linked with variations in surface warming. To…Finale: Impact of the ORCHESTRA/ENCORE programmes on Southern Ocean heat and carbon understanding
26 June, 2023 by Alexandra Weiss, Andrew Meijers, Dave Munday, Dani Jones, Emma Boland, Povl Abrahamsen, Alexander Brearley, Michael Meredith, Shenjie Zhou
The 5-year Ocean Regulation of Climate by Heat and Carbon Sequestration and Transports (ORCHESTRA) programme and its 1-year extension ENCORE (ENCORE is the National Capability ORCHESTRA Extension) was an approximately…Unsupervised classification identifies coherent thermohaline structures in the Weddell Gyre region
22 June, 2023 by Andrew Meijers, Dani Jones, Michael Meredith, Shenjie Zhou, Ute Hausmann
The Weddell Gyre is a major feature of the Southern Ocean and an important component of the planetary climate system; it regulates air–sea exchanges, controls the formation of deep and…Technical note: Unsupervised classification of ozone profiles in UKESM1
24 March, 2023 by Dani Jones
The vertical distribution of ozone in the atmosphere, which features complex spatial and temporal variability set by a balance of production, loss, and advection, is relevant for both surface air…Read more on Technical note: Unsupervised classification of ozone profiles in UKESM1
Species-specific and seasonal differences in the resistance of salt-marsh vegetation to wave impact
14 December, 2022 by Ben Evans
The coastal protection function provided by the vegetation of tidal wetlands (e.g. salt marshes) will play an important role in defending coastlines against storm surges in the future and depend…A sensitivity analysis of a regression model of ocean temperature
30 August, 2022 by Dave Munday, Dani Jones, Rachel Furner
There has been much recent interest in developing data-driven models for weather and climate predictions. However, there are open questions regarding their generalizability and robustness, highlighting a need to better…Read more on A sensitivity analysis of a regression model of ocean temperature
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…Efficient Temporal Piecewise-Linear Numeric Planning with Lazy Consistency Checking
1 August, 2022 by Maria Fox
Temporal planning often involves numeric effects that are directly proportional to their action’s duration. These include continuous effects, where a numeric variable is subjected to a rate of change while…Read more on Efficient Temporal Piecewise-Linear Numeric Planning with Lazy Consistency Checking
Microsporidia: a new taxonomic, evolutionary, and ecological synthesis
1 August, 2022 by Martin Rogers
Microsporidian diversity is vast. There is a renewed drive to understand how microsporidian pathological, genomic, and ecological traits relate to their phylogeny. We comprehensively sample and phylogenetically analyse 125 microsporidian…Read more on Microsporidia: a new taxonomic, evolutionary, and ecological synthesis
Causes of the 2015 North Atlantic cold anomaly in a global state estimate
6 July, 2022 by Dani Jones, Rachael Sanders
The subpolar North Atlantic is an important part of the global ocean and climate system, with SST variability in the region influencing the climate of Europe and North America. While…Read more on Causes of the 2015 North Atlantic cold anomaly in a global state estimate
Localized impacts and economic implications from high temperature disruption days under climate change
20 May, 2022 by Charles Simpson, Erik Mackie, Scott Hosking, Risa Ueno
Most studies into the effects of climate change have headline results in the form of a global change in mean temperature. More useful for businesses and governments, however, are measures…Vegetation interactions with geotechnical properties and erodibility of salt marsh sediments
5 February, 2022 by Ben Evans
Salt marshes provide diverse ecosystem services including coastal protection, habitat provision and carbon sequestration. The loss of salt marshes is a global scale phenomenon, of great socio-economic concern due to…The Time Machine framework: monitoring and prediction of biodiversity loss
1 February, 2022 by Scott Hosking
Transdisciplinary solutions are needed to achieve the sustainability of ecosystem services for future generations. We propose a framework to identify the causes of ecosystem function loss and to forecast the…Read more on The Time Machine framework: monitoring and prediction of biodiversity loss
Ventilation of the Southern Ocean pycnocline
1 January, 2022 by Dani Jones
Ocean ventilation is the transfer of tracers and young water from the surface down into the ocean interior. The tracers that can be transported to depth include anthropogenic heat and…
AI Lab Leadership
- Scott Hosking (Leader)
- Maria Fox (Deputy)
Share this
Featured
Autonomous Marine Operations Planning
