Ice Dynamics and Palaeoclimate team

The Ice Dynamics and Palaeoclimate Team aims to improve understanding of glaciers and ice sheets and their response to climate change. This is essential for reducing uncertainties in predictions of future ice loss from the polar regions and mountain cryosphere, the impact of which will be felt by people worldwide in terms of sea level change and water security.

Glaciologists installing monitoring equipment close to Chasm-1 on the Brunt Ice Shelf

We work across the BAS Science Strategy ‘Polar Science for a Sustainable Planet’ to provide scientific evidence required by decision makers to realise a sustainable future. To do this, we undertake observational campaigns in the polar and mountain regions; conduct laboratory work (particularly in ice core science); and develop and run state of the art models of the ice sheets and the wider Earth system. Our expertise in ice core research enables us to tie together knowledge of past ice sheet behaviour and climate changes to assess the likelihood of future polar changes. We focus on both abrupt tipping points and longer timescale mass loss and gain from the past to the present day. By combining all these strands of research, and by working in partnership with the international glaciological and climate community, we can contribute to the global effort to understand climate and global sea level change, which together are two of the greatest challenges facing society today.

Science priorities

  • Antarctic ice shelf changes. Antarctic ice shelves are crucial in preventing rapid ice loss from Antarctica. We observe and model the current ongoing losses from these shelves.
  • Current and future mass balance and glacier response to climate change. We aim to understand the drivers of current changes in mass balance over rapidly thinning regions of Antarctica, including the immense Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers in West Antarctica. These insights are essential for developing and testing the models we use to make projections of future change leading to global sea level rise.
  • Sea level rise and the ice sheet stability in past warm periods. We help determine the risk of future sea level rise by investigating the extent of ice loss from the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets during past warm periods.
  • Mountain glacier water resources. Changes in the water contained in the global mountain cryosphere pose a global threat to water security, energy security and livelihood for many millions of people. We work to assess changes in mountain water resources by making observations of snow and ice accumulation and melt in mountain regions using novel, innovative instruments developed in-house.
  • Changes in the Earth’s climate system.  We acquire and analyse ice from polar ice sheets, sub-Antarctic islands and mountain glaciers to understand global climate and the atmospheric composition of greenhouse gases over decadal to millennial timescales. We reconstruct atmospheric circulation (winds) and sea ice to explore their role in driving Antarctic mass balance and the uptake and release of CO2 from the Southern Ocean.

 Technology, innovation and training

A scientist with a sled containing GPS and Radar equipment
A glaciologist measuring snow properties
  • We train the next generation of polar scientists through PhD programmes and grant-funded post-doctoral research positions.
  • We develop key UK models, including the in-house WAVI ice sheet model and the UK Earth System Model (UKESM), to enable an improved understanding and representation of key physical processes occurring in the ice/Earth system.
  • We deploy a wide range of field-based measurement systems including ice drilling, ice radar and seismic instruments, to evaluate and improve our models.
  • We develop new innovations in field measurements, including in ice core technologies, ice radar and snowfall sensors, which open up new scientific opportunities.
  • We develop and utilise the new instruments for use in laboratory-based measurements of ice cores.

 Influencing and leading international programmes

Stakeholder engagement

  • Produce policy briefings and presentations for UK Government departments including the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
  • Produce targeted science updates and briefings on the impact and relevance of our research for our funders, including NERC (Natural Environment Research Council).
  • Support the Antarctic Treaty system by provision of research and expert advice on environmental change via the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Polar Regions Department.

Public engagement in research

  • Work with the BAS Communications Team to explain our science and its relevance for environmental stewardship to a wide range of public audiences.
  • Collaborate with Cambridge University Institute for Sustainable Leadership to inform senior business leaders from a wide range of industries about climate change.
  • Provide visitors to BAS with the chance to experience climate research at first hand with visits to the ice core laboratories and cold room, guided by experienced scientists
  • Maintain displays of climate research, such as at the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum and seek further similar publicly accessible displays

 

rart

Robert Arthern

Ice Sheet Modelling

aleisb

Alex Brisbourne

Glacier Geophysicist

cama

Carlos Martin Garcia

Ice Stream Modelling

rmu

Robert Mulvaney

Science Programme Coordinator

hprit

Hamish Pritchard

Glacial Processes Satellite

jrix

Julius Rix

Head of Eng Tech

lsim

Louise Sime

IDP Science Leader IMP 3

lith

Liz Thomas

PalaeoclimatologistIMP 3

chll1

Rosie Williams

Ice Sheet Modeller

olrs

Oliver Marsh

Lifetime of Halley Glaciologist

amyking

Amy King

Post Doctoral Researcher

thausk

Thomas Bauska

Royal Society Fellow

aleey

Alexander Bradley

Ice/Ocean Modeller

alvarr

Alvaro Arenas Pingarron

Radioglaciologist

irealm37

Irene Malmierca Vallet

TiPES Modeller

aliren

Alison McLaren

Water tracers in the UKESM

shalle

Shaun Miller

Ice Chemistry Lab Technician

jacby

Jack Humby

Ice Chemistry Lab Manager

emfish

Emma Fisher

Ice Core Drilling Engineer

emmear

Emma Pearce

Ice Fracture Geophysicist

jamle

James Veale

Ice Core Drilling Engineer

dietet95

Dieter Tetzner

Ice Core Scientist

rognew91

Ronan Agnew

Glacier Geophysicist

breer90

Bryony Freer

PhD Student

fedovi

Federico Covi

Mountain Snow Scientist

iswell

Isobel Rowell

Ice Core Gas Lab PDRA

kevhan

Kevin Hank

Physical Scientist - Ice Sheet Modeller

xuang

Xu Zhang

Earth System Ice Sheet Modeller


SubICE

The Sub-Antarctic – ice coring expedition (SubICE), part of the international Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE), successfully drilled several shallow ice cores, from five of the remote and globally significant sub-Antarctic …


Seismic investigation of a subglacial lake

Field Team includes: Alex Brisbourne (BAS), Andrés Rivera (CECs), Rodrigo Zamora (CECs), Field Guide (BAS). Antarctic subglacial lakes contain unique records of ice sheet history and microbial life; they may …

Beyond Epica

A decade ago, the European EPICA project completed drilling a deep ice core at Dome C, revealing the close link between climate and atmospheric greenhouse gases over the past 800,000 …

Bedmap2

understanding whats beneath the ice, opens new opportunities for detailed modelling of the past and future evolution of the Antarctic ice sheets

Bedmap Himalayas

Bedmap Himalayas is an ongoing BAS core-funded and grant-funded programme. It aims to measure how much water much is stored as glacier ice in High Mountain Asia. In warm weather, …

Past Westerly Winds

The behaviour of the westerly wind belt (see Figure 1a) over the Southern Ocean during cold glacial periods has been debated for many years. These winds matter because explanations of …

Weddell Sea ice sheet and climate

In the south of the Weddell Sea lies the Ronne and Filchner Ice Shelves. During the coldest part of the last glacial period about 25,000 years ago, the ice in …

RAID

Ice cores take a long time to collect. The 3.4 km- ice core drilled at Dome Concordia (Antarctica) took 5 years to collect and encloses the oldest ice drilled so …

Ocean-driven ice-shelf thinning in Antarctica

By exploiting advances in ice sheet modelling, and new Antarctic-wide datasets, this project aims to predict how far and how fast the observed ocean-driven thinning of floating ice shelves will …

Ice Sheet Modelling

The research of the ice sheet modelling group focuses on integrating observational data with dynamical models that describe how the ice flows in order to improve our representation of how …

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 …

Antarctic Climate over the last millennia

The Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctica have warmed dramatically in recent decades, with some climate records indicating that these are among the most rapidly warming regions on Earth. The Antarctic …


Filchner Ice Shelf System, Antarctica

Understanding the contribution that polar ice sheets make to global sea-level rise is recognised internationally as urgent.  The mission of this five-year project is to capture new observations and data …




Water isotopes in UKESM2

We will add water tracers (including stable water isotopes) to the UK Earth System Model (UKESM2) which will track through the model’s hydrological cycle. This work started under the EU …

SURFEIT

Surface Fluxes in Antarctica (SURFEIT) is a BAS National Capability International research programme. Its primary aims are to bring together relevant members of the international scientific community and increase our …

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 …

SIWHA

The NERC funded SIWHA_CO2 project “Sea Ice and Westerly winds during the Holocene in coastal Antarctica, to better constrain oceanic CO2 uptake” will be a breakthrough in our understanding of how …

The Big Thaw

The Big Thaw is an ambitious new UKRI/NERC-funded Highlight Topic project assessing past, present and future changes in global mountain water resources by studying snow/ice accumulation and melt in the …

Mysterious patterns revealed on ice shelf bottom

2 August, 2024

An international research team deployed the uncrewed submersible ‘Ran’ underneath 350 m thick ice. They got back the very first detailed maps covering extensive areas of the underside of a …





Antarctic ice explains dip in CO2 levels

5 March, 2024

Small bubbles of air from ice in Antarctica resolve a long-standing debate about why there was a decline in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) during the 16th and 17th centuries. The …




Hamish Pritchard awarded Innovation in Meteorology Prize

5 October, 2023

British Antarctic Survey glaciologist Hamish Pritchard has won the 2023 Harry Otten Prize for Innovation in Meteorology. His idea, Lakes as snowfall sensors: solving the precipitation problem in the mountain …




Oldest ice drilling campaign reaches key milestone

7 February, 2023

Scientists in East Antarctica drilling to find the Earth’s oldest ice have reached a key milestone after two months of fieldwork in sub-zero temperatures. The team is part of Beyond …




Fieldwork starts on Thwaites Glacier

13 December, 2022

Nearly 60 scientists and support staff are on their way to Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica. It’s part of an ambitious international effort to understand the glacier and surrounding ocean …


Beyond EPICA deep drilling campaign begins

7 December, 2022

Scientists return to East Antarctica this month (December) to locate the oldest ice on Earth. The team is part of an EU-funded research consortium from 10 European countries whose aim …




Study sets course for research on Himalayan waters

22 April, 2022

A new study featuring contributions from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists has identified 100 pressing research questions on climate change and water resources in the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) that must be answered to protect the communities that live there.


Drilling of oldest ice on Earth completed

18 February, 2022

The first ice core drilling campaign of Beyond Epica-Oldest Ice has been successfully completed at the remote Little Dome C site in Antarctica – one of the most extreme places …


Mission to drill Antarctica’s oldest ice

30 November, 2021

The first campaign to drill Antarctica’s oldest ice starts this month (November). Beyond EPICA-Oldest Ice aims to drill an ice core to collect a record of past climate spanning 1.5 million years





The world’s largest iceberg

21 May, 2021

An enormous iceberg has calved from the western side of the Ronne Ice Shelf, in Antarctica. The iceberg, newly named A-76, measures around 4320 sq km in size and is …


Synchronous timing of past abrupt climate changes

21 August, 2020

New research has revealed that climate changes associated with past episodes of abrupt warming in Greenland occurred synchronously across a region extending from the Arctic to the Southern Hemisphere subtropics. …


Drilling projects set to break new ground

29 April, 2020

Two new research projects – in partnership with British Antarctic Survey engineers –  will drill deeper than ever before in Antarctica and in space. The first project, called INCISED, is …


Earth Day 2020: The Song of the Ice

22 April, 2020

*Did you miss the live event on 22 April? The recording is now available to watch below, or on Youtube via: https://youtu.be/8r3xdrp5GGI* Online launch of The Song of the Ice …




New mission for 1.5 million year climate record

9 April, 2019

This week a team of European researchers announces its plans for an ambitious mission to find the oldest ice on Earth (9 April 2019).  Antarctica’s ice has the potential to …






Prestigious award for BAS early career scientist

6 November, 2018

Congratulations to Dr Emilie Capron who has been awarded the prestigious Early Career Scientist Award of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG). Dr Capron is a palaeoclimatologist at British …


Measuring glaciers in the Himalayan mountains

11 October, 2018

Technology pioneered in Antarctica could soon be providing much-needed data on the amount of ice in the glaciers of High Mountain Asia thanks to an ingenious helicopter-mounted, low-frequency radar developed …






Halley Research Station will not winter in 2018

31 October, 2017

British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has decided, for safety reasons, that it will close its Halley VI Research Station during the 2018 Antarctic winter.  This will be the second time that …



FEATURED PAPER: Winds and sea ice

23 March, 2017

It is thought that wind changes over the Southern Ocean may have been critical in driving changes in CO2 between cold ice-world and warm-world climates. Because of inconsistencies between the …



Quest begins for oldest ice on Earth

14 November, 2016

First phase of project to collect 1.5 million years of climate data in Antarctica A team of European scientists heads to East Antarctica this month to locate the oldest ice …


FEATURED PAPER: Sea-ice reduction

18 October, 2016

A team of British climate scientists comparing today’s environment with the warm period before the last ice age has discovered a 65% reduction of Antarctic sea ice around 128,000 years …


FEATURED PAPER: Tidal controls on ice streams

18 October, 2016

The often large ocean tides around Antarctica can greatly affect the flow of ice streams even long distances upstream of their grounding lines. Observing and modelling this interaction serves as …



New interactive game ‘Ice Flows’ launches today

23 August, 2016

Researchers and games developers have joined forces to explain how climate change is affecting Antarctica. A new game called ‘Ice Flows’ launches today (Tuesday 23 August) at an international science meeting in Malaysia.





FEATURED PAPER: Recent snowfall increase

16 December, 2015

This paper reveals that the amount of snowfall in coastal West Antarctica has increased during the 20th century, with annual snow accumulation since the 1990s the highest we have observed …


PRESS RELEASE: New season – ambitious science

23 November, 2015

New season tackles ambitious science and logistical challenges The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) 2015/16 field season is underway with dozens of scientists and support staff – together with planes and tonnes …


FEATURED PAPER: Improving climate predictions

19 November, 2015

The Earth’s climate was warmer than today by at least 1°C during the Last Interglacial (between 129,000 and 116,000 years ago). Thus, the Last Interglacial represents an invaluable case study …



PRESS RELEASE: West Antarctica snow accumulation

4 November, 2015

West Antarctic coastal snow accumulation rose 30 percent during 20th century Annual snow accumulation on West Antarctica’s coastal ice sheet increased dramatically during the 20th century, according to a new …



NEWS STORY: New iSTAR season starts

11 November, 2014

Scientists head to Pine Island Glacier for new research season A team of twelve scientists and support staff has arrived on Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica in the second …


NEWS STORY: Ice shelf break up explained

12 September, 2014

Antarctic Team Discovers Mechanism for Massive Ice Shelf Collapse New research has found that the cataclysmic break-up of a large floating ice shelf in the early 2000’s was primarily the …


NEWS STORY: Sea levels rising faster in Antarctica

1 September, 2014

Antarctic sea-level rising faster than global rate A new study of satellite data from the last 19 years reveals that fresh water from melting glaciers has caused the sea-level around …


NEWS STORY: Changes in winds in south

12 May, 2014

Ocean winds keep Australia dry and Antarctica cold New research explains why Antarctica is not warming as much as other continents, and why southern Australia is recording more droughts. Analysis …


NEWS STORY: Unlocking clues to past climate

1 May, 2014

Earth’s last warm phase exposed Analysis of data collected from ice cores and marine sediment cores in both polar regions has given scientists a clearer picture of how the Earth’s …


PRESS RELEASE: Glacier’s thinning charted

20 February, 2014

Previous rapid thinning of Pine Island Glacier sheds light on future Antarctic ice loss New research, published this week in Science, suggests that the largest single contributor to global sea …


NEWS STORY: First phase of glacier mission ends

10 February, 2014

First leg of Antarctic iSTAR mission accomplished A team of British scientists has returned from a gruelling 1500km journey across the ice of West Antarctica after successfully completing the first …


NEWS STORY: Glacier thinning at point of no return

14 January, 2014

Focus on Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica Pine Island Glacier, on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is the largest single contributor to sea-level rise in Antarctica.  The stability of the …


NEWS STORY: Climate records from ice cores

5 December, 2013

New ice core record shows climate variability in West Antarctica A 308-year ice core record provides new data on climate variability in coastal West Antarctica and shows that a clear …


NEWS STORY: “Stripes” hinder ice flow

8 November, 2013

Tiger stripes’ under Antarctic glacier slow the flow Narrow stripes of dirt and rock beneath massive Antarctic glaciers create friction zones that slow the flow of ice toward the sea, …


NEWS STORY: Ice melt rates measured

13 September, 2013

Antarctic research details ice melt below massive glacier An expedition of international scientists to the far reaches of Antarctica’s remote Pine Island Glacier has yielded exact measurements of an undersea …


NEWS STORY: Mission to Pine Island Glacier

9 September, 2013

Ambitious science mission sets off for Antarctica A team of British scientists is making final preparations for an ambitious Antarctic science mission. They aim to discover what’s causing the recent …


NEWS STORY: Measuring icequakes

28 August, 2013

Icequakes unlock secrets of icestreams Measuring tiny icequakes is helping British Antarctic Survey scientists investigate ice streams despite the challenging environment they have to work in. The work of Emma …



NEWS STORY: Royal Society accolade for expert

20 March, 2013

Top scientist receives Royal Society Research Professorship to fund long-term UK research A Royal Society Research Professorship has been awarded to one of British Antarctic Survey’s leading climate scientists Professor …


NEWS STORY: Greenland ice shows past trends

23 January, 2013

Greenland ice core reveals warm past temperatures British Antarctic Survey scientists have contributed to a new study published in Nature (Thursday 24 January) that provides surprising details on changes in …


PRESS RELEASE: Assessing potential sea level rise

16 January, 2013

New Antarctic geological timeline aids future sea-level predictions Radiocarbon dates of tiny fossilised marine animals found in Antarctica’s seabed sediments offer new clues about the recent rapid ice loss from …


NEWS STORY: Sea level rise calculated

30 November, 2012

British Antarctic Survey researchers part of landmark study to improve projections for future sea level An international team of satellite experts including researchers at British Antarctic Survey has produced the …


NEWS STORY: Surfaces of glaciers studied

29 October, 2012

The effects of microbial life on glaciers and ice sheets Around 10% of the Earth’s surface is covered by glacial ice (glaciers and ice sheets), some of which melt as …


PRESS RELEASE: Ice sheet behaviour analysed

17 October, 2012

Ice sheet retreat controlled by the landscape Ice-sheet retreat can halt temporarily during long phases of climate warming, according to scientists. A UK team led by Durham University has found …


PRESS RELEASE: Antarctica’s climate timeline

22 August, 2012

New climate history adds to understanding of recent Antarctic Peninsula warming Results published this week by a team of polar scientists from Britain, Australia and France adds a new dimension …


NEWS STORY: Assessing potential sea level rise

10 May, 2012

New studies improve scientists’ understanding of the potential contribution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to global sea level rise Three peer-reviewed papers in Nature and Nature Geoscience published in recent …


PRESS RELEASE: Study of largest glacier

5 December, 2011

Scientist on BBC Frozen Planet investigates how world’s largest glacier is contributing to sea-level rise A team of scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is to survey the largest glacier …


PRESS RELEASE: Greenland drilling progress

2 August, 2010

Greenland Ice Core Team Reaches Bedrock Bedrock has been reached Tuesday July 27 2010 at the deep ice core drilling site North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (NEEM) on the Greenland …


PRESS RELEASE: Ice thinning captured by satellites

23 September, 2009

Lasers from space show thinning of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets The most comprehensive picture of the rapidly thinning glaciers along the coastline of both the Antarctic and Greenland ice …


PRESS RELEASE: 3D map aids ice flow estimates

20 July, 2009

New research provides insight into ice sheet behaviour A new study published this week takes scientists a step further in their quest to understand how Antarctica’s vast glaciers will contribute …


Satellite spies on doomed Antarctic ice shelf

19 March, 2002

PRESS RELEASE 19 March 2002 PR Number 5/2002 Satellite images have revealed the collapse of Larsen B ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula fulfilling predictions made by British Antarctic Survey …





ANTARCTIC BLOG: Working on the Polar Plateau

7 February, 2017 by Markus Frey

Ice core drilling is a large complex operation to firstly get the equipment out into the field, assemble it, drill intact columns of ice and then process the collected ice for analysis. Markus Frey explains.








Coincident Lake Drainage and Grounding Line Retreat at Engelhardt Subglacial Lake, West Antarctica

14 September, 2024 by Bryony Freer, Oliver Marsh

Antarctica has an active subglacial hydrological system, with interconnected subglacial lakes fed by subglacial meltwater. Subglacial hydrology can influence basal sliding, inject freshwater into the sub-ice-shelf cavity, and impact sediment…

Read more on Coincident Lake Drainage and Grounding Line Retreat at Engelhardt Subglacial Lake, West Antarctica

Historical Southern Hemisphere biomass burning variability inferred from ice core carbon monoxide records

5 August, 2024 by Diana Vladimirova, Dieter Tetzner, Ivo Strawson, Jack Humby, Liz Thomas, Thomas Bauska

Biomass burning plays an important role in climate-forcing and atmospheric chemistry. The drivers of fire activity over the past two centuries, however, are hotly debated and fueled by poor constraints…

Read more on Historical Southern Hemisphere biomass burning variability inferred from ice core carbon monoxide records

The Impact of CO2 and Climate State on Whether Dansgaard–Oeschger Type Oscillations Occur in Climate Models

29 June, 2024 by Irene Malmierca Vallet, John Slattery, Louise Sime

Greenland ice core records feature Dansgaard–Oeschger (D-O) events, which are abrupt warming episodes followed by gradual cooling during ice age climate. The three climate models used in this study (CCSM4,…

Read more on The Impact of CO2 and Climate State on Whether Dansgaard–Oeschger Type Oscillations Occur in Climate Models

Coupled ice–ocean interactions during future retreat of West Antarctic ice streams in the Amundsen Sea sector

3 June, 2024 by Alexander Bradley, Rosie Williams, David Bett, Paul Holland, Robert Arthern

The Amundsen Sea sector has some of the fastest-thinning ice shelves in Antarctica, caused by high, ocean-driven basal melt rates, which can lead to increased ice streamflow, causing increased sea…

Read more on Coupled ice–ocean interactions during future retreat of West Antarctic ice streams in the Amundsen Sea sector

Assessment of the southern polar and subpolar warming in the PMIP4 Last Interglacial simulations using paleoclimate data syntheses [in review]

7 May, 2024 by Louise Sime, Qinggang Gao, Rahul Sivankutty, Xu Zhang

Given relatively abundant paleo proxies, the study of the Last Interglacial (LIG, ~129-116 thousand years ago, ka) is valuable to understanding natural variability and feedback in a warmer-than-preindustrial climate. The…

Read more on Assessment of the southern polar and subpolar warming in the PMIP4 Last Interglacial simulations using paleoclimate data syntheses [in review]

A framework for estimating the anthropogenic part of Antarctica’s sea level contribution in a synthetic setting

11 March, 2024 by Alexander Bradley, Rosie Williams, David Bett, Paul Holland, Robert Arthern

The relative contributions of anthropogenic climate change and internal variability in sea level rise from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet are yet to be determined. Even the way to address…

Read more on A framework for estimating the anthropogenic part of Antarctica’s sea level contribution in a synthetic setting