British Antarctic Survey - News and Press Releases

Polar ocean expert, Michael Meredith, has been made an honorary Professor by the University of the Highlands and Islands. The professorship recognises his 13 year career at British Antarctic Survey. Professor Meredith’s work has made an important contribution to our understanding of polar region waters, particularly circulation around the Antarctic. As well as working at BAS Prof Meredith wo...

A new international touring exhibition illustrating how innovative contemporary architecture is enabling scientists to live and work in one of the most extreme environments on our planet opens this summer (26 July) in Scotland. Commissioned by the British Council and curated by the Arts Catalyst Ice Lab: New Architecture and Science in Antarctica, features five imaginative designs for Antarctic r...

Joe Farman, CBE It is with great sadness the British Antarctic Survey reports that Joe Farman died on Saturday 11 May 2013. He was 82. Joseph Charles Farman CBE, together with colleagues Brian Gardiner and Jon Shanklin, was responsible for one of the biggest environmental discoveries of the 20th century — the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. Their results, first published in the...

Barrel balloon over Halley VI (Photo: Mark Clilverd, BAS) The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has announced British Antarctic Survey’s Halley VI research station has attained Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Global station status. This is in recognition of the breadth and quality of the atmospheric science data collected at Halley and its importance for setting baseline data against...

Clam A new study of Antarctic clams reveals that age matters when it comes to adapting to the effects of climate change. The research provides new insight and understanding of the likely impact of predicted environmental change on future ocean biodiversity. Reporting this week in the journal Global Change Biology scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and from Germany’s Universi...

A new study of Europe’s extreme storm events reveals that they often occur near  the jet stream – the fast flowing air currents that flow high in the Earth’s atmosphere. The study further reveals that storms also bunch together in time – with extreme events sometimes happening closer to each other than traditional weather predictions would suggest. This bunching can t...

A new 1000-year Antarctic Peninsula climate reconstruction shows that summer ice melting has intensified almost ten-fold, and mostly since the mid 20th Century. Summer ice melt affects the stability of Antarctic ice shelves and glaciers. Ice core camp The research, published this week in the journal Nature Geoscience, adds new knowledge to the international effort that is required to understa...

New research from the Antarctic Peninsula shows that the summer melt season has been getting longer over the last 60 years. Increased summer melting has been linked to the rapid break-up of ice shelves in the area and rising sea level. The Antarctic Peninsula — a mountainous region extending northwards towards South America — is warming much faster than the rest of Antarctica. Tempera...

Chief Executive of the Natural Environment Research Council, Duncan Wingham said, “I am delighted to have Jane Francis join NERC as the new Director of the British Antarctic Survey. She joins us at a time in which our need to understand the polar regions has never been more important. Jane comes to us with an impressive track record of leadership and achievement in one of the outstanding UK ...

A Royal Society Research Professorship has been awarded to one of British Antarctic Survey’s leading climate scientists Professor Eric Wolff. Professor Eric Wolff Professor Wolff is one of three recipients of this prestigious award which provides long-term support for internationally recognised scientists of outstanding achievement and promise. Previous holders of Royal Society Research...

Romanticised in poetry, the wandering albatross is famed for its enormous wing-span and long life. The bird can often live to 50 years and beyond. Wandering albatross and chick But now a group of scientists from the University of Edinburgh and British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have identified another feature. The birds, which often mate for life, are more likely to successfully raise a chick ...

Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey have been working with a host of international collaborators to present the most detailed map yet of Antarctica’s landmass. Bedmap2 reveals a landscape of mountain ranges and plains cut by gorges and valleys much deeper than previously seen. In addition, the map allows scientists to analyse, in much greater detail, the bed below the Antarctic i...

Eminent Antarctic oceanographer, Professor Michael Meredith this week joined the staff at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) on an 18-month part-time contract. Professor Meredith is currently the head of the Polar Oceans research programme at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) in Cambridge and he will divide his time between SAMS and BAS. At SAMS Professor Meredith is a member of...