British Antarctic Survey

The annual migration begins! ✈️ Ahead of our science season in Antarctica, the BAS aircraft have started their long journey across the world. The BAS red Dash 7 and Twin Otter aircraft set off from Canada, (where they are maintained and do some summer science work) flying all the way down North and South America. The journey to Punta Arenas on the tip of Chile takes around 10 days, before they make the final hop over the Southern Ocean to Rothera Research Station! 🎥 Mark Thompson and Alex Taylor #aviation #climatescience

We're taking a time capsule to Antarctica, and you're invited on the journey! But hurry, our ship departs on Sunday 13 October 🏃♀️💨 🐧 Add your name to a time capsule going to Rothera Research Station. 🚢 Follow the journey south on #RRSSirDavidAttenborough. 💌 Discover the magic of Antarctica with weekly photo and story updates. #TicketToAntarctica is an epic adventure to the frozen south that’s free and open to everyone! Sign up now: https://lnkd.in/eKM8Hej8 Journey into a frozen world of icebergs, penguins and whales, and meet the scientists and teams who live and work in Antarctica. Huge thanks to Sir David Attenborough, namesake of the UK’s polar research ship and *national treasure*, for helping to spread the word! ❤️ #polarregions #publicengagement #archive #climatescience

Climate change reality is happening at a local level – so climate science needs to get specific 📍 By combining data from many different regions of the world, an international group of researchers (including from BAS) have shown that the ‘signals’ of our changing climate are already emerging – in different ways, in different regions. 💧 More rain and less snow in at the poles ⚡️ Altered storm tracks into northwestern Europe ⚠️ More intense tropical and sub-tropical monsoons 📢 Author Dr Paul Holland from BAS explains: “The average warming of our planet isn’t likely to be the biggest impact: ecosystems and human populations are most affected by changes in flooding and drought, extreme heat and cold, storm damage and sea-level rise.” The new paper, led by University of Exeter shows the need for increased focus on localised data and modelling, which will guide how communities in different regions should adapt their infrastructure, public health, food security and extreme event preparedness. Read more here ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/ex-zTHAw The article is part of the Frontiers in Science multimedia article hub ‘Regional climate change impacts’. #climatescience #climateimpacts #extremeweather #foodsecurity #emergencypreparedness

Into The Land of Mist and Fog 🔮 – Bird Island’s mysterious beauty is captured in a photo shortlisted for The British Photography Awards! Our Bird Island Science Manager, Ash Bennison, took this incredible photo last season at the remote and rugged Bird Island. Scientists are descending through tussock grass to Johnson beach, blanketed by gentoo penguins. This photo captures Bird Island’s wild weather and some of the diverse wildlife that calls it home… and we’re obsessed! 🐧 If you love this photo as much as we do, show your support by voting for Ash’s work in the Documentary category of The British Photography Awards! Vote here 👉 https://ow.ly/morc50TAcE7 🗓️ Votes must be made by Wednesday 9th October. 📸 Canon Eos 7, 24-70mm, Ilford HP5

We're working with Cambridge University Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology to develop a new generation of microscopes that can withstand the extreme cold and help unlock polar life’s frozen secrets! ⬇️

Antarctic krill can store as much carbon as the world’s mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass meadows! New research from Imperial College London shows that a single species, Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), can store similar levels of carbon as the world’s mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrass beds. Krill – tiny, shrimp-like creatures – are eaten by animals like whales, seals and penguins and so form a key part of the Southern Ocean’s food chain. But their role in our ecosystem is even more vital than we realised… Scientists have been piecing together the role krill have in carbon cycling, and made the amazing discovery that krill, and their poo, store similar amounts of carbon as some coastal marine plants. However, krill are impacted by changes to their habitat by climate change, and potential overfishing for food as well as for use as fishing bait and in dietary supplements. The researchers say the species should be protected in a similar way to ‘blue carbon’ habitats – those which store significant amounts of carbon. BAS’ scientist Simeon Hill was involved in the research and describes how we as people are connected to such a small creature in a remote location. We rely on it to remove carbon from our atmosphere, but are affecting it through out actions. After all, what happens in Antarctica doesn’t stay in Antarctica… #ClimateChange #Carbon #Research #Science #DataCollection #STEM #MarineScience #MarineBiology

Searching for winter #krill swarms at King Edward Point Research Station! 🦐 Marine biologist Katie Wells is currently at sea working at King Edward Point, Government of South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands, carrying out the ECHO survey – named after the primary acoustic data collection device, the echosounder. The survey consists of four transects – invisible straight lines across the landscape where observations and measurements are made, to ensure data collection is standardised. These transects run perpendicular to South Georgia and are conducted both day and night onboard a research vessel. 🔊 Katie uses the echosounder to collect acoustic data which helps her to understand the abundance of krill along the transects. 🐋 Whale observations are also recorded simultaneously. 🌇 in the evening plankton trawls are conducted, targeting zooplankton and krill swarms detected by the echosounder. Katie’s work is part of the Winter Krill project, a long-term program investigating krill and predator dynamics and how they are affected by #ClimateChange. The project provides vital information which shapes fishing policy in the South Georgia waters. Find out more about the Winter Krill Project 👇 https://lnkd.in/eYpYFhJK What's in the 📸 and who took them? 1. Katie Wells. A sunrise view at the start of the acoustic transect from the research vessel 2. Katie Wells. Echosounder output showing large swarms of krill 3. Nadia Frontier. A depth profiler being attached to the sampling net 4. Nadia Frontier. Katie processing data onboard the research vessel 5. Katie Wells. A beautiful South Georgia sunrise #Antarctica #HumpbackWhale #KEPScience #KingEdwardPoint #SouthGeorgia #MarineScience #Marine Biology #Wildlife #Nature #Research #Science #STEM #Sunrise #DataCollection #Oceanography

We've been part of the international effort to understand the huge and unstable #ThwaitesGlacier in Antarctica. The total loss of the glacier would lead to 65cm of sea level rise around the world. Moreover, it protects much of the low-lying West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which could contribute 3.3m. The team have uncovered both known and unexpected processes shaping Thwaites Glacier, giving us loads of new information to predict the conditions and timeline of its collapse. Our latest models predict: 📈 accelerating ice loss in the 21st/22nd centuries 💧 collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the 23rd century Here's our news story ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eTe6sVxe Want to dig into the science? Look out for more detail on the #BeyondTheIce LinkedIn newsletter and podcast next week. Subscribe on LinkedIn: 👋 https://lnkd.in/entggN_C #climatechange #sealevelrise #climatescience #glacierretreat #glaciology #globalwarming

Earlier this month, we took a crew from ITV News to the NERC Arctic Research Station at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, to report on the rapid and visible changes we're seeing across the Arctic. It also happened to be Svalbard's warmest summer on modern record - with temperatures 3°C above the average. Watch their beautiful, thorough 10 minute report, 🔗 https://ow.ly/cmo250ToZUo with: 🌍 Henry Burgess on why the Arctic is important to global climate. 🧊 Dorothea Moser explaining glacial retreat, the loss of climate data in melting ice, and leading the team up Austre Brøggerbreen glacier. 🐟 Max Willems on the impact of warming waters on the ecosystem. 🌨️ Celas Marie-Sainte on temperature and atmospheric monitoring. 🤝 Arul Muthiah on international science cooperation. 📈 Kevin Newsham on the potential for frozen soil to release huge quantities of carbon. #climatechange #arctic #climatescience NERC: Natural Environment Research Council UK Research and Innovation Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research

When you accidentally find a massive hole in the Ozone layer 😳 In 1985, BAS scientists Joe Farman, Brian Gardiner and Jonathan Shanklin shocked the world by finding a 20 million km² hole in Earth's ozone layer, above Antarctica. Jonathan was stationed at Halley Research Station, collecting long-term data on UV light reaching Earth. Then he was asked to share recent data for an open day at BAS... 📣 "There had been concern at the time that exhaust gases from Concorde, or chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from spray cans, might damage the ozone layer. I thought this unlikely, so decided to present that year’s data and compare it with values my boss had computed from a decade earlier. I expected them to be the same." They weren’t the same. By 1984, the ozone layer over Halley Research Station in Antarctica was only about two-thirds as thick as it had been in earlier decades. 💪 Action The finding spurred a whole environmental movement in the 1980s and led to the total ban of CFCs. The Montreal Agreement in 1987 is one of the most effective international environmental agreements ever. Without the finding and the agreement there would be: 🌡️ An additional 2.5 C of warming by the end of 2100 🎗️ 14% more skin cancer cases by 2030 🌳 690 billion tonnes less carbon stored in forests and soil 🌎 an extra 235 parts per million of CO₂ in our atmosphere Jonathan says: 📣 "It’s amazing that world governments do respect the protocol. It's humbling to think that industry across the world has had to change, because of what seemed to be a small discovery over an obscure part of Antarctica that most people had never heard of." Happy #WorldOzoneDay 💙 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ed9tHAsd