British Antarctic Survey

At the southern end of our world, those who share the challenges of distance and cold to visit the ice-bound continent have developed a tradition of warm cooperation. Such cooperation, unique on this scale, is cemented by something called the Antarctic Treaty. The Antarctic Treaty was first signed on this day 65 years ago and, in honour of this occasion, 1 December is now Antarctica Day! There aren't many places in the world where there's never been war, the environment is fully protected, and scientific research has priority. But there is a whole continent like this – it is the land the Antarctic Treaty parties call “… a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science”. Here's some quick facts about this landmark agreement ✍️️It was signed on 1 December 1959 by the 12 countries whose scientists were working in and around Antarctica during the International Geological Year 🌏There are now 57 signatories ❄️It applies to the area south of 60° South latitude 🕊️The Treaty states that Antarctica can only be used for peaceful purposes 🧪There is freedom for science and all scientific findings and data must be shared and open to all 📸Alastair Wilson

No one lives permanently in Antarctica - but people working at science stations across the continent certainly spend a lot of time making a temporary life in this remote and extreme place! Meet Rothera Research Station's Leader, Aurelia Reichardt, and the operations and aircraft Tower Supervisor, Matt Hughes. They answer questions sent in from around the world, from people of all ages. What local animals have they spotted? What does it look like flying into Antarctica? And how do you keep morale up away from home? From diving deep in Antarctic waters to missing the sound of trees, they share what it is like to live and work in Antarctica. https://lnkd.in/e2pHvx-J

Hello early career researchers! Apply for support from British Antarctic Survey to carry out Antarctic fieldwork by 3 Jan. Check out all the details below ⬇️

No one likes uncertainty, but we REALLY don't like it when it's about irreversible tipping points 🫣 New research out today shows that the polar ice sheets are some of the most sensitive parts of our climate system, and most easily tipped into irreversible change. Unfortunately, the polar ice sheets are also major influencers! These fragile frozen zones are connected to many other parts of the global climate system. This means that changes there may lead to a cascade of ‘tipping’ across the Earth's climate. Even more unfortunately, there's still quite a lot of uncertainty in our understanding of polar ice sheet behaviour. BAS scientist Jonathan Rosser shows that this uncertainty is carried through the scientific models to climate projections, because of how everything is interlinked. What does this mean? We need to be acting with caution, because we don’t know for sure where the tipping point is. Current research says that the polar ice sheets are potentially able to be tipped at current levels of global warming. And, we need to make urgent progress in this area of research. Here's the full story ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eCFdVqDR 📸 Dave Roberts

How do you move 90 tonnes of geology specimens? (That’s more than 10x the weight of a T-Rex!)🦖 The Geology store at BAS is currently undergoing a major glow up - new storage racks are being installed to hold all our amazing rock and fossil samples from the poles, ensuring safe and easy access for the future. Over four days, specimens were moved offsite - a major task considering the systematic geological collection spans over 90 years. Some early specimens even date back to Robert Falcon Scott’s first expedition in the early 1900s, around 120 years ago! 🪨 More than 200,000 individual rock and fossil specimens collected from Antarctica and the subantarctic islands had to be relocated 🔋 The temporary relocation was completed using a fully electric articulated lorry. BAS is the first to use this 100% EV, helping reduce the Carbon Emissions for the move The new racking will make sure the specimens are readily available to those who use the store for cutting edge research, including scientists and PhD students based at BAS Cambridge and across the UK. In addition, the renovation will increase the store’s capacity, allowing new samples collected during future seasons to be housed securely Roll on the next 120 years! #Antarctica #Geology #Storage #Upgrade #Relocation #Science #Ammonite #Ammonoids #Rocks #Fossils #Specimens 📸 An ammonite cracked open to reveal intricate chambers - just one of the many specimens housed in the store (Credit: Amy Ringrose)

Investigating clouds from land, sea and sky! ☁️ A project looking at how clouds affect climate change in Antarctica starts its second year of field research this month. Hang on, how do clouds work? 💧 Clouds form when water vapour in the atmosphere condenses around tiny airborne particles – like dust or volcanic ash - called aerosol particles. The team will be measuring the characteristics of aerosol particles in Antarctica, and analysing potential sources of aerosol, like seawater and precipitation. The Southern Ocean Clouds project investigates mixed phase clouds – clouds containing both ice crystals and water droplets – that are often badly represented in climate models. How will this be done? 🇦🇶 Long-term ground-based observations at Rothera Research Station 🚢 Collecting data on aerosol particles aboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough ✈️ Gathering atmospheric data on the BAS Twin Otter aircraft And last but not least… scientists will collect samples of Antarctic soil, mosses and lichens to assess their potential role in cloud formation. Data collected during the Southern Ocean Clouds project will aid understanding of the Southern Ocean’s clouds, helping to reduce uncertainty in climate models and improve climate predictions. Read the full story here ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/ehmMm_G7 Southern Ocean Clouds is a project of the NERC: Natural Environment Research Council CloudSense Programme. 📸 1. 2. View of RRS Sir David Attenborough from the BAS Twin Otter aircraft, by Floortje Van Den Heuvel 📸 3. BAS Twin Otter VP-FAZ preparing for cloud flights, by Floortje Van Den Heuvel

Halley Research Station is open for business! Starting the new summer season off in style, the occasion was marked by the raising of the flag. As is tradition, the youngest member of the station got the honour to raise the flag for all of the Brunt Ice Shelf in #Antarctica to see, and in glorious weather too ☀️ 📸 Iain Gordon

How can we protect the ocean's giants from being hit by ships? 🐋 We caught up with Jennifer Jackson, a marine biologist at BAS to find out. An international collaborative study led by University of Washington has researched the overlap between global shipping traffic and hotspots of four large whale species. Some findings: 🚢 92% of these whales' ranges overlapped with global shipping traffic 7️⃣ only 7% of highest risk areas for whale-ship collisions have protections in place 🐋 expanding speed limits to just 2.6% of the world's ocean covers all the highest-risk collision hotspots 🗺️ 95% of hotspots fall within a nation’s exclusive economic zone Shipping traffic poses a massive threat to ocean giants - collision with ships is the largest cause of death for large whale species. This study found that relatively straight-forward measures would have substantial impacts on reducing the risk of ship strike, such as mandatory or voluntary speed reductions for vessels in whale hotspots. Speed reductions would also have benefits for the wider environment, such as lessening noise pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution. 🗞️ Here's the full story https://lnkd.in/ec-hQySb

Rothera ahoy! 👋 The #RRSSirDavidAttenborough has arrived at Rothera Research Station in Antarctica. This is the ship's first station call of the season. The team have brought fresh fruit and veg, cargo, and people. Here's the atmospheric view from the SDA's webcam! 🎥 https://ow.ly/YcZM50UbW7x

Plastic not fantastic! Nanoplastic pollution could be reducing the amount of carbon Antarctic krill can store by up to 27% 🦐 Antarctic krill are tiny climate heroes. Normally they store around 20 million tonnes of carbon a year, around the same as habitats like mangroves or saltmarshes. This is how it works: ☘️ Phytoplankton absorb carbon dioxide 🦐 Krill eat the tiny plants 💩 Their poo sinks into the deep ocean ♻️ This locks away CO₂ But BAS researchers have now found that nanoplastics – tiny plastic particles more than 100 times smaller than the width of a human hair - cause their poo to break down more quickly before sinking. Here's the full story ⬇️ https://ow.ly/8AHw50UbRxE #ClimateChange #Antarctica #PlasticPollution #BlueCarbon