https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from British Antarctic Survey Scientists have uncovered how changing ocean currents in South Georgia's fjords could affect the survival of young mackerel icefish. The species is a key component of the island's rich marine ecosystem and is an important prey species for seals and penguins. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-ocean-currents-fish-survival-south.html Ecology Thu, 04 Dec 2025 11:32:32 EST news684070322 Pink granite boulders scattered across the dark volcanic peaks of the Hudson Mountains in West Antarctica, have revealed the presence of a vast buried granite body—almost 100 km across and 7 km thick, about half the size of Wales in the UK—beneath Pine Island Glacier. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-hidden-giant-granite-beneath-west.html Earth Sciences Wed, 22 Oct 2025 14:20:03 EDT news680361601 New advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are transforming the way scientists explore and understand some of the most remote parts of the ocean around Antarctica and the strange creatures that live there. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-artificial-intelligence-supercharges-science-antarctic.html Ecology Mon, 20 Oct 2025 16:10:01 EDT news680194725 The remains of an Antarctic researcher have been discovered by a Polish team among rocks exposed by a receding glacier in Antarctica. They are identified by DNA as those of Dennis "Tink" Bell, a 25-year-old meteorologist who was working for the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS), the predecessor of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). He died in a crevasse on a glacier at Admiralty Bay on King George Island, situated off the Antarctic Peninsula, on 26 July 1959. His body was never recovered. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-british-lost-recovered-antarctic-glacier.html Archaeology Mon, 11 Aug 2025 12:25:02 EDT news674133897 A new study challenges recent claims about dramatic "greening" in Antarctica and how this conflicts with decades of field-based ecological knowledge. The new opinion article, "Is Antarctica Greening?" published in Global Change Biology, responds directly to recent high-profile studies that asserted unprecedented ecological transformations based on remote sensing data. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-rapid-antarctic-greening.html Earth Sciences Fri, 27 Jun 2025 11:42:23 EDT news670243339 A new study of Antarctic seals shows that environmental conditions are leading to a severe decline in their populations in the South Orkney Islands. New results are published today (Wednesday 18 June) in the journal Global Change Biology and show how seals depend on sea ice for their survival. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-sea-ice-future.html Plants & Animals Wed, 18 Jun 2025 09:44:04 EDT news669458642 Antarctica could see a doubling of extreme weather events—such as atmospheric rivers—by 2100, with implications for future sea level rise. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-antarctic-atmospheric-rivers-supercharged-climate.html Earth Sciences Fri, 06 Jun 2025 12:23:36 EDT news668431409 Artificial intelligence sea ice forecasting systems could help predict and protect the migration routes of endangered caribou in the Canadian Arctic, according to a new study. The research, led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists in partnership with The Alan Turing Institute, WWF and the Government of Nunavut, demonstrates how this technology could assist local agencies in protecting critical migration routes which cross areas of land and sea ice. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-ai-tool-aids-caribou-arctic.html Ecology Thu, 29 May 2025 10:17:03 EDT news667732619 A new study reveals there was a time when massive icebergs, like the ones we see in Antarctica today, were drifting less than 90 miles off the U.K. coastline. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-massive-icebergs-roamed-coast-uk.html Earth Sciences Thu, 24 Apr 2025 13:09:10 EDT news664718946 For the first time, scientists have collected measurements close to a giant iceberg, giving an unprecedented window into the impact of meltwater on the surrounding Southern Ocean and ecosystem. The paper is published today (4 April 2025) in the journal Nature Geoscience. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-underwater-robotic-gliders-insights-impact.html Earth Sciences Fri, 04 Apr 2025 11:07:31 EDT news662983648 The most detailed map yet of the landscape beneath Antarctica's ice sheet has been assembled by a team of international scientists led from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). https://phys.org/news/2025-03-landscape-beneath-antarctica-unveiled.html Earth Sciences Thu, 13 Mar 2025 10:27:03 EDT news661080421 A new study has revealed significant changes in the strength and position of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds over the past 11,000 years. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-ancient-patterns-reveal-future-climate.html Earth Sciences Tue, 11 Mar 2025 12:32:03 EDT news660915121 Extreme precipitation events in Antarctica, which are mostly dominated by snowfall due to sub-zero temperatures, also include rainfall, according to new research. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-rivers-sky-reveals-rainfall-ice.html Earth Sciences Tue, 11 Feb 2025 12:44:08 EST news658500242 Scientists have discovered microplastics in the snow near some of Antarctica's deep field camps, revealing how far-reaching plastic pollution has become. While not new, it's the first time these tiny pieces of plastic have been found in remote locations. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-antarctic-harbors-microplastics-technique-uncovers.html Environment Fri, 07 Feb 2025 11:33:04 EST news658150381 A new species of tusk shell, a burrowing marine mollusk, has been discovered in deep, North Atlantic waters by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey and the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research. The newly discovered mollusk lives in the abyss—below 3,300m—with an anemone on its shell, an arrangement that has not been seen before in this region. The study is published in the journal Marine Biodiversity. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-scientists-uncover-mollusk-species-habiting.html Plants & Animals Tue, 03 Dec 2024 11:55:02 EST news652449301 Polar ice sheets are critical for climate projections, according to new research published Nov. 27 in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment. Improving understanding of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets is essential for reducing the uncertainty around climate tipping points, and vital for guiding projections for a rapidly changing future climate. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-illuminates-role-polar-ice-sheets.html Earth Sciences Fri, 29 Nov 2024 11:49:24 EST news652103360 For the first time, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are publishing their carbon footprint data on their website to increase transparency and help other organizations reduce their carbon emissions. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-british-antarctic-survey-publishes-carbon.html Environment Tue, 13 Aug 2024 17:04:03 EDT news642787441 Seabirds are among the most threatened creatures globally, often due to incidental mortality (bycatch) in fisheries. Several hundreds of thousands of seabirds are thought to be killed worldwide each year by two of the three main types of fishing gear—gillnets and longlines. However, the extent of global mortality in trawl fisheries has remained largely unknown until now. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-seabirds-threatened-trawl-fisheries.html Plants & Animals Wed, 24 Jul 2024 12:47:55 EDT news641044071 Scientists have for the first time taken in-situ ocean measurements during the collapse of a giant iceberg in the sub-Antarctic. These new observations reveal how ocean ecosystems may be affected if more icebergs calve due to warmer ocean temperatures around Antarctica. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-mega-iceberg-affects-important-marine.html Earth Sciences Wed, 17 Jul 2024 11:30:03 EDT news640434601 A new and worrying way that large ice sheets can melt has been characterized by scientists for the first time. The research focuses on how relatively warm seawater can lap at the underside of ground-based ice, which can accelerate the movement of the ice into the ocean. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-beneath-antarctic-ice-sheet.html Earth Sciences Tue, 25 Jun 2024 05:00:01 EDT news638453498 In the first successful attempt to calibrate walrus counts from satellite imagery, scientists used drones to validate animal counts in Svalbard, Norway. On this International Day for Biological Diversity, the researchers describe how this study is a big step towards using satellite imagery as a non-invasive method to monitor walruses in the Arctic. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-drones-validate-walrus-satellite-images.html Plants & Animals Thu, 23 May 2024 16:09:36 EDT news635699371 A large iceberg (380 km2), about the size of the Isle of Wight, has broken off the 150m-thick Brunt Ice Shelf. It broke off after a crack suddenly appeared in the ice shelf a few weeks ago. The final break happened in the early hours of Monday, 20 May. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-brunt-ice-shelf-antarctica-calves.html Earth Sciences Thu, 23 May 2024 03:32:17 EDT news635653931 Scientists at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have found that the record-low levels of sea ice around Antarctica in 2023 were extremely unlikely to happen without the influence of climate change. This low was a one-in-a-2000-year event without climate change and four times more likely under its effects. The results are published (20 May) in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, in a paper titled "CMIP6 models rarely simulate Antarctic winter sea-ice anomalies as large as observed in 2023." https://phys.org/news/2024-05-antarctic-sea-ice-extremely-climate.html Earth Sciences Mon, 20 May 2024 09:00:01 EDT news635412241 Communities of microorganisms at the bottom of polar lakes evolved independently from other regions, influenced by the particular geological, biological, and climate history of their regions. The unique character of the microbial communities underscores the urgent need for the inclusion of these lifeforms in management plans for the polar regions. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-dna-reveals-unique-microorganisms-evolved.html Evolution Wed, 14 Feb 2024 13:12:04 EST news627138721 Sea urchins exposed to diluted seawater for long periods show signs of physical deterioration, according to scientists from the British Antarctic Survey, the University of Cambridge, and the Scottish Association for Marine Science. Their study also found that even slight changes in salinity—or saltiness—trigger changes in urchin behavior as they try to cope with their new conditions. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-rainfall-threatens-uk-sea-urchins.html Plants & Animals Mon, 12 Feb 2024 17:03:04 EST news626979782 A study published this month in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science reveals that disturbing the seabed, through activities such as trawling, could increase the scale and speed of climate change. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-disturbing-seabed-climate-worse.html Plants & Animals Mon, 29 Jan 2024 12:30:20 EST news625753813 Scientists at British Antarctic Survey have found that the number of warm weather events in the South Orkney Islands has significantly increased in frequency over the last 75 years. Using newly available historical data, scientists have identified the atmospheric factors behind the warm events in the region, shedding new light on the climate change trends that are affecting sub-Antarctic islands. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-scientists-weather-extremes-maritime-antarctic.html Earth Sciences Tue, 23 Jan 2024 14:39:50 EST news625243187 Researchers from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have carried out aerial surveys of the remote volcanic Zavodovski Island in the sub-Antarctic to count the largest penguin colony in the world. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-scientists-penguins-remote-antarctic-island.html Plants & Animals Mon, 22 Jan 2024 15:33:02 EST news625159981 Scientists at British Antarctic Survey are using satellite images to track the colossal iceberg A23a. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-animation-track-giant-a23a-iceberg.html Earth Sciences Thu, 18 Jan 2024 15:55:05 EST news624815702 Scientists have identified the intricate meteorological drivers that led to an intense heat wave across East Antarctica in from 15-19 March 2022. The heat wave, which affected an area of the size of India (3.3 million km2), was driven by the most intense 'atmospheric river' ever observed over East Antarctica. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-extreme-east-antarctica-driven-atmospheric.html Earth Sciences Wed, 10 Jan 2024 16:55:03 EST news624128101