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British Antarctic Survey

Name: British Antarctic Survey
Address: High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB30, GB
Telephone: +441223221400
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We do polar. Uncovering the secrets of the polar regions, doing science for a sustainable planet. Thanks for your support 👍

We're the UK's polar research institute 👋 Uncovering the secrets of Earth's frozen places, doing science for a sustainable planet.

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12/06/2026

🛰️ Did you know, its quicker to get evacuated from the International Space Station than it is from Antarctica in a medical emergency?

In this episode of Iceworld, Nadia speaks to Dr Matt Warner - Director of the British Antarctic Survey Medical Unit - to find out more about the medical assessment process for working in Antarctica, how different conditions are evaluated and what happens when things go wrong.

So if you're thinking of applying for a job with BAS and want to understand what it takes to be cleared for deployment – this episode is the place to start.

🎧 Listen wherever you find your podcasts.

Photos were taken during an intensive First Aid course for people deploying South.

11/06/2026

Introducing your new favourite bird: the snowy sheathbill 🕊️ Possibly the most mysterious bird in Antarctica – scientists still know very little about how many there are, where they go, or even parts of their behaviour.

Last researched in the 1960s, scientists are now using ring tags to uncover their secrets, tracking their movements and estimating their numbers. This will help us answer important questions – for example, do they migrate? Do they stay with their mates for life? Is their population getting bigger or smaller?

Here's what we do know:

🌎 They're the only land bird native to Antarctica, found on the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, and the South American coast.

💩 They’re scavengers, so they feed mostly on poo and dead things – sounds gross, but scavengers are vital nutrient recyclers in the ecosystem.

🥾 Snowy sheathbills will also kick food out of penguins’ mouths to steal it!

🐣 They pair off for breeding and raise 1-2 chicks each season.

🕔 As they age, they grow warts on the sheath covering their bills called fleshy caruncles – males usually get more than females. Charming.

Not the most glamorous bird in the world — but who doesn't love an underdog?

Is the snowy sheathbill going on your favourite bird list? Let us know ⬇️

📸Ashley Bennison, George Day, Jamie Latimer & Jess Callaghan

09/06/2026

Are you at Seawork 2026? So are we! 🌊 Come and find our team if you're interested in polar operations, research logistics, or what it's really like to work aboard the .

Find us at T8, where you can chat to us about life and work in extreme environments, opportunities in cutting-edge polar science, and the skills, technology and teamwork that power our missions.

📍9-11 June, Mayflower Park, Southampton.

📸David Ganiford

08/06/2026

Ever wondered what it takes to build something truly extraordinary… at the end of the Earth? 🌍❄️

As the Antarctic construction season wraps up, we're reflecting on what's been a remarkable few months at Rothera Research Station.

This season, our teams and those of our partners have been hard at work in one of the world's most unforgiving environments.

The Discovery Building at Rothera Research Station is now fully up and running. It's the beating heart of the UK's largest Antarctic research station: power, water, communications, all under one roof. Built to enable decades of polar science.

While the construction teams were busy, our scientists didn't stop either - tracking ocean changes, studying blue carbon, and investigating underwater tsunamis triggered by glaciers calving.

Here's to every engineer, scientist and support team member who made this season possible 👏

Read the full story on the British Antarctic Survey website: https://www.bas.ac.uk/news/rothera-research-stations-construction-season-upgrades-safeguard-future-polar-science/

05/06/2026

This weekend, it’s the Great Exhibition Road Festival in South Kensington, London 🎉 The festival is an annual celebration of science and the arts, featuring hands-on workshops, talks, performances, and displays. And the best part? It’s totally free!

We’ll be there in the Family Fun Zone with our scientists – look out for the bright orange tent all the way from Antarctica 🏕️

Come along to discover what life is really like on the coldest continent on Earth – dress up as a polar researcher, crawl inside a real polar tent, and explore maps and videos from an Antarctic field camp.

🕙 12pm to 6pm on 6-7 June

📍 Family Fun Zone, Kensington Gardens, East Albert Lawn

Register for the festival using the link in the comments ⬇️

Great Exhibition Road Festival

04/06/2026

What’s the crack? 🧊 Scientists from BAS, UCL and Aalto University have been investigating how cracks develop in floating ice shelves. These shelves act like a cork, holding back glaciers on land. When they break off, that ice flows into the ocean, contributing to sea-level rise.

But Antarctic ice shelves aren't one uniform slab. They're a mix of compacted snowfall, refrozen meltwater, and salty, brine-soaked ice. Our team sampled a 37-metre ice core from the Brunt Ice Shelf to test how resistant each type of ice was to cracking – its ‘fracture toughness’

They found that refrozen meltwater was up to 40% tougher than ordinary ice, while ice saturated with brine from the ocean was up to 34% more likely to crack. This means ice shelves have zones of differing toughness that could reduce or accelerate crack growth.

As Antarctica warms, melting ice and changes to snowfall will continue to alter ice shelf structure. By using the data from this research in models of ice shelf stability, we can better predict how cracks will spread, and when ice will break away – helping us more accurately forecast future sea-level rise.

🎥 Watch the team in action on the Brunt Ice Shelf and in the lab.

27/05/2026

Fair winds and following seas 👋 This is the moment that RRS Sir David Attenborough set sail from Rothera Research Station in Antarctica, leaving a team of hardy Winterers through the dark polar night.

The team will live and work at Rothera Research Station, alone until October. They’ll be looking after each other and the station - as well as continuing the science.

To kick off their time together, the station team have been making great food (we hear the Greek-themed feast was delicious) and are having a deep clean to start things as they mean to go on. We are sending them all our best wishes for the long, dark winter ahead!

📸 Jerry Gillham, Winter Station Leader

26/05/2026

Drake Passage is really living up to its rocky reputation… 🌊🌊🚢 This is the crew of the RRS Sir David Attenborough reacting to 97mph winds and wave heights of around 12m!

This week we’re marking the end of the Antarctic summer science season. This footage is from the RRS Sir David Attenborough’s final transit to Rothera Research Station on the Antarctic Peninsula.

Drake Passage is a notoriously spicy section of the Southern Ocean. But why?

⭕ If you imagine looking at the Earth from below, you’ll notice that there’s an uninterrupted ring of ocean around Antarctica. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current whizzes around the continent, generating hurricane force winds and water mixing that helps drive global ocean circulation.

🤌 The current gets squeezed at the narrowest point between the tip of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula.

💥 It’s also the meeting place of the major Atlantic, Pacific and Southern Oceans - in short, it’s chaotic.

Imagine doing the two day crossing of Drake Passage. How would you cope with the ‘Drake Shake’?

Address

High Cross, Madingley Road
Cambridge
CB30

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5:30pm
Tuesday	9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 5:30pm
Thursday	9am - 5:30pm
Friday	9am - 5:30pm

Telephone

+441223221400

Website

https://www.bas.ac.uk/

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