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.
Add your comment!A new study has revealed that ocean tides can directly influence when large Antarctic icebergs break off from the ice shelves surrounding the continent, a process known as calving. The research marks a major step toward accurately forecasting ice loss from the Antarctic Ice Sheet and improving projections of global sea level rise.
Antarctica’s emperor penguin population may be decreasing faster than some of the most pessimistic predictions. A new analysis of up-to-date satellite imagery suggests the birds’ numbers declined 22% over a 15-year period (2009 to 2024) in a key sector of the continent – encompassing the Antarctic Peninsula, Weddell Sea and Bellingshausen Sea.
On 5 June, UN World Environment Day, the campaign motto was “Beat Plastic Pollution”, and with very good reasons, we are surrounded by plastic pollution and a report from BAS indicates that at the bottom of the world, where few humans have ever set foot, an unwelcome visitor has arrived. Antarctica – the vast, frozen wilderness of ice and snow – is no longer untouched by humanity’s most persistent pollutant: plastic.
This month, the world will mark the 40th anniversary of a moment that changed the course of history: the publication in Nature of ground-breaking research that presented the discovery of the ozone hole more precisely on 16 May 1985.
To commemorate the extraordinary moment the ozone hole was discovered in Antarctica 40 years ago, British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has teamed up with the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) in London to host a special series of talks on Tuesday, 6 May 2025.
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 in the journal Nature Geoscience.
The waters surrounding South Georgia, nestled beneath glaciated mountains, are among the most biologically rich in the Southern Ocean. In February, a team of scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and international institutions embarked on an important research expedition to explore the diverse marine life – including ground-fish – thriving 300 meters below the surface.
The British Forces South Atlantic Islands, BFSAI continue to support the British Antarctic Survey following a reconnaissance mission over the Union Glacier, Antarctica.
A new map of the South Orkney Islands has been released by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) – the first UK published, topographic map of the region in almost 40 years. Created by the Mapping and Geographic Information Centre at BAS, the map offers a detailed topographic view of the entire South Orkney archipelago on one side, with a focused, high-resolution map of Signy Island on the reverse.