Three British Antarctic Survey (BAS) staff have been awarded the Polar Medal. The announcement was published Friday 28 January in the London Gazette.
The Royal Navy's only Antarctic research ship has completed her first Antarctic mission of the season – revealing the impact of global warming. HMS Protector is on a five-year mission to support international research into wildlife, the changing climate, and the shifting waters of Antarctica.
Science and support teams from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) are gearing up for the start of the Antarctic summer field season. All five BAS research stations will be open and undertaking essential science research after a year’s break caused by Covid-19 last season. This will be another challenging season with ongoing Covid-19 protocols to maintain safety for our staff and collaborators.
Britain’s new polar research vessel, Falklands' flagged RRS Sir David Attenborough, has travelled to Antarctica on its maiden voyage, with its first call on Friday at Rothera Research Station – the UK’s largest Antarctic research station on the continent.
Sailors from Ice Patrol HMS Protector paid tribute to legendary Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton – a century after he died pushing the boundaries of polar research. The crew of the icebreaker held a memorial service at his graveside on the island of South Georgia – the latest stop for the survey ship as she heads to the frozen continent for a summer of scientific research.
Data collected from a long-term study by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists shows declining populations of an already relatively rare Antarctic seabird, the South Georgia shag. Published in the journal Polar Biology, a 40-year census from Signy Island in the remote South Orkney Islands and a 30-year census from Bird Island, close to the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, have shown significant population declines at both locations.
RRS Sir David Attenborough has completed the first leg of its journey to Antarctica, arriving in the Falkland Islands on 9 December. Since the draft of Britain’s new polar ship is too large for it to berth in Stanley harbor, so the ship will anchor north of the Narrows at Port William. However, the ship is visible from vantage points around the coastline.
An international team of scientists led by the British Antarctic Survey have published research on using new technology to study mass stranding of whales from space and how the technology could be used to help protect populations.
Britain’s new polar research ship, RRS Sir David Attenborough, departed the UK this week for its maiden voyage to Antarctica. She left Harwich on Tuesday, with 66 crew and personnel on board, for a short stop at Portsmouth to take on fuel before departing the UK by 18 November.
This is the second time that a UK research asset has transferred to Ukrainian research colleagues – the first being the transfer in 1996 of the former Faraday station that is now known as Vernadsky.