Polar scientists and staff awarded place names in Antarctica

Named for Mr Douglas Bone (b. 1945). He wintered at Signy 1967 and 1968 as an Assistant Biologist, and then joined the British Antarctic Survey’s Marine Life Science Division. He was a leading figure in the scientific commissioning of the RRS James Clark Ross and worked every season in Antarctica to 2005.

Named for Hugh Corr, glaciologist and radar engineer at British Antarctic Survey from 1986 to 2017. He developed and applied a range of geophysical measurement techniques, particularly ice-penetrating radar systems, from aircraft to study the ice sheet and the continental structure beneath.

Named for Mr Nicholas Cox MBE (b. 1953) who worked for BAS for over 40 years in a variety of roles, including three Antarctic winters. Manager of the UK’s Arctic Research station at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard which he helped establish in 1991.

Named for physicist Dr John Dudeney OBE (b. 1945) who joined British Antarctic Survey in 1966. Research scientist in the field of ionosphere/magnetosphere physics, including two Antarctic winters and roles as Base Commander, Research Leader, Head of BAS science division and Deputy Director. International roles as UK representative to the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes and a member of the UK delegation to the Antarctic Treaty.

Named for Virginia (Ginny), Lady Twistleton-Fiennes (1947-2004). Explorer and polar radio operator, including research on very low frequency radio propagation. She played a leading role in the conception, planning and logistics support for the Transglobe Expedition 1979-82, led by Sir Ranulph Fiennes. First woman invited to join the Antarctic Club 1985, first female recipient of the Polar Medal 1987.

Named for Professor Dame Jane Francis (b.1956), pioneering palaeobotanist and palaeoclimatologist specialising in the study of fossil plants, especially woods, and their use as tools for climate interpretation and information about past biodiversity in the polar regions. Director of the British Antarctic Survey, from 2013, and Chancellor, University of Leeds, from 2018.

Named for Professor Helen Amanda Fricker (b.1969), Head of Glaciology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego. Glaciologist on NASA’s IceSat-2 programme and a significant figure in satellite altimetry of the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets.

Named for Dr Katharine Giles (1978-2013), Lecturer at University College London, whose research focussed on sea ice, ocean circulation and wind patterns, and pioneered the use of satellite altimetry to measure the thickness of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice.

Named for Professor Karen Heywood (b. 1961), Professor of Physical Oceanography, University of East Anglia.

Leader of six oceanographic research cruises to Antarctica since 1995, including Pine Island Bay, the Weddell Sea and the Scotia Sea and a pioneer of the use of autonomous ocean gliders.

Named for Mr Christopher Hindley (1948 – 2020), BAS Ships Programme and Operations Manager, 2000 to 2020. He played a key role in the development of BAS marine science through programming marine scientific cruises, and was responsible for the shipping of materials for the building of Halley VI Research Station.

Named for Professor Richard Hindmarsh, a glaciologist and ice sheet modeller at the British Antarctic Survey for more than 25 years. He developed advanced numerical models of ice sheets, including Antarctica, and worked on modelling subglacial bedforms.

Named for Dr Edward King (b.1954), geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey from 1986. King used seismic techniques to study the structure of the Antarctic continent and surrounding ocean floor, and was a key part of a team that developed and used ground-penetrating radar techniques to study ice stream dynamics.

Named for Professor John King (b. 1955), meteorologist at British Antarctic Survey from 1984, including roles as Senior Atmospheric Scientist and member of the International Commission on Polar Meteorology.

Named for Russell Scott Ladkin (b.1966). Meteorologist at British Antarctic Survey, including wintering at Halley Research Station in 1990 and 1991, and later the engineer responsible for airborne meteorology instrumentation.

Named for Professor Seymour Laxon (1963-2013), Director, Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at University College London. His research pioneered the use of satellite altimetry to measure sea ice thickness and surface circulation in the Arctic Ocean. His work provided evidence that led to the development of the European Space Agency’s CryoSat mission.

Named for Professor Elizabeth M. Morris OBE (b. 1946), a glaciologist with the British Antarctic Survey, including as Head of the Ice and Climate Division, and later with the Scott Polar Research Institute. She was in the vanguard of British women scientists in Antarctica. Her work to understand the mass balance of ice sheets encompassed field measurement of snow accumulation rates and temperatures, and a range of measurements to ground-truth satellite observations of the ice sheet.

Mulvaney led ice core drilling projects to bedrock on Berkner Island, James Ross Island and Fletcher Promontory and was part of the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA), as well as numerous other ice coring campaigns. He also worked on a range of ice cores from Greenland and Svalbard. He was closely linked to the technological development of continuous flow analysis of ice cores.

Named for engineer and physicist Dr Michael Pinnock (b.1954). He joined British Antarctic Survey in 1976, wintered at Halley Research Station, 1977, 1978 and 1981, and established the long-running SUPERDARN radar array at Halley. Later he held senior roles as Research Leader and Board member for Science Delivery.

Named for Dr Carol Pudsey (b.1955), who spent over twenty years at BAS as a marine geologist. She specialised in the Quaternary of the Scotia Sea and Weddell Sea and integrated geophysical surveys with sediment coring, taking a particular research interest in the collapsing ice shelves of the north-east Antarctic Peninsula. She was the first woman Principal Scientist on a BAS marine science cruise (1990), and also took part in a number of International Ocean Drilling Program cruises.

Named for physicist Professor Alan Rodger DSc (1951-2020). He joined the British Antarctic Survey in 1972 and wintered at Faraday Research Station in 1973 and 1974. He was a key leader in space weather research, not only in the UK but worldwide. Long serving member of the BAS executive team with responsibility for science strategy, and Interim Director, 2013.

Named for Jonathan D. Shanklin (b. 1953), Meteorologist at the British Antarctic Survey from 1977, later Head of the BAS Meteorology and Ozone Monitoring Unit. He was a member of the BAS team led by Joseph Farman (Farman Highland) that discovered the Antarctic Ozone Hole in 1985.

Named for Professor David N. Thomas (b. 1962), sea ice ecologist, with six expeditions to the Southern Ocean. He held senior roles at Bangor University to 2020, and was later Professor of Arctic Ecosystems Research at the University of Helsinki.

Named for Professor Martyn Tranter (b.1956), Professor of Polar Biogeochemistry, University of Bristol. Specialist in the fields of biogeochemical processes in glacial meltwater and microbial life in sub-glacial environments.

Named for Dr Jonathan L. Watkins (b.1955), marine biologist at the British Antarctic Survey, 1981-2016. Specialist in the role of Antarctic krill in the southern ocean ecosystem, including many research cruises to South Georgia and the Scotia Sea.