BAS-Arctic Working Group
Working Group purpose
The Arctic Working Group is a group of more than 60 BAS scientists and operations staff who are currently working in the Arctic or have aspirations to work there. The AWG was started in 2018 to bring together researchers in different fields to share their experiences of Arctic research, to enable new collaborations, and to maximise the potential output of this group by coordinating efforts and knowledge regarding Arctic projects, funding calls and logistics.
Terms of Reference
Content coming soon
Our priorities
Content coming soon
Map of Arctic Working Group projects
Arctic marine geophysics
This research focuses on investigating the glacial histories of Arctic ice sheets and ice caps using the marine geological record preserved on continental margins. By reconstructing past ice sheets, their …
SDOO
Abrupt warming episodes punctuate Greenland ice core records throughout the last glacial period. These events were first identified in two Greenland stable water isotope records (Dansgaard et al., 1993), and …
Climate and Ice during the Last Interglacial
During the Last Interglacial (129-116 thousand years ago, ka) CO2 and global temperature were both higher than they were before human industrialisation. By examining Last Interglacial climate, we thus gain …
TEA-COSI
TEA_COSI assesses Arctic Sea-ice which has an important impact on currents and ocean circulations around the globe
UKESM-BAS
Reliable projections of the Earth’s climate are at the heart of scientific support for international efforts to address global change. There is increasing recognition that reliable projections require that physical …
ESA IAP ArcticSat project
Situational awareness in the Arctic
ICE-ARC
physicists, chemists, biologists, economists, and sociologists from 21 institutes in 11 countries across Europe assess the rapid retreat and collapse of Arctic sea-ice cover
SIOS
Svalbard Integrated Earth Observing System (SIOS) is an international infrastructure project. There are 26 partners from Europe and Asia involved. The essential objective is to establish better coordinated services for …
SEANA
Global shipping is undergoing significant changes. In January 2020 the maximum sulphur emission by ships in international waters will reduce from 3.5% to 0.5% by mass, as a result of …
Data As Art
DATA AS ART is an ongoing science & art project in development at NERC’s British Antarctic Survey (BAS). It visualises science data (in its widest definition), to create stunning and …
EISCAT Science Support
The UK EISCAT support group (UKESG) is a collaboration between the British Antarctic Survey and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, funded via the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) EISCAT, the …
Iceland Greenland seas Project
PI: Ian Renfrew (University of East Anglia) CO-I’s: Tom Bracegirdle, Tom Lachlan-Cope, Alexandra Weiss PDRA’s: Andrew Elvidge (University of East Anglia), James Pope NERC Grant: NE/N009924/1 Project Partners: Robert Pickart …
ACSIS
Major changes are occurring across the North Atlantic climate system: in the ocean and atmosphere temperatures and circulation, in sea ice thickness and extent, and in key atmospheric constituents such …
Increasing ship traffic in Inuit Nunangat
17 August, 2023
Researchers from British Antarctic Survey are heading to the Canadian Arctic this week to learn more about the impacts of increasing ship traffic in Inuit Nunangat. In recent years, climate …
Poet Laureate visits UK Arctic Research Station
14 July, 2023
The UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage CBE has travelled to the UK Arctic Research Station, where he will create new works inspired by the visit. While hosted at the UK …
Britain’s Arctic Research Station celebrates 30 years of science and monitoring climate change
28 September, 2021
The Arctic Station in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard in Norway, the UK’s permanent Arctic research facility, celebrates its 30 years anniversary this week (Tuesday 28 September) as it continues to undertake critical …
BAS celebrates International Day of Women and Girls in Science
11 February, 2022 by Melody Clark
Today, 11 February, is International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a global initiative led by UNESCO and UN-Women. To celebrate, we have asked some of our female staff …
Recent benthic foraminifera communities offshore of Thwaites Glacier in the Amundsen Sea, Antarctica: implications for interpretations of fossil assemblages
20 March, 2025 by Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, James Smith, James Kirkham, Kelly Hogan, Robert Larter, Svetlana Radionovskaya
Benthic foraminiferal assemblages are useful tools for paleoenvironmental studies but rely on the calibration of live populations to modern environmental conditions to allow interpretation of this proxy downcore. In regions…Flexible or fortified? How lichens balance defence strategies across climatic harshness gradients
19 March, 2025 by Peter Convey
Lichens play important roles in habitat formation and community succession in polar and alpine ecosystems. Despite their significance, the ecological effects of lichen traits remain poorly researched. We propose a…Surface darkening by abundant and diverse algae on an Antarctic ice cap
18 March, 2025 by Hannah Moulton, Lloyd Peck, Peter Convey, Peter Fretwell
Algal blooms play important roles in physical and biological processes on glacial surfaces. Despite this, their occurrence and impacts within an Antarctic context remain understudied. Here, we present evidence of…Read more on Surface darkening by abundant and diverse algae on an Antarctic ice cap
DNA metabarcoding of non-fungal eukaryotic diversity in air and snow of Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica
14 March, 2025 by Peter Convey
A major natural route of dispersal to Antarctica is often assumed to be atmospheric transport, although few studies have documented this in detail. Aerial dispersal to Antarctica is very challenging…
Use of excess meltwater from continuous flow analysis systems for the analysis of low concentration insoluble microparticles in ice cores
13 March, 2025 by Claire Allen, Dieter Tetzner, Jack Humby, Liz Thomas
Low-concentration insoluble microparticles that are preserved in ice cores offer valuable information for reconstructing past environmental changes. However, their low concentrations and limited sample availability present challenges for extraction and…Carbon dioxide fluxes associated with prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities in ice-free areas on King George Island, Maritime Antarctica
10 March, 2025 by Peter Convey
Background and Methods: We assessed the prokaryotic and eukaryotic diversity present in non-vegetated and vegetated soils on King George Island, Maritime Antarctic, in combination with measurements of carbon dioxide fluxes.…First report of vivipary in Deschampsia antarctica : a new insight into Antarctic plant reproductive strategies
6 March, 2025 by Peter Convey
In the extreme conditions of Antarctica two native vascular plants are present, Colobanthus quitensis (Kunth) Bartl. (Caryophyllaceae) and Deschampsia antarctica Desv. (Poaceae), distributed along the western Antarctic Peninsula and the…Dramatic ENSO related Southwestern Atlantic ecosystem shifts
6 March, 2025 by Ashley Bennison, David Barnes, Emma Young, Martin Collins, Simon Morley, Stephanie Martin
ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) events are becoming more frequent and more intense as climate change continues. Although ENSO effects are known to propagate into the southwest Atlantic, knowledge of…Read more on Dramatic ENSO related Southwestern Atlantic ecosystem shifts
High-Resolution Sensors Reveal Nitrate and Dissolved Silica Dynamics in an Arctic Fjord
4 March, 2025 by Kate Hendry
Subglacial weathering releases biologically important nutrients into meltwaters that have the potential to influence downstream ecosystems. There is a need to understand how accelerated glacial retreat could impact biogeochemical cycling…Read more on High-Resolution Sensors Reveal Nitrate and Dissolved Silica Dynamics in an Arctic Fjord
Temperature-induced changes in the relevance of viral lysis and microzooplankton grazing of Antarctic phytoplankton indicates future alterations in seasonal carbon flow
4 March, 2025 by Michael Meredith
Phytoplankton play a pivotal role as the primary producers in polar marine ecosystems. Despite evidence suggesting that production rates and loss factors vary from year to year, and thus drive…Energetic Electron Precipitation From the Radiation Belts: Geomagnetic and Solar Wind Proxies for Precipitation Flux Magnitudes
3 March, 2025 by Aaron Hendry, Mark Clilverd
Previously the geomagnetic Ap index has been used as a proxy to produce empirical energetic electron precipitation (EEP) forcing representations suitable for incorporation into coupled-climate model runs. The long-running Ap…Exploring the dynamics of Lotka–Volterra systems: Efficiency, extinction order, and predictive machine learning
3 March, 2025 by Michael Thorne
For years, a main focus of ecological research has been to better understand the complex dynamical interactions between species which comprise food webs. Using the connectance properties of a widely…Cretaceous stratigraphy of Antarctica and its global significance
1 March, 2025 by Alistair Crame, Jane Francis
The Cretaceous period is particularly well represented by a thick sequence of clastic sedimentary rocks exposed in the Antarctic Peninsula region of western Antarctica. This was an active margin throughout…Read more on Cretaceous stratigraphy of Antarctica and its global significance
Impact of Sudden Stratospheric Warming and Elevated Stratopause Events on the Very Low Frequency Radio Signal
1 March, 2025 by Mark Clilverd
Sudden Stratospheric Warmings (SSW) and Elevated Stratopause (ES) events are mid-to-high latitudinal, atmospheric wave-driven phenomena leading to significant changes in wind, temperatures, and vertical mass transport, especially at stratospheric and…Poleward displacement of the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies in response to Early Holocene warming
28 February, 2025 by Bianca Perren, Dominic Hodgson
Recent intensification of the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies has resulted in important changes to ocean circulation, Antarctic ice shelf stability and precipitation regimes in the continents abutting the Southern Ocean. Efforts…Migration and space use by porbeagle sharks Lamna nasus in the northeast Atlantic
27 February, 2025 by Norman Ratcliffe, Ryan Saunders
The porbeagle shark Lamna nasus, a top predator in the North Atlantic, is vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors due to its life history characteristics. Understanding its biology, abundance and spatial ecology…Read more on Migration and space use by porbeagle sharks Lamna nasus in the northeast Atlantic
Microplastics in Antarctica – a Plastic Legacy in the Antarctic Snow?
25 February, 2025 by Clara Manno, Claire Waluda, Emily Rowlands, Kirstie Jones-Williams
Microplastic pollution in remote inland Antarctica is largely unknown. This study explored the plastic footprint of snow from remote Antarctic camps: Union Glacier, Schanz Glacier and the South Pole. Refined…Read more on Microplastics in Antarctica – a Plastic Legacy in the Antarctic Snow?
Implementation of Water Tracers in the Met Office Unified Model [EGUsphere preprint]
25 February, 2025 by Alison McLaren, Louise Sime, Qinggang Gao
There is an increasing need to understand how water is cycled and transported within the atmosphere to aid water management. Here, atmospheric water tracers are added to the Met Office…Read more on Implementation of Water Tracers in the Met Office Unified Model [EGUsphere preprint]
