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British Antarctic Survey 🐧

@bas.ac.uk
14K followers 484 following 630 posts

We're the UK's polar research institute 👋 Uncovering the secrets of Earth's frozen places, doing science for a sustainable planet. Looking for a seriously remote job? bas.ac.uk/vacancies

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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 23/09/2026
There's some other really cool potential roles this research could support medicine and therapeutics... Read more on our website ⬇️ www.bas.ac.uk/news/cambrid... 🧵8/8
bas.ac.uk
Cambridge researchers look inside living Antarctic cells for first time - British Antarctic Survey
Cambridge engineers have built the first microscope to see inside living cells in sub-zero conditions, revealing secrets of Antarctic fish survival.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 23/09/2026
But ALSO this could be huge for medicine. Protein misfolding is a key feature of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s. What could these extra large and productive protein mistake-binning cells in cold fish help us learn? 🧵7/8
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 23/09/2026
This imaging will help find out why Antarctic species are struggling with climate change on a cellular level. We know that Antarctic animals are incredibly vulnerable to climate change. Raising temperatures just a few degrees can be lethal - so what's the source of these biological limits? 🧵 6/8
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 23/09/2026
Low temperatures make mistakes in protein folding more likely. A misfolded protein can be really harmful, so cold-adapted cells need ways of dealing with them... Well, our guys the cold fish also have bigger lysosomes - which dispose of the misfolded proteins! 🧵 5/8
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 23/09/2026
The cold causes difficulties for normal cell function, like inefficient protein folding - the process which shapes chains of amino acids for jobs in the cell. Cold fish have larger, very active networks of mitochondria (the engines of the cell), which scientists think helps protect them. 🧵 4/8
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 23/09/2026
The team grew cells from Antarctic spiny plunderfish. Huge shout out to our special guy, harpagifer antarcticus 🫡 The imaging reveals how cold fish have adapted to survive at a chilly -1.8ºC to 2ºC on a cellular level: Their bodies are slow - but their cells are very active. 🧵 3/8
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 23/09/2026
It's a story of firsts. This was the first time Antarctic fish cells have been grown (“culturing” cells). They also had to use a new microscope that could do cutting-edge fluorescence microscopy at 0°C. This means we can see the processes inside the living cells! 🧵 2/8
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 23/09/2026
What links Antarctic adaptation to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease? The answer is in the cells from some very cool fish 🐟 Scientists from British Antarctic Survey and @ceb.cam.ac.uk have just looked inside living Antarctic fish cells for the first time... 🧵 1/8
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Reposted by British Antarctic Survey 🐧
Communications Biology @commsbio.nature.com · 21/09/2026
Satellite observations reveal five newly identified emperor penguin colony sites suggesting that colonies are dynamic relocating over long distances in response to changing ice conditions @ptfretwell.bsky.social @bas.ac.uk www.nature.com/articles/s42...
nature.com
Dynamic emperor penguin colonies - Communications Biology
Satellite observations reveal five newly identified emperor penguin colony sites, suggesting that colonies are dynamic, relocating over long distances in response to changing ice conditions and reshap...
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 18/09/2026
tfw you're napping hard but are also the subject of wildlife photography... These lifestyle candids of a rare visiting crabeater seal on Bird Island are courtesy of seal scientist Katherine Thomas ⬇️
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 18/09/2026
Shhh, try not to disturb this sleeping crabeater seal as you pass. She's a rare first visitor for Bird Island Research Station (a sub-Antarctic island). They normally prefer pack ice near the Antarctic continent and rarely travel this far north! Girl, that's a big journey. Let 👏 her 👏 nap 👏
A dozing crabeater seal, photographed by Katherine Thomas who is a seal scientist at Bird Island Research Station
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 17/09/2026
New BAS research has shown for the first time that stranded odontocetes (toothed whales and dolphins) can be detected and counted from space. And radar satellites – which use microwave radiation rather than visible light – can do this through cloud, day or night. 🛰️ 🔗 Full paper: bit.ly/4y00qtY
bit.ly
Redirecting
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 17/09/2026
Hundreds of whales strand on a remote beach – and no one notices for months. Strandings can be an early warning system for ocean health, flagging pollution, disease, and environmental change. But in remote areas, they often go unseen. 🐳 🧵1/2
A diagram showing satellite images of whale strandings on a beach.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 15/09/2026
"Some of them are emergency actions," says Prof Mike Meredith, about their recommendations for El Niño. "The more we can do now, the better, and it has to be done quickly.” The full article: 🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Covered by @newscientist.com: 📝 www.newscientist.com/article/2589... 🧵 3/3
newscientist.com
Scientists call for ‘emergency’ measures to save sea life from El Niño | New Scientist
Reducing fishing quotas, rescuing endangered species from the water and testing geoengineering could help soften ocean heat impacts from the record El Niño, some oceanographers argue
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 15/09/2026
He's co-author of a new article that lays out the proactive approach needed for these escalating warming events: 🐟 Rapid adjustments to fishing (+ other stressors) 🪸 Rescue + relocate species 🧪 Invest in science during events 🛰️ Build future food, conservation + sensing infrastructure 🧵 2/3
Figure 1 from the publication "Marine ecosystems in peril: Time to Prepare for super El Nino", PNAS.

The image is a cycle of four proposed categories of actions.

1. Prepare: build resilience. Adjust fishing quotas, protect key interactions, reduce co-stressors.

2. Respond: protect vulnerable ecosystems. Rescue + relocate species, secure permits + facilities, document and share outcomes.

3. Learn: treat El Nino as a natural experiment. Expand ecological monitoring, sample before during and after, mobilise international field teams.

4. Transform: invest in future observing systems. Invest in satellites + ocean sensors, integrate machine learning, expand marine reserves.

The article captions this image:
"Actions marine scientists and managers can take in response to the developing super El Niño. These actions aim to reduce ecological impacts and to leverage the event to better understand how ocean warming and other aspects of climate change are affecting marine species and ecosystems."

John F. Bruno, Michael T. Burrows, Scott C. Doney, Thomas L. Frölicher, Ida Kubiszewski, Jean P. Gibert, Timothy M. Lenton, Michael Meredith, Malin L. Pinsky, James W. B. Rae, Anastasia Romanou, Dan A. Smale, and Maya Zeff
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 15/09/2026
“We shouldn’t just cry into our beer about it. We should actually try and do things about it." ☝️ BAS' Professor Michael Meredith for @newscientist.com. He's talking about the impact of El Niño on marine ecosystems - how we should be acting now to build resilience and protection approaches. 🧵 1/3
King penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) on the beach of the French sub-Antarctic Kerguelen Islands in the Southern Ocean (Photo by Annette Scheffer)
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 07/09/2026
What's the training like for work in Antarctica? And why does it involve a ceidilh? Think new starter induction, extreme edition. It's preparation for the jobs, emergencies, practicalities and peculiarities of working in one of the world's last great wildernesses ⬇️ www.bas.ac.uk/blogpost/ins...
bas.ac.uk
Pre-deployment: inside the training to work in Antarctica - British Antarctic Survey
Before travelling to work in Antarctica, new recruits take part in two weeks of Pre-Deployment Training. This is a new starter induction that really counts.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 04/09/2026
It’s Pre-Deployment Training Week ❄️ Meet the people heading South to live and work on our Antarctic research stations. There’s a lot to learn before they go – from understanding how our stations operate, to first aid and biosecurity. Good luck for the season ahead!
A big group of people pose for a photo in a garden with a blue building and large crest in the background
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 25/08/2026
‘Takk’ to everyone who joined us, and to our wonderful co-hosts Anne Laugesen, Sophie Stewart and the NERC: Natural Environment Research Council Arctic Office.
A group of people on the Bridge of a ship watch a woman give a speech
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 25/08/2026
We hope that the data we’ve collected in Greenland, and the findings of this research, will be useful for both the people of Greenland, researchers across the Arctic region and communities across Europe who will be affected by the changes happening in Greenland.
A woman stands next to a large screen showing a sonar map of the seafloor
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 25/08/2026
It was a pleasure to welcome everyone on board, and talk about the importance of science diplomacy and collaboration in the Arctic. This event was a great opportunity to make connections and share knowledge about research in this vital and rapidly changing region.
A group of people standing on the deck of a ship, surrounded by large science kitA woman stands next to a large piece of science kit on a ship, holding a laptop and talking to a group of peopleA small group of people in a lab look at a man next to parts of a science instrument
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 25/08/2026
The ship was berthed in Reykjavík, Iceland after it’s epic month-long science mission in south-east Greenland.
A large red, white and yellow ship in a calm ocean, with a hazy green slope of land in the distance
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 25/08/2026
Kveðja frá Íslandi! This weekend, in partnership with the British Embassy Reykjavik and the Science Technology Network, we welcomed diplomats, policymakers and guests from academia and business on board RRS Sir David Attenborough.
A large group of people on the Bridge of a ship
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 13/08/2026
Totality in Greenland on RRS Sir David Attenborough ☀️🌙 The GIANT expedition team were lucky enough to be in the path of the total eclipse in Greenland. It was a view so good we rang up our friends at RAL Space to share it with the 1000+ people at their eclipse event in the UK.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 05/08/2026
www.rgs.org/events/upcom...
rgs.org
Discovery 125 Anniversary celebration
Join us for a special day of talks, film, and displays celebrating remarkable Discovery expedition and its enduring legacy.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 05/08/2026
Our director Jane will be co-hosting an event tomorrow at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) to mark the 125th anniversary of Captain Scott’s British National Antarctic Expedition, which saw the discovery of the South Magnetic Pole and reached a new 'furthest south'. Tickets still available ➡️
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 31/07/2026
The team on board is using marine robots, drones, and satellites to map the ice. Scientists will use this data to build improved computer models, and these models will help predict the future of Greenland’s glaciers, as well as advancing the global models used to forecast climate change.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 31/07/2026
Led by the British Antarctic Survey, GIANT focuses on the giant glaciers that flow into Greenland’s fjords. When these glaciers melt, fracture and collapse into the ocean, they release vast amounts of freshwater into the North Atlantic💧
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 31/07/2026
The SDA is currently sailing around the eastern coast of Greenland as part of the GIANT (Greenland Ice sheet to AtlaNtic Tipping points from ice loss) mission, which explores how the warming ocean is affecting Greenland’s huge ice sheet, and what this means for our future climate.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 31/07/2026
🛰️ Sentinel-2 is run by Copernicus EU 🌍The images are used for remote-sensing science 📐 Each pixel represents a 10 metre square 🚢The SDA could be represented by a total of 7 pixels!
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 31/07/2026
We particularly love that you can (if you squint) make out the faint path the SDA leaves in its wake as it pushes through the sea ice ❄️
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 31/07/2026
We’ve been papped… By a satellite! 🛰️ The RRS Sir David Attenborough is visible in some of the latest Sentinel-2 images of Greenland, as was spotted by some of the eagle-eyed team onboard.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 29/07/2026
Boaty McBoatface has returned from its first expedition under glacial mélange! Our friends at @noc.ac.uk sent the UK's favourite submarine on a 23hr mission from the RRS Sir David Attenborough. This data will help show how Greenland's glaciers interact with the fjords and oceans.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 21/07/2026
Our latest Long Read dives into the science – robots collecting data around Greenland's melting glaciers, pressure gauges that 'talk' across oceans, and models that run backwards in time. Read the full story here 👇 www.bas.ac.uk/blogpost/tes... 🧵2/2
bas.ac.uk
Testing a tipping point: inside the hunt for early warnings in Atlantic currents - British Antarctic Survey
The vast ocean circulation system that keeps Britain's climate mild could be weakening. Scientists are racing to understand what that might mean for our future.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 21/07/2026
What if the ocean current keeping Britain warm started to slow down? ☔ The AMOC acts like a giant conveyor belt, moving heat from the tropics to our shores. Models predict that the AMOC could slow down or collapse – potentially leading to new extremes in weather. 🧵1/2
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 16/07/2026
The data gathered will feed into AI-boosted climate models – including the next-generation UK Earth System Model – giving us better predictions of Greenland ice loss and its global impact. The team also aims to develop a prototype Early Warning System for rapid glacier change. 🧵4/4
An aerial view of Greenland's melting glaciers with a section of bright blue water in amongst ice.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 16/07/2026
To understand this, the teams on board are deploying the robot A-Team: DriX skims the surface to map the glaciers. Gavia & EcoSubs dive in formation. The famous Boaty McBoatface dives 1,500m beneath the iceberg-choked fjords to map glacier geometry. 🧵3/4
The aft deck of a research ship with 4 autonomous, submarine robots on display.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 16/07/2026
As the Arctic warms, Greenland's meltwater could disrupt the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre – a whirlpool of currents that form part of the ocean conveyor belt keeping our planet's climate stable. A slowdown could bring serious consequences for European weather – potentially within decades. 🧵2/4
A red research ship at sea on a sunny day with snowy mountains and clouds in the background.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 16/07/2026
Today, the RRS Sir David Attenborough set sail from the UK 🚢 bound for Greenland as part of the GIANT project – an ambitious mission to study how rapidly melting fjord glaciers are affecting Atlantic currents, climate, and wider marine ecosystems. #ArcticResearch #ClimateScience 🧵1/4
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Reposted by British Antarctic Survey 🐧
Adv. Atmos. Sci. @aasjournal.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Winter Storm Fern hit 230M+ Americans. Cost? Over $100 billion. Scientists say better polar winter data could help predict events like this. Here's what needs to change: doi.org/10.1007/s003... #AAS #PolarWinter #ExtremeWeather #ClimateScience @bas.ac.uk
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 06/07/2026
In case you've not seen it: here's a map to blow your mind ⬇️ It shows global ocean circulation on a ‘Spilhaus projection' map. These global connections are why you've got polar scientists hollering at you about climate change! (fyi: blue paths = deep-water currents, red paths = surface currents.)
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 02/07/2026
@peteconvey.bsky.social
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 01/07/2026
Pete's almost 40-year career has transformed our understanding of Antarctic ecosystems, with 750+ publications and 45,000+ citations. He said: "The medal represents the culmination of a career made possible by exceptional colleagues and the incredible SCAR community." #ScienceAward 🧵2/2
A scientist in a red coat and a blue hat sits on a rocky bluff.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 01/07/2026
Congratulations to Prof. Pete Convey, terrestrial ecologist at British Antarctic Survey, awarded the 2026 SCAR Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research! 🎉 SCAR awards this medal annually for significant contributions to Antarctic research. #PolarScience #Antarctica 🧵1/2
A scientist wearing a black coat and blue hat with a camera around his neck on the deck of a ship with Antarctic mountains in the background.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 25/06/2026
Happy #InternationalDayOfTheSeafarer to our brilliant crew on board RRS Sir David Attenborough. Our mariners work in one of the world's most challenging oceans. Crossing the Drake Passage & navigating sea ice, icebergs & unchartered waters is all in a day's work for them. 📸Rich Turner, BAS
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 24/06/2026
Nearly 50 years of observations at Rothera Research Station tell a clear story: 📈 June 2025 was the warmest since records began 🌡️ June 2026 could rank among the warmest too 💧 This is the third midwinter in four years with no sea ice at Rothera Here's our write up: www.bas.ac.uk/news/think-i...
bas.ac.uk
Think it’s hot here? The Antarctic Peninsula is unusually warm too - British Antarctic Survey
As extreme summer heat causes disruption across the UK and Europe this week, Midwinter at Antarctica’s Rothera Research Station is becoming increasingly unrecognisable.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 24/06/2026
Extreme weather is becoming more frequent and more intense - whether that's in the UK or in Antarctica. BAS scientists contributed to this new rapid-analysis study that confirms this Antarctic Peninsula heatwave has been amplified by human-driven climate change. www.climameter.org/20260606-ant...
climameter.org
ClimaMeter - 2026/06/06 Antarctic Heatwave
High temperatures over the Antarctic Peninsula in June 2026 strengthened by human-driven climate change Contact Authors Neven S. Fučkar (Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, UK) - ne...
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 24/06/2026
Look, we're SWEATING in Cambridge today. But down at the UK's largest Antarctic research station, our team are also experiencing a heatwave. It's midwinter on the Antarctic Peninsula: it should be -15°C to -20°C at the moment. It's -2°C. There's almost no sea ice, and there has been rain.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 15/06/2026
Professor Kate Hendry, Climate Scientist at British Antarctic Survey (@krhendry.bsky.social), has written about what this all means – for the planet, polar ecosystems, and the future of Antarctic science. 🔗 Read Kate's full commentary: bit.ly/4vdC2nu 🧵5/5
bit.ly
Extreme warm weather is changing Antarctic science - British Antarctic Survey
Antarctica has been experiencing more extreme warm weather. These changes affect global climate systems, and make it harder to carry out our science.
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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 15/06/2026
Scientific research into these changes is more vital than ever. But the impacts of climate change are making that research harder – affecting access to stations, shipping routes, and emergency operations. 🧵4/5
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