Reposted by Keith MakinsonWilliam Colgan @glacierbytes.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Here’s some fantastic thermal drone imagery of a thermal spring in East Greenland. Captured by Eva Nielsen earlier this month. The spring water is 53C, flowing down a rock wall behind the field team. Our HotBlink project is funded by the Independent Research Fund of Denmark. 1186
Reposted by Keith MakinsonBritish Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 28/05/2026That's a wrap on the 2025/26 Antarctic science season! Our teams worked on 50+ projects across five research stations, in the deep field, and at sea – from climate science to wildlife monitoring. Here's a look back at (some of) what we got up to... 🧵1/9 1477
Reposted by Keith MakinsonRob Larter @polarrobs.bsky.social · 07/04/2026Recently I was delighted to be invited to give a talk in the @cprecountryside.bsky.social Spring Webinar Series on 'The Changing West Antarctic Ice Sheet - Global and Local Implications'. A recording is now available online youtu.be/UkG24vHj0ps?... #CPRE #Antarctica #sealevelyoutu.beClimate Emergency webinar - Dr Rob LarterYouTube video by Campaign to Protect Rural England 094
Reposted by Keith MakinsonAdrian Luckman @adrianluckman.bsky.social · 02/03/2026Thwaites Eastern Ice Shelf heading for collapse. Monthly average velocities Jan 2025 to Feb 2026 derived from EU Copernicus Programme Sentinel-1 SAR data. Grounding lines in black and yellow from NASA MEaSUREs 4198
Reposted by Keith MakinsonLyn Heideman @heidelyn.bsky.social · 16/02/2026In January-February, a scientific expedition traveled to Antarctica to study its fastest melting glacier, the Thwaites. You can find out more here (includes photos and videos): www.nytimes.com/live/2025/cl... (gift). 🌎 2137
Reposted by Keith MakinsonDavid Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 20/01/2026You can follow @zhonggg.bsky.social and Chang Lee's coverage of the trip to the Thwaites Glacier here. This has got to be the most well-covered research cruise ever. 🌊nytimes.comJourney to the Melting Continent 1389
Reposted by Keith MakinsonBritish Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 29/01/2026To go under Thwaites Glacier, the only way is through ⬇️ This intrepid UK-Korean science team are tunnelling 1000m through one of the world's most unstable ice shelves. They'll get daily data showing how warm ocean water is melting Thwaites from below - crucial for predicting sea level rise. 15017
Reposted by Keith MakinsonBritish Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 20/08/2025We've never seen anyone so enthusiastic to crush ice – but a team of scientists are studying the cracking of ice, and they’re pretty hyped! ❄️ @newscientist.com spoke to members of the RIFT-TIP project, who are investigating how ice shelf fractures grow. Watch the video here: tinyurl.com/526tn8zz 14012
Reposted by Keith MakinsonBritish Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 18/07/2025We've had a Very Important Ice delivery! These precious ancient ice core samples from Antarctica are expected to reveal a climate record stretching back more than 1.5 million years 🤯 That's further than we've ever looked back before. 🧵 1/4 412128
Reposted by Keith MakinsonEnvironmental Audit Committee @commonseac.parliament.uk · 09/06/2025"It is impossible to overstate how critical this region is to our shared future." - @tobyperkinsmp.bsky.social, Chair Read our report on the UK and the Antarctic environment: publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cm... 0116
Reposted by Keith MakinsonRob Larter @polarrobs.bsky.social · 02/05/2025This is almost unbelievable. It's now May and there is still virtually no new sea ice forming in the Bellingshausen Sea (lower left region in image). Image showing sea ice concentration derived from AMSR satellite data is by Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Bremen, Germany. 35018
Reposted by Keith MakinsonLeconte @manchotempereur.bsky.social · 25/04/2025The Penguin Book of penguins - An Expert's Guide to the World's Most Beloved Bird by Peter Fretwell and Lisa Fretwell www.penguin.co.uk/books/464310... @ptfretwell.bsky.social @bas.ac.uk #PenguinBooks #VikingBooksUKpenguin.co.ukThe Penguin Book of PenguinsA charming and beautifully illustrated book about the world’s most beloved bird, written by a leading Scientist at The British Antarctic Survey, illustrated by his wife. There’s something about pengu... 072
Reposted by Keith MakinsonAdrian Luckman @adrianluckman.bsky.social · 31/03/2025Update on Thwaites Glacier Eastern Ice Shelf from Copernicus Sentinel-1 SAR. Downloadable version here: aluckman4.wixsite.com/ade-s-world-... 0257
Reposted by Keith MakinsonBritish Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 25/03/2025Year-end scramble getting you down? ⏳ Applications for lots of our Antarctic #jobs are closing in the next week. They include vehicles manager at Halley, and Radio Operator and IT Engineer at Rothera Research Station. These are jobs unlike any other, in one of the most beautiful places on Earth ⬇️ 42213
Reposted by Keith MakinsonJonathan Amos @jcdamos.bsky.social · 24/03/2025Iceberg A23a pictured from the ISS. The space station is almost as far south as it can reach here (51.5° S, 49.0° W - altitude of 422km). Picture taken on 14 March, so the berg had been grounded at South Georgia for a fortnight by this time. 085
Reposted by Keith MakinsonAntarctic News @antarcticanews.bsky.social · 22/03/2025Scientists made a stunning discovery beneath an Antarctic ice shelf—thriving life in a world once thought uninhabitable.The breakthrough offers new insights into deep-sea ecosystems and the resilience of life in extreme environments. indianexpress.com/ar...indianexpress.comWhy scientists were surprised to find life under Antarctic ice shelfThe mission was part of Challenger 150, a UNESCO-endorsed global initiative for deep-sea research. The discoveries were announced on Thursday. The findings provide new insights into how ecosystems function beneath floating sections of the Antarctic ice. 021
Reposted by Keith MakinsonBritish Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 19/03/20251.2 million years - have you heard of ice this old?! 🧊 These ice cores were retrieved as part of the Beyond EPICA - Oldest Ice project, which aims to unlock crucial insights into Earth's past climate and atmospheric conditions #ice #climate Read the full story 👇 www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/a... 16720
Reposted by Keith MakinsonAdrian Luckman @adrianluckman.bsky.social · 17/03/2025As polar night ends and sunlight begins to return to Longyearbyen, lets see how the Svalbard seasons progressed last year - from ice-locked fjords in March, through to the first snows of October. Thanks to NASA MODIS via GIBS. Download at full resolution here: aluckman4.wixsite.com/ade-s-world-... 051
Reposted by Keith MakinsonPeter T Fretwell @ptfretwell.bsky.social · 10/03/2025Bedmap3 is now out rdcu.be/ecTmO 719975
Reposted by Keith MakinsonMapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 07/03/2025The last Twin Otter aircraft has just left Rothera which marks the end of the field season, and gives us a chance to look back at the support we have provided over the year. We started with fieldwork and air unit maps! 🧵 1/5 1112
Reposted by Keith MakinsonMapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 04/03/2025The world's largest iceberg, A23a, appears to have grounded close to South Georgia. We've been monitoring and mapping this berg for many years now and we're watching closely to see what it might do next! These maps show its route since 1986 and the latest position to the SW of South Georgia ❄️🐧 1/3 2134
Reposted by Keith MakinsonBritish Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 28/02/2025Hot off the press - the latest edition of the BAS Long Read! 🔥📰 Get ready to hear from three Antarctic scientists - Dr Emma Pearce, Dr Liz Thomas, and Dr Dieter Tetzner - about their work drilling for ice cores in Antarctica Grab a coffee, and settle down for a read 👇 www.bas.ac.uk/blogpost/the... 0246
Reposted by Keith MakinsonBritish Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 17/02/2025Here's the @aria-research.bsky.social page about the Forecasting Tipping Points programme. It's well worth a proper read! 🌍 www.aria.org.uk/opportunity-... Here’s the BAS news story about GRAIL - and three other projects involving BAS researchers: ❄️ tinyurl.com/kzhhha6w 3/3tinyurl.comScientists secure funding to study Greenland and North Atlantic climate tipping points - British Antarctic SurveyBritish Antarctic Survey (BAS) researchers have been selected for funding from The Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) to help improve our understanding of climate tipping points. These tippin... 0186
Reposted by Keith MakinsonEarth and Space Research @earthspaceresearch.bsky.social · 11/02/2025A new paper about the Antarctic Ice Sheet in a special issue of @science.org reviews critical knowledge gaps in our understanding of how Antarctica responds to variations in global climate. Antarctica in 2025: Drivers of deep uncertainty in projected ice loss www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 185
Reposted by Keith MakinsonAustralian Antarctic Program Partnership @antarctic.bsky.social · 07/02/2025Find out why this is the perfect place for an automatic monitoring station to measure ocean temperature, salinity and currents. It's crucial research about potential sea-level rise: are warming waters melting the ice shelf that holds back the glaciers? ▶️ aapp.shorthandstories.com/fishing-for-...aapp.shorthandstories.comFishing for a glacier's secretsA story of audacious science on an Antarctic ice shelf 0101
Reposted by Keith MakinsonMapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 04/02/2025A new iceberg, ~30x14 km in size, recently calved from the southern end of the George VI Ice Shelf. It's called A84 and is already making quite an impact, bumping into the Stange Ice Shelf over the weekend! These Copernicus Sentinel-1 images from Polar View show the new berg over the last few days. 14725
Keith Makinson @keithmakinson.bsky.social · 31/01/2025www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/a...bas.ac.ukAncient Antarctic ice loss offers insights into future climate scenarios - British Antarctic SurveyScientists from the University of Cambridge and British Antarctic Survey have used ice core records to draw new conclusions about how Antarctica was affected by increased global temperatures over 100,... 020
Reposted by Keith MakinsonLaura Gerrish @lauragerrish.bsky.social · 30/01/2025Beautiful Sentinel-2 imagery of George VI Ice Shelf with lots of meltwater from yesterday. The patterns that this water produces is like artwork! Fossil Bluff is shown in the second image, and Hodgson Lake shown in the last - a former subglacial lake sealed under ice thick perennial ice ❄️ 2346
Reposted by Keith MakinsonDr Joanne Johnson @geologicaljo.bsky.social · 30/01/2025🔥New paper alert! 🔥🧪❄️🥼 Ever wondered what to consider when drilling through an ice sheet into rock? We take you through how we chose a drill site in West #Antarctica using field observations, samples, radar survey, modelling & satellite imagery. tc.copernicus.org/articles/19/... @bas.ac.uk 🧵1/ntc.copernicus.orgAssessing the suitability of sites near Pine Island Glacier for subglacial bedrock drilling aimed at detecting Holocene retreat–readvanceAbstract. Unambiguous identification of past episodes of ice sheet thinning below the modern surface and grounding line retreat inboard of present requires recovery and exposure dating of subglacial b... 13311
Reposted by Keith MakinsonEric Steig @ericsteig.bsky.social · 29/01/2025Important paper in Nature today about collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. There is a positive isotope anomaly at Skytrain Ice Rise during the last interglacial, consistent with what we found in our high-resolution water-isotope simulations when WAIS collapses. www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comThe Ronne Ice Shelf survived the last interglacial - NatureSea salt data from an ice core record show that Antarctica’s Ronne Ice Shelf survived the last interglacial, the last period of enhanced and sustained global warmth about 125,000 years ago. 0196
Reposted by Keith MakinsonProf Michael Meredith 🌊🧪🥼❄️ @oceanandice.bsky.social · 25/01/2025The Southern Ocean is a critical part of our planet, exerting profound influences over global climate and ecosystems. Great to see some of the leading-order priorities for its research elucidated by Earle, @carlosmoffat.com et al.! 🌊🧪🥼❄️ 0215
Reposted by Keith MakinsonAndy Shepherd @andyshepherd.bsky.social · 25/01/2025Satellites have transformed our understanding of Earths polar regions, and it's wonderful to see the work of The IMBIE Team recognised by @esa.int as a groundbreaking discovery ! tinyurl.com/mtut9dc6 1123
Reposted by Keith MakinsonMillion Year Ice Core Project @millionyearice.bsky.social · 23/01/2025Yesterday, 22/1, another step on the way was reached with the second reaming pass completed to target depth of 125 m, widening the hole to 209 mm. This leaves the third pass to go, which will widen to final diameter of 260 mm down to 120 m. Derryn, Daniel and Chelsea pictured (📷D.Harvie). 061
Reposted by Keith MakinsonMillion Year Ice Core Project @millionyearice.bsky.social · 22/01/2025You can now follow along with the more detailed drilling field diary for MYIC available below, and we will continue posting summary snippets here at bluesky. www.antarctica.gov.au/science/clim...antarctica.gov.auIce core drilling team diary – Australian Antarctic Program 073
Reposted by Keith MakinsonBritish Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 20/01/2025Could your next job be in Antarctica? We're looking for carpenters, chefs, electricians, plumbers, plant operators and more to work at our research stations. These are jobs like no other, in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. ✅ Vacancies bas.ac.uk/vacancies 💡 Job alerts ow.ly/fWsu50UJHBP 08034
Keith Makinson @keithmakinson.bsky.social · 21/01/2025How is Antarctica melting, exactly? Crucial details are beginning to come into focus theconversation.com/how-is-antar...theconversation.comHow is Antarctica melting, exactly? Crucial details are beginning to come into focusThe Antarctic ice sheet is nearly twice the area of Australia and holds enough freshwater to raise global sea levels by 58 metres. 020
Reposted by Keith MakinsonKate Hendry @krhendry.bsky.social · 19/01/2025We had the first sunset at Rothera in weeks a few days back, meaning the evening/night light is perfect for stunning Antarctic photos! @bas.ac.uk 1467
Reposted by Keith Makinsonaretsch.bsky.social @aretsch.bsky.social · 19/01/2025And the view from your bridge looks also very well 👍 Footage: The webcam on RRS Sir David Attenborough 🇺🇳 #Antartica 041
Reposted by Keith MakinsonStef Lhermitte @steflhermitte.bsky.social · 06/12/2024🥳🎉 for the 👌 Sentinel1-C 🛰️ launch. This animation highlights again the key insights #sentinel1 provides for ❄️+🧊+🌎 ; here nicely illustrating the decay of Pine Island Glaciers' shear zones. 12915
Reposted by Keith MakinsonLaura Gerrish @lauragerrish.bsky.social · 17/01/2025Beautiful image showing an almost cloud free Stange Ice Shelf with the RRS Sir David Attenborough alongside 🚢 (you’ll need a good eye to spot it!) 072
Reposted by Keith MakinsonHelen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 11/12/2024TIL that you do occasionally get TWELVE-sided snowflakes, when two six-sided ones collide in the right way and stick together. They seem to stick at a suspiciously perfect angle! Photos from Ken Libbrecht's brilliant website here: www.snowcrystals.com... 610828
Reposted by Keith MakinsonBritish Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 16/01/2025Hello from the Brunt Ice Shelf! ⚡🧪 The RIFT-TIP team are using ice cores and seismology to model how huge fractures travel across ice shelves. With just a few weeks left, they've been putting in a real shift: 🧊 4 ice cores drilled 🔍 60km of radar transects taken ⚡ 64 surface seismometers set up 71089
Reposted by Keith MakinsonTas van Ommen @tasvo.bsky.social · 15/01/2025The Australian🇦🇺 Million Year Ice Core Project entered a new phase yesterday, with the commencement of drilling at Dome C North. 0549
Reposted by Keith MakinsonMapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 14/01/2025🌐 Exciting news! We’re thrilled to announce the release of the new Ice Logistics Portal, providing global sea ice charts from 13 ice & weather services. Explore: www.icelogistics.info 1/3icelogistics.infoIce Logistics PortalThe Global Ice Charts And Sea Ice Information Portal 154
Keith Makinson @keithmakinson.bsky.social · 10/01/2025There are also good views from the RRS Sir David Attenborough webcam and a wider area view in radar images from EC Copernicus/ESA downloaded from Polarview. The yellow arrows show the ship's location against Stange Ice Shelf and the bright lines to the south are the vehicle tracks. 061
Reposted by Keith MakinsonRuth Mottram @ruthmottram.eurosky.social · 10/01/2025Yesterday's Danish #greenland ice sheet seminar finished with a screening of this spectacular film about new findings from the Camp Century ice core. The memory of darkness light and ice is absolutely outstanding. And if you get a chance, a must watch. youtu.be/ukf54a6ZRW0youtu.beThe Memory of Darkness, Light, and Ice OFFICIAL TRAILER 0168
Reposted by Keith MakinsonMapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 09/01/2025Work onboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough continues as numerous icebergs drift past to our north. Using a combination of optical and radar satellite imagery, plus regular RPAS flights, we keep watch on any icebergs that might get close enough to interrupt us. Credit Pete Bucktrout & Jamie Oliver. 0138
Reposted by Keith MakinsonDr. Thomas Ronge @thomasronge.bsky.social · 09/01/2025They did it! "An international team of scientists announced they’ve successfully drilled one of the oldest ice cores yet [...] to reach ice they say is at least 1.2 million years old." So far scientific ocean drilling was the only way to go back in time further than 800ka! apnews.com/article/anta...apnews.comScientists drill nearly 2 miles down to pull 1.2 million-year-old ice core from AntarcticAn international team of scientists say they’ve successfully drilled one of the oldest ice cores yet, penetrating nearly 2 miles to Antarctic bedrock to reach ice that's at least 1.2 million years old... 25421
Reposted by Keith MakinsonThomas Bauska @tinyicybubbles.bsky.social · 09/01/2025🎉🎉🎉 Woo hoo! 🎉🎉🎉 Amazing feat by the Beyond EPICA-Oldest Ice team! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Smashing the 800,000 year record for a continuous ice core by a country mile back to 1.2 million years ago. 16716
Reposted by Keith MakinsonAdrian Luckman @adrianluckman.bsky.social · 09/01/2025Thwaites Glacier calves kilometre-scale icebergs every few weeks. Here's an animation of the process from Sentinel-1. For a longer and higher-resolution version, have a look here: aluckman4.wixsite.com/ade-s-world-... 1178