British Antarctic Survey Archives

Drilling Base Camp, Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica -- BAS

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice World Expedition: Drilling Through Thwaites Glacier In West Antarctica

by Keith CowingMarch 12, 2026March 12, 2026

A team of researchers from the UK and Korea has reached the most inaccessible and least-understood part of Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica where they will drill through the glacier […]

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Crossovers In Ice Planet Exploration – Earth, Europa, And Beyond

by Keith CowingFebruary 12, 2026February 12, 2026

Keith’s note: On 11 February 2026 NOVA PBS Host / NewsHour reporter Miles O’Brien conducted a live broadcast from a ship in the southern ocean around Antarctica where Thwaites glacier […]

The Discovery Building at Rothera Research Station, Antarctica. Image credit: BAM

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release

Ice Planet Research: British Antarctic Survey Discovery Building Comes To Life

by Keith CowingOctober 27, 2025October 27, 2025

The 2025 – 2026 Antarctic season is a landmark for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and its Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Project (AIMP), as the new Discovery Building begins to take […]

Sentinel-3 captured this image of Earth’s biggest iceberg, A23a, on 5 April 2025. Larger image

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice Planet Orbital Recon: A23a Earth’s Largest Iceberg

by Keith CowingMay 3, 2025May 3, 2025

The Ocean and Land Colour Instrument on Copernicus Sentinel-3 captured this image of Earth’s biggest iceberg, A23a, on 5 April 2025.

NASA researchers on the surface of the Antarctic Ice Sheet as part of the 88-South Traverse in 2019. The 470-mile expedition in one of the most barren landscapes on Earth provides the best means of assessment of the accuracy of data collected from space by the Ice Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2). Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Dr. Kelly Brunt

Planetary Protection Protocols On Earth: Non-native Terrestrial Species In Antarctica

by Keith CowingApril 19, 2025

Antarctica has been subject to direct human activity for a little over 200 years. In recent decades, the combination of sharp increases in human activity and regional climate change, particularly […]

The ice core from the drill head. Credit©PNRA_IPEV

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice Planet Research: Antarctica’s Oldest Ice Is Heading To Europe

by Keith CowingMarch 20, 2025March 20, 2025

The oldest ice ever extracted from Antarctica is on its way to Europe, marking a major milestone in climate science. The ice cores, obtained through the Beyond EPICA – Oldest […]

Bedmap3 reveals new insights into the topography of Antarctica. From Bedmap3 updated ice bed, surface and thickness gridded datasets for Antarctica by Pritchard, H., et al.

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

New Map Of The Landscape Beneath Antarctica’s Ice Unveiled

by Keith CowingMarch 14, 2025March 14, 2025

Antarctica’s ice sheet has been assembled by a team of international scientists led from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).

EPICA Base Camp - British Antarctic Survey

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Sample Return

Ice World Exploration: Historic Drilling Project Finds Ice Over 1.2 Million Years Old

by Keith CowingJanuary 10, 2025

The fourth Antarctic campaign of the Beyond EPICA-Oldest Ice project has achieved a historic milestone this week, by successfully drilling a 2800-metre-long ice core, consisting of ice from the Antarctic […]

Thwaites Glacier and much of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet could be lost by the 23rd century. -- British Antarctic Survey

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Cryobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Iceworld Update: Grim Outlook For Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier

by Keith CowingSeptember 21, 2024September 21, 2024

A vast area of the Antarctic Ice Sheet continues to retreat as a UK-US group of scientists reveal new findings about how and when it might suddenly move towards collapse.

The Controlled Environment Facility at BAS will investigate how polar ecosystems adapt, including invertebrates such as sea sponges. -- BAS

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Iceworld Update: New Project To Unlock Earth Life’s Secrets In Extreme Cold

by Keith CowingSeptember 9, 2024

Cambridge researchers are set to explore the uncharted depths of life in the extreme cold, with findings that could reshape our understanding of biology and pave the way for future […]