British Antartic Survey
British Antartic Survey is a research center that is part of the pulse of the water sector. Here we bring together everything it publishes on Smart Water Magazine: its news, its blogs and the events it takes part in.
First images of giant iceberg from Brunt Ice Shelf
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has released the first aerial pictures of the massive A81 iceberg that calved from the Brunt Ice Shelf in late January. The iceberg is the size of Greater London. As the summer team departed the nearby BAS Halley Research Station they witnessed from the air the start of the iceberg's journey […]
Study provides close-up view of melting underneath the Thwaites Glacier
The rapid retreat of Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica appears to be driven by different processes under its floating ice shelf than researchers previously understood. Novel observations from where the ice enters the ocean show that while melting beneath much of the ice shelf is weaker than expected, melting in cracks and crevasses is much […]
Tropical storms trigger Antarctic ice melt
New factors that contribute to record-high temperatures and ice melt over the eastern Antarctic Peninsula and Larsen C Ice Shelf have been identified. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, describes how distinct patterns of air circulation over the tropical Pacific Ocean can lead to the formation of intense atmospheric rivers. These long stretches of warm, […]
New study on water resources in Himalaya
A new study featuring contributions from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists has identified 100 pressing research questions on climate change and water resources in the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) that must be answered to protect the communities that live there. The UIB is a mountainous region in the Himalayas which feeds the river systems that […]
Researchers demonstrate new link between greenhouse gases and sea level rise
A new study provides the first evidence that rising greenhouse gases have a long-term warming effect on the Amundsen Sea in West Antarctica. Scientists from British Antarctic Survey (BAS) say that while others have proposed this link, no one has been able to demonstrate it. Ice loss from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in the […]
Warming Western Antarctic Peninsula waters impact plankton community
Warming water and receding sea ice in the Western Antarctic Peninsula is changing the local plankton community with potential consequences for climate change, according to research led by scientists from Duke University and Duke Kunshan.
Past evidence supports complete loss of Arctic sea-ice by 2035
A new study, published this week in the journal Nature Climate Change, supports predictions that the Arctic could be free of sea ice by 2035.
Asia’s glaciers provide buffer against drought
A new study to assess the contribution that Asia’s high mountain glaciers make to relieving water stress in the region is published this week in the journal Nature. The study has important economic and social implications for a region that is vulnerable to drought. Climate change is causing most of the region’s glaciers to shrink. British Antarctic […]
Arctic sea ice loss in past linked to abrupt climate events
A new study on ice cores shows that reductions in sea ice in the Arctic in the period between 30-100,000 years ago led to major climate events. During this period, Greenland temperatures rose by as much as 16 degrees Celsius. The results are published this week (Monday 11 February) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).