Polar Research Vessel Gets Nav System Refit
data, alerts and terminology—reducing distractions and supporting clear situational awareness. The INS integrates radar systems, precision autopilots and a redundant gyro compass system.The RRS Sir David Attenborough is owned by the Natural Environment Research Council and operated by the British Antarctic Survey for both scientific research and logistical support.Image copyright Jenna Plank – BA
BAS Secures Antarctic Station Resupply for the Next Decade
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has joined forces with the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) and Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) to share an ice-capable vessel that will resupply three Antarctic research stations for the next 10 years. The Silver Mary will visit Halley VI station every other season, along with Norway’s Troll station and Germany’s Neumayer station.The partnership builds on the successful UK-German partnership that resupplied Halley in 2023-24. The first call to Halley VI under the new agreement is planned for January 2026. NPI will operate annual voyages
Britlift Spreader Proves Value on Royal Research Ship
A modular spreader beam from Britlift is proving a success on the Royal Research Ship (RRS) Sir David Attenborough, one of the most advanced polar research vessels in the world.Operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), this multidisciplinary research platform operates year-round, spending the northern summer in Arctic. During the southern hemisphere summer it is based in Antarctica where its duties include bringing people, equipment and supplies to BAS research stations. The 129m long vessel has a 50-tonne crane for loading and unloading good and equipment, which can include vehicles and plant
NOC Secures £11M for Early Warning Systems
;are also involved in five further projects, also focusing on the Atlantic Subpolar Gyre. These are POLEMIX, led by the University of Southampton; TIMBER, led by the University of East Anglia; PROMOTE, led by the University of Reading; VERIFY, led by the University of Leeds; and GRAIL, led by the British Antarctic Survey. These projects cover a wide range of innovation and collaboration, from a new proof-of-concept observing system using autonomous profiling floats to predicting tipping points in marine ecosystems and their consequences and opportunities for the UK, especially for the fishing industry
Dancing Krill
carbon deep in oceanic waters as their exoskeletons and poo sink to the seafloor.They are at risk from over-fishing, climate change and ocean acidification, and a new project to monitor their population from space was announced this week by researchers from University of Strathclyde, WWF and the British Antarctic Survey.The ability to do this was recently facilitated by the identification of the signal associated with the pigment that turns the krill red.It’s estimated that there could be up to 500 million tons of krill swimming (and mating) in the Southern Ocean. That’s about the same biomass
As Antarctic Sea Ice Disappears, Storms Worsen - study
to change their properties particularly density. Professor Josey notes, “The massive increase in ocean heat loss to the atmosphere is increasing the density of water at the sea surface to values not previously seen in the newly ice-free regions.”Co-author Dr. Andrew Meijers, from the British Antarctic Survey, explains further, “The location of this new denser surface water is relatively far from the sites at the Antarctic shelf where the densest and deepest waters of the global ocean are formed.“However, this cooling and subsequent sinking of waters previously covered by sea
Scientists Discover Mysterious Patterns on Ice Shelf Bottom
, but Ran uncovered a more extensive and complete picture than ever before.”Current models can’t explain the patterns discovered, and scientists now realize there is a wealth of processes left to discover in future research missions under the glaciers.Rob Larter, a marine geophysicist at British Antarctic Survey, and co-author of the paper, said, “The upward-looking sonar data from Ran enabled more extensive, detailed maps of the underside of an ice shelf to be made than have ever been available before. This has provided new insights into the interactions between the ice, fractures within
RRS Sir David Attenborough Begins Research Mission in the Southern Ocean
holes in the sea ice to collect samples below it, as well as tagging seals with instruments which will continuously collect data about the ocean as they dive up and down through the water, sending data back to scientists in real-time via satellite communication.Dr Clara Manno, a marine ecologist at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and part of the PICCOLO project, said, “We’re focusing on the Western Weddell Sea to find out more about some of the key processes that control how much carbon the Southern Ocean is taking up.“Within this vast ocean, the Weddell Sea is considered a ‘trapdoor&rsqu
Researchers Study the Fast Gulf Stream Currents
UK-US collaboration that is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the US National Science Foundation (NSF). Researchers from the National Oceanography Centre, the University of Southampton, the University of Liverpool, the Scottish Association of Marine Science, the British Antarctic Survey and the University of Miami are involved in this project
February 2026
