British Antarctic Survey

British Antarctic Survey

Abbreviation	BAS
Formation	1962
Legal status	Government organisation
Purpose	Scientific research and surveys in theAntarctic,Arctic& related regions
Headquarters	Cambridge,Cambridgeshire,England
Region served	United Kingdom
Director	ProfessorDame Jane Francis
Parent organisation	Natural Environment Research Council
Budget	£48,053,000 (2011–12)
Staff	400+ staff
Website	www.bas.ac.uk

TheBritish Antarctic Survey(BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding ofglobal issues,and to provide an active presence in theAntarcticon behalf of the UK. It is part of theNatural Environment Research Council(NERC). With over 400 staff, BAS takes an active role in Antarctic affairs, operating fiveresearch stations,one ship and five aircraft in both polar regions,as well as addressing key global and regional issues. This involves joint research projects with over 40 UK universities and more than 120 national and international collaborations.

Having taken shape from activities duringWorld War II,it was known as theFalkland Islands Dependencies Surveyuntil 1962.

History

Operation Tabarinwas a small British expedition in 1943 to establish permanently occupied bases in the Antarctic. It was a joint undertaking by theAdmiraltyand theColonial Office.At the end of the war it was renamed theFalkland Islands DependenciesSurvey(FIDS) and full control passed to the Colonial Office. At this time there were four stations, three occupied and one unoccupied. By the time FIDS was renamed the British Antarctic Survey in 1962, 19 stations and three refuges had been established.

In 2012 the parent body,NERC,proposed merging the BAS with another NERC institute,National Oceanography Centre in Southampton.This proved controversial, and after theHouse of Commons Science and Technology Committeeopposed the movethe plan was dropped.Since April 2018 NERC has been part of UK Research and Innovation.

Directors

BAS Logo

In 1956, the FID Scientific Bureau and FIDS Rear Base were combined into a single FIDS London Office, with a Director for the first time responsible for the whole London operation.

Denotes service as acting director

Portrait	Director	Term start	Term end
	Raymond Priestley	1956	1958
	Vivian Fuchs	1958	1973
	Richard Laws	1973	1987
	David Drewry	1987	1994
	Barry Heywood	1994	1997
	Chris Rapley	1998	2007
	Nick Owens	2007	2012
	Alan Rodger	2012	2013
	Jane Francis	2013	Incumbent

Research stations

Antarctica

Sky Blu

Fossil Bluff

Signy

Halley VI

Rothera

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BAS research stations in the British Antarctic Territory

The BAS operates five permanent research stations in theBritish Antarctic Territory:

• Rothera Research StationonAdelaide Island
• Halley Research Stationon theBrunt Ice Shelf
• Signy Research StationonSigny Island
• Fossil Blufflogistics facility onAlexander Island
• Sky Blulogistics facility inEllsworth Land

Of these Research Stations, only Rothera is manned throughout the year.Before 2017 Halley was also open year-round.

Antarctic research stations

• 
  Rothera Research Station
• 
  Halley VI
• 
  Sky Blu
• 
  Signy
• 
  Fossil Bluff

South Georgia

Bird Island

King Edward Point

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BAS research stations in South Georgia

The BAS also operates two permanent bases onSouth Georgia:

• King Edward Point Research StationatKing Edward Point
• Bird Island Research StationonBird Island

Both South Georgia bases are manned throughout the year.

Other sites

BAS headquarters

The headquarters of the BAS are in the university city ofCambridge,onMadingley Road.This facility provides offices, laboratories and workshops to support the scientific and logistic activities in the Antarctic.

The BAS also operates theNy-Ålesund Research Stationon behalf of theNERC.This is anArcticresearch base located atNy-Ålesundon the Norwegian island ofSpitsbergen.

Equipment

Ships

Main article:Royal Research Ship

RRSSir David Attenboroughdocked in Liverpool

As of 2021, the Survey operates one ship, theRRS Sir David Attenborough,for support of Arctic and Antarctic research operations, and other logistical work.It replacedRRS James Clark RossandRRS Ernest Shackleton,which were sold in 2021 and returned to its owners in 2019, respectively. Originally, theAdmiraltyprovided the FIDSwith ship support. In 1947 the Survey purchased their first vessel, which was named MV John Biscoe, and in 1953 the same ship was grantedRoyal Research Shipstatus. Since then the Survey has owned and chartered several vessels.

Vessels depart from the United Kingdom in September or October of each year and return to the United Kingdom in the following May or June. Vessels undergo refit and drydock during the Antarctic winter, but are also used elsewhere during this period.

The civilian ships operated by the BAS are complemented by the capabilities of theRoyal Navy's ice patrol vessel that operates in the same waters. Until 2008 this wasHMSEndurance,a Class 1A1icebreaker.Endurance'stwoLynx helicoptersenabled BAS staff to get to remote field sites that BAS aircraft could not access.However, acatastrophic flooding accidentleftEndurancebadly damaged, with a replacement only being procured in 2011. This ship,HMSProtector,first deployed to the Antarctic in November 2011.

Aircraft

A BAS Twin Otter at Springbank

TheBAS Dash-7atPort Stanley Airporton theFalkland Islands.

BAS operates five aircraft in support of its research programme inAntarctica.The aircraft used are all made byde Havilland Canadaand comprise fourTwin Ottersand oneDash 7(as of August 2019).The planes are maintained by Rocky Mountain Aircraft inSpringbank,Alberta,Canada.During the Antarctic summer the aircraft are based at theRothera base,which has a 900-metre gravel runway. During the Antarctic winter, conditions preclude flying and the aircraft return to Canada.

The larger Dash 7 undertakes regular shuttle flights between eitherPort Stanley Airporton theFalkland Islands,orPunta Arenasin Chile, and Rothera. It also operates to and from the ice runway at the Sky Blu base. The smaller Twin Otters are equipped with skis for landing on snow and ice in remote areas, and operate out of the bases at Rothera, Fossil Bluff, Halley and Sky Blu.

Findings

RRSErnest Shackletonoutward bound from Portsmouth, UK, 12 November 2008.

In 1985, the British Antarctic Survey discovered thehole in the ozone layerover Antarctica. The finding was made by a team of three BAS scientists:Joe Farman,Brian GardinerandJonathan Shanklin.Their work was confirmed by satellite data, and was met with worldwide concern.

In January 2008, a team of British Antarctic Survey scientists, led by Hugh Corr andDavid Vaughan,reported that 2,200 years ago, avolcanoerupted under Antarctica's ice sheet (based onairborne surveywith radar images). The biggest eruption in the last 10,000 years, the volcanic ash was found deposited on the ice surface under theHudson Mountains,close toPine Island Glacier.

In 2020, a team reported thatemperor penguincolonies inAntarcticawere nearly 20% more numerous than previously thought, with new discoveries made using satellite mapping technology.

Polar image collection

The BAS runs an onlinepolar image collectionwhich includes imagery of scientific research at the poles, logistics operations, and the continent and its wildlife. The image collection is run by British cameraman and photographer Pete Bucktrout, who has visited the continent eleven times during his 24 years working for BAS. His work has been seen in newspapers and on television around the world.

See also

• Instituto Antártico Argentino(Argentine Antarctic Institute)
• Instituto Antártico Chileno(Chilean Antarctic Institute)
• Operation Tabarin
• British Antarctic Territory
• Faraday Research Station
• List of organizations based in Antarctica
• National Antarctic Program

Further reading

• "History of BAS Research Stations".British Antarctic Survey, history.Retrieved25 March2021.
• Bingham, E. W. (1947). "The Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, 1946-47".Polar Record.5(33–34): 27–39.Bibcode:1947PoRec...5...27B.doi:10.1017/S0032247400037165.S2CID140158872.
• Bryan, Rorke (2011).Ordeal by Ice: Ships of the Antarctic.Seaforth Publishing.
• Dudeney, J. R.; Walton, D. W. (2012). "From Scotia to Operation Tabarin - Developing British Policy for Antarctica".Polar Record.48(4): 342–360.Bibcode:2012PoRec..48..342D.doi:10.1017/S0032247411000520.S2CID145613031.
• Fogg, G. E. (1992).A History of Antarctic Science.Cambridge University Press.
• Fuchs, V. E. (1951). "The Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, 1947-50".Polar Record.6(41): 7–27.Bibcode:1951PoRec...6....7F.doi:10.1017/S0032247400040894.S2CID251050677.
• Fuchs, Sir Vivian E. (1973).Evolution of a Venture in Antarctic Science - Operation Tabarin and the British Antarctic Surveyin Frozen Futureedited by Lewis, R. S. and Smith, P.M.New York: Quadrangle Books. pp. 234–239.
• Haddelsey, S. (2014).Operation Tabarin: Britain's Secret Wartime Expedition to Antarctica, 1944–46.Stroud: History Press.ISBN9780752493565.
• Headland, Robert K. (2020).A Chronology of Antarctic Exploration.Cambridge University Press.
• James, D. P. (1949).That Frozen Land.Falcon Press.
• Pearce, Gerry (2018).Operation Tabarin 1943-45 and its Postal History.Gerry Pearce.ISBN978-1-78926-580-4.
• Robertson, S. C. (1993).Operation Tabarin.BAS.Information booklet produced for 50th anniversary.
• Walton, Kevin; Atkinson, Rick (1995).Of Dogs and Men: Fifty Years in the Antarctic. Illustrated Story of the Dogs of the British Antarctic Survey.Images (Booksellers & Distributors) Ltd.ISBN1-897817-55-X.
• Wordie, J. M. (1946). "The Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey, 1943-6".Polar Record.4(32): 372–384.Bibcode:1946PoRec...4..372W.doi:10.1017/S0032247400042479.S2CID129588807.

External links

• Official website
• Polar Picture Library
• Discovering Antarctica — teaching and learning resources on Antarctica
• BAS science programmes
• BAS research stations
• BAS Online Palaeontology Collection
• BAS history
• British Antarctic Oral History Project- Includes interviews with many who served with Tabarin, FIDS and BAS.
• BAS Club- A membership club for those employed by, or closely associated with, BAS and its predecessors (Operation Tabarin, FIDS)