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33-1051: The British Antarctic Survey ( BAS ) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues , and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on behalf of the UK. It is part of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). With over 400 staff, BAS takes an active role in Antarctic affairs, operating five research 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 during World War II , it

66-676: A volcano erupted under Antarctica's ice sheet (based on airborne survey with radar images). The biggest eruption in the last 10,000 years, the volcanic ash was found deposited on the ice surface under the Hudson Mountains , close to Pine Island Glacier . In 2020, a team reported that emperor penguin colonies in Antarctica were nearly 20% more numerous than previously thought, with new discoveries made using satellite mapping technology. The BAS runs an online polar image collection which includes imagery of scientific research at

99-680: 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 either Port Stanley Airport on the Falkland Islands , or Punta Arenas in 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

132-549: A Royal Naval vessel since the Falklands War , calling at the capital, Buenos Aires , en route to her Antarctic deployment. That she was seen as a scientific and research vessel rather than a warship facilitated the visit and helped to normalise relations between Argentina and the United Kingdom. She visited the Argentinian port of Mar del Plata in 1998 and returned to Buenos Aires in 2002. In 2005, Endurance

165-564: A computer-controlled variable-pitch propeller and stern and bow thrusters . She carried two ice-modified Lynx helicopters which were instrumental in the making of the BBC Documentary Series Planet Earth in 2006. The ship was laid up in Portsmouth from 2009 to 2016, following serious damage caused by flooding following an error during routine maintenance on a sea suction strainer. In October 2013 it

198-682: A result of human activity. The UN has listed issues that it deems to be the most pressing as of 2023 : United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) As part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development , the UN Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015) were superseded by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (2016-2030), which are also known as The Global Goals . There are associated Targets and Indicators for each Global Goal . In keeping with their economy-centered view,

231-401: A sea-water strainer was being cleaned, in an attempt to improve the production of fresh water. The air lines controlling a hull valve were incorrectly reconnected, resulting in the valve opening and an inability to close it. The pipe installation fell below generally accepted standards, which made reconnection of the air lines ambiguous. The inquiry also found that, due to manpower constraints,

264-545: A sovereign presence in polar waters, performing hydrographic surveys and supporting the British Antarctic Survey in Antarctica . Her usual deployment saw her in the Southern Ocean and returning to the UK through tropical waters each year. Later, a longer, 18-month deployment was designed to maximise her time available for BAS usage. In 1997, Endurance made the first visit to Argentina by

297-636: Is more than counterbalanced by accelerating urbanization and urban sprawl. Theories like the world-system theory and the Gaia hypothesis focus on the inter-dependency aspect of environmental and economic issues. Among the most evident environmental problems are: HMS Endurance (A171)#2008 near loss HMS Endurance was an icebreaker that served as the Royal Navy ice patrol ship between 1991 and 2008. Built in Norway as MV Polar Circle , she

330-472: The World Economic Forum formulated a list of 10 most pressing points in 2016: No single issue can be analysed, treated, or isolated from the others. For example, habitat loss and climate change adversely affect biodiversity. Deforestation and pollution are direct consequences of overpopulation and both, in turn, affect biodiversity. While overpopulation locally leads to rural flight , this

363-639: The Antarctic in November 2011. BAS operates five aircraft in support of its research programme in Antarctica . The aircraft used are all made by de Havilland Canada and comprise four Twin Otters and one Dash 7 (as of August 2019). The planes are maintained by Rocky Mountain Aircraft in Springbank , Alberta , Canada . During the Antarctic summer the aircraft are based at the Rothera base , which has

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396-534: The BAS are complemented by the capabilities of the Royal Navy 's ice patrol vessel that operates in the same waters. Until 2008 this was HMS  Endurance , a Class 1A1 icebreaker . Endurance's two Lynx helicopters enabled BAS staff to get to remote field sites that BAS aircraft could not access. However, a catastrophic flooding accident left Endurance badly damaged, with a replacement only being procured in 2011. This ship, HMS  Protector , first deployed to

429-648: 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. The BAS operates five permanent research stations in the British Antarctic Territory : Of these Research Stations, only Rothera is staffed throughout the year. Before 2017 Halley was also open year-round. The BAS also operates two permanent bases on South Georgia : Both South Georgia bases are staffed throughout

462-644: The Survey operates one ship, the RRS Sir David Attenborough , for support of Arctic and Antarctic research operations, and other logistical work. It replaced RRS James Clark Ross and RRS Ernest Shackleton , which were sold in 2021 and returned to its owners in 2019, respectively. Originally, the Admiralty provided the FIDS with ship support. In 1947 the Survey purchased their first vessel, which

495-557: The bases at Rothera, Fossil Bluff, Halley and Sky Blu. In 1985, the British Antarctic Survey discovered the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. The finding was made by a team of three BAS scientists: Joe Farman , Brian Gardiner and Jonathan 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 and David Vaughan , reported that 2,200 years ago,

528-591: The breakers' yard in Turkey on 1 June 2016. Endurance was named after the ship which Sir Ernest Shackleton used in his Antarctic expedition of 1914–1917 . The names of Endurance ' s boats and landing craft continued the Shackleton connection: James Caird and Dudley Docker were named after boats carried by Shackleton's Endurance , Nimrod was named after the ship which Shackleton used on his Antarctic expedition of 1907–1909 , and Eddie Shackleton

561-400: The flood." The inquiry judged that the ship's company responded well to control damage in challenging conditions. In 2009, National Geographic Channel ran a four-episode documentary series on Endurance . Five ran the same series the following year under the name Ice Patrol , with the final episode showing what happened the day the ship almost sank. On 9 September 2010, speculation in

594-422: 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. List of global issues Not all of these risks are independent, because the majority, if not all of them are

627-519: The press suggested it was likely that Endurance would be scrapped and replaced with another icebreaker from Norway. On 22 March 2011, it was announced that the Royal Navy intended to hire MV Polarbjørn , to be renamed HMS  Protector , for three years whilst a final decision on whether to repair or scrap Endurance is made. HMS  Protector was purchased in September 2013. It

660-421: The ship did not have a system maintainer and that clarity of engineering command had been lost, with no-one clearly in charge of risk-management. It was fortunate that, without propulsion, Endurance had drifted over an area shallow enough for anchors to be let go and to hold the ship in position, otherwise, "there was a very real possibility that she would have been lost either by running ashore or by succumbing to

693-551: The ship suffered a minor accident which resulted in her listing badly when the drydock she was situated in flooded up. The months after the refit were troublesome and the ship suffered numerous debilitating machinery failures. This was to become something of a theme over the next four years as the ship's crew struggled to keep her serviceable, set against more demanding challenges. During survey work in Antarctica in January 2006,

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726-430: The ship's company moved to shore-side accommodation in the city of Bahía Blanca , some twenty kilometres west of Puerto Belgrano. The rudder was removed for repairs, and once it was on the floor of the drydock , a dockers' strike followed. The ship remained there for nearly three weeks. Picket lines formed at the gates of the naval base, preventing the ship's company from relieving the stranded duty watch on board. When

759-502: The ship's engineering staff discovered that her rudder was apparently loose on the stock. Her work period was cut short and she returned to Mare Harbour in the Falkland Islands for further inspections. Det Norske Veritas , the ship's assurance certification company, instructed that the ship should dock at the nearest available port – the nearest large enough being Puerto Belgrano , Argentina's largest naval base, where Endurance docked in mid-March 2006. Without hotel services on board,

792-409: The ship. A serious engine room flood left her without power or propulsion, and she was towed to Punta Arenas by a Chilean tug. After an extensive survey was completed, the estimates to refit the ship were put at around £30m. On 8 April 2009 Endurance arrived off Portsmouth , on the semi-submersible transporter ship MV  Target . The Royal Navy inquiry found that the flood happened while

825-411: The strike broke, the rudder was replaced and welded into position and the ship left Puerto Belgrano in early April 2006. She returned to Portsmouth via Lisbon and to drydock again for further engineering work on the rudder and stock. In December 2008, while on an 18-month deployment, Endurance suffered extensive flooding to her machinery spaces and lower accommodation decks resulting in the near loss of

858-573: 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 the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee opposed the move the plan was dropped. Since April 2018 NERC has been part of UK Research and Innovation. In 1956,

891-614: The year. The headquarters of the BAS are in the university city of Cambridge , on Madingley Road . This facility provides offices, laboratories and workshops to support the scientific and logistic activities in the Antarctic. The BAS also operates the Ny-Ålesund Research Station on behalf of the NERC . This is an Arctic research base located at Ny-Ålesund on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen . As of 2021,

924-482: Was announced on 7 October 2013 that Endurance would be sold for scrap, as it was not 'economically viable' to repair the damage sustained in 2008. In July 2015 the Ministry of Defence gave advanced notice of sale of the vessel for further use or recycling, noting that "parties interested in acquiring the vessel for future use should note it will require considerable investment". The vessel left Portsmouth under tow to

957-483: Was chartered by the Royal Navy in 1991 as HMS Polar Circle , before being purchased outright and renamed HMS Endurance in 1992 as a replacement for the previous HMS Endurance whose hull had been weakened by striking an iceberg. Endurance was a class 1 icebreaker . Her two Bergen BRG8 diesel engines produced over 8000 shaft horsepower enabling her to travel through ice up to 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) thick at 3 knots (5.6 km/h). Her propulsion system used

990-823: Was chosen to carry the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the International Fleet Review as part of the Trafalgar 200 celebrations. In July 2007, the United Kingdom offered Endurance to supply Argentina 's Antarctic bases after their ARA  Almirante Irizar icebreaker suffered extensive damage in a fire. Although she enjoyed a varied, purposeful career as the UK's sole ice patrol vessel, Endurance ' s later years were problematic and ended in ignominy. After her 2004 docking period in Falmouth,

1023-785: Was known as the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey until 1962. Operation Tabarin was a small British expedition in 1943 to establish permanently occupied bases in the Antarctic. It was a joint undertaking by the Admiralty and the Colonial Office . At the end of the war it was renamed the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS) and full control passed to the Colonial Office. At this time there were four stations, three occupied and one unoccupied. By

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1056-441: Was named MV John Biscoe, and in 1953 the same ship was granted Royal Research Ship status. 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

1089-641: Was reported that she would be scrapped; in July 2015 the vessel was offered for sale for further use or recycling and left Portsmouth under tow to the Leyal ship recycling facility in Turkey on 1 June 2016. MV Polar Circle was built in Norway in 1990 by Ulstein Hatlo for Rieber Shipping . The Royal Navy chartered her for eight months as HMS Polar Circle from 21 November 1991. She was bought outright and renamed HMS Endurance on 9 October 1992. Endurance provided

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