Today, 21 June, is Midwinter Day in the British Antarctic Territory. This annual event, which has its origins with Captain Scott, marks the mid-point of the Antarctic winter. HM Commissioner to the British Antarctic Territory, Ben Merrick, has written to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) personnel currently stationed in Antarctica. I am writing to send…
Today, 19 June, marks the first ever World Albatross Day. The day pays tribute to these magnificent birds. However, these are also troubling times. Many albatross species are facing threats from mice, rats, cats and pigs which were introduced on islands where the Albatross breed. Fishing gear is also a major issue with thousands of…
Written by Ron Naveen, President of Oceanites With continued support from the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Government of the British Antarctic Territory, the nonprofit science and education organisation, Oceanites, has completed the 26th consecutive field season of its unparalleled Antarctic Site Inventory (ASI) project. Antarctic Site Inventory (ASI) The ASI began in…
Our friends at Pobjoy Mint have released a new 50p coin, HMS Erebus. In the year which marks the 200 year anniversary since the discovery of Antarctica, the HMS Erebus coin celebrates the 220 years since the birth of Captain James Clark Ross. Captain Ross discovered the Antarctic’s largest ice shelf while commanding the ship…
As part of a regular series on the meaning of place names in the Territory, this latest edition focuses on remote places. In the British Antarctic Territory, those who spend time living and working here are used to being in some of the most remote places on Earth. There are a number of place-names that…
On 30 January, to mark 200 years since the discovery of the Antarctic continent, we launched a postage stamp design competition for 4-17 year olds. The competition has now closed. Thank you to everyone who has sent us entries. We are now working to collate all the entries and have a judging panel who will…
A rare opportunity to join the Antarctic Place-names Committee as an ad hoc specialist is available. This is an exciting chance for the right candidate to bring their Antarctic expertise to bare in an unusual area of Antarctic policy. The Antarctic Place-names Committee are a group of Antarctic experts, who advise the BAT Government on all aspects relating to…
In February 2020, the Marine Archaeology Sea Trust (MAST) completed the first stage in reviewing potentially significant Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH) sites in the British Antarctic Territory and across the Southern Ocean. This builds on the UCH Strategy for the British Antarctic Territory which was published in November 2018. MAST have undertaken a desk-based assessment…
As part of a regular series on the meaning of place names in the Territory, this latest edition focuses on changes due to satellite imagery and glacial retreat. During a recent cruise as part of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC), a new island was sighted from the US vessel Nathaniel B Palmer while off the…
2020 marks 200 years since the discovery of the Antarctic continent. To celebrate, we are running a competition for children aged 4 – 17 years old to design an official postage stamp for the British Antarctic Territory (BAT). The design theme is “Discovering Antarctica”. Four lucky winners will have their very own drawings featured on…
