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 referenced in Jane Rumble’s blog in January, the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Government of the British Antarctic Territory are supporting a Diversity in Polar Science initiative to promote and enhance Antarctic science opportunities to under-represented groups. Donna Frater is leading this work and sets out more about what this involves. I am…
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…
The following article has been reproduced from the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust’s Autumn/Winter 2019 edition of the ‘Antarctic Times’. Read on to learn how to subscribe to this biannual newsletter and become a ‘Friend of Antarctica’ Edward Bransfield With many thanks to Michael Smith, writer and lecturer on Antarctic and Arctic exploration. Michael wrote about Edward Bransfield’s…
Written by Jane Rumble, Head of the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s Polar Regions Department and Deputy Commissioner for the British Antarctic Territory. 2020 is an important year. It marks 200 years since the discovery of the Antarctic continent. Having dedicated over 16 years working on Antarctica I am still amazed by this unique region and…
The latest edition of the British Antarctic Territory Gazette was published today, 8 January 2020. This covers the period February to December 2019. This is an important record of all BAT legislation, orders, appointments. Read the latest Gazette in full
Written by Jennifer Freer, co-coordinator of the UKPN Antarctic Flags Initiative 2019 It is in the interest of all mankind that Antarctica shall continue to be used forever for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord The Antarctic Treaty On 1 December 1959, 12 countries signed the Antarctic Treaty…
Marking 200 years since the discovery of Antarctica, the British Antarctic Territory is delighted to present this commemorative stamp set. Find out where to buy Since discovery, Antarctica has had a chequered past. Once news of these new lands was known, exploitation of its abundant seal population began almost immediately; later it was whalers that…
