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20-581: Cape Reclus Refuge ( 64°30′00″S 61°46′00″W  /  64.5°S 61.766667°W  / -64.5; -61.766667 ) is a British refuge, managed by the British Antarctic Survey , located at Portal Point on the Reclus Peninsula . The hut was inaugurated on 13 December 1956 and remained active until April 25, 1958. A four men team, led by Wally Herbert completed the first traverse from Hope Bay to Cape Reclus in 1957, they wintered in

40-665: 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

60-712: 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

80-1060: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . British Antarctic Survey 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

100-680: Is a British research council that supports research, training and knowledge transfer activities in the environmental sciences. NERC began in 1965 when several environmental (mainly geographic) research organisations (including Nature Conservancy which became the Nature Conservancy Council in 1973 and was divided up in 1991) were brought under the one umbrella organisation . When most research councils were re-organised in 1994, it had new responsibilities – Earth observation and science-developed archaeology . Collaboration between research councils increased in 2002 when Research Councils UK

120-620: 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

140-584: 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

160-632: 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

180-622: 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

200-549: 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,

220-406: 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. Natural Environment Research Council The Natural Environment Research Council ( NERC )

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240-577: The refuge and carried out local survey. The refuge was dismantled in March 1996 and transported to the Falkland Islands Museum and National Trust where was rebuilt inside the new Museum in 2014. Portal point often has numerous Weddell seals hauled out near the landing. There are no penguin colonies because of the abundant snow cover. Portal Point is a snow and ice-covered point consisting of Mesozoic granite. This Danco Coast location article

260-729: The scientific community. Data are collected from one of four Twin Otter research aircraft (or a Dash 7) operated by British Antarctic Survey, processed by a data analysis team at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory and archived at the National Earth Observation Data Centre (NEODC). Currently the NERC ARF provides radiometrically corrected hyperspectral data from the AISA Fenix and Owl instruments; ground height information from

280-413: The storage and distribution of environmental data. The Natural Environment Research Council delivers independent research, survey, training and knowledge transfer in the environmental sciences , to advance knowledge of planet Earth as a complex, interacting system. The council's work covers the full range of atmospheric , Earth, biological , terrestrial and aquatic sciences , from the deep oceans to

300-568: 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,

320-436: The upper atmosphere , and from the geographical poles to the equator . NERC's mission is to gather and apply knowledge, create understanding and predict the behaviour of the natural environment and its resources , and communicate all aspects of the council's work. The British Meteorological Office is not part of NERC. The NERC Airborne Research Facility ( ARF ) collects and processes remotely sensed data for use by

340-596: 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,

360-463: Was formed. The council's head office is at Polaris House in Swindon , alongside the other six Research Councils. NERC's research centres provide leadership to the UK environmental science community and play significant and influential roles in international science collaborations. It also supports a number of collaborative centres of excellence and subject-based designated Environmental Data Centres for

380-743: 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

400-496: 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

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