POLAR
Death from below: how global warming is reawakening long-buried diseases
Aug 29, 2016
Written by
Laura Cole & Chris Fitch
As climate change increasingly melts ice and permafrost in the Earth’s most northern regions, deadly toxins – presumed buried forever – are returning to the surface
Ice loss
Jun 07, 2016
Written by
David Sugden
David Sugden, Professor Emeritus of the School of GeoSciences at the University of Edinburgh, shares his concerns surrounding melting ice in Antarctica, particularly the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
Melting Arctic enables new tourist routes
May 03, 2016
Written by
Marco Magrini
Geographical’s regular look at the world of climate change. This month, Marco Magrini looks at the future of sea levels
Public asked to name new research ship... with predictable results
Mar 21, 2016
Written by
Laura Cole
The UK’s new polar research ship needs a a name and it was deemed a bright idea to ask the public to come up with it. Cue the internet...
Slow boats to China
Nov 07, 2015
Written by
Chris Fitch
Despite 2015 seeing the fourth smallest Arctic ice cap ever recorded, aspirations of easily navigable trade through the Northwest Passage are to be put on ice for several decades
Tipping point
Nov 04, 2015
Written by
Chris Fitch
The long-term impact on Antarctica of burning the world’s remaining fossil fuel reserves is found to be strikingly dramatic
Britain’s Antarctic future
Jun 24, 2015
Written by
Tom Hart
Geographical talks to Jane Francis, director of the British Antarctic Survey, about the organisation’s future plans for exploration
Europe expands polar operations
May 19, 2015
Written by
Tom Hart
Europe expands scientific and operational capabilities in polar regions with €2million programme
Data from the deep
Apr 18, 2015
Written by
Tom Hart
Data-gathering Royal Navy submarines are helping scientists discover how and why the Arctic Ocean is on the move
BAS supports space tests
Mar 27, 2015
Written by
Tom Hart
A new life science experiment to study how people adapt to life in remote and isolated locations in preparation for long space flight has been set up at the British Antarctic Survey’s Halley Research Station
Hidden gateways undermine East Antarctica’s largest glacier
Mar 18, 2015
Written by
Tom Hart
Researchers at the University of Texas have uncovered two gateways on the sea floor that allow warm ocean water to reach the base of the Totten Glacier, speeding up its thinning process
Ice sheet melt rate underestimated
Mar 11, 2015
Written by
Tom Hart
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet contains enough ice to raise the global sea level by 16 feet, and it could be melting faster than previously thought
Larsen’s rift
Mar 05, 2015
Written by
Tom Hart
Larsen A and Larsen B ice shelves are long gone, breaking from the Antarctic Peninsula in 1995 and 2002 respectively. Now researchers at Swansea University suggest that Larsen C, big brother to the two vanished shelves, is cracking up
Arctic ambassador advised for UK
Feb 27, 2015
Written by
Tom Hayes
The United Kingdom must appoint an ambassador for the Arctic region, or it risks becoming an irrelevance in decisions over the polar area’s future, a House of Lords report has concluded
Honouring Antarctica’s fallen scientists
Feb 26, 2015
Written by
Tom Hart
A monument to Britons who lost their lives for science in Antarctica has been unveiled on the waterfront in Stanley, Falkland Islands
Passage to change
Feb 15, 2015
Written by
Tom Hart
For years, explorers sought the Northwest Passage through Arctic waters. Last year, what had previously been a geographical impossibility was finally achieved
Antarctica’s climate politics cool
Nov 30, 2014
Written by
Tom Hart
‘Antarctica’s environmental measures must be strengthened, as more scientists visit the region and tourist numbers increase,’ says Professor Steven Chown from Australia’s Monash University
Icebot 3D maps Antarctic sea ice
Nov 25, 2014
Written by
Tom Hart
Antarctica’s sea ice is now mapped in 3D after scientists from the UK, US and Australia used an underwater robot to explore areas that were previously too difficult to access
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