Iceworld

Flying low over ice in a timed dance with satellites. Digging 52m of ice cores out on the frozen sea. This is a team tackling Antarctica's sea ice question from every angle! In this group interview, teams from the DEFIANT* and CRYOVEX* projects talk about their epic campaign to 'ground-truth' the data collected from two important satellites that monitor Antarctic sea ice - ESA's CryoSat-2 and NASA...

Who's watching out for the creatures at the bottom of the Southern Ocean? Geneticist Professor Melody Clark and ecophysiologist Dr Simon Morley talk about their decades of work understanding the animals who have evolved to survive in the world's coldest waters. From antifreeze fish to nail-varnish-wearing limpets, and from the gut microbiome of sea cucumbers to anti-microbial resistance, Melody ta...

The annual migration to the frozen continent begins! Host Nadia Frontier speaks to British Antarctic Survey pilots Vicky Auld and Olly Smith just before they begin ferrying aircraft down the spine of the Americas - from Canada to Punta Arenas on the tip of Chile, then on to Antarctica.  From views of the Andes to the first glimpse of white mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula, Vicky and Olly talk...

Sometimes you ease yourself into a new job - and sometimes you move straight to Antarctica for two winters.  In the final episode of series 3, host Nadia Frontier takes a turn in the hot seat, opening up about her 'double winter' living at Rothera Research Station.  Interviewed at King Edward Point by Louis Day (meet him in series 3, episode 1).

Do you have to get past hundreds of fur seals to get to work? Ash Shinn does - but there's no fresh water, heating or toilets at Antarctic research stations without him. Ash apparently can't get enough of working in Antarctica. He's done a real tour of Antarctic Stations almost continuously since 2021 - he worked at BAS a through the winter at Rothera Research Station as a Mechanical Maintenance T...

Have you ever wondered what it's like to go diving in the freezing ocean around Antarctica? Meet Jack Gordon and Mike Lindsell, Field Dive Officers at Rothera Research Station, who are no strangers to braving immersion down to -1.8°C during winter. Their job is to look after the safety of marine scientists as they study life deep in Antarctic waters. In this episode, host Nadia Frontier chats to J...

Vehicle mechanic Matthew McPherson chats to Nadia Frontier about fixing skidoos, his love for building snow tunnels and skiing. It's no surprise that Matthew's draw to Antarctica started with his fascination of snow. This episode was recorded live in the Rothera garage, a location where plant is maintained and specialists parts are machined on a metal lathe. Cover photograph of plant operator Angu...

Welcome to the longest night of the dark Antarctic winter - and the biggest celebration in the polar calendar. Coming to you (almost) live from King Edward Point (KEP) Research Station on the sub-Antarctic Island of South Georgia, Nadia Frontier chats to five members of the team as they prepare their hand-made gifts, limber up for the station olympics, and think about friends and family at home. M...

From living beside a growing ice chasm, to signing up to live in Antarctica through dark Antarctic Winter - Jaskiran Nagi and Jonathan Witherstone are electronics engineers with a shared love of knowing how things work and being outdoors.  Jas chats about his work at Halley Research Station and maintaining the seismic instruments on the ice shelf there, and Jonathan reveals the surprisingly low-te...

Featuring ammonites shaped like giant paperclips, curry cooking in the field, and emergency mud liquidation techniques - this team of fossil hunters are fresh off their expedition to Antarctica's Seymour Island. Led by Dr Rowan Whittle from British Antarctic Survey (BAS), they want to understand how life on the Antarctic sea floor evolved over the last 100 million years. Host Nadia Frontier chats...

Meteorologist Jo Cole chats to Nadia Frontier about fixing weather stations in remote locations, and seeing the sun return after Winter from the top of a mountain. Being a meteorologist in Antarctica is a busy job! From launching weather balloons, to making hourly observations to support flights on the frozen continent, the information captured is important for safe operations *and* science. Produ...

In a conversation ranging from ice climbing to the trials of wearing a kilt in Antarctica, Nadia chats to Niall Macleod, the Plant Operator at Rothera Research Station through Antarctic Winter.  Niall's route to Antarctica was through agriculture, quarrying and civil engineering - before deciding that he wanted to do something for the environment. His job is to look after the research station's un...

A field guide is one of the most highly skilled and varied jobs in Antarctica. From accompanying scientists on expeditions, training their colleagues to survive on the ice and fixing sledges, there's never a dull day. Polar field guides Ed Luke and Matthew Shepherd talk to Nadia about life on the ice and extreme camping.  Produced in partnership with Boffin Media; cover photo by Ed Luke.

How many people can say they've lost count of their visits to Antarctica? In this special International Women's Day episode, Professor Dame Jane Francis (Director of British Antarctic Survey) chats to Nadia about her journey into science, fossil hunting in Antarctic mud, launching the RRS Sir David Attenborough with Sir David Attenborough, and leading change. Iceworld is presented by marine biolog...

Imagine cooking for 160 with only frozen, tinned and dried food... for a whole season. We all know the stomach is the route to the heart, so the meals need to feel fresh, nourishing and varied. Chefs might have the most important job at Rothera Research Station! In this episode, Summer chef Sadhbh Moore chats to host Nadia Frontier about food sustainability, pickling and preserving, and channellin...

Ryan talks to host Nadia Frontier about the extraordinary experience of living in Antarctica through the dark winter - the adventures, the challenges, and preparing for the arrival of the summer community.  Ryan Mathews was the Marine Assistant at Rothera Research Station, where he works on scientific diving in Antarctica's icy waters, and in the on-site laboratory (The Bonner Lab). --- Produced i...

Stu McManus was the Winter Electrician at Rothera Research Station in 2022 - and due to unforeseen circumstances, he was the only person responsible for electrics across the season. His first Antarctic job was at King Edward Point Research Station on South Georgia. Stu talks to host Nadia Frontier about overcoming imposter syndrome, camping in the Antarctic wilderness, and how his career as an ele...

Featuring buried festive duck, the A23a megaberg, and the mysterious 'King Neptune's Court'.  Nadia Frontier talks to Captain Matt Neill of the Royal Research Ship Sir David Attenborough from the Southern Ocean, and geologist and experienced Antarctic field scientist Jo Johnson. Jo and Matt talk about how they mark special occasions while in the field and at sea, and what it's like to juggle famil...

Featuring a missing frozen turkey, après-ski cinema, and Antarctic Secret Santa. Nadia Frontier talks to the team at Rothera Research Station about spending the festive season in Antarctica. How does this remote community make Christmas special while investigating climate change in Earth's frozen places? Produced in partnership with Boffin Media.

Imagine being the person in charge of keeping the power on at a research base in Antarctica. That's Joe's job, no pressure. Joe Clay was the Generator Mechanic at Rothera Research Station during Antarctic Winter 2022. Joe chats to host Nadia Frontier about finding his calling with an apprenticeship in the Merchant Navy, travelling the world as an engineer, and getting used to living in an extreme...

Allie Clement chats to host Nadia Frontier about their work as a fisheries scientist at King Edward Point Research Station in South Georgia, and moving to Rothera Research Station as Dive Officer and Marine Assistant.  Allie talks about their journey into working as a fisheries scientist, the krill fishing industry, and what actually happens on a research trip. Why does Allie love working in Antar...

Louis Day was the Boating Officer at Rothera Research Station in 2022 - maintaining winter boating operations for marine biology, oceanography, and logistics around the station aged just 21 years old. Host and marine biologist Nadia Frontier talks to Louis about boating and diving in Antarctica, Jack's life-long love of sailing, and how he ended up applying for the job. What does it take to keep o...

In this episode, the James Clark Ross facilitates a summer field season at Signy Research Station at 60 ° South , squeezes through the Lemaire Channel at 65 ° S, crosses the Antarctic Circle at 66 °33 S and finally reaches Rothera Research Station at 67 ° South . We catch our first glimpses of icebergs, passing seals dozing on sheet ice pass rafts of penguins darting out of the water. There are st...

The voyage of the James Clark Ross continues as the ship approaches its first stop after four week at sea, South Georgia at 54 ° South. On the way we hear tales of humpback whales, wandering albatross and excited talks of sighting a blue whale.

The RRS James Clark Ross set sail from Harwich on 4th November 2020 with a group composed of the British Antarctic Survey staff and ship’s crew. It was a rare opportunity for those due to take up positions in Antarctic research stations when their first two month of the job begin with being confined to a ship for eight weeks. You can find out more about Antarctic research and logistics by visiting...