British Antarctic Survey
Antarctic science extends from the outer limits of the Earth's atmosphere to the depths of oceanic trenches. Its time span encompasses a billion years of geological history.
The scale of Antarctic science is immense - from insects and microbes studied under the microscope - to the continent-sized ice sheet best appreciated from satellite imagery.
Antarctic science is crucial for understanding how the Earth operates as a global system. Without it our ability to predict and safeguard the future would be greatly diminished.
NERC invests around £37m every year in the British Antarctic Survey (BAS).
BAS employs over 400 staff, and supports three Antarctic stations: Rothera, Halley and Signy, and two stations on South Georgia, at King Edward Point and Bird Island.
These stations are supported by two ships - the James Clark Ross and the Ernest Shackleton - and five aircraft.
Antarctic operations and science programmes are managed from BAS's offices in Cambridge, UK.
British Antarctic Survey
High Cross
Madingley Road
Cambridge
CB3 0ET
Tel: 01223 221400
Fax: 01223 362616