The UK Government has published its UK Antarctic Strategy to 2035, setting out the aim to achieve net zero across Antarctic scientific operations by 2040 whilst maintaining Britain’s world-leading position in polar research.
The strategy, released by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, places climate science and environmental sustainability at the heart of UK activities in Antarctica. Through the Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Programme, the UK will decarbonise Antarctic research stations by 2030, with full net zero operations by 2040.
The UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) welcomes this comprehensive approach, which demonstrates how climate research and environmental stewardship can be integrated. CPOM’s work in polar observation and ice sheet modelling directly supports the strategy’s ambition to understand changes in Antarctica as an indicator of climate change whilst minimising the environmental footprint of research activities.
Britain commits to maintaining year-round research operations through the British Antarctic Survey, with continued investment in sustainable infrastructure at stations like Rothera. UK Antarctic science will continue to inform global climate policy and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s assessments, with British scientists making internationally recognised contributions to research on ice sheet stability, sea level change, and climate tipping points.
Environmental protection features prominently, with plans to expand marine protected areas, implement biosecurity protocols against invasive species, and designate vulnerable species for protection, including emperor penguins. The strategy also strengthens the Antarctic Treaty System and develops frameworks for managing growing tourism whilst preserving Antarctic heritage.
This commitment to net zero polar science aligns with initiatives such as the Net Zero Polar Science Doctoral Training Programme, which is currently recruiting its first cohort of researchers to advance sustainable practices in polar research.
In this Q&A, CPOM Professor Ali Banwell discusses why she was honoured to be featured in a STEM colouring book, and why representation matters so much in science careers.
What led you into your career as a polar scientist? Was there somebody or something that initially inspired you to pursue STEM?
My mum was a huge influence. She studied engineering at Cambridge when almost no women did (<1%), and later became a maths teacher, then software engineer. Her confidence in maths and physics – subjects not always ‘cool’ for girls – helped shape mine. I also grew up climbing and hiking in the UK mountains with my aunt, who sparked my curiosity about how glaciers once shaped those landscapes. Even though glaciology wasn’t taught at my school, by the time I reached university I knew I wanted to study Earth sciences, specialising in glaciology specifically.
Can you describe what you’re doing in the image that inspired the drawing in the book? What’s the science behind it (in a nutshell)?
I’m drilling a deep hole into a floating glacier (an ‘ice shelf’) to install a long aluminium pole. We mount geophysical instruments on these poles, such as high-precision GPS units, weather stations, and time-lapse cameras, to measure how the glacier ice moves and changes over time, particularly in response to climate change. The photo was taken on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, close to the U.S. Antarctic research station, McMurdo.
Can you tell us a little more about your research?
Broadly, my research focusses on investigating the impact of Earth’s past and future climate on the cryosphere – so all of Earth’s icy regions – with a current focus on the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, including their floating ice shelves.
Specifically, I specialise in integrating satellite Earth Observation techniques, including optical, microwave, and altimetry data, with field observations to investigate ice sheet and ice shelf surface melt and hydrology, and implications of these processes for ice dynamics. I also work closely with numerical modellers to integrate our new observations and process understanding of ice dynamics into models, ultimately to help provide better forecasts of future glacier ice loss and sea level rise.
I am fortunate to have been to Antarctica six times previously, and I’ve just arrived back there now. I’m at McMurdo, the U.S. station at the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf. Unfortunately, however, I’m a glaciologist who really hates being cold… But I do love penguins!
Where do you see the biggest uncertainties or knowledge gaps in our current understanding of polar ice dynamics, and what will it take to close them?
One of the biggest uncertainties in polar ice dynamics is how quickly ice sheets and ice shelves will respond as the climate continues to warm, including the potential ‘feedbacks’ and ‘tipping points’ that could accelerate change. To reduce these uncertainties, and better constrain future sea-level rise, we need sustained, high-quality Earth Observation records from new satellite missions, supported by targeted fieldwork and modelling. We also need to rethink how we do polar science so that it is more carbon-efficient, whether through using more computationally efficient AI-based models, lower-emission fieldwork logistics, or greater international coordination to minimise our environmental footprint. Closing these knowledge gaps will require long-term investment, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a commitment to monitoring and understanding the polar regions in more sustainable ways.
What is your role at CPOM?
I have joined CPOM as a PI in Land Ice/Ice Shelf Earth Observation, and more broadly as a Professor in Glaciology within Northumbria’s School of Geography and Natural Sciences. After 7.5 years in the U.S. at the University of Colorado Boulder, I’m excited to build new collaborations and expand my research horizons within CPOM and the wider UK glaciological and environmental science communities. Working closely with CPOM’s experts in Earth Observation and modelling, across both land ice and sea ice, will strengthen my research and open up new opportunities for interdisciplinary polar science.
What does being featured in a STEM colouring book mean to you, and what advice would you give to early career researchers considering a career in this field?
I was excited to be part of this because I think one of the most meaningful ways to encourage girls of all backgrounds to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) is by providing visible role models. In Antarctic field research in particular, female leadership is still rare, so it’s important for girls to see that women can and do lead world-class field science in these and other environments. Research shows that girls’ engagement in STEM subjects, and later women’s participation in STEM careers, often declines with age/career stage. I hope that being part of this book helps to spark that curiosity and confidence in the next generation!
You can find out more and purchase the book from the link below.
Climate tipping occurs when warming temperatures push parts of the Earth system past critical thresholds, triggering self-reinforcing changes that become difficult or impossible to reverse. Crossing these thresholds will lead to major changes in sea level, ocean circulation, and weather patterns, changes that governments and international agencies need to anticipate and plan for. That’s why monitoring for early warning signs of tipping is crucial.
Tipping points in the news
Recent headlines have focused on the first major climate system to tip into irreversible decline– coral reefs. Scientists confirmed in research published this year that warm-water coral reefs have crossed their thermal tipping point and are experiencing unprecedented, widespread decline.
Other tipping points currently making headlines include:
AMOC/Gulf Stream collapse – a shutdown of this ocean circulation system would cause changes to global weather patterns, potentially causing northwest Europe to experience more severe winters while disrupting monsoons and food security worldwide.
Weakening carbon sinks – forests and oceans that normally absorb some of the human-made CO2 emissions are becoming less effective, accelerating atmospheric warming.
Greenland and Antarctic ice sheet collapse – an irreversible retreat, which, when initiated, would cause metres of additional sea level rise
Focus on the ice sheets
The collapse of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets presents a serious threat. Their collapse would commit us to metres of sea level rise affecting hundreds of millions globally.
But what are the key instabilities scientists are concerned about?
In this article in The Conversation, CPOM Co-Director for Science Dr Inès Otosaka (Northumbria University) explores the three ice sheet instabilities that could trigger collapse and rapid melting:
Marine Ice Sheet Instability (MISI)
Marine Ice Cliff Instability (MICI)
Surface Elevation Melt Instability (SEMI)
Inès leads the ESA CryoTipping project with Earth Observation experts from ESA’s Antarctic CCI+ Project and ice sheet modelling experts from Northumbria’s Future of Ice on Earth Peak of Research Excellence, PIK (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research) and MPI-GEA (Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology) combining satellite observations with ice sheet modelling to detect marine ice sheet instability at Thwaites glacier in Antarctica’s Amundsen Sea Sector. By feeding satellite data on grounding line location, ice velocity, and surface elevation into ice sheet models, the team aims to detect early warning signs of tipping points and investigate potential irreversibility of the retreat of the Thwaites glacier.
