Drivers and Effects of Fluctuations in sea Ice in the ANTarctic (DEFIANT)
This project, led by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) aims at understanding Antarctic sea ice variability. Scientific measurements from the German research ship RV Polarstern, the UK’s new polar research ship Sir David Attenborough, the British Antarctic Survey’s Rothera research station, aircraft overflights and satellites will work together with cutting-edge robotic technologies (including the underwater vehicle Boaty McBoatface and a suite of on-ice buoys) to provide comprehensive, year-round measurements of atmosphere, sea ice and ocean.
The knowledge gained from these observations will enable our team to develop new ocean and climate models in order to more accurately represent Antarctic sea ice processes and allow better understanding of the underlying drivers of the sudden decrease in Antarctic sea ice, determining the impact of these extreme events on the global ocean circulation, and forecasting the implications for the movements of heat and CO2 through the climate system.
By developing new observations, new satellite records, and new models, DEFIANT will deliver a major advance in our understanding of the Antarctic sea ice system and its wider impacts on global climate.
Programme Partners:
- British Antarctic Survey (BAS): Lead Institute
- National Oceanography Centre (NOC)
- The Alan Turing Institute (ATI)
- University College London (UCL: CPOM)
- University of Leeds (UoL: CPOM)
- University of Reading (UoR: CPOM)
- University of Southampton (UoS)
- UK Met Office (MetO)
- UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM)
As well as Institutions from:
- Australia
- Canada
- Germany
- Europe: European Space Agency
- India
- Norway
- Spain
- USA
To find out more, and to read recent news from DEFIANT visit the BAS Website.