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The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) has been awarded funding for critical polar research that will strengthen UK national security, resilience, economic growth and societal benefit, it was announced today.

The National Capability National Public Good (NC NPG) grant is worth £468K over five years and has been awarded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) to support science that provides government and the wider public with evidence and expert advice in the national interest.

Professor David Vaughan, BAS Director of Science, welcomed the award: “We are extremely pleased to receive this NPG funding, which is crucial to supporting our role in ensuring UK Government, its agencies, as well as industry, have timely access to the best scientifically-based information and advice on major issues that affect the UK and the global environment.

“These issues include global sea-level rise, the impacts of climate change on shipping and fishing, and the impact of severe space weather events on satellites and power distribution networks.”

BAS scientists are regularly called upon by Government departments, including the Cabinet Office with regard to the natural hazards risk register (COBRA), BEIS on climate change and its impacts, and DEFRA for advice on ozone and Southern Ocean fisheries.

Increasingly, BAS’s expertise is also relevant to issues outside the Polar Regions, for example, providing advice to British Overseas Territories, such as St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cuhna, as well as expertise in measuring water resource in the Himalayas.