The history of climate science in Antarctica: a timeline

18/07/2025

From ancient ice core samples to modern drones and satellites, we take a look at the history of climate science in Antarctica.

Antarctica is the coldest, driest, most inhospitable and least populated continent on our planet. Despite its hostility, for over a century, scientists and explorers have braved the severe landscape to improve our understanding of Earth’s climate and how it has changed throughout history. 

Hidden in Antarctica’s vast ice sheets are some of our planet’s most valuable secrets. These secrets, stretching back hundreds of thousands of years, provide us with small snapshots of what Earth was like in the distant past. By analysing these, we are in an incredible position to investigate our climate over time, track global warming, and prepare for the future.

History of climate science in Antarctica

This timeline will explore some of the major milestones in the history of climate science in Antarctica, from the Terra Nova Expedition in 1911, all the way to the present day, with ground-breaking advances in satellite and drone technology.

Along the way, we can see how curiosity, resilience and co-operation from across the world has helped us make sense of our rapidly changing planet. 

1911: Terra Nova Expedition’s early weather readings

Over 100 years ago, the British Antarctic (Terra Nova) Expedition recorded detailed weather data during their journey to the South Pole. Led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, these handwritten logs of temperature, wind and pressure were among the first to be produced. Even now, over a century later, they continue to provide valuable historical context for understanding long-term climate shifts.

• New photos and videos of Scott's wrecked ship Terra Nova

1935: Establishment of Wordie House

First established in 1935, the original Wordie House hut was destroyed by a suspected tsunami in 1946. The present-day structure was re-established in 1947 and used until 1954. 

Wordie was re-established in 1947

The site was an important base for geophysics, meteorology and ionospheric research. It is the site of the only continuous climate record since the 1940s – a record which is continued today by the staff at the Ukrainian Vernadsky Station on Galindez Island, who also support UKAHT with the preservation of Wordie House.

1944: Establishment of Port Lockroy

In 1944, Port Lockroy was selected as Base A – the first continuously occupied British base in Antarctica as part of the secret wartime mission, Operation Tabarin. Over the ensuing years, Port Lockroy witnessed the birth of British Antarctic science while it operated as a base for survey, geology, meteorology and botany work. From 1950, it was mainly used for ionospheric research until it closed in 1962. 

Port Lockroy was established in 1944 (Credit: BAS Archives)

1957-1958: International Geophysical Year reshapes Antarctic research

From 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958, a coordinated global effort was made to study the Earth and its environment, with over 60 countries participating. A significant focus of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) was to further advance research in the polar regions, particularly Antarctica. 

In total, over 50 research stations were founded across Antarctica, including the still-active Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, laying the groundwork for the later Antarctic Treaty and the more long-term monitoring of the environment.

Dennis Goldring uses a surveying instrument at Detaille (BAS Archives)

Several UKAHT bases, including Port Lockroy, Horseshoe and Detaille, were key monitoring sites during the IGY. Port Lockroy acted as the communications centre for the 11 British bases during the IGY, as well as undertaking atmospheric research.

Detaille Island was one of only two British bases that contributed meteorological data to the geophysical programmes of the IGY (the other being Port Lockroy). The remaining British bases mostly contributed to topographical surveying and geology.

1959: Creation of the Antarctic Treaty

On 1 December 1959, the inaugural Antarctic Treaty was signed. Starting with the signatures of 12 countries present on Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year, the Treaty opened up Antarctica as an international scientific preserve. 

The flags of the 12 original Antarctic Treaty signatory nations at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station (Elaine Hood/Public Domain)

Most notably, the Treaty was the first arms control agreement of the Cold War, banning military activity across the continent. As a result, the Treaty ensured Antarctica was free to be explored by scientists from all countries, bringing in a new era of global scientific collaboration.

1960s: The first Antarctic ice cores reveal their secrets

In the 1960s, scientists began to drill shallow ice cores near the coastal Antarctic bases. These cores revealed that ice layers could, in a sense, be counted like tree rings, with each layer representing a year of snowfall. Within these layers were little bubbles of air, preserved for thousands of years, that offered clues about our planet’s ancient atmosphere, creating a seismic shift in how climate science is conducted.

1980s: The Vostok core unlocks the past

At the Soviet Vostok Station in the East of Antarctica, researchers extracted an ice core more than 2,000 metres long. Inside, the core contained a continuous record of our climate, going back to nearly 400,000 years ago.

French, Soviet and US scientists at the Vostok station with unprocessed ice cores (Todd Sowers/Public Domain)

Data inside revealed clear links between the carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere and the planet’s temperature. In doing so, the core provided us with some of the earliest evidence that greenhouse gases contribute to climate change.

1991: The start of the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica

In 1991, the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica was launched. The major international project aimed to drill two new ice cores: one to give a significantly longer climate record, and the other to hopefully provide far more detail about the last climatic cycle. 

The project produced an ice core with a record of around 800,000 years. The data from this core showed how carbon dioxide levels rose and fell in sync with ice ages, helping scientists understand natural climate cycles. Similarly, scientists were able to study our present climate and see the shocking speed of global warming.

2007: Antarctic findings influence historic study on climate change

In 2007, a ground-breaking report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) caused shockwaves around the world, drawing on research from Antarctica for its rallying cry on climate change. 

At the time, the assessment was the largest, most detailed study ever undertaken on climate change, and the findings of Antarctic climate scientists were repeatedly cited. The IPCC report warned of increased ice loss from Antarctic ice sheets and raised the alarm on rising sea levels. 

It put the efforts of the scientific community in Antarctica firmly at the centre of climate modelling and international policymaking around climate change.

2014: Retreat of glaciers “irreversible”

In 2014, a NASA-led study uncovered the shocking statistic that a decline of glaciers in the West of Antarctica appeared “irreversible”. The study used NASA satellites and observations from the air to measure how glaciers have been retreating in the region.  

Decline of glaciers in West Antarctica (Jeremie Mouginot, University of California)

Their findings showed how the glaciers had reached a point of “inevitable collapse”, with the risk of raising sea levels by at least one metre over the next few hundred years. Important research such as this shows how crucial Antarctica is to the global climate, and how the effects of climate change on the continent create global consequences.

2015: Antarctic ice cores confirm links to the Global Climate

Through the work of over 80 researchers, climate scientists were able to use Antarctic ice cores to prove a 200-year ‘climate-lag’ between the northern and southern hemispheres, and how this links to global climate patterns.

From this research, comparing patterns between Antarctic ice and samples collected in Greenland, scientists discovered that changes in Antarctic climate happen ‘unambiguously’ after rapid temperature changes in Greenland.

BAS ice coring scientist Dr Robert Mulvaney at work (BAS)

This discovery – the result of over 25 years of work – proves invaluable to our understanding of how polar climates affect each other. From this, climate scientists can further understand the mechanics of how our climate works and better model the future. 

2023: Drones and AI mark a new era 

Advances in technology, from drones to artificial intelligence, have made it possible to study Antarctica in new and exciting ways. Scientists are now able to monitor changes in the atmosphere or map glaciers, using remote sensing tools. 

Using AI, this data can be analysed far quicker than a human would be capable. These tools, such as what was demonstrated at Rothera Station in 2024, can also help reduce BAS’s CO2 emissions by up to 90%.

An autonomous drone at Rothera Research Station, Antarctica (Windracers/BAS)

Innovations like these are helping researchers collect more accurate data about our climate, more frequently, and with less of an environmental impact, opening up an exciting new chapter in Antarctic climate research.

2025: Historic drilling project finds million-year-old ice core

In January 2025, there were literally groundbreaking discoveries made in the field of climate science in Antarctica.

At the start of the year, the fourth Antarctic campaign of the Beyond EPICA-Oldest Ice Project successfully drilled a 2,800-metre-long ice core. The core, taken after 200 days of drilling, was revealed to be more than 1.2 million years old. 

It is hoped that the data from this core will shed light on over a million years of climate history and pave the way for scientists to discover critical details about how our climate has shifted over millennia.

Conclusion

Antarctica, the most isolated and desolate of Earth’s continents, also holds the key to our understanding of our planet.

Climate research conducted on the icy plains has fundamentally reshaped our global approaches to the climate. The data captured over various expeditions for over a century helps even now with our understanding of rising sea levels, of global temperature patterns, and of the real risk of climate change. 

From hand-written logs over a hundred years ago, to the drilling of million-year-old ice cores, Antarctica holds not just the history of our planet, but a record of human ingenuity, courage, and resilience. 

Be it the oldest continuous climate record began at Wordie House, or the meteorological data collected at our sites during the International Geophysical Year, UKAHT is inherently linked to the history of climate science in Antarctica.

We aim to make our shared Antarctic heritage accessible to all, whether from the sofa or the ship. We want audiences across the world to be able to discover these charismatic sites and their remarkable stories. Through this, we hope that people will develop a deeper appreciation and commitment to the protection of this extraordinary continent.

Joe Williams is a charity worker from Merthyr Tydfil who’s had a passion for Antarctica since childhood. Joe has a Master’s Degree in History from the University of Exeter, and hopes one day to visit the frozen continent!

Lead image: A weather balloon being launched at Base F, Argentine Islands (Pete Kennett/BAS Archives)