RRS Sir David Attenborough is about to embark on research in Antarctica as part of the British Antarctic Survey.
Britain's flagship polar research vessel will sail to Antarctica next week to help advance dozens of science projects related to climate change, as Western countries lead research there while the United States withdraws.
The RRS Sir David Attenborough, a state-of-the-art vessel named after the famous British naturalist, will facilitate research in everything from “underwater tsunami hunting” to tracking melting glaciers and whale populations.
The 15,000 tonne icebreaker, operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the country's polar research institute, has a helipad, various laboratories and equipment and plays a crucial role in the UK's efforts to assess the impact of climate change in the country.
“The saying goes, 'what happens in Antarctica doesn't stay in Antarctica,'” BAS oceanographer Peter Davies told AFP as he inspected the ship as it prepared to sail from Harwich, eastern England, on Monday.
He called it a “disgrace” that the United States was “abandoning” scientific research in the region.
But Davis noted that “a lot of countries are stepping up and saying, 'We understand the importance of Antarctica and we're going to do our scientific research there.'”
He is collaborating with the Korea Polar Research Institute to conduct analysis of the crucial Thwaites Glacier and how its melting is contributing to global sea level rise.
Scientists on board help with research, including research into melting glaciers and whale populations.
'Possibilities'
In a speech to the UN last month, US President Donald Trump called climate change a “scam” – his latest salvo in what critics say is a wide-ranging war on science.
During his second term, Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris climate accord, bankrupted science agencies and fired researchers and forecasters.
Earlier this year, his administration said it planned to end the lease of the only American icebreaker dedicated to Antarctic research and has reportedly suspended development of a new vessel to replace it.
Instead, Trump appears focused on expanding U.S. security presence in the Arctic, where rapidly melting ice has major world powers eyeing viable new oil, gas, mineral deposits and shipping routes.
On Thursday, he announced a deal with Finland to build 11 icebreakers for the U.S. Coast Guard.
Back in the UK, Stephanie Martin, who is coordinating the BAS-linked project to estimate whale abundance, said the shrinking presence of polar science in the US meant “opportunities” for the UK and other countries.
But she warned that “countries like China and Russia also have the potential to fill this gap” and that “they may manage things differently than they have done in the past.”
The ship should reach Antarctica by the end of November.
Britain, a key US ally, has not publicly rebuked Trump for his anti-science rhetoric.
“The United States is responsible for its own approach,” Stephen Doughty, the junior foreign secretary in charge of the polar regions, told AFP.
“But we are working closely with a number of international partners and are very clear about the threat posed by climate change.”
The Attenborough, which cost £200 million ($268 million) to build and was launched in 2020, will arrive at Rothera Research Station, west of the Antarctic Peninsula, by the end of November.
BAS's largest regional center has been expanded with a new state-of-the-art Discovery Building facility.
Weather permitting, the ship will also cross Antarctic waters, visiting four other BAS research stations and even more remote field stations.
'Recovery'
Martin's Wild Aquatic Whale Initiative uses a variety of technologies, including drones, to study key species such as blue and humpback whales.
One study examines recovered ice cores to understand past climates.
“We are good news because we are focused on the recovery of these populations,” she said.
After being hunted relentlessly in the 20th century, humpback numbers have rebounded in recent decades to nearly 60 percent of their former numbers, Martin said.
However, their main food source, krill, is under threat due to climate change.
“We photograph people to tell them apart, to get an idea of populations. We take skin and fat samples to find out their gender because we don't know without DNA,” she explained.
The ship's captain, Will Whatley, said during the tour that it was “designed for icebreaking and is very capable,” noting that the crew could continue to operate even in “really rough” seas in the Southern Ocean.
The crane, which can lift 50 tons, loads everything from submersible robots to so-called CTD instruments that measure the conductivity, temperature and pressure of seawater.
Other planned research includes studying recovered ice cores several hundred thousand years old to understand past climates.
© 2025 AFP
Citation: UK leads climate change research in polar regions as US retreats (2025, October 12). Retrieved October 12, 2025, from https://phys.org/news/2025-10-uk-spearheads-polar-climate.html.
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