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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre

@magic.bas.ac.uk

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The Mapping and Geographic Information Centre (MAGIC) provides geospatial information, expertise, and services to the British Antarctic Survey (@bas.ac.uk) and wider UK activity in the Polar Regions.

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · Dec 12

Hello 👋

We are the Mapping and Geographic Information Centre (MAGIC) at the British Antarctic Survey.

We produce maps of the polar regions, survey wildlife colonies and our stations, and provide the latest sea ice information through custom platforms.

Here's a quick intro to our work!

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An image of a section of Earth from space, covering South America, the South Atlantic Ocean, South Africa, and Antarctica. Antarctica is white and the other is land is green and brown. The oceans are dark blue, with clouds swirling around.

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 2d

Some of our recent maps were reviewed for Geology Today & we're pleased to see the positive opinions & appreciation of how much work goes into them 🎉 doi.org/10.1111/gto....

The maps include The South Orkney Islands, Alexander Island, and Bedmap3. Details available in our catalogue - bas.ac.uk/maps

The front cover of our South Orkney Islands and Signy Island map. There is a photo of the landscape on Signy, with a tall, crevassed glacier in the foreground (Orwell Glacier), and clouds and snowy mountains in the distance.

The front cover of our Alexander Island map. The photo on the cover shows a faded red tent, with snow-covered, craggy mountains in the background.

The front cover of our Bedmap3 map, which shows an extract of the map (without any of the labels). The terrain of the land beneath the ice is shown with a coloured hillshade, ranging from dark blue (deepest) to light brown and white shades (tallest).

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Andrew Fleming @ahfleming.bsky.social · 4d

A long term project comes to a close. We have been in Potsdam at the last meetings of the EU Arctic Passion project. Our final reporting about improving risk information for ships in sea ice is complete, but publications are coming. More information soon. www.arcticpassion.eu.

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 5d

The programme and presentation slides can all be found here uk.osgeo.org/foss4guk2025...
Thanks again to @uk.osgeo.org for a great few days!

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 5d

We just attended #FOSS4GUK in Leeds. It was a fantastic couple of days meeting other GIS & software enthusiasts to learn about WWII coordinate systems, making maps accessible & much more, all using free & open tools anyone can use! We also presented the code and history behind our new map catalogue.

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 6d

We're working on a new project to support building & modernisation at Rothera Research Station. This week we took part in a workshop showcasing how we will integrate 3D Building information models with our GIS platform and how it will form a key part of infrastructure planning and asset management.

Building Information Model (BIM) of our new Discovery Building at Rothera. The image shows a 3D building with curved edges to the roof, and the building wall closest to us has been removed in the image, allowing us to see inside. A communications tower can be seen on top of the building.

A 3D scene on our GIS platform showing building models in geographical context with other mapping layers such as roads, cables and masts. Snow-covered areas and rocky outcrops can be seen outside of the main station area. The roads and paths are shown in red. Part of the runway can be seen on the right.

Reposted by Mapping and Geographic Information Centre

Andrew Fleming @ahfleming.bsky.social · 10d

We’re back from en excellent meeting at the annual International Ice Charting Working Group meeting in Tromsø. Lots of lively discussion, catching up with colleagues and we presented @bas.ac.uk work on AI for sea ice information plus the Ice Logistics Portal (www.icelogistics.info).

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 13d

We've been using recent satellite imagery to update the @scar-antarctic.bsky.social Antarctic Digital Database coastline, in preparation for a new version of our 'Adelaide Island and Arrowsmith Peninsula' map. It's important to update this data, to track changes and portray the current conditions.

A satellite image of Skog Bay and the fronts of Murphy and Wilkinson glaciers in Graham Land, Antarctic Peninsula. There is a red line showing the previous coastline, and a blue line showing the newly updated line. The date of the image is 11th Feb. 2025.

A satellite image of Hanusse Bay, NE Adelaide Island, and small islands including Weertman Island. There is a red line showing the previous coastline, and a blue line showing the newly updated line. The date of the image is 25th Jan. 2025.

A satellite image of SW Adelaide Island, just north of Cape Adriasola. Small icebergs can be seen floating in the water. There is a red line showing the previous coastline, and a blue line showing the newly updated line. The date of the image is 10th Feb. 2025.

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 19d

Efe outlined his work on:
- Updating Antarctic topographic datasets
- Testing geospatial foundation deep learning models for rock outcrop segmentation
- Creating metadata records for historical maps

We’ve loved having his fresh perspective & energy on the team. Best of luck for the future, Efe!
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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 19d

Our GIS Intern, @a-efe.bsky.social, is finishing his 12-week internship at @bas.ac.uk today. We want to say a big thank you for his fantastic contributions during this time with MAGIC!

Yesterday, Efe gave a final presentation to the team showcasing his work.

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Efe presenting his work to other members of MAGIC who are all stood or sat around a large white table.

Efe presenting a slide titled "Antarctic Digital Database Task", showing an updated area of coastline.

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 19d

A few of our favourite maps include:

* Bedmap3, showing Antarctica beneath the ice: data.bas.ac.uk/maps/bedmap3

* A beautiful map of Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard: data.bas.ac.uk/maps/2035

* and this map of the Arctic: data.bas.ac.uk/maps/1015

Read more at: www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/e...

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Bedmap3 - Bed topography of Antarctica

These maps showcase Bedmap3, the latest suite of gridded products describing the surface elevation, ice-thickness and the seafloor and subglacial bed elevation of Antarctica south of 60°S.

data.bas.ac.uk

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 19d

We are so pleased to announce the official launch of the new BAS Map Catalogue 🎉🗺

The catalogue contains open access topographic, thematic and geological maps, as well as full details on where to purchase our professionally printed published maps.

Have a look for yourselves at bas.ac.uk/maps!

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British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · 20d

🗺️NEW: BAS Map Catalogue is live!

Explore Antarctica and the Arctic through our collection of professional maps. Perfect for educators, adventurers, and polar enthusiasts. Many available on open licence for free download. #PolarMaps #Antarctica

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 27d

These awards are extremely competitive, with world-leading cartographic organisations entering multiple categories each year. We received Highly Commended and Commended awards, showing the value and importance of the work we carry out mapping the Polar Regions!

A photo of 7 people stood holding certificates. These people were recognised in the Stanfords Printed Map category, and work for HarperCollins publishers and Esri, amongst another organisations. Photo credit: British Geological Survey.

Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 27d

We're very happy to share that three of our maps received awards at the @bcsmaps.bsky.social Annual Conference last week! Our Alexander Island and Bedmap3 maps were recognised in the Printed Mapping category, and our Ice Logistics Portal (www.icelogistics.info) in the Electronic Mapping category 🏆🎉

2 members of MAGIC are stood in front of a large geological map (William Smith's map) covering England, Wales and part of Scotland. The people are holding three certificates.

A photo showing some of the maps that were entered into the awards. Our topographic map of Alexander Island can be seen at the front left of the image, and Bedmap3 can be seen at the back right.

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · 29d

We've recently been testing our new laser scanner, acquired this year to enable accurate scanning of our facilities. It’s capturing in 3D now! MAGIC supports BIM modelling in Antarctica, where buildings will be scanned into point clouds to record detailed features - not even a socket will be missed.

The new laser scanner placed outside on some grass.

A panorama of a scan output inside one of our workshops. A yellow glider can be seen on the floor.

A panorama of a scan output inside one of our workshops. Some poster stands can be seen on the left, as well as a glider on the right.

Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · Sep 4

A couple of our team are attending the @bcsmaps.bsky.social 2025 annual conference taking place at @bgs.ac.uk today and yesterday.
It has been a fascinating few days so far and it’s great to see our maps displayed for the awards ceremony later today! #carto2025

A selection of the printed maps displayed for the awards ceremony.

A person presenting a slide titled ‘From peat to people - geological mapping at the British Geological Survey’

A person presenting a slide titled ‘advancing noise modelling with data science and fme enabled automations’

An image of a very large paper map. The map is William Smith’s geological map, often referred to as Britain's first geological map.

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · Sep 3

Our new Geomatics Surveyor in the team is attending Pre-Deployment Training this week as he will soon be travelling to Rothera Research Station, Antarctica!
Everyone travelling to the Polar Regions with BAS must attend this vital training to make sure we are all safe when deployed. ⛑️❄️

A person looking at 2 posters during a training session. One is titled ‘Rothera Research Station’ and the other one ‘Mapping and Geographic Information Centre’.

Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · Sep 2

Iceberg A23A is currently located north of South Georgia & over the weekend has fragmented into a several large pieces. While these individual icebergs are large & may get new names, they may be short lived as further breakup is now likely as currents push them all further north into warmer waters.

A satellite image from 1st Sep. showing the island of South Georgia covered in snow and ice, and iceberg A23A lying about 65 km to the north. There are many clouds in the image. The berg remains as one large piece, with multiple smaller fragments around its edge. The largest fragment is still 35 km in length. A scale bar is shown in the bottom right corner, and a credit statement saying "Copernicus Sentinel-3 imagery acquired 1st Sep. 2025".

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · Aug 19

@bas.ac.uk hosts 'Pre-Deployment Training' each year, for those going to Antarctica. Everyone attending receives a couple of maps in their pack and we've been busy printing and collecting up these maps ready for the event! Nothing beats a map to help orient people for their exciting adventure ahead.

A small selection of the maps being prepared for Pre-Deployment Training (PDT) at BAS. There are maps of Bird Island, Thatcher Peninsula, Signy Island, the Antarctic Peninsula, and the Brunt Ice Shelf, amongst others. Some of the maps have nice scenery photos on their front cover.

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · Aug 8

We're almost ready to formally launch our new Map Catalogue, containing a mixture of interesting & useful polar maps! 🗺️

Are there any small maps or graphics that you'd love to see available online? Any of your favourite locations that you've never managed to find a good map of? Let us know!

A mosaic of 6 maps covering different areas in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. The maps have all got a similar style, with blue ocean and white land.

Reposted by Mapping and Geographic Information Centre

British Antarctic Survey 🐧 @bas.ac.uk · Aug 5

Same island, new map (and new discoveries!) 🗺️

The Mapping and Geographic Information Centre (@magic.bas.ac.uk) and Geology Team have produced new maps of Alexander Island in Antarctica – the first update in 40 years!

Map of Alexander Island showing the island geology.

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · Aug 5

Alexander Island is home to stunning landscapes, captured here in these Sentinel-2 satellite images.
We produced brand new topographic data for the region, including recently updated coastlines & spot height data for over 900 peaks! See more about the map: data.bas.ac.uk/maps/alexander-island

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A satellite image of the Fossil Bluff region on Alexander Island. Rocky outcrops can be seen in brown, with areas of moraine being moved eastwards (right, in the image) onto the ice shelf. George VI Ice Shelf can be seen, covered in bright blue meltpools.

A satellite image of Ganymede Heights and Ablation Valley on Alexander Island. Rocky outcrops can be seen in brown. The ice-covered Ablation Lake can be seen in a large valley, near the top of the image. George VI Ice Shelf can be seen in the east/right, covered in bright blue meltpools.

A satellite image of some of the highest peaks on Alexander Island. The image is white and largely snow-covered, with small areas of rock outcrop visible in some areas. The image labels 5 mountains, including Mount Hall at 3078 metres tall (the highest mountain on the island).

Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · Aug 5

📢 New Map Alert 🗺️

We have produced new maps of Alexander Island, along with the geology team here at @bas.ac.uk! These 1:500 000 scale maps cover the second largest uninhabited island in the world at a level of detail never before seen. See the full story here: www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/t...

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A topographic map of Alexander Island, Antarctica. The bathymetry depths are shown in varying shades of cyan. Ice shelves are shown in light grey. The land is white, with a hillshade detailing some of the terrain. A large information panel can be seen to the right of the main map, with information text and further small maps and satellite images.

A geological map of Alexander Island. Open water is blue, ice shelves are grey, and a variety of bright colours are used on land to represent the geology. A large information panel can be seen to the right of the main map, with a detailed legend regarding the geology colours, and a long reference list.

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · Aug 1

Made primarily of polystyrene they weigh just 1.6 kg on take-off, but despite this they are capable of operating in the stronger winds we experience down in the Antarctic with a maximum continuous wind limit of 17 m/s. In fact, yesterday we clocked a top ground speed of >63 mph!

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A photo of a man launching the ebee UAV in a grassy field. There are trees in the distance and white fluffy clouds in a blue sky.

A photo of 2 men, one of them holding an ebee UAV, in a grassy field. There are trees in the distance and white fluffy clouds in a blue sky.

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · Aug 1

MAGIC was out test flying our eBee VISION platforms in advance of the upcoming Antarctic field season this week. The eBee VISION UAVs can fly for 90 minutes and operate up to 20 km from the pilot. Here's a short clip of one of them in action! 🛩️

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Mapping and Geographic Information Centre @magic.bas.ac.uk · Jul 31

Come and join BAS, working with both MAGIC and the Wildlife from Space Team!

We are looking for an expert in ecological remote sensing with experience of spectral analysis to support our Darwin Plus South Georgia Seabird project. 🐦🦤
bas.ciphr-irecruit.com/applicants/v...

A photo of albatross. Mountains can be seen in the background, with water in between. Photo credit: BAS.

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