Our Science, Your Future: Next generation of Antarctic scientists call for collaborative action

Organisation/s: Australian Antarctic Program Partnership (AAPP)

Media release

From: University of Tasmania

A statement from early-career researchers at the Australian Antarctic Research Conference, Hobart, 18-22 November 2024

The inaugural Australian Antarctic Research Conference has provided an essential platform for early-career researchers to discuss the climate emergency and its profound impacts on Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, which are radiating around the planet. Early-career researchers are urging greater attention to this region, which plays a critical role in regulating Earth’s climate and is vital to our future, yet often overlooked in public discussion and policy making. We believe that Antarctic and Southern Ocean science should be central to informing climate policy.

The conference highlighted the richness of cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary collaborations, with more than 450 polar scientists joining forces from around Australia, two-thirds of which are early-career, often younger researchers.

Early-career researchers will initiate more opportunities to engage with industry and government, emphasising that securing Antarctica’s future is a community effort. Antarctica’s conservation is both Australia’s responsibility and an asset to Australia’s economy and national security. There is a need to remain involved not only in global conservation efforts but also to be a lead agent. Efforts to slow down climate change through coordinated global action are paramount to protect the future of Australia, Antarctica, and our planet.

Nowhere on Earth is there a greater cause of uncertainty in sea-level rise projections than from East Antarctica, in Australia’s backyard. The East Antarctic Ice Sheet alone holds enough water to raise global sea levels by approximately 50 metres if completely melted. Implications for our coastal cities and infrastructure are immense. It is in the best interest of Australia and the world that our researchers understand how much and how fast the ice sheet will continue changing. Predicting how much this region will contribute to sea-level rise is critical to the welfare of the global community.

The services of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica — oceanic carbon sink and planetary air-conditioner — have been taken for granted. Global warming-induced shifts observed in the region are immense. Recent research has shown record-low sea ice, extreme heatwaves exceeding 40°C above average temperatures, and increased instability around key ice shelves. Shifting ecosystems on land and at sea underscore this sensitive region’s rapid and unprecedented transformations. Runaway ice loss causing rapid and catastrophic sea-level rise is possible within our lifetimes. Whether such irreversible tipping points have already passed is unknown.

Our societies must set and meet targets to ‘bend the carbon curve’ as quickly as possible. Failure to rapidly reduce emissions — every year and every tonne — commits actual and future generations to greater sea-level rise. Our new generation of researchers is committed to resolving these crises and sees an opportunity for us all to engage in forward-looking societal projects. Every fraction of a degree matters.

The conference was jointly sponsored by the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership (AAPP), the ARC Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS), Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF) and the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD).