Skip navigation


You are in:  Home » Horizon Scanning

A View beyond the Horizon: Future Directions in Antarctic Science

2nd Round - Community-wide Solicitation of Scientific Questions

What will the portfolio of international Antarctic and Southern Ocean science be in 2035?

Community response to the 1st Round Solicitation of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Science Questions generated more than 750 questions that the community believes will be important in Antarctic science over the next two decades. The responses were representative of the breadth and depth of modern Antarctic science and cover important research questions in the life sciences, geosciences, physical sciences, and social sciences and the humanities (as defined by SCAR and its subsidiary group topics).

In order for the "1st SCAR Antarctic and Southern Ocean Science Horizon Scan" to attain its goal of a collective vision of future directions in Antarctic science beyond present strategic planning efforts, the community is challenged to pose additional questions that extrapolate from current knowledge and understanding of the southern polar regions and reasonable short-term (next 10 years) expectations for advances. By design, a Horizon Scan aims to move the community toward a longer-term vision that will inform decision-making in the interim to ensure that the loftiest of goals will be attained by planning now for requirements many years (two decades) in the future.

This 2nd Round request for scientific questions encourages the community to take a few minutes to think about what is ideally attainable in the long-term, setting aside questions of resources and other barriers that may challenge a broader, imaginative scientific agenda for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. If the community presents a clear vision of the future and how to get there, the necessary investments can be more convincingly argued for in the global competition of ideas. A coherent and compelling vision of where the community sees its future is critical for convincing those that control and allocate limited resources that this is a wise and justifiable investment that will tangibly address society-relevant needs and significantly advance human knowledge and understanding of the planet we live on.

This next step will embellish the Round 1 question database that will be considered by the assembled experts and visionaries at the Science Horizon Scan Retreat in 2014. Additional considerations beyond those described in the first round (see "What makes a compelling scientific question" below) are intended to focus this next and final round of scientific question solicitation on the more distant future.

What makes a compelling scientific question?

Characteristics of ideal questions include:
  • Posed as a question.
  • Clearly worded.
  • Simple and concise.
  • Captures the essence of a complex idea.
  • Addressable by a research programme.
  • Highlights a long range goal.
  • Requires substantial new knowledge.
  • Fills a gap in current knowledge.

Further details of the "SCAR Antarctic Science Horizon Scan" can be found at: http://www.scar.org/horizonscanning/

In formulating futuristic-oriented questions, the organisers ask that you review the questions submitted during the 1st Round in your area of expertise or interests. 2nd Round scientific questions should be those that:

  1. will not realistically be addressed in the short-term (the next ten years),
  2. are reasonable extrapolations from current knowledge or knowledge likely to be obtained in the short-term (the next ten years),
  3. address issues or processes that require sustained efforts and/or observations for more than a decade,
  4. take into account what a rapidly changing planet will look like in 2035, and/or
  5. will require new technologies currently under-development that may be available in the next decade or so.

To use a well-worn phrase, the community is asked to "think-out-of-the-box" and pose questions that stretch the imagination and suggest emerging frontiers that potentially be addressed by the next generation of scientists and researchers in 2035!

Please, do not repeat scientific questions submitted in Round 1!

The deadline for submitting questions to Round 2 is Friday 11 October 2013.

Sponsors

The Scan organisers wish to recognise the financial support of the following organisations:

The Tinker Foundation Antarctica New Zealand New Zealand Antarctic Research Institute SCAR Logo of the National Institute of Polar Research, Japan Logo of the Korea Polar Research Institute

Logo of the British Antarctic Survey

Contacts

If you have any questions or wish for more details, please contact a member of the Horizon Scan International Steering Committee, especially a member from your own country or region. If you have any feedback regarding the usage or any content of the online forms, please contact Renuka Badhe (email rb302@cam.ac.uk).

The Horizon Scan process is based on inclusive, community-wide consultations led and managed by SCAR. Horizon Scan organizers invite all interested parties and individuals to participate throughout the process. No formal association with SCAR is necessary and the intent is to develop as broad a view as possible of future directions in Antarctic and Southern Ocean science, regardless of the source and/or affiliation of contributors. Not only do we want everyone to participate, your participation is essential for ensuring the credibility of the outcomes of the Horizon Scan.

Results of the 1st Round Scientific Questions

Background to 1st Antarctic and Southern Ocean Science Horizon Scan