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Results of the 1st Round Community-wide Solicitation of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Scientific Questions
SCAR has embarked on a unique and exciting project to identify the most important and compelling questions in Antarctic and Southern Ocean science in the next two decades. A collective, community-based vision of the highest priority, most compelling scientific questions will be developed to assist in strategic planning; influence future directions in Antarctic research; highlight opportunities for collaborations and synergies; identify future critical infrastructure, logistical, and technological needs; and inform international decisions about investments in the Antarctic scientific enterprise. The Science Horizon Scan is also a community-building opportunity.
The 1st Round community-wide solicitation of scientific questions was opened on 15 May 2013 and closed 14 June 2013. Question submitters were asked to develop questions of importance to global issues and/or questions grounded in curiosity-driven research capitalizing on the unique setting of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Questions supported by observations from Antarctica because of its singular characteristics were also solicited. Questions must be addressable by research in the southern Polar Regions or where studies in Antarctica provide insights not attainable elsewhere.
The organizing committee was pleased with the community response of 751 questions from 351 submitters from 38 countries! It is appreciated that so many took the time to participate in this important activity. The questions reflected the geographic, gender and disciplinary diversity of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean scientific community. The complete (unedited) questions and the demographic and topical distributions of submitted questions can be viewed at:
The organizers are in the process of creating lists sorted by topic to easily access those questions of greatest interest to you.
Next Steps
The success of the Scan process and the validity of the outcomes will be critically dependent on the participation of the international Antarctic scientific community. The organizing committee is committed to providing multiple, substantive opportunities for you to contribute your ideas and suggestions.
The next steps in the process will provide additional opportunities for you to participate and will be launched in the next several weeks including:
- Community-wide solicitation of nominees for invitation to the Horizon Scan Retreat that will be convened in April 2014. The Retreat will be "Invitation Only" and limited to 50 – 60 participants, due to financial constraints and manageability issues. The organizing committee will conduct a democratic process to narrow the list of invitees so your input about who you see as leaders and visionaries is crucial. Projected launch: 12 July 2013.
- 2nd Community-Wide Solicitation of Scientific Questions – this will be a targeted solicitation based on analysis of gaps, disciplinary representativeness, geographic distribution, and inclusion. A challenge will be to "think-outside-of-the box" and truly gaze into the future to discern what Antarctic and Southern Ocean science will look like in 20 years. The Horizon Scan process will cull questions that are narrowly focused, can be reasonably expected to be addressed in the short-term (next 10 years), and are too general in nature to propose doable scientific projects and programmes. Projected launch: August 2013.
- The organizing committee is contemplating a community-wide survey to identify the collective view of the most important Antarctic and Southern Ocean scientific questions. Your opinion of the usefulness of such a survey is welcomed. Projected launch: To be determined.
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