The Antarctic Treaty, considered to be one of the most successful achievements of the international community, was signed on 1st December 1959. To commemorate this day the international polar community celebrates Antarctica Day on the 1st December every year.
To celebrate Antarctica Day 2022, there are a number of events taking place within SCAR and the wider community. Have a look of a selection below. We will add to this list as more information becomes available.
Our future depends on us – Animation highlights impacts of climate change on Antarctica
Earlier this year, SCAR worked with scientists across the globe to produce the Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment Decadal Synopsis (ACCE). The report provides a summary of a decade’s worth of research, and its eight chapters leave little room for doubt: The continent is warming, and so is its surrounding Southern Ocean. Climate change is having significant impacts on Antarctica’s ice sheets, climate and life, with far-reaching global consequences. The ACCE report provides concise compiled synopses of current understanding, explicit recommendations for actions to address change, and recommendations for additional research. It is key that we understand what these changes mean for both the Antarctic and the rest of the world – and what we can do.
Our new animation summarises the key messages from the report: https://youtu.be/P07sDH-kmw0
You can read the full ACCE report from the SCAR library.
A set of infographics to accompany the report are available from here.
Animation by: Katelyn Beissert
Illustrations by: Laura Philips and Katelyn Beissert
Voiceover by: Cassandra Brooks
2022 Antarctic Fellowships Announced
SCAR, the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) and the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) have marked Antarctica Day by announcing the recipients of this year’s Antarctic Fellowships. We are pleased to announce the 2022 Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation SCAR Fellowship. This is the first SCAR Fellowship to be funded as part of the Polar Initiative. The other SCAR Fellowships will be announced in the coming weeks. Read the full announcement here.
The 2022 Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation SCAR Fellowship is awarded to Hanna Yevchun from the State Institution National Antarctic Scientific Center, Kyiv, Ukraine. She will visit the British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK, for her project entitled “Remotely detecting and mapping biodiversity in Antarctica using VHR satellite and UAV data”. The project aims to assess the effectiveness of different techniques for semi-automatic or automatic mapping of the main Antarctic plant communities, as well as penguin and kelp gull nesting sites. Congratulations, Hanna!
International Symposium on Tropical Antarctic Teleconnections (TATE)
Click here for more information
Tropical Antarctic Teleconnection: Understanding the linkages of climate patterns
In conjunction with the Antarctica Day celebration, on 1 December 2022, Tropical Antarctic Teleconnections (TATE), the action group under Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), will organize an international symposium. The title of the symposium is ‘Tropical Antarctic teleconnection: understanding the linkages of climate patterns.’ Over the last several decades, there has been a significant increase in scientific understanding of influences on the Antarctic climate from the tropics and vice-versa. The importance of the linkage between tropical climate and variability in the high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere (SH), particularly over the Antarctic, has been recognized for decades. This symposium is sponsored by Tropical Antarctic Teleconnections (TATE), and is jointly organized by National Antarctic Research Center, UM-FASS Climate Change Research Group, Universiti Malaya and Sultan Mizan Antarctic Research Foundation (YPASM).
Time and Location: Thursday, 1st December, 9am – 5pm at the Cube, Faculty of Art and Socal Sciences, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia
Public Lecture “A bridge in the sky linking the tropics to climate change in Antarctica”
Speaker: Dr Kyle Clem, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Sponsored by Tropical Antarctic Teleconnections (TATE), and jointly organized by National Antarctic Research Center, UM-FASS Climate Change Research Group, Universiti Malaya and Sultan Mizan Antarctic Research Foundation (YPASM).
Time and Location: Wednesday, 30 November, 10-12pm, Faculty of Art and Socal Sciences, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia.