University of Canterbury symposium to look at the future of the Antarctic
January 11, 2015

A University of Canterbury postgraduate symposium will later this month raise issues relating to crucial decisions which will impact on the future of the Antarctic.

The January event run by the university’s Gateway Antarctica involves international and domestic postgraduate student presentations on their research into Antarctic issues as part of the postgraduate certificate in Antarctic studies.

The students spent a fortnight in Antarctica over the summer supported by Antarctica New Zealand, where they undertook a number of field projects, including environmental monitoring for Antarctica New Zealand.

Their presentations at the January symposium will draw on their Antarctic experiences but will largely build on the theoretical work the students undertook on four pressing issues related to Antarctic governance, science, logistics and communications.

One group of students - Bridget McNeill, Hannah Udell, Lorna Thurston and Michael Knott - will outline what the future will look like for the frozen continent over the next five to 10 years and also long term, up to 50 years from now. They question whether the existing governance regime will last and whether the 1959 Antarctic Treaty will remain relevant in the next few decades.

Another group - Courtney Burn, Florence Thame, Faye Richards and Gail Route – will assess what can be done to improve the process and outcomes of the first Antarctic and Southern Ocean Horizon Scan, which was initiated by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) to identify the most important scientific questions that will or should be addressed by research in and from the southern Polar Regions over the next two decades.

Given the wide range of high quality research on climate change undertaken in the Antarctic, a third group of Canterbury students will ask why society is failing to garner appropriate responses from politicians and the public.

Emma Kelman, Marcus Arnold, Nicholas Lowther and Serena Schroeter will discuss whether Antarctic science should acquire additional resources, or divert existing resources, to engage other disciplines that may allow more traction on the societal-¬political aspects of climate change.

A fourth and final group - Ben Schroeter, Clive Phillips, James Stone, and Marcus Curie – will highlight issues relating to Antarctic infrastructure, which has been used in the Antarctic to some extent to bolster state interests through presence on the continent.

Considering that Antarctic science is still dominated by a 'boots-on-the ground' tradition requiring a large amount of resources and physical presence, the students will ask what is being done to share costs between operations and float the possibility of an international science station to reduce the human footprint.

The University of Canterbury has had dozens of experts and postgraduate students researching on the ice over summer.

ENDS

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