[I] Facilitation of Internationally Collaborative Antarctic Research

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Special session: [S] Future plan of Antarctic research: Towards phase X of the Japanese Antarctic Research Project (2022-2028) and beyond, Tue. 3 Dec. / 2F Auditorium, National Institute of Polar Researc

Icebreaking polar class research vessels: New Antarctic fleet capabilities

Supporting Antarctic scientific investigation is the job of the national Antarctic programmes, the government entities charged with delivering their countries’ Antarctic research strategies. This requires sustained investment in people, innovative technologies, Antarctic infrastructures, and vessels with icebreaking capabilities. The recent endorsement of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Polar Code (2015) means that countries must address challenges related to an ageing icebreaking vessel fleet. Many countries have recently invested in and begun, or completed, builds on new icebreaking Polar research vessels. These vessels incorporate innovative technologies to increase fuel efficiency, to reduce noise output, and to address ways to protect the Antarctic environment in their design. This paper is a result of a Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) project on new vessel builds which began in 2018. It considers the recent vessel builds of Australia’s RSV Nuyina, China’s MV Xue Long 2, France’s L’Astrolabe, Norway’s RV Kronprins Haakon, Peru’s BAP Carrasco, and the United Kingdom’s RRS Sir David Attenborough. The paper provides examples of purposeful consideration of science support requirements and environmental sustainability in vessel designs and operations

Sustained Antarctic Research: A 21st Century Imperative

The view from the south is, more than ever, dominated by ominous signs of change. Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are intrinsic to the Earth system, and their evolution is intertwined with and influences the course of the Anthropocene. In turn, changes in the Antarctic affect and presage humanity's future. Growing understanding is countering popular beliefs that Antarctica is pristine, stable, isolated, and reliably frozen. An aspirational roadmap for Antarctic science has facilitated research since 2014. A renewed commitment to gathering further knowledge will quicken the pace of understanding of Earth systems and beyond. Progress is already evident, such as addressing uncertainties in the causes and pace of ice loss and global sea-level rise. However, much remains to be learned. As an iconic global “commons,” the rapidity of Antarctic change will provoke further political action. Antarctic research is more vital than ever to a sustainable future for this One Earth

The legal implications of bioprospecting in the Antarctic region

The term ‘bioprospecting’ was only coined within the past few decades. Today, it is still difficult to find consensus on its legal meaning. What it appears to represent is the range of activities associated with searching for, discovering and researching unique biodiversity for any potential commercial applications. The polar regions are likely sources of such uniqueness. This is what attracts bioprospectors, as polar biodiversity often contain genes, molecules or compounds, that once isolated and assessed, can be developed into a product or process of commercial value in the fields of agriculture, medicine, aquiculture, cosmetics, and pharmacy to name only a few. Bioprospecting in the Antarctic presents similar challenges to bioprospecting carried out anywhere else in the world. It also, however, carries with it unique challenges and implications specific to the Antarctic region. Bioprospecting has been underway in the Antarctic since the mid 1980s, within the context of National Antarctic programmes. Little formal debate, however, has taken place within the Antarctic Treaty System, the legal regime which governs the region. This thesis investigates the unique legal implications that bioprospecting has for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Antarctic bioprospecting also carries with it environmental and ethical implications. These will only be briefly discussed, but they too, carry with them legal obligations which are important in the context of the Antarctic. The principle legal obligations are contained within the Antarctic Treaty; being the use of the area for peaceful purposes only, freedom of scientific investigation including the free availability of scientific observations and results, and the ‘frozen’ but unresolved sovereignty situation that prevails while the Antarctic Treaty is in force. Sovereignty considerations are particularly important when considering resource utilization and benefit-sharing from such utilization. Beyond the Antarctic Treaty, there exist international legal instruments which carry with them other obligations that cannot be ignored. Avoiding conflicts with these international instruments must also be a fundamental consideration in any Antarctic bioprospecting regulation. The extent of these legal obligations, and their implications for bioprospecting, is the focus of this thesis. The thesis will explore these obligations and then investigate the possible future of bioprospecting in the Antarctic. Bioprospecting appears to be the latest challenge to the half century old Antarctic Treaty System. Each new challenge seems to prompt a call to investigate the system itself. So that every challenge has the possibility of altering or collapsing the system that appears to have worked extremely well in the past

COMNAP EXCOM Meeting 2011

Council of Managers of National Antarctic Program (COMNAP) EXCOM Meeting 2011, 17-18 October 2011, Barcelona, SpainPeer Reviewe

European Polar research : status and challenges of European Polar fleet for enhancing strategic collaboration

Polar Regions are the most vulnerable world areas to any climate change, and therefore can be considered drivers of global climate change, so small and systematic changes in the Polar Regions affect critically the global environment. This is particularly worrying for Europe and the Arctic due to ocean circulation interaction between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans whose outcome is already producing significant climate anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere. Many European countries support polar research, not only in the Arctic but also in Antarctica, and in fact many European polar research programs have a two-pole perspective. However Europe lacks sufficient marine technological platforms to meet the challenges posed today in marine polar research

Complete atrioventricular canal in a dog

Boron (B) has many beneficial functions in biological, metabolic and physiological processes for plants and animals. It plays a vital role in maintaining animal health and preventing nutritional disorders. Boron deficiency has been correlated with low immune function and high incidence of osteoporosis which increases mortality risk. Extraordinary boron level causes cell damage and toxicity in human and different animal species. In the past few years, attention has been paid to clear the pleiotropic effects of boron including activating of immune response, antioxidant detoxification activities, affecting bone metabolism, enhancing animal performance and modulating various body systems. Furthermore, the role of boron as anti-heat stress agent has been identified in plants and suggested in animals. Liver metabolism also shows significant alterations in dairy cows in response to the dietary supplementation of boron. Likewise, adding boron to animal feed enhances bone density, wound healing and embryonic development. Additionally, boron has a potential impact on the metabolism of numerous minerals and enzymes. In view of the information about boron benefits, high or low level boron merits the concern. As well, researches are required to do more in-depth investigations on boron influences, and to adjust its requirements in different animal specie