Researchers on ice? How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Antarctic researchers

The COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic-related measures have impacted the lives and work-related activities of Antarctic researchers. To explore these impacts, we designed, piloted and disseminated an online survey in English, Russian, Spanish and Chinese in late 2020 and early 2021. The survey explored how the pandemic affected the productivity of Antarctic researchers, their career prospects and their mental wellbeing. Findings exposed patterns of inequities. For instance, of the 406 unique responses to the survey, women appeared to have been affected more adversely than men, especially in relation to mental health, and early-career researchers were disadvantaged more than their mid- or late-career colleagues. Overall, a third of the research participants reported at least one major negative impact from the pandemic on their mental health. Approximately half of the participants also mentioned that the COVID-19 pandemic had some positive effects, especially in terms of the advantages that working from home brought and opportunities to attend events, network or benefit from training workshops online. We conclude with a series of recommendations for science administrators and policymakers to mitigate the most serious adverse impacts of the pandemic on Antarctic research communities, with implications for other contexts where scientific activities are conducted under extreme circumstances

Antarctic research at a time of crisis: The impact of COVID-19 on the Antarctic research community

This presentation will share the results of a survey that aimed at understandingthe impact of COVID-19 on the Antarctic research community. Primarilydesigned to identify the most adversely affected Antarctic researchers andgauge what kind of assistance they might need, the survey, which forms partof an interdisciplinary international research programme on the impact of COVID-19 for the Antarctic community more broadly, also examined the longtermimplications of COVID-19 for National Antarctic Programmes.Over 300 Antarctic research community members, most of them academics,participated in the survey. Preliminary results show that the careers of earlycareerresearchers and those heavily reliant on fieldwork are most adverselyaffected by COVID-19. As expected, relief funds and free access to data,especially for those whose field campaigns were cancelled, would moderatethe impact the pandemic has had on researchers to a certain extent. The survey also reveals that COVID-19 resulted in significant adverse impacts onmental health for Antarctic researchers, with the majority of survey participants noting extreme or moderate dissatisfaction with their mental health and significant increases in anxiety and stress levels, all of which needs to be considered when designing strategies for addressing the impact of COVID-19 in the Antarctic community.Fil: Ligget, Daniela. University of Canterbury; Nueva ZelandaFil: Herbert, Andrea. University of Canterbury; Nueva ZelandaFil: Badhe, Renuka. European Polar Board; Países BajosFil: Hudson, Katelyn. Bond University; AustraliaFil: Kelman, Ilan. University College London; Estados UnidosFil: Sang Lee, Won. Korea Polar Research Institute; Corea del SurFil: Lorenzo, Cristian A.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego; ArgentinaFil: Marques Quinteiro, Pedro. Instituto Universitário; PortugalFil: Nash, Meredith. University of Tasmania; AustraliaFil: Navarro, Diego. Korea Polar Research Institute; Corea del SurFil: Nieboer, Miranda. University of Tasmania; AustraliaFil: Pickett, Jennifer. Vrije Unviversiteit Brussel; BélgicaFil: Estenssoro Saavedra, Fernando. Universidad de Santiago de Chile; ChileFil: Yermakova, Yelena. University of Oslo; NoruegaNew Zealand Antarctic Science ConferenceNueva ZelandaUniversity of CanterburyAntarctic Research CentreThe University of WaikatoInternational Centre for Terrestrial Antartic ResearchBodeker ScientficVictoria University of Wellingto

Synthesis Report on the Environmental Impacts of Research and Logistics in the Polar Regions

Polar sciences are crucial to understand the effects of climate change. 6 out of 9 eco-tipping points identified by the IPCC are situated in the polar regions. Potential rising sea levels, altered weather patterns and changes in sea-currents are all connected to environmental change in the polar regions

Shaping Arctic’s Tomorrow through Indigenous Knowledge Engagement and Knowledge Co-Production

This perspective presents a statement of the 10th International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences Indigenous Knowledge and knowledge co-production panel and discussion group, 20 July 2021. The statement is designed to serve as a characterization of the state-of-the-art and guidance for further advancement of Indigenous Knowledge and knowledge co-production in the Arctic. It identifies existing challenges and provides specific recommendations for researchers, Indigenous communities, and funding agencies on meaningful recognition and engagement of Indigenous Knowledge systems

The living infinite: Envisioning futures for transformed human-nature relationships on the high seas

We find ourselves at a critical crossroads for the future governance of the high seas, but the perceived remoteness of the global ocean creates a psychological barrier for people to engage with it. Given challenges of overexploitation, inequitable access and other sustainability and equity concerns, current ocean governance mechanisms are not fit-for-purpose. This decade offers opportunities for direct impact on ocean governance, however, triggering a global transformation on how we use and protect the half of our planet requires a concerted effort that is guided by shared values and principles across regions and sectors. The aim of the series of workshops outlined in this paper, was to undertake a futures thinking process that could use the Nature Futures Framework as a mechanism to bring more transformative energy into how humans conceptualise the high seas and therefore how we aim to govern the ocean. We found that engaging with the future through science fiction narratives allowed a more radical appreciation of what could be and infusing science with artistic elements can inspire audiences beyond academia. Thus, creative endeavours of co-production that promote and encourage imagination to address current challenges should be considered as important tools in the science-policy interface, also as a way to elicit empathetic responses. This workshop series was a first, and hopefully promising, step towards generating a more creative praxis in how we imagine and then act for a better future for the high seas

Southern Ocean Action Plan (2021-2030) in support of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development

In 2017, the United Nations proclaimed a Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (hereafter referred to as the UN Ocean Decade) from 2021 until 2030 to support efforts to reverse the cycle of decline in ocean health. To achieve this ambitious goal, this initiative aims to gather ocean stakeholders worldwide behind a common framework that will ensure ocean science can fully support countries in creating improved conditions for sustainable development of the world’s oceans. The initiative strives to strengthen the international cooperation needed to develop the scientific research and innovative technologies that can connect ocean science with the needs of society at the global scale. Based on the recommendations in the Implementation Plan of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (Version 2.0, July 2021), the Southern Ocean community engaged in a stakeholder - oriented process to develop the Southern Ocean Action Plan. The Southern Ocean process engaged a broad community, which includes the scientific research community, the business and industry sector, and governance and management bodies. As part of this global effort, the Southern Ocean Task Force identified the needs of the Southern Ocean community to address the challenges related to the unique environmental characteristics and governance structure of the Southern Ocean. Through this community-driven process, we identified synergies within the Southern Ocean community and beyond in order to elaborate an Action Plan that provides a framework for Southern Ocean stakeholders to formulate and develop tangible actions and deliverables that support the UN Ocean Decade vision. Through the publication of this Action Plan, the Southern Ocean Task Force aims to mobilise the Southern Ocean community and inspire all stakeholders to seek engagement and leverage opportunities to deliver innovative solutions that maintain and foster the unique conditions of the Southern Ocean. This framework provides an initial roadmap to strengthen links between science, industry and policy, as well as to encourage internationally collaborative activities in order to address existing gaps in our knowledge and data coverage

Polar Data Forum IV – An Ocean of Opportunities

This paper reports on the Hackathon Sessions organised at the Polar Data Forum IV (PDF IV) (20–24 September 2021), during which 351 participants from 50 different countries discussed collaboratively about the latest developments in polar data management. The 4th edition of the PDF hosted lively discussions on (i) best practices for polar data management, (ii) data policy, (ii) documenting data flows into aggregators, (iv) data interoperability, (v) polar federated search, (vi) semantics and vocabularies, (vii) Virtual Research Environments (VREs), and (viii) new polar technologies. This paper provides an overview of the organisational aspects of PDF IV and summarises the polar data objectives and outcomes by describing the conclusions drawn from the Hackathon Sessions

OCEAN:ICE Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy (EDI) (D9.9)

OCEAN:ICE aims to create a collaborative atmosphere that welcomes diversity of thought and allows everyone to thrive, no matter their background or characteristics and uphold excellence in the science that we do together. The present document presents the OCEAN:ICE Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy. The policy is published on the project website and it is a living document

Who’s going where and how? What can they do there? Towards an integrated database for polar logistics and infrastructures: Polardex

10th Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research Open Science Conference (SCAR 2022), 1-10 August 2022As polar research, infrastructure and observing systems come of age, there is increasing interest in sharing information about logistical resources, which in turn makes it possible for the resources themselves to be shared across institutions and nations, facilitating multi-agency collaboration. To support this, Polardex is new online discovery and planning tool for polar infrastructure and logistics. Led by the European Polar Board (EPB), Polardex has been developed by a wide team of partners and with data and information provided by many organisations and projects. Polardex is an evolution of the European Polar Infrastructure Database, combining it with the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) DueSouth database to be an integrated platform for physical infrastructure (field facilities, vessels, aircraft and other assets) and logistics (planned routes, cruises, transects, etc.). Polardex’s modern, cloud-based, serverless technology provides high availability and high performance, with a scalable platform to be made available to the polar communities. This facilitates easy access to search and discovery of polar logistics and infrastructure resources and information, helping to maximise use and international collaboration in Arctic and Antarctic research. This presentation, on behalf of the EPB Action Group on Infrastructure, will introduce Polardex and its features, and outline the process by which it was built and continues to developPeer reviewe