New Zealand scientists to launch world-leading climate change study in Antarctica

Wednesday, 19 June 2019

The ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland may collapse even if we limit global warming.

An expedition to study the ocean around Antarctica and its impact on climate change has been given the green light.

‘Antarctic ocean mechanics: past, present and future' is a six year programme that will be led by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).

It is one of several long-term Antarctic research projects that will be undertaken by New Zealand scientists following a $26 million investment announced by the Antarctic Science Platform today.

Project leader Dr Craig Stevens said the ice, ocean and atmosphere around Antarctica comprise a very important part of the planet's climate system.

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'Humankind is changing the atmosphere rapidly and our knowledge of previous climatic and oceanic response provides only a partial understanding of the implications of such fast change,” he said.

NIWA will lead a programme to study the ocean around Antarctica and the impact of climate change.

“It is vital we improve our understanding of how this domain works as Antarctica's impact on the global Earth system will largely come through the oceanic transport of heat and other associated materials.”

Stevens said the expedition will explore the impact on ocean circulation if the ice shelves were to melt, among other unresolved questions.

'This project will provide decision-makers and other scientists with a much better understanding of how changes around Antarctica get transferred by the ocean further north, and the feedback loops that return to the south,” he said.

“In order to improve our predictions of the future we need to understand more about these processes and then work out ways to connect the small scales to the large.'

Stevens will lead the project alongside Dr Christina Riesselman from the University of Otago. Researchers from GNS Science, Victoria University and the University of Auckland will also be involved.

Antarctic Science Platform chair Gillian Wratt said she was excited for the future of Antarctic research.

'We are funding world-leading research programmes which will help project sea level rise, predict how the ocean will react to climate change and provide insights that will help make communities around the world more resilient,' she said.

Antarctic Science Platform director associate Professor Nancy Bertler said research will provide a detailed assessment of global consequences of Antarctica's response to warming.

'New Zealand is acknowledged as a leader in this field. This new, coordinated programme builds on decades of frontier research and will support urgent and highly interdisciplinary research, along with new technology, to critically improve future projections,' she said.

In 2018, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment contracted Antarctica New Zealand to host the Antarctic Science Platform.

And $49 million was invested over seven years through the Strategic Science Investment Fund with the aim of exploring issues like climate change.