The Living Planet Symposium 2025 (LPS25), organised by the European Space Agency (ESA), took place from 23-27 June 2025 in Vienna, Austria. The event brought together scientists, space agencies, and decision-makers from around the world to explore the future of Earth observation and its role in tackling global environmental challenges.
One of the key takeaways from the sea ice and snow sessions was the urgent need for more validation data—particularly regarding snow properties in polar regions.
In this context, Stefanie Arndt participated as a representative and one of the scientific leads of the Antarctica InSync initiative, emphasizing its role as a major international effort to coordinate and strengthen Antarctic research.
Her team made several valuable contributions to the sessions on sea ice and snow:
Nina Maaß shared her “detective work” improving the SNOWPACK model using data from buoy trajectories.
Daria Paul presented vertical snow characteristic profiles, crucial for interpreting satellite signals.
Anton Birkedal shared new insights on snow-to-ice-thickness ratios, revealing consistent patterns across different sea ice regimes in the Weddell Sea.
Finally, Stefanie Arndt gave an overview of snow depth measurements collected in the Weddell Sea, highlighting the challenges related to spatial and temporal scaling.
Beyond these scientific contributions, Stefanie also underscored the importance of Antarctica InSync, which was featured in ESA’s session on the future of Polar Science Clusters, as a platform for advancing more integrated and transformative polar science.
This participation highlights Antarctica InSync’s strong commitment to advancing our understanding of the Antarctic region, fostering international collaboration, and integrating satellite and in situ data to address pressing global climate and ecosystem challenges.
