Antarctica InSync is pleased to invite the Antarctic and Southern Ocean research community to actively contribute feedback on a series of Draft White Papers being developed across the initiative’s seven core science themes, in close collaboration with SCAR.
The Draft White Papers are now publicly available, together with an online feedback form designed to gather comments, suggestions, and inputs from across the community.
The current drafts have been developed by volunteer, interdisciplinary teams through a series of scientific exchanges. These included community-wide consultations via dedicated scientific webinars held throughout last year, complemented by an in-person writing and coordination meeting in early November 2025 at the European Space Agency – ESRIN in Frascati (Rome). Since then, the drafts have been further refined through ongoing collaboration among the author teams.
Antarctica InSync warmly welcomes broader community input, which will remain open until 31 January 2026: https://scar.org/scar-news/insync-white-papers
In addition, a follow-up public webinar will take place on 20 and 21 January 2026, providing an opportunity to present the current status of the White Papers, discuss key ideas, receive final feedback, and move toward completion of the documents: https://www.antarctica-insync.org/antarctica-insync-webinars-presentation-and-community-discussion-of-the-draft-white-papers/
Draft White Paper Themes
· An overarching Policy Paper
· Theme 1 – Southern Ocean and Antarctic heat, freshwater, carbon and other elemental cycles, and their response to climate change
· Theme 2 – Rapid sea-ice decline and its interdisciplinary consequences
· Theme 3 – Melting ice sheets and ice shelves, and coastal impacts
· Theme 4 – Improving knowledge and protection of unique Antarctic life: from land to ocean and into the deep sea
· Theme 5 – Anthropogenic signatures in Antarctica: the race against pollution and other pressures
· Theme 6 – Aerosol–cloud interactions and radiative feedbacks
· Theme 7 – Climate variability: from extremes and weather to long-term variability and global teleconnections (coming soon)
· Cross-cutting Theme – Unleashing the potential of Earth Observation to improve monitoring and understanding of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean
Antarctica InSync warmly invites researchers, practitioners, early-career scientists, and interested community members to review the Draft White Papers and provide feedback by 31 January 2026. Your input is essential to shaping a strong, inclusive, and forward-looking scientific framework for Antarctica InSync.
