Impact
The Platform is assisting our research partners and end-users to assess the impact of change on Antarctica and New Zealand.
Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are fundamentally important to the global climate system, and have an important influence on New Zealand’s climate. By improving understanding of key processes, attributing change and reducing uncertainty in future predictions, our research will inform global, regional and local consequences of environmental change.
Pathways to Impact
Targeted Platform research is filling knowledge gaps, in order to:
- advance our understanding of Antarctica’s impact on the global earth system
- determine how this might change in a +2°C (Paris Agreement) world
- support evidence-based decision-making and influence policy
Our stakeholders include governmental policy makers, international scientific and policy bodies, local council planners and environmental managers, engineers, economists, insurers, researchers, Māori, and the general public. We are engaging with stakeholders to inform research design and communicate results, both in New Zealand and internationally.
The Platform has established two expert groups to accelerate uptake of our research, and ensure it is fit-for-purpose. The Modelling and Future Projections Expert Group is providing policy-ready projections for stakeholders, while the Policy Interface Working Group is connecting Antarctic policy makers and researchers.
New Data & Information
Examples of research outputs include:
- Identify thresholds for irreversible loss of marine-based ice
- Distinguish between natural-and human-induced change
- Determine how oceanic and atmospheric processes influence the cryosphere
- Reveal structure and dynamics of Ross Sea region ecosystems
- Establish implications of regional climate change on biological systems
- Understand impacts of ice sheet melt on sea-ice, biological systems, global ocean circulation and climate
- Reduce uncertainty in sea-level rise predictions and future climate scenarios
- Inform New Zealand’s Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area monitoring strategy
