SCAR Instabilities and thresholds in Antarctica (INSTANT) Conference 2023
Registration and Abstract submission are now open and the deadline for submissions and ECR travel grant applications is 3 April.
What is SCAR?
Scar is "The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research" and is an organisation of the International Science Council (ISC). "SCAR is charged with initiating, developing and coordinating high quality international scientific research in the Antarctic region (including the Southern Ocean), and on the role of the Antarctic region in the Earth system."
SCAR is the official partner of The INStabilities & Thresholds in ANTarctica (INSTANT) Scientific Research Programme.
What is INSTANT?
"INSTANT aims to quantify the Antarctic ice sheet contribution to past to future sea-level change, from improved understanding of atmosphere, ocean and solid Earth interactions and feedbacks, so that decision-makers can better anticipate and assess the risk in order to manage and adapt to sea-level rise and evaluate mitigation pathways.
This international conference aims to bring together researchers across the geophysical, biological and social sciences interested in understanding the interactions between the ocean, atmosphere, solid Earth and the Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) and their global consequences."
INSTANT invites "leading and emerging experts, and early career researchers (ECRs) from modelling, paleoclimate, observation, process, and humanities & social science communities to present and discuss in plenary the state of the science and critical knowledge gaps. We also invite perspectives from the stakeholder and practitioner communities, and will discuss the best practices in communication and engagement."
Information about the conference
The conference will be taking place from 11-14 September in Trieste, Italy.
"The priority focus of the conference will be on improving knowledge of the key rate- determining processes, instabilities and potential irreversibilities that affect the mass change of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and its contribution to past, present and future global sea-level. We invite leading and emerging experts, as well as early career researchers (ECRs), from modellers to observationalists, to present and discuss the state of the science and critical knowledge gaps. We also invite perspectives from the stakeholder and practitioner communities, and will discuss best practices in communication and engagement."
There will be many talks and workshops relevant to CLIVASH2k and PAGES2k.
The PAGES 2k Network is a long-running PAGES initiative which studies past global changes of the last 2000 years.
Under the 2k Network banner, there are a number of active projects, including:
- ARAMATE (The reconstruction of ecosystem and climate variability in the north Atlantic region)
- CLIM-ARCH-DATE (Integration of high-res climate archives with archaeological and documentary evidence)
- CLIVASH2k (Climate variability in Antarctica and Southern Hemisphere in the past 2000 years)
- Iso2k (A global synthesis of Common Era hydroclimate using water isotopes)
- MULTICHRON (Constraining modeled multidecadal climate variability in the Atlantic using proxies derived from marine bivalve shells and coralline algae)
- PALEOLINK (The missing link in the Past – Downscaling paleoclimatic Earth System Models)
The conference is also relevant to PAGES endorsed and affiliated groups such as:
DEEPICE (Research and training network on understanding Deep icE corE Proxies to Infer past antarctiC climatE dynamics)
ICYS (Ice Core Young Scientists)
IODP (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program)
IPICS (International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences)
Plenary sessions at the conference include:
- Advances and knowledge gaps in Atmosphere-Ocean-Antarctic Ice Sheet interactions
- Advances and knowledge gaps in Solid Earth-Antarctic Ice Sheet interactions
- Integrating knowledge for improved understanding of Antarctic Ice Sheet contribution to sea-level projections
- Mini Symposium - Melting ice and rising seas: telling stories, engaging audiences, and planning for the future
Travel grants
There are a limited number of travel grants supported by the conference sponsors (WCRP and Clic) to participate.
"Grants may cover part or all of the travel costs associated with participating in the conference. Applications will be considered only upon abstract submission.
Eligible categories:
- Master students & PhD candidates: Applicants should be currently enrolled in a Master or a PhD program
- ECR: Those who have obtained a PhD within 7 years of application. The 7-year period excludes career breaks due to parental leave, health issues, etc.
- Applicants from regions currently under-represented in INSTANT, e.g. South America, Asia, Africa"
> Go to the event website
> More about registering
> Abstract submission