In a Nature Comment out today (20 July 2017), John Turner, Chair of SCAR’s Antarctic Climate Change and Environment Expert Group, and colleague Josefino Comiso “call for a coordinated push to crack the baffling rise and fall of sea ice around Antarctica.” The authors put forward some questions that are important keys to increasing our understanding of and ability to predict changes in Antarctic sea ice and suggest efforts that could help answer them.
The paper also goes on to mention the need for more coordination: “Some gaps in our knowledge can be filled through nationally funded research. More demanding cross-disciplinary work must be supported through international collaboration. Leading the way are organizations such as the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research, the World Climate Research Programme’s Climate and Cryosphere project and the Past Global Changes project. But essential work remains to be done, including: more detailed model comparisons and assessments; more research cruises; and the continuity and enhancement of satellite observing programmes relevant to sea ice. These organizations should partner with funding agencies to make that happen.”
The paper is open access and can be downloaded here: http://go.nature.com/2tjeebi
Turner, J and J Comiso. Solve Antarctica’s sea-ice puzzle. Nature 547, 275–277 (20 July 2017) doi:10.1038/547275a