<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/jan/21/antarctica-melting-ice-shelf-sea-cover-professor-matt-king>
"A leading Antarctic scientist has urged the Albanese government to pay closer
attention to abrupt changes under way in the southern continent, warning they
will affect Australians in ways that are little understood and research into
them is drastically underfunded.
The head of the Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, Prof
Matt King, said he found it embarrassing how little was known about the local
and global ramifications of changes including a historic drop in floating sea
ice cover, the accelerating melting of giant ice sheets and the slowing of a
deep ocean current known as the Southern Ocean overturning circulation.
King said they were likely to affect temperature and rainfall patterns across
Australia in different ways – changes that could transform communities and
affect the viability of some agricultural industries – and hasten sea level
rise along the coast.
He said Australia dedicated only tens of millions of dollars a year to work on
the continent and much of that went to building and maintaining ships and
stations, not research. An Antarctic cargo ship can cost more than $40m.
King said the allocation of funding was small in the context of the $680bn
federal budget and did not reflect the continent’s importance.
“We need a champion in cabinet who can drive forward a multi-decadal agenda in
the Antarctic,” King said. “Perhaps one of the weaknesses is that Antarctica is
seen as an environmental problem, but it is an all-of-government problem.”
He added: “The Australian economy, and the global economy, is set up on
Antarctica being as it has been. We’re moving to a phase where Antarctica won’t
be like that any more.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
