South Africa, a founding member of the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), has a long-term record of, and commitment to, undertaking oceanic, terrestrial and atmospheric research in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. South Africa has a comparative geographical advantage to conduct research in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. South Africa is also the only African nation with a foothold in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.
Various academic tools have enabled excellent academic research, often interdisciplinary, focused on Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Access to the Antarctic region and the Southern Ocean region is limited by insufficient access to available facilities. There is a rich history of South African human ventures in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.
Research Theme 4: Innovation: Southern Ocean and Antarctic technology and engineering
South African art, architecture and literature in the region remain largely unexplored from a research perspective. The challenge for this subtheme is to open up research in areas such as the production of art, literature and architecture in the region. iv) Social adjustment. Much research in the region generates large amounts of data that must be communicated, often in real time, from relatively remote locations.
The smooth and efficient course of research operations in the region requires a considerable energy input. Materials handling and supply management form an important area of work at the various research bases in the region. The development of systems that reduce waste, or provide for alternative uses for waste, thus saving energy and resources, is important for the region. viii).
Human Capital Development
The remoteness of the sub-Antarctic islands puts them at risk, both in terms of infrastructure and surrounding natural resources. By developing effective remote monitoring programs for sensitive marine resources as well as regional infrastructure, potential threats to human life or marine resources can be properly assessed and protected.
Platforms and Infrastructure
Data Dynamics
Proper, centralized management of data derived from Southern Ocean and Antarctic research is required, to meet both national and international data requirements. Data curation and archiving of South African activities in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica is addressed in a proposed SANAP data management system (Annex I). This system should be considered as part of the overall plan for data management in the region.
Public Awareness of Science
Introduction
- Background
- The Geographic Comparative Advantage
- Research Relevance
- Research Focus
- Constraints
- Logistics
- Major Instrumentation
- Technical support
- Communication systems
- Co-ordination
- Personnel
The Antarctic and Southern Ocean are critical laboratories where international scientific inquiry is inextricably linked to our understanding of the fundamental drivers of the entire Earth system. South Africa was a founding member of the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) and as such, has a long-standing history and commitment to undertaking research in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean (Glazewski, 2010). South Africa acceded to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1991 and is represented in the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) recently formed in 2011.
South Africa is the closest African nation to the Australian polar region, separated from the continent of Antarctica by approximately 4000 km from the Southern Ocean. The Atlantic–Southwest Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean includes some of the strongest pathways for CO2 exchange and storage. The Southern Ocean marks the intersection of the main sources of deep and bottom water, which modulate both heat and CO2 exchange with the atmosphere and their storage in the ocean.
Thus, Antarctica's importance in space research stems from the nature of Earth's magnetic field. Such insights will, among other things, contribute to the understanding of the origin and distribution of mineral resources in southern Africa and Antarctica. South Africa is the only African country with a foothold in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.
Since the inception of the ATS, South Africa has been at the forefront of a number of major international oceanographic, astro- and bio-physical projects in which. In the future, Antarctica and the Southern Ocean will offer other important opportunities related to predicting and managing global change, food security and fueling the bioeconomy through biodiscovery and biotechnology. This plan integrates all these investments to capitalize on the emerging global prominence of the Southern Ocean and South Africa's comparative geographical advantage, which extends to the historical and current use of Cape Town as a home port for foreign research endeavours.
Furthermore, such technology-led opportunities are in themselves a focus for innovation in the demanding environments of the Far South. The development of a comprehensive research plan for research in the South African Southern Ocean and Antarctica has been a concern of the research community for many years. South Africa has recently invested significant capital in acquiring new infrastructure to continuously support this research in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.
Research Themes
- Research Theme 1: Earth Systems
- Sub-Theme 1
- Sub-Theme 2
- Sub-Theme 3
- Sub-Theme 4
- Research Theme 2: Living Systems
- Sub-Theme 1
- Sub-Theme 2
- Sub-Theme 3
- Research Theme 3: Human Enterprise
- Sub-Theme 1
- Sub-Theme 2
- Sub-Theme 3
- Sub-Theme 4
- Sub-Theme 1
- Sub-Theme 2
- Sub-Theme 3
- Sub-Theme 4
- Sub-Theme 5
- Sub-Theme 6
- Sub-Theme 7
- Sub-Theme 8
- Sub-Theme 9
Living systems operating within the dynamics of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean land system are further addressed in the second major research theme. Most of the energy transported by the solar wind to the earth is deposited in the atmosphere in the polar regions; and. The Southern Ocean is an important component of the global carbon cycle and contributes approximately 50% of anthropogenic CO2 uptake, and 30-40%.
The most dynamic region of the Southern Ocean MOC gyre is in the vicinity south of Africa. An improved understanding of the interaction between the Southern Ocean and the Greater Agulhas Current systems is needed to identify the potential drivers of climate change south of Africa. Currently, an incomplete picture exists of the average state and variability of the African sector of the Southern Ocean and surroundings.
Connection of the Southern Ocean with the atmosphere and cryosphere; and the exchange between zonal and meridional flows across neighboring basins are important gaps that South African scientists are determined to address. Clearly, it is important to understand how the high sensitivity of the Southern Ocean to ocean acidification will affect ecosystem structure and function. Understanding Antarctic and Southern Ocean biodiversity patterns and their sensitivity to change requires an integrated, interdisciplinary investigation of the structure and functioning of living systems in the region.
South Africa has a legal responsibility for the management and conservation of birds and mammals in the Prince Edward Islands and surrounding waters. Although most of the human impact on Antarctica and the Southern Ocean derives from outside the region, activities within the region such as pollution (chemical, biological, light and acoustic) from research bases, tourism, shipping and resource exploitation (whaling, fishing , etc. .) must be managed. Much of the research conducted in the region generates large volumes of real-time data that require efficient and reliable communication.
South Africa's research vessels, research bases and research equipment are used extensively in the region's extreme weather conditions. The remoteness and extreme environmental conditions of the region limit access, especially at certain times of the year. The remoteness of the region means that South Africa's territory and infrastructure could easily be subject to a security breach.
Human Capital Development
The technical and technological development of modern robotics platforms also continues to drive cutting-edge technological innovation and skills development in South Africa. Engineering research to streamline overall material handling and inventory management at the various research bases could overcome problems associated with limitations such as limited resource availability and the requirements and costs of long-term storage. The reduction or recycling of waste, or the development of waste-to-energy technologies, would be of enormous value.
It goes without saying that such research can easily be applied to other areas of South Africa where sanitation and general waste pose various threats to society. Effective remote monitoring tools can provide early warning systems of (for example) threats to South African marine resources (poaching). The research activities that will follow are well positioned to provide training and, above all, opportunities for a more balanced demographic crucial first-hand experience, for both researchers and technical support staff.
Continued and enhanced government support for peer-reviewed research programs will ensure future opportunities for all young, early career and established researchers working in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. This is vital if South Africa is to take full advantage of its comparative geographic advantage, retain its top scientists, attract international partnerships and continue to produce world-class research output.
Platforms and Infrastructure
By creating a sustainable program, such support will enable the creation and strengthening of international and national networks that will play a key role in the revitalization of science and the development of skills, knowledge and expertise in this important research area. This is largely due to limited logistical support, a lack of available technical support, and a lack of sufficient resources to establish a long-term array of moorings and improved local research and development of prototype buoys and sensors suitable for these energy conditions. Also with enhanced sampling to adequately address key challenges; year-round, in-depth, multidisciplinary monitoring of the oceans around South Africa is essential.
Government support and adequate funding for both the science and the necessary logistical support will provide future national and international opportunities for all young, early career and established researchers working in the region. Technical support is an additional requirement that is essential to ensure that scientific research in the region operates effectively. Effective training management, logistical support and technical support should be considered for attention and development.
Data Dynamics
Public Awareness of Science
Graser, Azevedo (2013). Comparison of the metamorphic history of the Monapo Complex, Northern Mozambique and the Balchenfjella and Austhameren areas, Sor Rondane, Antarctica: implications for the Kuunga orogeny and the N-S merger. A study of an optimal model for the establishment of a South African polar research entity.
Appendix 1: Proposed Antarctic and Southern Ocean Data Management System
