The All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Alliance (AAORIA) is a high level diplomatic initiative aimed at advancing ocean science cooperation between countries on both sides of the Atlantic. This year it held its forum in Brussels, and as part of this held a polar side event on the 24th of September, hosted by the European Polar Board to highlight European efforts under global frameworks for polar research, and to stress its importance for the Atlantic as a whole and from pole to pole.
Andrew Meijers delivered a talk on the outcomes of OCEAN ICE and future research needs, specifically highlighting the need for synchronous and coordinated multinational efforts to understand the rapidly changing Antarctic and Southern Ocean. He showcased the new observations achieved by OCEAN ICE, its modelling improvements and the resulting data products and assessments - and emphasised the need for ongoing observations of the ice covered oceans, ice sheet integration into coupled models and the need to reduce uncertainty in future SLR projections.
The audience included both polar researchers and policy officers or decision-makers from the European Commission and other AAORIA partner nations. This meeting also served as a forum to draft a letter to the EU commission to lobby for the importance of and future funding for polar observations, research, and infrastructures within the next EU framework.
The author of the article - Andrew Meijers (British Antarctic Survey)