Antarctica - benevolent provocation, bottomless paradox, and awesome solution

When we consider Antarctica, many think of ice, penguins, or that white smudge that barely registers at the foot of most world maps.

But if you live on this planet, you can thank Antarctica.

Antarctica is humanity’s greatest library, containing information about our planet’s deep past, but we’ve barely read any of its books!

Antarctic research gives us unprecedented access to this knowledge, allowing us to peek into the “Special Reserve” shelves and help us to decide the direction of our future on this planet.

Antarctic research tells us that Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are the engine room of global climate, and its waters are the cradle of global fisheries. We also know that Antarctica is a set of highly complex integrated systems which act as natural shock absorbers, accepting and returning heat and carbon over tens of millions of years.

Antarctica’s reach affects all life on this planet. And with increasing detail, we are coming to the sobering realisation that human activity also impacts the Icy Continent.

The awe of Antarctica has inspired voyages of exploration, which have given rise to poetry, literature and art. The only continent never to have had an armed conflict is also a curious alternative model for how humans might live in harmony.

Join us for a conversation as we ask:

✅ What do we know about Antarctica and its role on our planet?

✅ Who owns it, and how large is it?

✅ What is Antarctica already telling us?

✅ What are the pressing research questions we are yet to ask?

Join us for our second Antarctic Dialogues session. This will examine the material of our first session in a time slot to accommodate times zones that missed out last time. During this session, we will explore Antarctica through conversation: its history, complexity, and the work already underway to ensure future generations sustain and flourish on this planet.

Details:

11.00 am, Thursday 8th June (AEST)

Time-zone converter for other cities:

18:00 Los Angeles/Vancouver
21:00 New York/Ottawa
02:00 London
03:00 Amsterdam
06:30 Mumbai
09:00 Hong Kong/Singapore
11:00 Syd/Mel/Bris (AEST)
13:00 Auckland

Please note: this is a participative session in dialogue with other people who are interested in Antarctica. In order to honour and reciprocate the contributions of others in your group, please be prepared to be mutually attentive with your camera on and refrain from parallel activities (walking, driving, skiing etc).