According to the Australian Government, it is a new era for Antarctic science for which it is providing long term funding of Antarctic science, and implementing recommendations of a review by Drew Clarke into the governance of Australia's Antarctic Science Program.
The 2018-19 Budget already included a series of funding measures, including an ARC Special Research Initiative in Excellence in Antarctic Science, which between 2020 to 2026 will provide $8 million each year to Antarctic research.
Also announced in the Budget was the establishment of a new 10 year Antarctic Science Collaboration Initiative grants program. It will provide $5 million each year, including for activities currently supported through the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACECRC), which will end in 2019.
The Government has now also released its response to the Clarke review, supporting either in full or in principle all of its nine recommendations. A first step towards their implementation will be the establishment of a new Australian Antarctic Science Council (ASC) to revitalise Antarctic science research, as well as boost Hobart's position as an Antarctic science hub.
The ASC was a key recommendation by Mr Clarke, with the aim to strengthen the current complex and opaque governance model of Australia's Antarctic science, with eight institutions having key roles. Mr Clarke also noted that the abolition of the Antarctic Science Advisory Committee has led to at least the perception of a conflict between the Australian Antarctic Division’s roles as national operator, science leader and employer of some scientists.
The priorities of Australia's Antarctic Science Program were not part of the review's terms of reference, but will be considered in a five-yearly review of the Australian Antarctic Science Strategic Plan 2011-12 to 2020–21.
But the importance of Antarctic research was recently highlighted by study published in Nature showing the catastrophic disintegration of Antarctic ice shelves in recent decades. The work was led by Dr Rob Massom from the Australian Antarctic Division and the ACECRC, and demonstrates that reduced sea ice coverage since the late 1980s led to increased exposure of ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula to ocean swells, causing them to flex and break.
According to the authors, the study highlights that sea ice and ocean waves need to be included in ice sheet modelling to more accurately forecast the potential impact of ice shelf disintegration to sea level rise as a result of climate change.