Inaugural Session of the Antarctic Climate Forum and Antarctic Regional Climate Centre-Network Management Team Meeting

Documents

• Concept note
• Logistical note
• Agenda
• Final report
• List of participants

Opening

• Providing policy-relevant scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty System - the role of SCAR, Gary Wilson
• Panel on Polar and High-mountain Observations, Research and Services, Robert Argent (PHORS)
• Overview of objectives, expected outcomes and adoption of the agenda of the Forum, Jonas Mphepya (AntRCC-Network coordinator)

Setting the scene: the concept of the WMO Regional Climate Centres and Regional Climate Forums

• The RCC and RCF concept in the context of the Climate Services Information System (CSIS) and their relevance to the Antarctic region, Rupa Kumar Kolli (SERCOM/SC-CLI)
• WMO Polar strategies, relevant constituent body decisions and resolutions, and role of PHORS, Robert Argent (PHORS/AntAG)
• Operational practices of Arctic Climate Forum and role of ArcRCC-Network, Helge Tangen (ArcRCC-Network)
• Importance of Antarctica to global and UK policy, Jane Rumble (Polar Regions Department, Foreign & Commonwealth Office)

Regional Climate Centre and Regional Climate Forum in the Antarctic context

• Overview of the regional climate features, including climate variability and change in Antarctica, Petra Heil (BAS)
• Outcomes of the Scoping Workshop on the Establishment of the AntCF and role of AntRCC-Network (Bologna, Italy, November 2024), Jonas Mphepya (AntRCC-Network)
• Antarctic Regional Climate Centre Network implementation and its contribution to Antarctic Climate Forum, Robert Argent (PHORS/AntAG)

Data availability at global and regional scale as a potential input to the AntCF consensus statement

• Overview of the WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System (WIPPS) operational infrastructure with emphasis on the cryosphere products, Michael Schwab (WMO)
• Overview of the existing datasets and products as potential input to the consensus statement:
  • Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Shoudong Zhao (CMA)
  • Contribution of Italy, Vito Vitale (CNR)
  • British Antarctic Survey, Steve Colwell (BAS)
  • Bureau of Meteorology, Australia, Robert Argent (BoM)
  • Servicio Meteorológico Nacional, Argentina, Eugenia Garbarini (SMN)
  • National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, India, Nuncio Murukesh (NCPOR)
  • UK Met Office, Ed Blockley (UK Met Office)
  • Canadian Arctic Research Programme, Karen Alley (University of Manitoba)
  • Chilean activities in the Antarctic Peninsula, Jorge Carrasco (University of Magallanes, Chile)
  • Status of existing datasets in the Korea Polar Research Institute, Emilia Kyung Jin (KOPRI)

Development of the consensus statement

• Overview of the recent and current climate conditions over Antarctica:
  • Argentina, Eugenia Garbarini (SMN)
  • Italy [Presentation 1, Presentation 2], Vito Vitale (CNR)
• Seasonal outlook for the key climate parameters for the upcoming season:
  • Russian Federation, Vasily Smolyanitsky (AARI)
  • Australia, Robert Argent (PHORS)

Stakeholder and user perspectives and contributions

• Global Cryosphere Watch, Narelle Van Der Wel (WMO) and Ran Zhang (WMO)
• Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs, Oliver Darke (COMNAP)
• Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, Gary Wilson (SCAR)
• Sectoral representatives, Penelope Wagner (Norwegian Meteorological Institute) & Alvaro Scardilli (Servicio de Hidrografía Naval)

Meeting of the AntRCC-Network Management Team

Discussion of the recommendations of the AntCF-1 session and ways to address them by the AntRCC-Network 

Useful links

• Scoping Workshop: Toward Implementing an Antarctic RCC-Network, 7-9 October 2019, Bologna, Italy
• Antarctic Regional Climate Centre-Network Implementation Planning Meeting, 12-14 December 2022, Melbourne, Australia
• Scoping Workshop on the Establishment of the Antarctic Climate Forum (AntCF) and Meeting of the Antarctic Advisory Group (AntAG) under the Executive Council Panel on Polar and High Mountain Observations (EC-PHORS), 25 - 27 November 2024, Bologna, Italy
• AntRCC-Network Implementation Plan