[U-08] Large-scale Projects in Earth and Planetary Science

[U08-01] Investigation of environmental changes in Antarctica and their impact on the entire Earth through the development of flexible observations

*Yoshifumi Nogi¹, Ayako Abe-Ouchi², Naomi Harada³, Shin Sugiyama⁴, Masaki Tsutsumi¹, Kenji Kawamura¹, Takeshi Tamura¹, Jun'ichi Okuno¹ (1.National Institute of Polar Research, 2.Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, the University of Tokyo , 3.Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 4.Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University)

Keywords:Antarctica, environmental change, sea level, ice breaker, field observation, numerical simulation

Antarctica, a continent surrounded by the ocean and covered with an ice sheet in the center, responds sensitively to global climate change, such as global warming. In contrast, environmental changes in Antarctica significantly impact the entire Earth through changes in the atmosphere and ocean. For example, the mass loss of the Antarctic ice sheet, which is approximately equivalent to 60 m of sea-level change, and the amplification of global warming due to the recovery of the Antarctic ozone hole is the progressing phenomena that need to elucidate immediately. However, despite the solid requirements for quantitative understanding of the effects of global warming and improvement of future prediction accuracy, field observations are overwhelmingly more difficult than in other regions and obstacles to understanding the Antarctic area and the Earth's system. This project promotes interdisciplinary research on changes in the Antarctic environment from the past to the present. The project will introduce the research vessel with the world's highest level of ice-breaking capacity, new unmanned observation technologies, and Japan-leading numerical simulations to predict the future of the global environment