Antarctica and environmental change: closing remarks

• Published in: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 1992
• Subjects: Antarctic; Fuchs; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1992.0153; https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rstb.1992.0153

The purpose of this contribution is to summarize the papers and discussions, to bring out the highlights, and to focus on outstanding problems and uncertainties. Sixteen years ago Sir Vivian Fuchs and I organized a similar meeting on research in the Antarctic. Since then there has been an explosion of interest in all branches of environm ental science in this region. There have been major advances in theory, and improved technology made possible by the rapid development of electronics has made data collection and analysis easier; but above all the difference between the two meetings is in the development of large-scale numerical modelling as a tool. Also there has been an increasing realization of the value of comparisons between the two polar regions, which is brought out by the contributions to this meeting. The meeting has been distinguished by the quality of the science, the clarity of exposition and excellent visual presentations. It is also striking how much crossfertilization between disciplines has occurred