European Polar Board, IPEV, Concordia, the IPY and Climat Change

09 Dec 2005 - Interviews, Logistics

G©rard Jugie - Copyright: IPEV

SciencePoles interviewed Dr Gerard Jugie, Chairman of the European Polar Board and Director of the Institut Paul Emile Victor (IPEV) - the French polar institute - about the IPEV polar research programme and plans for the International Polar Year 2007-2008. The interview took place in Brussels in the context of the recent Communicating European Research conference.

What would you say are the Institut Paul Emile Victor's particular research strengths?

I should start off by pointing out that I do not speak of polar research, but of scientific research within the polar environments.

IPEV is the French institute in charge of providing polar logistics for the researchers across the French academic, scientific and technological community. In this context, about 50% is dedicated to the Earth sciences and 50% to the life sciences such as biodiversity, eco-systems and oceanography in the Southern Ocean. About 10% of life sciences is dedicated to the medical and social sciences, including ethnology, anthropology, sociology and geography. Most of these social and medical studies are of course carried out in the populated regions of the Arctic, but they do also include some medicine and psychological studies in the Antarctic, particularly in regards to human adaptation to conditions of confinement and isolation.

What proportion of your budget do you spend on the Arctic, and what percentage on the Antarctic?

About 20% in the Arctic and 80% in the South.

Would you say that the understanding of climate change and its implications is increasingly becoming one of the central themes or objectives for scientists working in the Polar Regions?

It is clear that global climate change presents questions across many scientific disciplines, whether it be the direct study of the climate through its evolution, or via a whole range of parameters such ice and the ice cores that enable us to study past climate in order to make future predictions. There is also the evolution of ice sheets, ice shelves and sea ice, and even the migration of certain species that are spreading to higher latitudes in response to warming temperatures. Our findings, in turn, help to raise public awareness as to the reality of climate change.

What does the International Polar Year (IPY) mean for an institution such as IPEV?

In the first instance, I think that the International Polar Year will enable us to focus public attention on he value and relevance of carrying out scientific research in the Polar Regions. I don't think that the International Polar Year will revolutionize the larger projects that we have already launched, but it will probably provide them with renewed energy as well as confirming the international and collaborative dimensions of much of our work. Indeed, it will strengthen the international spirit of research in the Polar Regions, most especially at the European level, for which the leading model was the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA).

I also hope that IPY will underline the importance of research in the North, where we already have a joint platform in Spitzbergen with our German colleagues, and where scientists could still make big breakthroughs.

Will IPEV benefit from a bigger budget or otherwise increase its level of activity during the International Polar Year?

There will certainly be an increased effort which I am not at present free to discuss, but what I can say is that French governmental institutions, especially the Ministry of Research, are very aware of the International Polar Year and have already given us the means to leave behind a legacy; in particular the all-year Concordia station at Dome C, on the Antarctic Plateau which will become fully operational during the IPY and which will become the symbol of French and Italian science in the Polar Regions.

We have also decided to bring special attention to the Southern Ocean through the deployment of a number of ships in this region during IPY.

Can you tell us more about the ships involved and what they will be doing?

France already has three ships deployed in the region, both for science and logistics. These include the Marion Dufresne which is not a polar vessel, but which can sail within proximity of ice and which is able to collect longer sediment samples than any other ship. The Marion Dufresne will be deployed in the Southern Ocean during IPY to take part in the Census for Marine Life.

As we are speaking about boats, can you tell me whether there have been any recent developments in regard the construction of the European icebreaker and coring platform Aurora Borealis?

The Aurora Borealis is an initiative of the European Polar Board (EPB) in collaboration with other European polar research institutes. The project is in the process of being defined both from technical and operative points of view, and this in parallel with the scientific programmes that will make use of it. In fact, the project has recently been presented to our American colleagues at a reunion in Washington, and is widely regarded by the international community as a model of the type of large infrastructure that will be needed and put into place in the future.

You have mentioned the new all-year Antarctic Plateau station, Concordia, which you have built with the Italians. What is it's current status?

Well, our first wintering team in fact recently completed their first full winter at the station, when the first small Twin Otter of the season flew there in early November. This ended their isolation that had begun back in February. This first wintering was dedicated to verifying the viability of the station, to completing secondary, internal works and finally to preparing the site for a number of upcoming scientific projects.

How many people did the wintering team comprise?

For this first year, there were twelve men and one woman.

Originally, Concordia was a summer station principally dedicated to the international EPICA ice-coring programme. With the EPICA drilling programme at this site now complete and the station now open all year, what will the focus of the scientific work carried out in Concordia in the future?

Even at the time of EPICA, other research was carried out at Concordia. This included seismographic observations, air quality observations, the search for micro-meteorites, glaciology and studies on the interaction of the atmosphere and the cryosphere.

In the future, we will try and draw on the unique geographic location of Concordia (one of only five stations on the Antarctic Plateau) to continue gathering very precious data and thus complement existing Earth observation networks in glaciology, electromagnetism, seismography, and the interface between atmosphere and cryosphere. But from now on, instead of being limited to the summer months, we will be able to take measurements throughout the year. In the coming months and years, Concordia will also see the deployment of two SUPERDARN radars which will be linked up with an American radar at the South Pole and a Chinese Radar. These will enable research on the upper atmosphere and ionosphere and thus the relationship between the sun and the atmosphere.

Finally, although Concordia wasn't directly intended for this type of research, it is becoming apparent that its location is one of the best in the world for astronomy and the study of deep space. This completely changes the projected priorities for the station and means that we will have to adapt it for this type of research and the deployment of small infrared telescopes.

So this means that the ice-sheet is sufficiently stable for such instruments?

Yes, that is not a problem. What's more, the site benefits from other advantages for astronomy such as the length of the polar night, the absence of light pollution, the dryness of the air (dryer than the Sahara) and the near absence of nebulosity. However, one problem is the winds that blow on the surface of the ice-sheet - up to about 20 metres above it - and which can cause interference. The solution to this will be to build towers that reach above twenty meters, to where the air is very still and where instruments will be in a very stable environment.

You have mentioned the importance of the IPY in regard to raising public awareness about the Polar Regions and the research that is done there, but will you be putting forward any specific public awareness projects?

Well, there are many projects surrounding the IPY across France, but the leading project will be in Paris, with the Natural History Museum and the Musée des Arts et Metiers putting together an exhibition about the Polar Regions and the science that is carried out in these regions. Otherwise, we will also be facilitating more classic communication tools aimed at schools and colleges, such as teleconferences with Concordia and the production specialised pedagogical materials.

Does IPEV have a dedicated communication and outreach team?

We are a small structure, but the "Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique" (CNRS) has just provided us with a highly qualified person who will be in charge of communication efforts from January 2006. At first, he will concentrate more specifically on the International Polar Year.

What have been the benefits for IPEV of the recent success of the 'March of the Emperors' documentary that was filmed at your Dumont d'Urville research station on the Antarctic coastline?

The benefits have been extraordinary in terms of the public attention it has brought to what is essentially a very specialised topic. Of course, I am also extremely proud that it was produced by a French team which used our station as a base and which fully integrated our research and logistical teams for the Austral winter during which it was filmed.

The International Geophysical Year 1957-1958 was an outstanding success, characterized by cooperation between nations in the gathering, analyzing and exchange of data. The success of the scientific work paved the way for the Antarctic Treaty of 1961 setting aside territorial claims. What major developments can be expected from this IPY and should the IPY aim for any particular legacy?

First of all, I expect a legacy of reinforced scientific collaboration. I also expect technological progress as a result of IPY, and perhaps above all an officialization of the wider networks that we use to monitor and measure our planet.

Finally, should the IPY serve as a platform to raise awareness of global change and its impact on the Polar Regions?

Climate change already is one of the key themes of research in the Polar Regions, and the IPY will certainly add another layer to public awareness on this subject, both with politicians and the man in the street. Indeed, if the IPY is successful in this, it will have been an important contribution.

By: Jean de Pomereu