The COVID pandemic has had wide reaching impacts on oceanic and polar observational activities, particularly with many research vessels being restricted to port, and the suspension, or at least downscaling, of many national Antarctic research programs in an effort to keep Antarctic COVID free (see National Geographic Artcile here). In light of these changes, several oceanographic and Antarctic programs have assessed the likely impact on marine and polar research as well as the gap they are likely to cause in global ocean observing systems. Three of these statements are shared below.

 

The Global Ocean Observing System conducted an impact survey in April 2020 to gain a global view of the risk of COVID-19 on global ocean observations. A summary of the survey results are available in the GOOS Briefing Note: Covid-19’s impact on the ocean observing system and our ability to forecast weather and predict climate change.

 

The European Polar Board held a meeting on July 1^st, 2020, to discuss the disruption of polar fieldwork due to COVID-19 and the response of European Polar Board Members. For more information on the meeting including the meeting report, please see here.

 

Further to these, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) held a plenary and panel discussion on the impact of COVID-19 for Antarctic research during their recent SCAR2020 Online conference. Dr Daniela Ligget presented a plenary presentation on “Small glimmers of hope amidst the turmoil of a pandemic? The implications of COVID-19 for Antarctic research and governance” including an overview of the recently formed SCAR Antarctic COVID-19 Project Team through SCAR’s Standing Committee on the Humanities and Social Sciences. A recording of this plenary is available here. Following the plenary, a joint SCAR/COMNAP panel discussion was held on the impact of COVID-19 on Antarctic research. A recording of the panel discussion is available here. The SCAR Antarctic COVID-19 Research Project are also seeking input on the impact of COVID-19 on the Antarctic research community, more information in available here.