Punta Arenas serves as hub of Antarctic study and scientific innovation

PUNTA ARENAS — International experts from around Europe and the Americas are working together from Nov. 13 to Nov. 15 in Punta Arenas, Chile to nurture study of Antarctica to uncover facts related to the environment and climate change. Countries such as Germany, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the United States, France, Norway, the United Kingdom and Sweden represent the international community attending the meeting.

A 3-day meeting between international scientists will take place in Punta Arenas. They will discuss climate change and the environment, Photo: INACH

Various symposiums will take place over the three-day meeting. Twenty years of cooperation and research between Germany and Chile at GARS O’Higgins (German Antarctic Receiving Station) will be celebrated through an event called “20 Years Antarctic Research Station GARS O’Higgins.” Their on-going cooperation has resulted in capturing vital pole-to-pole information about Earth via communication with European satellites.

Another workshop, organized by the National Commission of Scientific Investigation (CONICYT) and the Chilean Antarctica Institute (INACH), include the “Chile-European Union: Climate Change and Environment Research Opportunities Under the FP7.” This workshop is an initiative that looks to stimulate multinational project presentation on themes such as the environment and climate change at the seventh European Union Framework Programme.

For the director of INACH, Dr. José Retamales, the meeting will permit international cooperation concerning the exploration of climate change and the environment, as well the use of radar sensor satellites to gather data.

Gonzalo Arenas, the subdirector of the International Relations Department of CONICYT, added that Chile is a natural scientific laboratory considering the presence of diverse scientific fields such as astronomy, seismology, climate change and Antarctica.

“We should make the most of this advantage so that we don’t just develop national abilities, but also open up the doors of the laboratory to the scientists of the whole world so that together we can create and develop centers of excellence at a world level,” Arenas said. Source: http://ilovechile.cl/2011/11/14/international-scientists-rally-punta-arenas/39237