CANBERRA, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Australia is unprepared for the economic impacts of Antarctic ice changes, a leading expert has warned.
Matt King, head of the government-funded Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS), said little is known about how the accelerating ice melt in Antarctica will affect Australia's climate and the long-term viability of some agriculture industries.
In a Sunday story on the Guardian Australia, the local online edition of Britain-based daily newspaper, King said that much of the funding that Australia currently allocates to work on Antarctica is spent on building and maintaining ships and stations rather than research, calling for the federal government to develop a multi-decadal agenda for the continent.
"Perhaps one of the weaknesses is that Antarctica is seen as an environmental problem, but it is an all-of-government problem," King said.
"The Australian economy, and the global economy, is set up on Antarctica being as it has been. We're moving to a phase where Antarctica won't be like that any more."
The ACEAS is a consortium of eight Australian universities that is funded through the federal government's Australian Research Council (ARC) to conduct research into the effects of climate change in the East Antarctic and Southern Ocean.
A study published by ACEAS researchers in March 2023 found that deep ocean currents around Antarctica could slow down by up to 40 percent within the next 30 years, potentially altering weather patterns, starving marine life of vital nutrients and pushing up sea levels. ■
