Q: What in real terms would be the benefit of research in both the polar regions to India and Canada? Will research findings of the Arctic region help/compliment that of Antarctica and vice-versa?
Dr Scott: Our planet functions as an integrated system, because the global ocean and atmosphere provide connections for water, air, and most consequentially heat to be moved around the planet. Currently heat from the middle latitudes is increasingly being transported into the colder Arctic and Antarctic regions, with negative consequences for the “status quo” of ecosystems and the state of snow, sea-ice and glaciers in those regions.
The insulating effect of CO2 in the atmosphere is contributing to the warming of the polar regions. Loss of sea ice and snow in polar regions further accelerates warming in those regions, as the energy of the sun is no longer reflecting heat away (snow and ice are white and reflective), and the increasingly exposed ocean (dark) absorbs the sun’s energy that was previously being reflected away. Because of the “interconnectedness” of these phenomena, it is important that both Arctic and Antarctic systems are understood, as well as those in high altitude area, such as the high Himalaya and Tibetan plateau.
Q: Could you broadly describe how research in polar regions has helped countries document and also draw strategies to arrest and overcome challenges of Climate Change?
Dr Scott: Increased awareness of the consequences of the warming of the polar regions - ice loss, heat gain, consequent incremental rise in sea-level, are beginning to influence decisions of governments and individual consumers in regard to energy choices (renewables, natural gas vs coal, etc) because of the negative impact of our collective actions at mid-latitudes (where the vast majority of the global populations lives) and consequences in the polar regions.
Q: Would this collaboration of sorts between Canada and India have financial implications?
Dr Scott: Each institution will continue to be responsible for funding their own research programs, however a key feature of the collaboration is that both parties will allow researchers from the other country to use its research facilities at no cost.
