Conclusions

The diverse chapters in this book have each, and collectively, highlighted how Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are key features on Planet Earth, and how they exert a marked influence on its climate, ecosystems, geopolitics and societies that belies the perception of Antarctica as a wilderness at the end of the world. They also emphasise how susceptible Antarctica is to changes occurring elsewhere across our planet, including biophysical changes that we humans are causing. Recent extreme variations in parts of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean system, and potential tipping points that have distinct global implications, reinforce the requirement to urgently improve our understanding of Antarctic processes. They also emphasise the need for research into their impacts across the planet to be increasingly capable and agile, delivering the evidence needed to inform policy and governance across regional and global scales. This offers the route to help secure the future of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, and their crucial climatic, biological, societal and cultural benefits, for generations to come.