BIOPOLE Science Partner, Philip Boyd (Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Studies, ACEAS, and the Institute for Antarctic Marine Studies, IMAS), and BIOPOLE Project Members, Nadine Johnston and Geraint Tarling, co-convened a two-day workshop ‘East meets West – A joint BIOPOLE-ACEAS Workshop to strengthen international circumpolar collaborations’ 14-15 March 2024 at the Institute for Antarctic Marine Studies, IMAS, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

The workshop was kindly hosted by Philip and held under the auspices of the BIOPOLE East-West Antarctic Forum, which fosters greater international collaboration across the Southern Ocean with partners, institutes, and initiatives with similar research objectives.

The workshop gathered BIOPOLE Community members (including Aidan Hunter, and contributions from Angus Atkinson, Programme Advisory Board member) and around 30 ACEAS researchers to consider similarities and differences between the Scotia-Weddell Sea and East Antarctic regions (zones and provinces, processes) and different approaches to understanding their ecology, biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling, and progressing modelling and observations in the regions.

The workshop also explored future opportunities for collaborations including the UN Decade of the Ocean, IPY etc.) and outputs are in preparation. A huge thanks to Philip, Nicole Hill, Elizabeth Shadwick, and the rest of the ACEAS participants for their incredible hospitality and contributions. Aside from the impressive presentations and volume of science discussions we managed to get through in two days, an additional highlight was the amazing workshop dinner served on the balcony of IMAS overlooking Sullivans Cove and Kunanyi/Mt Wellington on a gloriously sunny evening!

The authors of the article – Nadine Johnston, Geraint Tarling and Aidan Hunter (British Antarctic Survey)