The AARC 2026 Steering Committee welcomes abstracts from the full breadth of Antarctic, sub-Antarctic and Southern Ocean research.

Contributions are invited from all relevant disciplines, including (but not limited to) glaciology, oceanography, atmospheric science, biology, geophysics, biogeochemistry, human impacts, humanities, law, arts and social sciences, as well as new technologies and their application. 

Topics

Abstracts for oral presentations, posters and lightning talks are invited around the topics of:

• Climate system & change
• Biodiversity
• Field campaigns
• Monitoring & detecting changes
• Human impacts, including climate change impacts
• Social sciences & humanities

Further guidance on the scope of each topic, including indicative examples of submissions, is provided below (these reflect the proposals for

parallel sessions that have been submitted):

Climate system & change       

·       Ocean dynamics of the Southern Ocean

·       Ice shelf/ocean Interactions: Processes, observations, and modelling across scales

·       Ice-ocean-atmosphere-earth interactions and changes in the Antarctic system              

·       The ACCESS-AIS3 ice sheet model configuration and Cryosphere Sciences working group meetup

·       Antarctic sea ice in a changing climate: Processes, extremes, and system-wide impact

·       Past climate archives and future science opportunities through Antarctic ice              

·       Proxy development and applications in Antarctic paleoceanography 

Biodiversity     

·       East Antarctic coastal marine ecosystems in a changing climate

·       Modelling and observing Southern Ocean biogeochemistry and ecosystem processes

·       From lab measurements to model predictions in Antarctic and Southern Ocean systems

·       Marine biodiversity from shelf to shore: status, threats and trends

·       Building sustainable biological collections infrastructure to support Antarctic science

Field campaigns          

·       Multidisciplinary understanding of the Denman (Marine/Terrestrial) system  

·       Dynamic instability of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin

·       Outcomes of the Heard Island and MacDonald Islands (HIMI) 2025-26 campaign              

·       Krill and krill ecosystems        

·       Atmospheric sciences over the Southern Ocean and Antarctica: coordinating science and campaigns                                    

·       Drivers and impacts of Antarctic marginal ice zone processes

Monitoring & detecting changes        

·       Detecting, anticipating and learning from tipping points in Antarctica’s changing systems

·       Looking North: lessons/impacts from the Arctic

·       Antarctic terrestrial biodiversity: multidisciplinary perspectives for conservation and management in East Antarctica

·       Advancing Antarctic research through multi-scale remote sensing and AI

·       Incorporating historic data to understand present day and future Antarctica: innovations and considerations  

·       Sampling the future: what observations do we need to prepare Australia for Antarctic change?

Human Impacts, including climate change impacts

·       Antarctic tourism in practice and in policy

·       Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in a 1.5°C-plus world

·       Understanding the connection between Antarctic climate systems change and the Pacific region to inform global decision making

·       Science that supports CCAMLR and the Antarctic Treaty System

Social sciences & humanities              

·       Information and transparency in international Antarctic affairs

·       Science into policy: the role of Australian Antarctic research in decision-making

·       Australia's Antarctic medical model - supporting long duration spaceflight

Abstract submission is open to researchers interested in these topics, regardless of affiliation or discipline. Presenters have the option to request that their submission is considered for a plenary session. The Steering Committee will work with the parallel session conveners and plenary session chairs to distribute the registered talks and posters across the program. The plenary sessions will address the conference themes with a keynote speaker for each theme.

The conference plenary sessions will be delivered in a hybrid format. The delivery mode for parallel sessions will be determined by session convenors, and dependent on availability of suitable facilities and equipment.