4 August, 2011 News stories

Amelia Marks, from Royal Holloway University in the UK, has been awarded the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) Research Fellowship 2011/2012. The Fellowship, worth up to US$15,000, will allow Ms. Marks to work with the Italian Antarctic Program to participate in Antarctic research at Dome C and Mario Zuchelli Station. Her project is “The Characterization of the bi-directional reflectance of Antarctic surface for the inter-calibration and validation of satellite remote sensing”.

“The COMNAP Research Fellowship allows early career researchers from National Antarctic Programs to learn from and work with experienced scientists from other National Antarctic Programs. Amelia’s project is critically important in order to help us understand and measure estimations of black carbon concentrations in snow and ice in Polar regions using satellites,” said Michelle Rogan-Finnemore, COMNAP’s Executive Secretary.

The COMNAP Research Fellowship is a new scheme developed jointly with the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) designed to encourage the active involvement of early and mid career researchers, from all backgrounds, found within National Antarctic Programs. The intention is to strengthen international capacity and cooperation in support of the Antarctic Treaty goals of peaceful purposes for Antarctica and international cooperation in scientific investigation.

SCAR has been running a similar Fellowship Program for many years and, this year, will award three SCAR Fellowships to early career scientists from India, Spain and Russia.

The Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) is the international independent organization of National Antarctic Programs. Formed in 1988 and now formally recognised by the Antarctic Treaty System as having Observer status, COMNAP has at its goal to develop and promote best practice in managing the support of scientific research in Antarctica.

The Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) is a committee of ICSU , the International Council for Science, and it is charged with the initiation, promotion and co-ordination of scientific research in Antarctica. SCAR also provides international, independent scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty system and other bodies.

Details can be found at www.comnap.aq and www.scar.org.

For additional information, please contact:
Michelle Rogan-Finnemore, Executive Secretary, COMNAP
E-mail: michelle.finnemore@canterbury.ac.nz