Climate watchers have their eyes set on Antarctic sea ice – the phenomenon responsible for the great winter chill in Australia, expanding under climate change. Now, Australia and China have inked a pact to explore the annual freeze-up in the ocean, signalling an increasing interest in Antarctica among Chinese scientists.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Center (ACE CRC), Hobart and China’s National Marine Environment Forecasting Centre. It aims to facilitate a combined forecasting effort between the two countries, in an attempt to reduce the damages of sea ice and provide better information on navigation and shipping, according to an ACE CRC press release.

Mark Kelleher, acting CEO of the ACE CRC, said that the agreement was primarily focused on cooperation in developing scientific methods that facilitate the forecasting of sea ice conditions, in support of the Australian and Chinese Antarctic programmes. “This MoU enables our two organisations to work closely together to solve some of the big challenges associated with sea ice in Antarctica,” he said in the press release. “Unpredictable sea ice conditions can create headaches for scientific and resupply operations in Antarctica, and the need for a more reliable method of forecasting has become clear.”

In September 2015, sea ice in Antarctica, for the first time ever, crossed the 20 million square km mark. There has been a significant change in distribution patterns of sea ice around Antarctica, with some regions showing massive expansion, while others record its disappearance.

“Understanding the forces that shape Antarctic sea ice conditions is not just important for navigation, it helps us to understand causes and impacts of climate change,” Kelleher said.

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