The Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs is an international association, formed in 1988, which facilitates support to Antarctic operations amongst the governmental National Antarctic Programs. Our Membership is thirty-three country programs, representing almost 100% of the science and science support activity in Antarctica. The National Antarctic Programs, our Members, are responsible for delivering and supporting scientific research in the Antarctic Treaty Area on behalf of their respective governments and in the spirit of the Antarctic Treaty. They work collaboratively and individually to ensure data from Antarctica is available to the world.
Projects
COMNAP Projects support our Membership, engage the public, and ensure we are providing best practice advice to the Antarctic Treaty system.
Expert Groups
People within the COMNAP Membership have a depth and breadth of expertise found nowhere else. A fundamental aspect of our organisation is to support the free exchange of information between these experts.
Ambitions
Our Ambitions include caring for the environment, supporting our Members to succeed, and fostering strong community relationships while contributing towards a positive, enduring Antarctic future.
Documents and resources
Over the years, we have worked with our Membership and the wider Antarctic community to produce a range of informative brochures, booklets, books and even the Antarctic Station game. Some of our publications provide guidance to our Members on things like waste management, critical technologies, preventing the introduction of non-native species into the Antarctic environment and how to prevent and respond to oil spills. We are advisors to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCMs) and to the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) through our Permanent Observer status.
News & Events
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National Antarctic Program Collaboration Enables Extraction of earth's oldest ice
10 January 2025
After four seasons in the field, years of planning, and with coordination through Italy’s CNR Istituto di Scienze Polari, the “Beyond EPICA” project has announced SUCCESS extracting the world’s oldest ice.
This is an “historic milestone for climate science” all made possible through collaboration of many project partners, including COMNAP Member national Antarctic programs AWI, BAS, IPEV, ENEA and NPI. Read more at the Beyond EPICA website. See the videos of the ice core and the efforts it took to drill 2,800 meters into Antarctic ice. Watch over the next few months as the ice core is carefully brought out of Antarctica on the Italian icebreaker Laura Bassi.
CONGRATULATIONS to everyone involved. This ice is expected to reveal critical details about Earth's climate and atmospheric history, extending beyond 800,000 years ago and showing a continuous record of the history of our climate as far back as 1.2 million years.
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Rod Arnold (BAS) recognised by the UK with New Year's Honours
3 January 2025
COMNAP Member, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), has announced a New Year’s Honour for BAS’s Head of Air Unit & COMNAP Air Operations Air Operations Expert Group Co-leader, Rod Arnold.
Rod’s Antarctic work began almost 35 years ago and he is well-regarded by his peers in the Antarctic community.You can read the full announcement shared by the BAS here.
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Antarctic Summer Science Lecture Series
Christchurch, New Zealand
Final Presentation
11 December 2024The COMNAP Secretariat is proud to present the Antarctic Summer Science Lecture Series. Showcasing Antarctic research facilitated through our COMNAP Member National Antarctic Programs.
Wednesday 11 December | 5.30pm – 6.30pm | University of Canterbury | Central Lecture Theatres | Room C3The Telescope in the Ice: Neutrino Astronomy at the South Pole
By Professor Jenny Adams, University of Canterbury & Professor Albrecht Karle, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
For more information, visit the Antarctic Summer Science Lecture Series webpage.
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Updated COMNAP HPAI Guidance Now Available for Members
10 December 2024
COMNAP has reviewed and updated our Guidance on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Preparedness in Antarctic Operations.
The updated version is version 4, released to Members on 10 December 2024, through the COMNAP Members’ Only document site. Log in and download a copy today.