ICELAB: Leaked emails cast further doubt on future of CSIRO's Antarctic ice research project

Extract from The Guardian

By national science reporter Jake Sturmer

Updated about 6 hours ago

Photo: An Australian researcher with an ice core sample (Supplied: Jill Brown/Australian Antarctic Division)

The future of a key Antarctic climate change research project appears to have been thrown into further doubt, according to emails obtained by the ABC.

Key points:

• The emails warn CSIRO cuts would leave IceLab with a funding shortfall
• Experts say any cut would be a loss to Australia's scientific capabilities
• CSIRO says it will maintain "a core ice lab capability

On top of that, dozens of CSIRO scientists around the country were on Thursday told they might be made redundant as part of the organisation's 275 planned job cuts.
CSIRO funding cuts threaten the future of the Melbourne-based ICELAB, which provides important national research infrastructure to measure gases trapped inside ice cores.
It allows scientists to measure what was in the atmosphere hundreds of thousands of years ago, and so work out how the climate has changed.
In emails obtained by the ABC, Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) director Nick Gales warned CSIRO that his organisation would not be able to make up any funding shortfall.
"The situation remains that CSIRO's ICELAB capability is regarded as a key national research investment in this space, but that AAD does not have access to funds to offset CSIRO's decisions to de-invest in this work," the May 9 email to senior CSIRO staff said.
"It has not been particularly helpful that the media appear to have an expectation that AAD might be in a position to co-fund this work."

Cuts 'fly in face' of recent funding for Antarctica research

Australian National University climate researcher Dr Nerilie Abram said any cuts to ICELAB would be a loss to Australia's scientific capabilities.

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Audio: Future of ice core research uncertain as CSIRO ice lab hangs in balance (PM)

Dr Abram, who used to work with the British Antarctic Survey, said the cuts appeared to fly in the face of the Federal Government's recent 10-year, $200-million commitment to support Australia's presence in the Antarctic.

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"We've seen the Government announcing funding that will give Australia the capability to … get us into more remote places in Antarctica to drill these valuable ice cores particularly with the goal of trying to get the oldest ice," Dr Abram said.
"But then for Australia to not have the capabilities of measuring what's in the ice — that's a real loss."

It's not something where these researchers have been twiddling their thumbs with not enough to do — there's still plenty of science that needs to be done.

Nerilie Abram, ANU climate scientist

In a statement, CSIRO said it would "maintain a core ice lab capability".
But what that will eventually look like is not known, and climate scientists fear IceLab's capabilities will be severely hampered.
"It's not something where these researchers have been twiddling their thumbs with not enough to do — there's still plenty of science that needs to be done," ANU climate scientist Dr Abram said.
The CSIRO statement said the accompanying gas lab would be kept "fully operational" and that it would "continue to maintain its ice core archive".
The Australian Antarctic Division is yet to respond to the ABC's request for comment.

Staff left 'angry' over lack of answers about cuts

Staff in CSIRO's Yarralumla Oceans & Atmosphere teams were on Thursday informed whether they had been identified as potentially redundant.
A source present said staff were "angry" and getting few answers to their questions.
The conversations follow similar meetings earlier in the week at Aspendale in Victoria.
"People want to know why they are chosen [for redundancy], but they are not getting a clear picture yet," CSIRO Staff Association president Dr Michael Borgas said.
According to a CSIRO source, programs on the chopping block include work focussing on renewable energy storage, network design and other areas such as wind farm design
Another project which could be scaled back is AeroSpan, which monitors aerosols as part of the global AERONET program with NASA to help make better climate predictions.
A letter from NASA's AERONET lead project scientist to Alex Wonhas, CSIRO's executive director of environment, energy and resources, earlier this month expressed "dismay" that the agency was considering axing the program.
In a statement, CSIRO said it was still working out how to deliver AeroSpan in a more efficient way — and how that might affect staffing.
NASA has been contacted for comment.
The ABC has seen draft press guidance from the US space agency advising that Brent Holben's letter was not the position of it or the US Government.