The rise of Portuguese Antarctic research: implications for Portugal's status under the Antarctic Treaty

Abstract

Portugal has developed an active Antarctic program over the past decade. Here, we examine Portuguese Antarctic activity using a variety of bibliometric measures, showing that Portuguese scientific output has grown substantially faster than the field as a whole, with quality remaining broadly constant.

A decade of shaping the futures of polar early career researchers: A legacy of the International Polar Year

“…APECS has been a partner to the event from the start and APECS members have worked closely with Our Spaces to translate an educational book on the Antarctic Treaty, entitled Celebrating Antarctica: A Treaty Protecting a Continent, into 22 languages (http:// celebratingantarctica.tumblr.com/). Polar Weeks and Antarctica Day are considered exemplary educational activities for promoting both Antarctic science and the Antarctic Treaty System (SAT, 2016(SAT, , 2017Xavier, Gray, & Hughes, 2018).…”

“…The skills gained at the international level can then be used at a national level. For example, APECS members who have been active at the international level have gone on to develop active public polar outreach programmes in nontraditional polar countries, including Portugal, Bulgaria and Brazil (Schiermeier, 2009;Xavier et al, 2018). This in turn inspires the next generation of researchers.…”

International Polar Week as an educational activity to boost science–educational links: Portugal as a case study

“…There are only approximately 100 polar scientists in Portugal (from 15 research institutes/universities) (Xavier et al, 2006(Xavier et al, , 2018, so the Portuguese International Polar Week organisers collaborated with schools and polar scientists from other countries, particularly the United Kingdom and Brazil (Table 1), to draw on a wider international pool of Antarctic researchers. These collaborations were based on existing, established contacts between polar scientists or between organisations (e.g.…”

“…Since the IPY, there has been a significant boost in educational activities in "non-polar" countries, defined here as countries that are not geographically located in the polar regions, do not have any claims to any territory in the polar regions and have not had a long tradition of carrying out activities, such as research, exploration and fishing, in the polar regions (such as Portugal), which are developing polar programmes (Kaiser, Zicus, & Allen, 2010;Schiermeier, 2009;Xavier, Gray, & Hughes, 2018). However, few studies have measured the usefulness of these initiatives (Xavier et al, 2016).…”

“…Despite its location far from the poles, Portugal was very involved in the IPY, both scientifically and educationally, and has since continued to expand its efforts (Azinhaga, 2014;Kaiser et al, 2010;Xavier, Vieira, & Canário, 2006;Xavier et al, 2013Xavier et al, , 2016. For example, Portugal joined several international polar-focused scientific organisations, including the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), and APECS; it established its own national polar-focused programme (PROPOLAR) (Xavier et al, 2013(Xavier et al, , 2016(Xavier et al, , 2018; and it coordinated several educational programmes focused on polar issues (e.g. Latitude60!, Profession: Polar Scientist, Education PROPOLAR) (Kaiser et al, 2010;Zicus et al, 2011 Over the years, the committee coordinating International Polar Weeks in Portugal has collected valuable information regarding participant numbers, international collaborations and types of activities.…”