The future evolution of Antarctic climate: conclusions and upcoming programmes

Abstract Our appreciation of Antarctic climate evolution has grown significantly in the last decade. Characterised by international cooperation, and leadership from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), we now have a better understanding of how and why Antarctica’s ice sheets have developed and influenced global climate change. While the nature of, and explanations for, significant glacial events has improved, gaps in our knowledge of the rate and impact of processes responsible remain. Such processes are critical if we are to understand how the palaeo record can inform us about the vulnerability of the Antarctic ice sheet during periods of greenhouse gas–driven warming. Hence, establishing further precision of past changes, at a resolution helpful to process-based modelling, is an important next step to better constraining future Antarctic change and its sea-level consequences.