The Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP)
News & Events
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Air Operations in Antarctica
15 March 2024
The current version of the COMNAP Antarctic Flight Information Manual (AFIM) 23-04 (15 March 2024) is now available for COMNAP Members from the Members’ Only webpage.
If you are deploying an RPAS in Antarctica this season, please refer to the updated COMNAP RPAS Operators Handbook (18 December 2023).
For additional information on AFIM and to download the COMNAP RPAS Operators Handbook, please visit https://www.comnap.aq/air-operations.
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Are you the next COMNAP Early-Career Awardee?
5 March 2024
Antarctic organisations are calling on early-career researchers and scientists to apply for this year’s Antarctic Fellowship and Scholarship.
The awards, granted annually by COMNAP, IAATO, SCAR and CCAMLR, are an investment in the professional development of talented early-career researchers, scientists, engineers, environmental managers, and other professionals, and aim to strengthen international capacity and cooperation in the spirit of the Antarctic Treaty.
The deadline to submit your application is 31 May 2024. To know more click here.
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Spain's National Antarctic Program confirms HPAI in the Antarctic
24 February 2024
Working on samples collected from the Antarctic in early February, scientists from the Severo Ochoa Center for Molecular Biology of the CSIC confirm the presence of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus for the first time in Antarctica. The group of scientists, led by CSIC researcher Antonio Alcamí, who works at the Spanish Antarctic Base "Gabriel de Castilla", on Deception Island, confirmed the presence of the virus on February 24.
Specifically, the virus has been found in two samples of dead skuas (skuas), which were found by Argentine scientists in the vicinity of the Argentine Antarctic base "Primavera".
Read more here (Spanish): https://www.ciencia.gob.es/Noticias/2024/febrero/gripe-aviar-antartida.html.
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Joint Statement on HPAI in the Antarctic Treaty Area
27 December 2023
COMNAP, IAATO, SCAR, and representatives from the CCAMLR Secretariat have been working collaboratively to address the heightened risk of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in the Antarctic. National Antarctic programs operating in the Antarctic have been vigilant looking for signs of infection in wildlife and monitoring the situation.
On 22 December, the Argentina national Antarctic program reported unusual bird mortality of Antarctic Skuas in the vicinity of Orcadas Station. The observations indicate suspected infection with HPAI. All indications are that the birds have brought the virus to that area via their natural migration.
Read the joint statement here.