Science Ministry launches the Climate Change Observatory in the Aysén Region
Science Minister Andrés Couve met with research centers, public institutions and communities that monitor the meteorological conditions, the region’s water and ice recession. Information obtained from sensors like oceanographic buoys and glaciological stations will be displayed this year on an integrated, open platform, to facilitate decision-making based on scientific evidence.
With the objective of transforming Chile into a global sensor for climate change, the Science Minister kicked off the on-terrain deployment of the Climate Change Observatory, a project that will provide Chile with access to data from throughout Chile. A network of sensors is to be implemented at bases in the Antarctic, thanks to work by the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH). The project will also move towards setting up an integrated network of sensors and climate information data with the help of public, private, and academic institutions.
Following completion of the project’s design stage, Science Minister Andrés Couve and the Ministerial Science Secretary (Seremi) of the Aysén and Magallanes Regions, Pamela Santibáñez, visited the Aysén Region to work with different institutions that sensor and monitor the effects of climate change.
“The Aysén Region has unique natural characteristics and excellent capacities for scientific work and monitoring the weather, water and ice sheets, which will give Chile and the world valuable information about climate change. This is the starting point for integrating the data collected by a network of sensors throughout the whole of Chile into a single platform containing key information for making decisions about the climate,” said Minister Couve.
The Science Minister visited initiatives in Coyhaique, Puerto Aysén, Puerto Rio Tranquilo, Cochrane, Tortel and the Steffen Glacier in the Southern Patagonian Ice Fields to invite different institutions to join the project. They included the following initiatives: the joint work between the Harmful Algae Studies Center (Centro de Estudios de Algas Nocivas or CREAN) and the Fisheries Development Institute (IFOP); a community network for climate change monitoring in the River Baker basin (Red Comunitaria para el Seguimiento del Cambio Climático en la Cuenca del Río Baker, RECCA); the archaeological research and surveillance work of the Patagonian Ecosystems Research Center (CIEP), which uses a network of 11 buoys in Patagonian lakes; and the role of the General Directorate of Water (DGA) and scientific teams that estimate climatic risk and perform modeling based on meteorological, glaciological and river flow data.
“We need scientific research to generate information with reliable data, so that we can monitor over time in order to have a joint review process with the community. We can see this in the opportunity provided by the Aysén Region to monitor ice flows or anticipate events such as the algal bloom known as the red tide. One of the ways in which the Climate Change Observatory will contribute is by making it possible to anticipate events and also by promoting joint working among the scientific community in order to contribute an innovative, long-term perspective based on information,” said Minister Couve.
The Science Minister and Science Seremi of the Aysén and Magallanes Regions also met with officials at Universidad de Aysén and visited the Museum of Coyhaique. They also spent time with people from the local community in Puerto Rio Tranquilo, who have been awarded funds from the Science Ministry’s Public Science program for a project to assemble and exhibit the skeleton of a Sei whale at the Gabriela Mistral school in order to contribute to the community's knowledge of its natural heritage.
“We need to engage with society and for the knowledge that is produced to be shared with everyone, because we all need this information to make decisions. Coordinating and connecting with the community is extremely important because we need to address the climate crisis, impart knowledge and become informed so that we are resilient and can adapt to change,” said the Seremi, Pamela Santibáñez.
Finally, the Science Ministry officials discussed the environmental challenges and pollution in the region pollution with the Rector of Universidad de Aysén, Natacha Pino, research teams from the university and CIEP, the Ministerial Environment Secretary (Seremi), and Chair of the Regional Councilors’ (CORE) Science Committee, Dr. Rodrigo Araya.