Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies
Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies
Abbreviation: IASOS
Course code: iasos
The Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies is a National Key Centre for
Teaching and Research established with the aid of federal government funding in 1988 to
promote and focus Australian academic activity concerned with Antarctica and its
surrounding ocean. IASOS is housed in the well-equipped Centenary Building in a central
position on the Hobart campus of the University of Tasmania.
The Director of IASOS is Professor GW Paltridge and there are key staff in major discipline
areas: physical sciences – Dr KJ Michael; life sciences – Dr A McMinn, Dr G Jackson; and
legal and policy studies – Dr MG Haward. Other staff with primary roles in other Schools
of the University and in major research establishments with interests in the region are
affiliated with IASOS, and participate in its teaching and research program.
IASOS has a close working arrangement with the Australian Antarctic Division, CSIRO
Marine Research, the Bureau of Meteorology and the Commission for the Conservation of
Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in Hobart. These agencies are involved in
the coursework programs, in supervising postgraduate students, and providing laboratory
and support facilities for thesis projects.
The Australian Antarctic Division, CSIRO Marine Research, the Bureau of Meteorology,
the Australian Geological Survey Organisation and the Institute of Antarctic and Southern
Ocean Studies (IASOS) have formed an Antarctic Cooperative Research Centre based on
the campus. With a staff of 65 and more than 15 honours year and 55 research higher
degree students, the Centre is one of the largest in the world conducting research in the
polar regions and is mainly concerned with the large-scale interactions of the south polar
region with the global climate and environment. Major scientific disciplines include
physical, chemical and biological oceanography; atmospheric physics and chemistry;
climatology; glaciology; polar region biology and palaeo-climatic reconstruction. Legal
and policy work concerns environmental management , the operation of the Antarctic
Treaty System and climate change policy.
Students work closely with world-class scientists involved in national and international
research programs and have access to the extensive facilities not only of the Antarctic CRC
itself but also of the partner agencies in Hobart. Great use is made of very expensive,
publicly-funded, research facilities such as the ice-class research vessel Aurora Australis,
the Tasmanian Earth Resources Satellite Station (TERSS), and the CRAY high-performance
computing facility at the University.
A major objective of the overall Antarctic CRC scheme is to knit postgraduate teaching
closely to the developing research programs of the participating institutions. IASOS, in
association with the Antarctic CRC, offers the following options for graduate students:
•
Bachelor of Antarctic Studies with Honours
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University of Tasmania Course and Unit Handbook –Course details for 2003
August 1, 2016, 19:06 PM, page –1
Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies
•
Graduate Diploma of Science (Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies)
•
Graduate Diploma of Science (Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies) with Honours
•
Research Higher Degrees (MSc, MA and PhD)
Theme area
All units taught by the Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies fall within the
Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies theme area. Specific courses taught by IASOS
under this theme are the Bachelor of Antarctic Studies with Honours, Graduate Diploma
of Science (Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies), Graduate Diploma of Science
(Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies) with Honours, and Master of Meteorology and
Oceanography.
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University of Tasmania Course and Unit Handbook –Course details for 2003
August 1, 2016, 19:06 PM, page –2