Researchers on ice? How the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Antarctic researchers

The COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic-related measures have impacted the lives and work-related activities of Antarctic researchers. To explore these impacts, we designed, piloted and disseminated an online survey in English, Russian, Spanish and Chinese in late 2020 and early 2021. The survey explored how the pandemic affected the productivity of Antarctic researchers, their career prospects and their mental wellbeing. Findings exposed patterns of inequities. For instance, of the 406 unique responses to the survey, women appeared to have been affected more adversely than men, especially in relation to mental health, and early-career researchers were disadvantaged more than their mid- or late-career colleagues. Overall, a third of the research participants reported at least one major negative impact from the pandemic on their mental health. Approximately half of the participants also mentioned that the COVID-19 pandemic had some positive effects, especially in terms of the advantages that working from home brought and opportunities to attend events, network or benefit from training workshops online. We conclude with a series of recommendations for science administrators and policymakers to mitigate the most serious adverse impacts of the pandemic on Antarctic research communities, with implications for other contexts where scientific activities are conducted under extreme circumstances.

Automated summary

The COVID-19 pandemic and related measures have had an impact on the lives and work of Antarctic researchers. We conducted an online survey in multiple languages to explore these impacts, particularly on productivity, career prospects, and mental well-being. The survey findings revealed patterns of inequities, with women and early-career researchers being more adversely affected. One-third of the participants reported major negative impacts on their mental health, while half mentioned positive effects such as remote work advantages and online opportunities for networking and training. We provide recommendations for science administrators and policymakers to mitigate the adverse impacts and highlight implications for research conducted in extreme circumstances.