The 29th International Polar Conference took place at the Mesnerhaus in Rauris, Austria, from 16th to 20th September 2024. Co-organized by the German Society of Polar Research and the Austrian Polar Research Institute (APRI). The conference brought together national and international experts from universities, major research institutes, polar teachers, and interested parties on the subject “Dynamic Poles and High Mountain Environments”.
Eighty oral presentations were given and 83 posters were discussed. The results are available to the public in the abstract booklet of the “Reports on Polar and Marine Research” (Volume 787/2024). At the conference, all fields of polar research were addressed, i.e. the cryosphere with glaciology, sea ice and permafrost, polar geology and geophysics, Arctic climate and atmosphere processes, polar oceanography, and biological systems of marine and terrestrial polar regions. The working group of the Polar Teachers (AK Polarlehrer) of the German Society for Polar Research (DGP) dealt with polar topics in school lessons. The report colloquium of the DFG Priority Program 1158 "Antarctic Research with Comparative Investigations in Arctic Ice Areas" was also conducted in the context of this polar conference. The four interdisciplinary topics “Response to environmental change”, “Connectivity and exchange in polar systems”, “Dynamics of climate system components” and “Improved understanding of polar processes and mechanisms” were held as symposia with international and national keynote speakers. Within the report colloquium we had three keynote presentations and 20 presentations of projects currently funded in the SPP 1158. Furthermore, 10 Posters were presented within the framework of the SPP Antarctic Research. Thus, the great significance of the 29th International Polar Conference in Rauris for the international scientific exchange and especially for the SPP 1158 was demonstrated.
