Polaris Climate Change Observatory

Posted on 15.07.2009 • in Projects

Artist's impression

With the Princess Elisabeth Station successfully completed, the International Polar Foundation’s next big endeavor is the Polaris Climate Change Observatory (PCCO).

This new breed of a science center focuses on making climate change understandable for the general public.

The PCCO will be focusing on the importance of polar science in understanding the causes and consequences of climate change. It is meant to be a reference center where all stakeholders are expected to exchange knowledge and share initiatives related to mitigation and adaptation to global warming.

First Polaris in Cape Town

Cape Town is the perfect location for the first Polaris Climate Change Observatory, bringing together the ingenuity of one of Africa’s premier cities with a revolutionary concept which will change the way visitors understand the world, the changing climate and ways in which humanity can take responsibility and make decisions for the future.

The Polaris will be like no other place in the world today, by taking the visitor through the origins of the Earth right up to present day in a bid to put climate change into perspective.

There has been so much said and done on climate change. The multiplicity of science interactions and conflicting stories have muddied the waters of public understanding on what is happening to the Earth and climate today, and the near future perspectives.

The Polaris will demystify the climate change debate and give visitors the broad vision and understanding they need to make decisions about their own future.

Polaris will be built in the heart of the V&A Waterfront, on a Jetty that will be developed to offer visitors of all ages a striking experience as a path to sustainability.

Featuring permanent and temporary exhibitions, outreach and education activities, spectacular ways of presenting climate facts and figures, highlighting new science and innovations, the Polaris Climate Change Observatory will confirm Cape Town and South Africa as world landmarks for climate action.

Opening in 2014.

The concept

The 3000 m2 PCCO building looks like a giant tabular iceberg floating on a large pool of water. It will make use of two powerful symbols to represent climate change:

• An Earth globe acting as the focal point around which visitors will revolve during their visit. The globe will be used as a 3D screen to visualize key concepts.

• A giant ice core through the heart of which will run a transparent spiral staircase. Ice cores are the repositories of Earth’s climatic history, going back up to 800.000 years. While descending the staircase, visitors will be presented with a summary of the various climatic periods.

Polaris Climate Change Observatory: Thematic Areas

The permament exhibition of the PCCO will be divided in eight forums throughout which visitors will get to know Earth’s climate system, and their personal relation to climate:

Prologue

The permanent exhibition revolving around the central Earth Globe will begin with an emotional and aesthetic experience. Visitors will be walking on shifting ice and snow, while viewing panoramic images of the polar regions and questions about climate change.

Climate History: Ante Hominem & Advent of mankind

Visitors discover the climatic history of our planet before the advent of mankind. The influence of the Earth’s climate on early human evolution and migrations is also detailed. Mankind evolution is shaped by climatic cycles on which it has no impact.

Dance of the Planets: Natural Climate Mechanisms

This part of the exhibition sets out to explain how the climate system works around our planet. How can scientists reconstruct past climates? What are the archives they use and how do they use them?

Polar Knowledge

Polar regions are a key component of Earth Climate System. How do they fit in and why are they so important? Today, the Arctic and Antarctic are changing at a rapid pace and these changes will have global impacts for the rest of the world.

Man-made climate: the carbon age

Since the industrial revolution, mankind has developed a civilization based on fossil fuels to provide the energy we use. Massive amounts of CO2 have been rejected in the atmosphere, modifying climate equilibrium at a pace and with a magnitude never witnessed before. Scientific evidence is available and will be presented to visitors of the PCCO.

Man-made climate: (im)possible futures

The climate balance has already shifted for future generations, but we can still act. Depending of the measures we choose to take and on how quickly and widely they are implemented, various scenarios are possible. Visitors will be presented with the various possible scenarios and their consequences for mankind and its environment.

Globe: Earth Observatory

The inside of the globe aims at showing visitors that the climate system of our planet is a dynamic one, where the various components are interrelated and have an impact on each other. Various parts of that system will be presented in a dynamic and engaging way: wind and water circulation, sea-level rise, the ozone layer, etc. Research instruments used by scientists to study parts of that system will also be displayed (satellites, buoys, beacons, weather stations, balloons, underwater robots, etc).

Solutions : Domus in Terra / Princess Elisabeth Station

Our and future generations will have to tackle climate change and its impacts. Our societies must evolve towards a more sustainable relationship with nature. These changes will have to occur at various levels: personal, political, economic, communities, etc.

Complementing this permanent exhibition, the Polaris Climate Change Observatory (PCCO) will also feature a full educational programme for schools with dedicated workshops and temporary exhibitions spaces for various science, technology or sociology related solutions towards a low carbon society.