Head of the International Affairs Section,
Professor, Marine Biologist, National Institute of Polar Research
Professor, Geoscience Group,
Meteorite Curator, National Institute of Polar Research
The goal of the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) is to conduct comprehensive scientific research and observation of the Earth’s polar areas. A core organization of Antarctic programs, the NIPR approaches polar science as advanced comprehensive geoscience, and conducts joint operations with researchers from an array of universities and institutes.
![[Open in a new window]](/common/img/icon/window.png){kind=icon}
Associate Professor, Department of Geology,
Faculty of Science, Niigata University
Dr. Shimura participated in the 35th and 50th Japanese Antarctic Research Expeditions (JARE) as a geologic researcher. His studies have focused on the formation of granite, including research on the Earth’s mysterious thick crust of the rock, which differs from the crustal rocks of the Moon, Mars and Venus. Dr. Shimura discovered a new mineral while exploring the Sør Rondane Mountains during the 50th JARE.
Professor, Physical Oceanography,
Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University
Dr. Ohshima participated in the 32nd JARE as a winter team member. His research is concerned with ocean circulation and ice-ocean interaction in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Antarctic Ocean. Currently, he is conducting field and satellite research on Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW).
Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Science,
Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo
Dr. Sato participated in the 44th JARE as a winter team member. She studies the dynamics of atmospheric phenomena with the PANSY project in various ways. PANSY, which observes the Earth’s atmosphere from the troposphere to the ionosphere, is pioneering atmospheric research at Antarctic latitudes, which have not been as extensively covered as other latitudes.
Photojournalist,
The Sankei Shimbun Co., Ltd.
Mr. Serizawa participated in the 38th and 52nd JARE, representing the Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association. At one point during the 38th expedition, his snowmobile began to break through the sea ice, but luckily he escaped uninjured. Today, he works as a photojournalist at the Sankei Shimbun Co., Ltd.