Viviana A. Alder (born 1957 in San Julián, Argentina) is an Argentinian researcher in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

, best known for her research on marine microbiology. Alder is considered to be among the first group of Argentine female scientists to work in Antarctica.

Early life and education

Alder obtained a degree in Oceanography from the Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia in 1982, and received her doctorate in Biological Sciences from the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...

in 1995.

Career and impact

Alder's research investigates the impact of the

Antarctic Circumpolar Current The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is an ocean current that flows clockwise (as seen from the South Pole) from west to east around Antarctica. An alternative name for the ACC is the West Wind Drift. The ACC is the dominant circulation feat ...

and also El Nino and La Nina on food web structure, species dispersal and population abundance through the investigation of planktonic marine microbial communities. She is based at the Instituto Antartico Argentino; CONICET (

National Scientific and Technical Research Council National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

). Alder has led over ten Antarctic field seasons with financial support from the Argentine Antarctic Institute (Instituto Antartico Argentino), the

European Science Foundation The European Science Foundation (ESF) is an association of 11 member organizations devoted to scientific research in 8 European countries. ESF is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organisation that promotes the highest quality science ...

, and

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

(NSF). Alder has participated in the

Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, also known as the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and CCAMLR, is part of the Antarctic Treaty System. The convention was opened for s ...

(CCAMLR) and has been a

Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is an interdisciplinary body of the International Science Council (ISC). SCAR coordinates international scientific research efforts in Antarctica, including the Southern Ocean. SCAR's scien ...

(SCAR) Delegate for Argentina, since 2004. She is a member of the SCAR Capacity Building, Education and Training (CBET) Advisory Group. During the International Polar Year 2007-09 Alder led and coordinated two major projects for Argentina: DRAKE BIOSEAS and PAMPA. In addition to her scholarly work published in scientific journals, books and science magazines she is an active collaborator in many education and outreach projects, such as ‘Antarctica Educa’, an online education resource for children. Dirección Nacional del Antártico-Instituto Antártico Argentino, Argentina. June 2010. Accessed 2017-07-01.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alder, Viviana Argentine women scientists 1957 births Living people Women Antarctic scientists 20th-century women scientists 21st-century women scientists People from Argentine Antarctica Women microbiologists Argentine microbiologists National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco alumni University of Buenos Aires alumni