Viviana Andrea Alder (born 1957 in San Julián, Argentina) is an Argentine 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 (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

, 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 (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

in 1995.

Career and impact

Alder's research investigates the impact of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current 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 The National Scientific and Technical Research Council (, CONICET) is an Argentina, Argentine Government of Argentina, government agency which directs and co-ordinates most of the scientific and technical research done in List of universities i ...

). 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 organization that promotes science in Europe. It was e ...

, and

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

(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 scie ...

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