The Antarctic Near-Shore and Terrestrial Observation System (ANTOS) is a biologically-focussed initiative to coordinate a cross-continent and cross-national programme-scale assessment of environmental variability and change. It was established in response to the need identified in multiple sectors for long-term commitment to acquire basic information to underpin identification of trends and changes in iconic Antarctic ecosystems. Such information transcends short-term national funding regimes, yet is crucial for informing management approaches and strategies that national bodies must address.

Following a workshop held in August 2014 at the SCAR Open Science Conference in Auckland, ANTOS was established as a SCAR Action Group, with a remit to further develop the ideas behind ANTOS. The Action Group continued until 2016 at which point it was approved to transition to an Expert Group with a lifetime of eight years. 

In 2015, the ANTOS International Workshop was held to develop an implementation plan, detailed in the Workshop Report. A series of next steps were formulated that would need to be addressed before the 2016 SCAR Open Science Conference (OSC) in Kuala Lumpur and these were undertaken by the Group.

An ANTOS workshop was held prior to the 2016 OSC.  More information on the ANTOS News page.