Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research

Last updated

Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
AbbreviationSCAR
Formation1958;66 years ago (1958)
Type INGO
Region served
Worldwide
Official language
English
Parent organization
 International Science Council
Website scar.org

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.

Contents

SCAR's scientific work is administered through several discipline-themed science groups. The organisation has observer status at, and provides independent advice to Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, and also provides information to other international bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). [1]

The calving front at the SCAR Inlet is named for the 'Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. It is the remaining fragment of the much larger Larsen B ice shelf which disintegrated in 2002. Sunny Skies over the Antarctic Peninsula - NASA Earth Observatory.jpg
The calving front at the SCAR Inlet is named for the 'Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. It is the remaining fragment of the much larger Larsen B ice shelf which disintegrated in 2002.

History

At the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU)'s Antarctic meeting held in Stockholm from 9–11 September 1957, it was agreed that a committee should be created to oversee scientific research in Antarctica. At the time there were 12 nations actively conducting Antarctic research and they were each invited to nominate one delegate to join a Special Committee on Antarctic Research. The 12 nations were Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States, and USSR.

The Special Committee held its first meeting in the Hague from 3–6 February 1958 and elected its first Executive Committee - Ing. Gen. Georges Laclavère (French) as president, Professor Keith Edward Bullen (British) as vice president, and Valter Schytt (Swedish) as secretary. A Finance Committee and three working groups were also formed at this meeting.

The organisation's name was later changed to the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. [4]

Structure

SCAR is currently made up of 32 full member countries and 12 associate member countries. Each full member country appoints a permanent delegate and an alternate delegate; associate member countries appoint just one delegate. The delegates meet every two years to decide on SCAR's strategic direction and which delegates to elect to the Executive Committee. [5]

The role of the Executive Committee is to work with the SCAR Secretariat (based at the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, England) to carry out decisions made by the Delegates. The Executive Committee is made up of a president, an immediate past-president, four vice-presidents and the executive director of SCAR. [6]

Activities

Meetings

One of the ways that SCAR brings researchers together is through meetings. These include biennial Open Science Conferences (OSCs), Delegate Meetings, the SCAR Biology Symposium (every 4 years), the International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences, and the Humanities and Social Science Symposium.

Open Science Conferences

SCAR has been organising biennial Open Science Conferences (OSCs) in various member countries including Germany, Australia, Russia, Argentina, US, New Zealand, Malaysia and Switzerland, since 2004. The OSCs give Antarctic scientists opportunities to draw attention to Antarctic issues, hold scientific group meetings, share their work, and network. [7]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the physical 2020 conference and meetings scheduled to take place in Hobart, Australia, were cancelled. SCAR 2020 Online was held online from 3–7 August and delivered the highlights of the conference through a combination of live streaming, recorded presentations, text-based chat and a poster gallery. [8] [9] The 2022 OSC was also held online with live and recorded presentations, virtual networking, and an online poster gallery. [10] Future meetings will use an innovative hybrid format going forwards.

Science

Over 30 groups coordinate Antarctic research across a variety of disciplines and themes through SCAR. SCAR has three permanent science groups:

Each science group encompasses scientific research programmes (SRPs) in priority areas. SRPs have a lifetime of about eight years and new programmes can be suggested and developed through programme planning groups (PPGs).

In 2018, a permanent Standing Committee on the Humanities and Social Sciences was set up to recognise the important and growing contribution of the humanities and social sciences communities to Antarctic research. Antarctica's human history is relatively recent and this important area of study explores how humans interact with the region.

Each science group also has action groups (AGs), which have a lifetime of two to four years and are intended to solve short-term issues, and wider-focus expert groups (EGs), which last between six and eight years. [11] Examples include the AntArchitecture Action Group, the Expert Group on Birds and Marine Mammals, the Earth Observation Action Group, and the Action Group on Meeting and Managing Antarctic Environments.

Policy

One aspect of SCAR's work is identifying emerging issues from Antarctic and Southern Ocean research and bringing them to the attention of policymakers, including the Antarctic Treaty, the UNFCCC and IPCC. Environmental and conservation related science is a large and growing part of SCAR's policy work. [12]

In 2002 SCAR received the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation. [13] [14]

SCAR provides independent scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings via its Standing Committee on the Antarctic Treaty System (SCATS). SCATS brings together global scientists to create papers on the status of particular areas of research, to present at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings. SCAR is also tasked with providing advice to a number of other bodies, including the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

In 2019, SCAR's long-standing contribution to the Antarctic Treaty System was recognised by the passing of a resolution calling for the representative countries' Governments to enhance support, collaboration and cooperation in scientific research and protective measures for Antarctica. [15]

In 2022 the "Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment" report was published for the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Berlin. The report summarises a decade of research on the impact of climate change on Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, and the global effects of these changes. [16] The report's findings were summarised in an animation titled "Our Future Depends on Us". [17] [18]

Capacity building

Medals

SCAR awards four medals at its biennial Open Science Conferences, in recognition of excellence in Antarctic and Southern Ocean research and outstanding service to the international Antarctic community, [19] these are:

  • The Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research
  • The Medal for International Coordination
  • The Medal for Education and Communication
  • The President's Medal for Outstanding Achievement

Visiting scholarships

SCAR offers Visiting Scholar Awards, which enable researchers and academics to visit other SCAR member countries.

Fellowships

SCAR provides fellowships to early-career researchers to allow them to join research groups in other countries. [20]

Diversity in Antarctic science

As one of the principles of its parent organisation, the International Science Council (ISC), SCAR "promotes equitable opportunities for access to science and its benefits, and opposes discrimination based on such factors as ethnic origin, religion, citizenship, language, political or other opinion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or age." [21]

As part of the push to improve the representation of women on Wikipedia, the SCAR community has already included more than 70 new biographies for notable women in Antarctic research. [22]

In 2022 SCAR established an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Group tasked with identifying how EDI issues can be effectively dealt with within SCAR, and what practical actions can be taken. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antarctic Treaty System</span> International treaties concerning Antarctica

The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. It was the first arms control agreement established during the Cold War, designating the continent as a scientific preserve, establishing freedom of scientific investigation, and banning military activity; for the purposes of the treaty system, Antarctica is defined as all the land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude. Since September 2004, the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat, which implements the treaty system, is headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, also known as the Madrid Protocol, is a complementary legal instrument to the Antarctic Treaty signed in Madrid on 4 October 1991. It entered into force on 14 January 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora</span> Set of environmental protection measures

The Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora is a set of environmental protection measures which were accepted at the third Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Brussels in 1964. The Agreed Measures were formally in force as part of the Antarctic Treaty System from 1982 to 2011, when they were withdrawn as the principles were now entirely superseded by later agreements such as the 1991 Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. The Agreed Measures were adopted in order to further international collaboration within the administration of the Antarctic Treaty System and promote the protection of natural Antarctic ecological systems while enabling scientific study and exploration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Antarctic Programme</span> Scientific programme started in 1981

The Indian Antarctic Programme is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional programme under the control of the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. It was initiated in 1981 with the first Indian expedition to Antarctica. The programme gained global acceptance with India's signing of the Antarctic Treaty and subsequent construction of the Dakshin Gangotri Antarctic research base in 1983, superseded by the Maitri base from 1989. The newest base commissioned in 2012 is Bharati, constructed out of 134 shipping containers. Under the programme, atmospheric, biological, earth, chemical, and medical sciences are studied by India, which has carried out 40 scientific expeditions to the Antarctic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Naish</span> New Zealand scientist (born 1951)

Timothy Raymond Naish is a New Zealand glaciologist and climate scientist who has been a researcher and lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington and the Director of the Antarctic Research Centre, and in 2020 became a programme leader at the Antarctic Science Platform. Naish has researched and written about the possible effect of melting ice sheets in Antarctica on global sea levels due to high CO2 emissions causing warming in the Southern Ocean. He was instrumental in establishing and leading the Antarctica Drilling Project (ANDRILL), and a Lead Author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report (2014).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jane Francis</span> British paleoclimatologist

Professor Dame Jane Elizabeth Francis, is the Director of the British Antarctic Survey. She previously worked as Professor of Palaeoclimatology at the University of Leeds where she also was Dean of the Faculty of Environment. In 2002 she was the fourth woman to receive the Polar Medal for outstanding contribution to British polar research. She is currently the Chancellor of the University of Leeds.

The International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE) was created in 1990 with the purpose of studying climate change through research conducted in Antarctica. Antarctica was chosen as the optimal site to study the atmosphere because of its remote location and relatively undisturbed environment. Research in many fields has been conducted in Antarctica through ITASE, including astronomy, atmospheric sciences, biology, earth sciences, environmental science, geology, glaciology, marine biology, oceanography, and geophysics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Captain Arturo Prat Base</span> Antarctic base

Captain Arturo Prat Base is a Chilean Antarctic research station located at Iquique Cove, Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christo Pimpirev</span> Bulgarian scientist and polar explorer (born 1953)

Christo Pimpirev is a Bulgarian scientist (geologist) and polar explorer.

The Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) is a field project of the Census of Marine Life that researches the marine biodiversity of Antarctica, how it is affected by climate change, and how this change is altering the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean.

Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) is an international association that develops and promotes best practice in managing the support of scientific research in Antarctica. Members are composed of national research programs who respective governments are signatories to the Antarctic Treaty committing the continent as a natural reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Wilson (scientist)</span> International leader in the study of present-day tectonics in Antarctica

Terry Jean Wilson is an international leader in the study of present-day tectonics in Antarctica. She has led large, international efforts, such as Polar Earth Observing Network (POLENET), to investigate the interactions between the Earth's crust and the cryosphere in Antarctica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angelika Brandt</span> German deep-sea biologist

Angelika Brandt is the world leader in Antarctic deep-sea biodiversity and has developed, organised and led several oceanographic expeditions to Antarctica, notably the series of ANDEEP cruises, which have contributed significantly to Antarctica and deep-sea biology. Brandt was the senior scientist of ANDEEP which was devoted entirely to benthic research in the Antarctic abyss.

Carlota Escutia Dotti is a Spanish geologist, best known for her work on the geologic evolution of Antarctica and the global role of the Antarctic ice cap. Escutia is based at the Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad de Granada and the High Council for Scientific Research (CSIC).

Florica Topârceanu is an Antarctic researcher, best known for her work was on Antarctic aquatic viruses and the development of the Antarctic scientific community in Romania. She was the first Romanian woman biologist to study life in Antarctica and the first Romanian woman expert to the Antarctic Treaty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornelia Lüdecke</span> German polar researcher and author

Cornelia Lüdecke is a German polar researcher and author. A leading figure in the history of German polar research and the history of meteorology and oceanography, she founded the Expert Group on History of Antarctic Research within the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), institutionalising historical study and reflection for the Antarctic scientific community. Her books, among others, about the Schwabenland Expedition to Antarctica during the Third Reich and Germans in the Antarctic are milestones in the history of polar research publications.

Vivian Helena Pellizari is a Brazilian Antarctic scientist known for her work on establishing Antarctic microbiology in Brazil. Pellizari is the head of Department of Oceanographic Biology at Oceanographic Institute of University of São Paulo.

Viviana Andrea Alder is an Argentine researcher in Antarctica, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Walton (ecologist)</span> British ecologist (1945–2019)

David W. H. Walton was a British emeritus professor with the British Antarctic Survey. Walton trained as an ecologist and was a specialist in the Antarctic. He was the first chair of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) Standing Committee on the Antarctic Treaty System and held this position from 2002 to 2006. He was the Chief Scientist on the Antarctic Circumpolar Expedition (ACE) which took place from December 2016 to March 2017 aboard the Russian research vessel Akademik Treshnikov.

References

  1. ↑ "Welcome to SCAR". SCAR. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  2. ↑ "Scar Inlet". data.antarctica.gov.au.
  3. ↑ Roston, Eric. "Glacial Death Watch: Why an Ice Shelf Snapped in 2002 and What's Coming Next". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  4. ↑ Nash, Rosemary. "The History of SCAR". SCAR. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  5. ↑ Nash, Rosemary. "Delegates". SCAR. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  6. ↑ Nash, Rosemary. "Executive Committee". SCAR. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  7. ↑ Narelle. "SCAR Open Science Conferences". SCAR. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  8. ↑ Online, SCAR 2020. "Home - SCAR 2020 Online". Home. Retrieved 23 September 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ "SCAR 2020 Online - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  10. ↑ "SCAR 2022 | Virtual" . Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  11. ↑ "Overview of SCAR Science and Research". SCAR. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  12. ↑ "Policy Advice". SCAR. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  13. ↑ IT, Developed with webControl CMS by Intermark. "The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research - Laureates - Princess of Asturias Awards". The Princess of Asturias Foundation. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  14. ↑ "A Major International Prize for SCAR". Polar Record. 38 (207): 381. 27 October 2009. doi:10.1017/S0032247400018192. ISSN   1475-3057. S2CID   233319393.
  15. ↑ "Antarctic Treaty database - Resolution 7 (2019) - ATCM XLII - CEP XXII, Prague". www.ats.aq. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  16. ↑ SCAR. "Antarctica: coming to a postcode near you". SCAR. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  17. ↑ SCAR. "Our future depends on us: Animation highlights impacts of climate change on Antarctica". SCAR. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  18. ↑ Our future depends on us: Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment , retrieved 20 March 2023
  19. ↑ Nash, Rosemary. "Overview of SCAR Medals". SCAR. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  20. ↑ "Fellowships & Awards". SCAR. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  21. ↑ "Freedoms & Responsibilities of Scientists". International Science Council. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  22. ↑ Curator. "Women in Antarctic Research". SCAR. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  23. ↑ SCAR. "Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Action Group". SCAR. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
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