Report on the Activities of the Scientic Committee on Antarctic Research (1999 - 2002)
Submitted by Roland Schlich, Liaison Officer of IUGG to SCAR
SCAR, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, is an interdisciplinary committee of ICSU and it is charged with the initiation, promotion and co-ordination of scientific research in Antarctica. SCAR evolved from the Special Committee on Antarctic Research established by ICSU to co-ordinate the scientific research of the twelve nations active in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year 1957-58.
The membership of SCAR comprises the National Committees of national scientific academies or research councils of those nations which are active in Antarctic research, relevant ICSU Scientific Unions, and Associate Members which are those national scientific organisations planning to become active in Antarctic research.
SCAR Delegates meet biennially to determine SCAR policy and strategy. The Delegates elect a President and four Vice-Presidents from amongst themselves who, together with the Immediate Past President, constitute the Executive Committee which is responsible for conducting the day-to-day administration of SCAR through its Secretariat at the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
The membership of SCAR numbered in 1999, 26 Full Members (National Committees), 7 ICSU Union members and 6 Associate Members. In 2002 the membership was 27 Full Members (Peru became Full Member in 2002), 7 ICSU Union members and 4 Associate Members (Estonia withdrew in 2001).
The publication of SCAR Bulletins (nos 132-147) within Polar Record, and as a separate for internal SCAR distribution and SCAR Reports (nos 16-22) continued throughout the 1999-2002 period. The SCAR Bulletin and SCAR Report are also reproduced on the SCAR website and may be reached from the SCAR homepage at <www.scar.org>
Up to 2002 SCAR had eight permanent Working Groups, comprising nationally appointed representatives, and these form the international fora for the discussion of national research in Antarctica. There were several Groups of Specialists created for a limited time-span in response to specific scientific problems, whose members were appointed by SCAR for their experience and expertise.
Following the review of the ad hoc Group on SCAR Organisation and Strategy, SCAR operates now with three Standing Scientific Groups (Geosciences, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences). The new structure will enable SCAR to address inter-disciplinary science more efficiently and integrate more effectively with other international and global programmes. Each group elects three officers, comprises a maximum of four national representatives and is structured in several sub-groups (Action Groups, Expert Groups, Scientific Programme Planning Groups and Scientific Research Programmes) to accommodate their various activities. The scientific and business meetings of the three Standing Scientific Groups will be held two-three months before the Delegates Meeting and are open to all interested scientists. Two Delegate Committees were created to discuss scientific and organisational matters and two Standing Committees were established one on the Antarctic Treaty System, and the second on SCAR Finance. In addition to these Standing Committees a SCAR-COMNAP Joint Committee on Antarctic Data Management has been created to advise SCAR and COMNAP on all aspects of Antarctic data matters (the new structure of SCAR and its subsidiary groups is shown in the attached diagram).
1999
A meeting of the SCAR Executive Committee was held in Goa, India, 20-24 September 1999. The meeting was held in conjunction with the eleventh annual meeting of the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes (COMNAP XI) and its Standing Committee on Antarctic Logistics and Operations (SCALOP).
SCAR was represented at the Twenty-third Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Lima, Peru, by the President, the Executive Secretary and the Convenor of the Group of Specialists on Environmental Affairs and Conservation. The Executive Secretary represented SCAR at the annual meeting of the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators held in Hambourg, Germany, during June 1999.
During the year the members of the ad hoc Group on SCAR Organisation and Strategy were appointed and the Group held his first meeting in Cambridge, United Kingdom, in August 1999 under the chairmanship of Dr P.M. Smith. The establishment of the Group had been decided at the XXV SCAR Meeting in Concepción and was tasked to conduct an internal review of SCAR and to make recommendations on how SCAR should change internally to meet the changing environment of global science outside of SCAR and the Antarctic.
Thirteen workshops and four symposia were organised by the permanent Working Groups.
Earth Sciences: the workshop held by the Antarctic Offshore Stratigraphy Project (ANTOSTRAT) focusing on Late Cenozoic Glaciations; the workshop held by the Working Group on Solid-Earth Geophysics to continue development of the Antarctic Digital Magnetic Anomaly Map; the 8th International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences held in Wellington, New Zealand, during July 1999; the workshop held by the Working Group on Geodesy and Geographic Information to continue development of the Antarctic Place-names Gazetteer; the 2nd Symposium on Geodetic Infrastructure for Antarctic (GIANT) held in Warsaw, Poland, during July 1999.
Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Sciences: the workshop held by the Working Group on Physics and Chemistry of the Atmosphere on Antarctic Climate Variability organised jointly with the Group of Specialists on Global Change and the Antarctic (GLOCHANT); the workshop held by the Antarctic Geospace Observatory Network (AGONET) to continue the collation and integration of data and to develop the database for data on magnetometry, riometry, very low frequency radio waves and the horizontal vector velocity of the ionosphere.
Life Sciences: the workshop held by the Subcommittee on Evolutionary Biology of Antarctic Organism of the Working Group on Biology on current status and trend; the workshop held by the Regional Sensitivity to Climate Change in Antarctic Ecosystems Programme (RISCC); the workshop and symposium held by the Ecology of the Antarctic Sea-ice Zone (EAZIZ); the 2nd International Symposium on Krill held in Santa Cruz, United States during August 1999.
The Group of Specialists on Global Change and the Antarctic (GLOCHANT) held its seventh annual meeting in New Hampshire, United States, during April 1999 with its principal item of business being the continuing development of a synthesis of the current status of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. It also initiated or co-sponsored six workshops during the year. All these programmes will contribute to the relevant programme of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP).
The Group of Specialists on Environmental Affairs and Conservation met in Montevideo, Uruguay, during July 1999. Its major concern is the provision of scientific advice on Antarctic environmental matters to SCAR for forwarding to the Antarctic Treaty.
The Joint Committee on Antarctic Data Management met in Ottawa during June 1999 in conjunction with the Arctic data management group.
2000
The Twenty-sixth biennial meeting of SCAR was held in Tokyo, Japan, 10-21 July 2000. The Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes (COMNAP XII) and its Standing Committee on Antarctic Logistics and Operations (SCALOP) met at the same place during the first week. All eight permanent Working Groups and the Joint Committee on Antarctic Data Management also met during the first week.
On the Executive Committee, Dr F J Davey (New Zealand) and Dr R Schlich (France) completed their terms of Office as Vice-presidents but Dr R Schlich was eligible for re-election. Professor C G Rapley (United Kingdom) and Dr R Schlich (France) were elected Vice-Presidents. Dr R H Rutford (United States), President elected in 1998 and the immediate Past President Professor A C Rocha Campos (Brazil), together with the Vice-Presidents Dr J Valencia (Chile) and Professor A D M Walker (South Africa) completed the Executive Committee.
The principal item for discussion at the XXVI SCAR was the report of the ad hoc Group on Organisation and Strategy. Delegates adopted all the recommendations in the report, with some modifications to some of them. It was agreed that the ad hoc Group on SCAR Organisation and Strategy should be disbanded and replaced by an ad hoc Group on Transition, comprising the Executive Committee and five members from the SCAR community, to implement the adopted recommendations of the ad hoc Group on SCAR Organisation and Strategy.
SCAR was represented at the Third Meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection in The Hague, The Netherlands, during September 2000 and at the immediately following Twelfth Antarctic Treaty Special Consultative Meeting, by the President, the Convenor of the Group of Specialists on Environmental Affairs and Conservation and the Executive Secretary. The Executive Secretary also represented SCAR at an Antarctic Treaty Meeting of Experts held in London, in April 2000, to discuss guidelines for Antarctic shipping and related activities.
Delegates agreed that the SCAR Working Groups on Geology and on Solid Earth Geophysics should combine to a single Working Group on Geosciences and that the other six SCAR Working Groups should continue. It was also agreed that the existing four Groups of Specialists should continue and that a new Group of Specialists on Antarctic Subglacial Lakes should be established.
Thirteen workshops and four symposia were organised by the permanent Working Groups.
Earth Sciences: the workshop held by the Antarctic Offshore Stratigraphy Project to consider further research proposals around Antarctica in relation to the Ocean Drilling Program; two workshops held by the Working Group on Geodesy and Geographic Information on Antarctic Geodesy, in Nice during April 2000 and in Wuhan, China, during July 2000. A full colour map sheet showing the bedrock relief of the Antarctic continent (BEDMAP) has been published and a new Antarctic Magnetic Anomaly Map has also been compiled.
Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Sciences: three small symposia on "Climate Variability and Change in the Antarctic from Observations and Modelling Experiments", on "Chemical Processes in the Antarctic Troposphere and Stratosphere", and on "Antarctic Precipitation and Mass Balance" were held by the Working Group on Physics and Chemistry of the Atmosphere during XXVI SCAR; workshops on "Astronomy and Astrophysics in Antarctica" and on "The Role of Antarctica in Understanding Solar-Terrestrial Relations" were organised by the Working Group on Solar-Terrestrial and Astrophysical Research.
Life Sciences: the Group of Specialists on Seals and the Subcommittee on Bird Biology met during the week preceding the SCAR Meeting, the Subcommittee on Evolutionary Biology of Antarctic Organisms held a workshop to develop the Evolution in Antarctica science plan.
The Group of Specialists on Global Change and the Antarctic held its eighth annual meeting at Rosendaal, The Netherlands, during October-November 2000 to develop new initiatives.
2001
A meeting of the SCAR Executive Committee was held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, during August 2001. The meeting was held in conjunction with the thirteenth annual meeting of the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes (COMNAP) and its Standing Committee on Antarctic Logistics and Operations (SCALOP). The ad hoc Group on Transition, appointed by the SCAR Executive Committee to provide the detail for implementing the changes to SCAR's structure and organisation, also met in Amsterdam.
SCAR was represented at the Twenty-fourth Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) and the Fourth Meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP), held in St Petersburg, Russia, during July 2001, by the President and the Executive Secretary. SCAR submitted several information and working papers to the meeting of CEP and submitted jointly with COMNAP a working paper on environmental liability. The highlight of the meeting was the achievement of consensus on the location of the proposed Antarctic Treaty Secretariat in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Seven workshops and three symposia were organised by the permanent Working Groups.
Earth Sciences: a symposium on the Antarctic Offshore Stratigraphy Project (ANTOSTRAT) was held in Erice, Italy, during September 2001. The compilation of a new Antarctic Magnetic Anomaly Map was completed and published in December 2001. A symposium on Antarctic Geodesy was held in St Petersburg, Russia, during July 2001 and further papers were presented at a workshop organised by the Group of Specialists on Antarctic Neotectonics in Siena, Italy, during July 2001. A workshop on Antarctic Geographic Information was also held at this meeting and a separate workshop on the Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica was held in Rome, Italy during November 2001.
Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Sciences: The SCAR Working Group on Physics and Chemistry of the Atmosphere has completed the third edition of the International Antarctic Weather Forecasting Handbook.
Life Sciences: the Eighth International SCAR Antarctic Biology Symposium was held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands during August 2001. The following workshops were held in conjunction with the symposium: "Subglacial Lakes - Biology and Contamination Issues", "Latitudinal Ecosystem and Environmental Variability along Victoria Land", Evolutionary Biology of Antarctic Organisms (EVOLANTA): metadata and website construction", "Antarctic Pack Ice Seals Programme (APIS), cross-discipline synthesis" and on "Regional Sensitivity to Climate Change in Antarctic Terrestrial and Limnetic Ecosystems (RISCC).
A workshop on "Marine Acoustic Techniques" was organised by SCAR in Cambridge, United Kingdom, during September 2001 to address the potential effects of marine seismic surveys on marine mammals and the restrictions on such work that may be imposed by permitting authorities; participants included scientists from the marine biological and marine geophysical communities.
The Group of Specialists on Subglacial Lake Exploration (SALE) met in Bologna, Italy, during December 2001 and discussed techniques for environmental clean drilling of the ice sheet to penetrate and sample the lake and also environmental impact assessment procedures required under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.
2002
The Twenty-seventh biennial meeting of SCAR was held in Shanghai, China, 15-26 July 2002. The Fourteenth annual meeting of the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes (COMNAP XIV) and its Standing Committee on Antarctic Logistics and Operations (SCALOP) was held in parallel during the first week. XXVII SCAR was a landmark meeting for SCAR as the restructuring of SCAR, recommended by the ad hoc Group on Organisation and Structure and adopted by the Delegates at XXVI SCAR in Tokyo, Japan, July 2000, was put into place.
The first week of the meeting began with the traditional meetings of all the SCAR Working Groups plus a meeting of the Group of Specialists on Seals, and informal meetings of the Groups of Specialists on Antarctic Neotectonics and Subglacial Antarctic Lake Exploration. The groups completed the reports of their final meetings on Tuesday. Wednesday was devoted to a very successful symposium on "The Antarctic Sea Ice Zone: physical and biological processes and interactions". On Thursday and Friday the members of the former Working Groups and Groups of Specialists reconvened in three Standing Scientific Groups on Geosciences, Life Sciences and Physical Sciences.
On the Executive Committee Professor R H Rutford (United States) completed his term of Office as President, Dr J Valencia (Chile) and Professor A D M Walker (South Africa) also completed their terms of Office as Vice-presidents. Professor Dr J Thiede (Germany) was elected President, Professor J López-Martínez (Spain) and Dr C Howard-Williams (New Zealand) were elected Vice-Presidents. The immediate Past-President Dr R H Rutford (United States), together with the Vice-Presidents Dr R Schlich (France) and Professor C G Rapley (United Kingdom) completed the Executive Committee.
The highlight of the year was the award to SCAR of the Prince of Asturias Prize for International Cooperation 2002 in recognition of SCAR's role in international cooperation in Antarctica.
The Standing Scientific Group on Geosciences elected Dr P E O'Brian (Australia), Chief Officer, Professor A Capra (Italy), Deputy Chief Officer and Professor B C Storey (New Zealand), Secretary. The Group on Life Sciences elected Professor S L Chown (South Africa), Chief Officer, Professor L A Palinkas (United States), Deputy Chief Officer and Dr A H L Huiskes (The Netherlands), Secretary.
The Standing Scientific Groups have established a number of sub-groups to accommodate their various activities in progress and being planned. Action Groups are short-term groups to address specific matters and will normally be expected to complete their activity in 2-4 years. Expert Groups will address matters on a longer time-scale. Scientific Programme Planning Groups may be established to develop plans for a research programme that will be presented to SCAR for adoption as a Scientific Research Programme. Such proposed programmes will normally be multi-disciplinary and will involve more than one Standing Scientific Group.
AT XXVII SCAR the Delegates approved the following sub-groups:
Geosciences
- Action Groups on: "Age, Growth and Evolution of Antarctic (AGEANT)","Permafrost (PAG)", "Communication and Outreach";
- Expert Group on "Geospatial Information";
- Scientific Programme Planning Groups on: "Antarctic Climate Evolution (ACE)", Antarctic Neotectonics (ANTEC)";
- Scientific Programme Group on: "Subglacial Antarctic Lake Exploration (SALE).
Life Sciences
- Action Groups on: "Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA)", Best Practices for Conservation";
- Expert Groups on: "Birds", "Seals", "Human Biology and Medecine";
- Scientific Programme Planning Group on: "Evolution and Biodiversity in Antarctica: the Response of Life to Change";
- Scientific Programme Groups on: "Ecology of the Antarctic Sea-Ice Zone (EASIZ)", "Antarctic Pack Ice Seals (APIS)", "Evolutionary Biology of Antarctic Organisms (EVOLANTA)".
Physical Sciences
- - Action Groups on: "Plateau Astronomy Site Testing in Antartica (PASTA)", "Middle Atmosphere Dynamics and Relativistic Electron Precipitation (MADREP)", "Antarctic Peninsula Tropospheric-Ionospheric Coupling (APTIC)", "Oceanography", "Reference Antarctic Data for Environmental Research (READER)", "Antarctic Katabatic Winds", "Antarctic Tropospheric Aerosols and their Role in Climate (ATAC)".
- Expert Groups on: "Solar-Terrestrial Processes and Space Weather (STEPS)", "Antarctic and Astronomy and Astrophysics(AAA)", "Operational Meteorology in the Antarctic", "Ice Sheet Mass Balance and Sea Level (ISMASS)", "International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE)", "Antarctic Sea-Ice Processes and Climate (ASPeCT)".
- Scientific Programme Planning Groups on: "Antarctica and the Global Climate System", "Inter-hemispheric Conjugacy on Environmental, Solar-Terrestrial and Atmospheric Research (ICESTAR).
Thus the major work of re-structuring SCAR was achieved. The process of reorganisation will continue during the next two years, as the new Standing Scientific Groups refine their modi operandi, and will be completed at XXVIII SCAR in 2004 with the new style of SCAR meeting.
The XXVIII SCAR meeting will be held in two parts: a SCAR Science Week to be held in Bremen, Germany, 25-31 July 2004 when the Standing Scientific Groups will meet around a symposium on a relevant subject and the Delegates Meeting to be held in Bremerhaven, Germany, 3-9 October 2004.
Dr Roland Schlich
Strasbourg, February 2003.
