Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)

An International Scientific Partnership

Presentation Outline

• What is SCAR?• What is SCAR’s mission?• How is SCAR organized?• How does SCAR function?• How does SCAR accomplish its

science?• What opportunities are there for

you to participate?• How do you stay informed about

SCAR activities?

What is the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research?

• An Interdisciplinary Scientific Body of the International Council of Science (ICSU)

• Meets every two years to conduct administrative business (now combined with an Open Science Conference)

• Secretariat is housed in the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, England

• Secretariat includes an Executive Director, an Executive Officer and an Administrative Assistant (1/2 time)

A Brief History of SCAR

• SCAR was a creation of the International Geophysical Year and had its first meeting in February 1958

• "Antarctica" was defined as being bounded by the Antarctic convergence (Polar Front)

• There were 12 founding nations and 4 unions

(former USSR)

SCAR in the 21st Century

• 35 member nations and 9 ICSU Unions • The Antarctic Treaty System - A Complex

Array of Antarctic Governmental Organizations – Convention on Antarctic Marine Living Resources– Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals– Protocol on the Environment (Committee on

Environmental Protection)– Council of Managers of Antarctic Programs– Convention on the Conservation of Albatrosses and

Petrels • Proliferation of Global and Regional

Scientific Programs with an Antarctic Focus or Interest

SCAR’s Mission for 50 Years

• Science Leadership - initiate, develop and coordinate high quality international scientific research in the Antarctic region

• Scientific advice - provide objective and independent scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS)

• Climate change/global warming

• Ecosystem structure/functioning

• Census of living resources and biodiversity

• Astronomy and near-earth space science

• Recovery of paleo-climate records

• Satellite observations

• Remote sensing and mapping of the continent above and below the ice.

• Ice balance and sea level

• Subglacial environment hydrology and biogeochemistry

• Southern ocean and coastal oceanography

Targets of Scientific Investigations

• Measure upper atmosphere physics

• Define the pre-Pleistocene history of Antarctica

• Refine ice sheet mass balance, stability, and global sea level estimates

• Recover paleo-records in the interior of Antarctica

• Understand evolution and biodiversity in Antarctica

• Study life in the cold and dark

• Map biological habitats, ecosystems and organism distributions in the Antarctic

Major Scientific Objectives

• Assess the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS)

• Recover the oldest ice core record of climate

• Describe regional and temporal variability in Antarctic climate

• Enter and sample subglacial environments

• Establish atmospheric and oceanic observing networks

• Determine the nature and history of sub-ice basement geology in East Antarctica

Major Scientific Objectives

How Does SCAR Accomplish its Mission?

• Standing Scientific

Groups – Expert Groups– Action Groups– Planning Groups

• Standing Committees• Scientific Research

Programs– Interdisciplinary Cross

Linkage Workshops• Partnerships • Open Science Conference• Thematic

Symposia/Workshops

SCAR Organogram

Standing Scientific Groups and Committees

• Standing Groups– Life Sciences– GeoSciences– Physical Sciences

• Standing Committees– Antarctic Treaty System– Antarctic Geographic

Information – Data and Information

Management– Capacity Building and

Education

SCAR Scientific Subsidiary Groups

• Expert Groups– Birds and Marine Mammals,

Human Biology and Medicine, and Continuous Plankton Recorder

• Action Groups– Census of Marine Life, MarBIN,

and Fuel Spills

• Shared Action Groups– Seeps and Vents (GS),

Prediction of Change (PS), and King George Island (GS,PS)

Standing Scientific Group on the Life Sciences

SCAR Scientific Subsidiary Groups

• Expert Groups– Geodesy, Permafrost, Southern

Ocean Bathymetry, Magnetic Anomalies, and Sub-Ice Geological Exploration

• Action Groups– Acoustics in the Marine Environment

• Shared Action Groups– Vents and Seep (LS), King George

Island (LS, PS), and GPS for Weather and Space Forecasting (PS)

Standing Scientific Group on the GeoSciences

SCAR Scientific Subsidiary Groups

• Expert Groups– Oceans, Operational

Meteorology, Ice Sheets and Sea Level, and Ice Core Science

• Action Groups– Environmental Contamination,

Observing Systems, and Polar Atmospheric Chemistry

• Shared Action Groups– King George Island (LS, GS),

GPS for Weather and Space Forecasting (GS), and Prediction of Change (GS)

Standing Scientific Group on the Physical Sciences

SCAR Scientific Research Programs

• Preceded by a Program Planning Group formed by a Standing Scientific Group

• Major cutting-edge research questions

• International in participation and interdisciplinary in scope

• Expected duration: 6 to 8 years• Strategic and implementation plan

required• 2-year internal and 4-year external

review• Data management policy and

outreach plan

EBA

SALE

ACE

ICESTAR

AGCS

SCAR Scientific Research Programs

• The scale & rapidity of ice sheet and sea ice response to climate

forcing• Sea level changes

• Changes in heat sinks and insulators

Antarctic Climate Evolution (ACE)

An international research initiative to study

the climate and glacial history of Antarctica

through paleo-climate and ice-sheet modeling

integrated with the geological record

http://www.ace.scar.org/

•Climate– ice cores– sedimentary facies– seismic data

• Paleo-oceanographic conditions– paleo-ecology– climate proxies in ocean sediments

•Paleo-geography– recorded in landscape evolution

Antarctic Climate Evolution (ACE)

Model past ice-sheet behavior in response to change

Hypotheses building and testing through modeling of responses to future global

changehttp://www.ace.scar.org/

Antarctica and the Global Climate System (AGCS)

Theme 1Decadal Time Scale

Variability

Theme 2Global & Regional Signals

In Ice Cores

http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/met/SCAR_ssg_ps/AGCS.htm

Theme 4 The Export of

Antarctic Climate Signals

Five years of Summer Storm

TracksThe Deep

Ocean Conveyor Belt

Theme 3Natural and Anthropogenic Forcings

On the Antarctic Climate System

http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/met/SCAR_ssg_ps/AGCS.htm

Antarctica and the Global Climate System (AGCS)

• Evolutionary history and adaptations

• Gene flow and population dynamics.

• Organismal, ecosystems and diversity patterns

• Environmental change, biodiversity and ecosystem function.

Evolution and Biodiversity in the Antarctic (EBA)

The response of life to change

http://www.nioo.knaw.nl/projects/scarlsssg/eba/

• Census of Antarctic Marine Life

• Marine Biodiversity Information Network (MARBIN)

Programs

http://www.nioo.knaw.nl/projects/scarlsssg/eba/

Evolution and Biodiversity in the Antarctic (EBA)

Use the unique polar regions vantage point of

the polar regions to study the Earth’s inner core, the

Earth’s magnetic field, geospace, the Sun and

beyond

Linking Near-Earth Space to Polar Regions

http://www.siena.edu/physics/ICESTAR/

Interhemispheric Conjugacy Effects in Solar-Terrestrial and Aeronomy Research

(ICESTAR)

• Similarities and differences between polar upper atmospheres

• Atmospheric consequences of the global electric circuit

• Dynamics of the inner magnetospheric particles, fields and the polar atmosphere

• Creating a data portal for all polar data sets and modeling results

Thematic Groups

Interhemispheric Conjugacy Effects in Solar-Terrestrial and Aeronomy Research

(ICESTAR)

http://www.siena.edu/physics/ICESTAR/

Subglacial Hydrology

Global Climate Connections

Geodynamics of Lake Evolution

Limnology and Biogeochemistry

Microbial Life, Evolution, and

Adaptation

Ice Sheet Dynamics

Paleoclimate Records

Subglacial Antarctic Lake Exploration (SALE)

Scientific Themes

http://scarsale.tamu.edu/

• Geological evolution of Antarctica

• Next generation of ice sheet models incorporating the subglacial aquatic environments

• Role of discharges of subglacial water in ice dynamics

• Evolution, phylogeny and metabolic diversity of subglacial organisms

• Seed organisms and subsequent adaptations.

Subglacial Antarctic Lake Exploration (SALE)

Scientific Foci

http://scarsale.tamu.edu/

SCAR Scientific Research Programs

Next Generation - 2010

Image: David A. Hardy

Astronomy & Astrophysics from Antarctica

ICED iAnZoneIPICS

IWC

GBIF

ACAP

CCAMLR

COMNAP

CEP

APECSIASCICSU

SCOSTEP

CODATA

SCOR

IGBP/SO-GLOBEC

IGBP/PAGES

IACS

WCRP

IPAIGOS-P

SCAR

Strength Through Partnerships

Elements of the Antarctic Treaty

System

Scientific Bodies of ICSU

Conferences, Thematic Symposia,

and Workshops

• Biology Symposium• International Symposium on Antarctic

Earth Sciences (ISAES)• International Glaciological Symposium• Thematic Workshops

– i.e., SALE 2006, Ice Drilling, ACE, AGCS, ICESTAR, SOOS, and ISMASS

• Joint Thematic Workshops – SCAR-IASC Bipolar High Latitude

Climate Workshops

SCAR Biennial Open Science Conference

Data, Information and Products

• Standing Committee on Antarctic Data Management– Managers of National Antarctic Data Centers, Antarctic

Master Directory

• Standing Committee on Antarctic Geographic Information– Manages Geographical Information, Gazetteer of Place

Names, Antarctic Digital Database, Features Catalogues, Map catalogue

• Other Products– Reference Antarctic Data for Environmental, Research

(meteorology, oceanography, ice data sets), Sea Ice Database, Terrestrial Biodiversity Database, Marine Biodiversity Information Network, Seismic Data Library, Antarctic Bedrock Map, Magnetic Anomaly Map

SCAR Recognition Activities

• SCAR Fellowships• SCAR Medals –

Outstanding Achievement in Science, Excellence in Research, and International Scientific Coordination

• Named Lectures – Weyprecht OSC Lecture

• Young Scientists Presentation Awards - OSC

• Certificates of Appreciation

• Honorary Memberships

• Martha T. Muse Prize – early to mid-career leaders

• Visiting Professor Program

Please Nominate Fellow Students, Scientists And Researchers

How Can I Participate in SCAR?

• Serve on Action or Expert Groups• Form or Participate in a Program

Planning Group• Join an Existing Scientific

Research Program• Act as National Representatives

to SCAR – Delegates, SSGs

How Can I Participate in SCAR?

• Propose Sessions for, Serve as Chairs of Sessions, and/or Submit Abstracts to the SCAR Open Science Conferences

• Propose or Participate in Workshops and Symposia

• Participate in Standing Committees

• Apply/Nominate for Fellowships• Secondment to the Secretariat

SCAR Fellowship Program

• Encourage involvement of early career scientists

• Strengthens international capacity and cooperation

• Awards up to US $15,000

To allow researchers from one SCAR Member country to undertake short

term visits to major international laboratories, field facilities, and/or

home institutions of other SCAR Member countries

Administration of the Martha T. Muse Prize

How do I Learn About SCAR Activities?

• Web site• Newsletters and

Bulletins (quarterly)

• Publications and Proceedings

• SCAR National Committees

• Join SCAR Facebook

• Colleagues and peers

• Chairs, conveners, and leaders of SCAR subsidiary bodies

• Attend conferences, symposia, and workshops

• The SCAR Secretariat

Contact me!!!!!m-kennicutt@tamu.edu

http://www.scar.org/

We invite you to join an international community

of Antarctic scientists, researchers, and enthusiasts!!!!

Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)

Questions ?