SCAR

SCAR Overview

(Source: SCAR Website)

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is a thematic organization of the International Science Council (ISC). SCAR is charged with initiating, developing and coordinating high quality international scientific research in the Antarctic region (including the Southern Ocean), and on the role of the Antarctic region in the Earth system. The scientific business of SCAR is conducted by its Science Groups, which represent the scientific disciplines active in Antarctic research and report to SCAR.

In addition to carrying out its primary scientific role, SCAR also provides objective and independent scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings and other organizations such as the UNFCCC and IPCC on issues of science and conservation affecting the management of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and on the role of the Antarctic region in the Earth system. SCAR has made numerous recommendations on a variety of matters, many of which have been incorporated into Antarctic Treaty instruments. Foremost amongst these have been the advice provided for the many international agreements which provide protection for the ecology and environment of the Antarctic.

SCAR meets every two years to conduct its administrative business at the SCAR Delegates' Meeting. At these meetings, the members of SCAR, through their appointed Delegates, are responsible for formulating SCAR policy and strategy. They also elect an Executive Committee from among themselves to manage SCAR on behalf of its members. The Executive Committee comprises the President, and four Vice-Presidents (each appointed for a term of four years), the immediate Past-President (appointed for a term of two years immediately following their presidency), and the SCAR Executive Director. The SCAR Secretariat is based at the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, UK, and is staffed by the Executive Director, Executive Officer, and a part-time Administrative Assistant. It is responsible for the day-to-day administration of SCAR and is responsible to the Executive Committee.

SCAR also holds, prior to the Delegates Meeting, a major Open Science Conference to draw attention to Antarctic issues, along with meetings of the Science Groups that are designed to finalize the Science Programs for eventual approval by the Delegates.

SCAR Science & Research

SCAR initiates, facilitates, and coordinates international cooperation in scientific research conducted in and from the Antarctic region and on Antarctica's role in the Earth system.

Much of SCAR's work is carried out through its following subsidiary groups:

• Science Groups (SGs)
  • There are three permanent SGs: GeoSciences, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences.
  • The SGs are responsible for sharing information on disciplinary scientific research being conducted by national Antarctic programs; identifying research areas or fields where current research is lacking; coordinating proposals for future research by national Antarctic programs to achieve maximum scientific and logistic effectiveness; identifying research areas or fields that might be best investigated by a SCAR Scientific Research Program and establishing Scientific Program Planning Groups to develop formal proposals to the Executive Committee; establishing Action and Expert Groups to address specific research topics within the discipline.
• Scientific Research Programs (SRPs)
  • The SRPs are established by the three permanent Science Groups to focus efforts on high priority topical areas. They are large, overarching programs in scope, are often multi-disciplinary and have a lifetime of around eight years.
• Program Planning Groups (PPGs)
  • The PPGs are the means by which Scientific Research Programs (SRPs) are developed and proposed through wide consultation with the community.
• Expert Groups (EGs) and Action Groups (AGs)
  • EGs and AGs are established by the permanent Science Groups, either individually or jointly, to address specific topics of interest to SCAR. Researchers propose new groups when they identify areas where current research is lacking or more coordination is needed. Groups report to their parent Science Group and membership is open to any interested researcher from a SCAR member country or union:
    • Action Groups address one specific issue and are short-term, usually with a lifetime of between two and four years.
    • Expert Groups have a broader focus and a longer lifetime of around six to eight years, with the option of renewal.
• Standing Committees
  • Standing Committees handle ongoing business of a permanent nature to help SCAR fulfill its mission

SCAR History

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is an international organization that was created during the 1957-1958 International Geophysical Year (IGY) with the intent to continue the international scientific cooperation that was a hallmark of the IGY. SCAR was originally named the Special Committee on Antarctic Research and was established by the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) (now named the International Science Council, ISC). The first SCAR meeting took place in February 1958 (The Hague, The Netherlands) and was followed the next year (December 1959) with the signing of the Antarctic Treaty (Washington, DC). The first two articles of the Treaty designate the area south of 60º for 1) only peaceful purposes and 2) freedom of research including fostering of international collaborations in Antarctic science activities. In 1991 the Protocol on Environmental Protection was added to the Antarctic Treaty and the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) was created. SCAR has always played a key role in maintaining the international science cooperation outlined by Article 2 of the Treaty and providing the CEP and the Antarctic Treaty System with science advice.

For the past 60 years, SCAR has been a strong factor in facilitating the establishment and maintenance of strong, effective and long-term international collaborations for studying Antarctica. During this time SCAR has successfully addressed and accomplished its two-fold mission of (text taken directly from the SCAR website):

1. initiating, developing and coordinating high quality international scientific research in the Antarctic region (including the Southern Ocean), and on the role of the Antarctic region in the Earth system; and
2. providing objective and independent scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty System and other organizations such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on issues of science and conservation affecting the management of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and on the role of the Antarctic region in the Earth system.

SCAR began with 12 charter countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (membership now assumed by Russia), South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The first SCAR meeting also included representation from the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), the International Geographical Union (IGU), the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS), the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) and the Union Radio Scientific Internationale (URSI). Today SCAR has 44 member countries (32 full and 12 associate members) and nine member unions.

It is important to note that SCAR does not fund research activities. SCAR 1) facilitates the coordination of international collaborations in Antarctic research on specific topics that have been selected by members based on current gaps in knowledge and 2) provides science advice to the Antarctic Treaty System.

For more information on SCAR:

SCAR website

David W H Walton, Peter D Clarkson and Colin P Summerhayes. 2018. Science in the Snow: Sixty years of international collaboration through the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. 2nd edition. Cambridge, SCAR. 321 pp. ISBN 978 0 948277 56 6