US-SCAR News

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) are pleased to announce this year’s Fellowship awardees. The Fellowships for early career researchers are worth up to US$ 15,000 each and, this year, 25 applications were received with six Fellowships (four SCAR and two COMNAP) being awarded. The SCAR Fellowships are awarded to: Jaimie Cleeland (Australia), Camila Negrão Signori (Brazil), Fiona Shanhun (New Zealand) and Manoj M.C. (India). The COMNAP Fellowships are awarded to: Sandra Potter (Australia) and Keith Soal (South Africa). Continue Reading

Dr. Eric Saltzman has been appointed to the position of Section Head, Arctic Sciences (ARC) in the Division of Polar Programs, Geosciences Directorate. He will begin his service at NSF on September 15, 2014. Dr. Saltzman will be joining NSF from University of California, Irvine where he holds join appointments as Professor in Departments of Earth System Science and Chemistry. Continue Reading

For the past several months, the NSF GEO Advisory Committee has been working with GEO staff on an update to its 2009 report, GEO Vision. This draft report, Dynamic Earth: GEO Priorities and Frontiers 2015-2020, takes a different perspective than the last report. In the current climate of limited resources, this document seeks to set actionable goals and objectives for the next five years. It is not meant to be a comprehensive document of all GEO programs but rather a near-term plan of GEO-wide priorities. Feedback and comments on the document are requested. The deadline for feedback/comments is Friday, September 12th. Continue Reading

Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) is an National Science Foundation (NSF) program that supports international activities across all NSF-supported disciplines. The primary goal of PIRE is to support high quality projects in which advances in research and education could not occur without international collaboration. PIRE seeks to catalyze a higher level of international engagement in the U.S. science and engineering community. The Division of Polar Programs (PLR), Geosciences Directorate, strongly encourages international collaborations as international partnerships are particularly important for addressing critical science and engineering problems in the polar regions. Accordingly, the polar community should be well poised to submit proposals to the current PIRE competition. The deadline for preliminary proposals is 21 October 2014. Full proposals are due on 15 May 2015. Continue Reading

The official outcomes of the 1st SCAR Antarctic and Southern Ocean Science Horizon Scan were published online today as a COMMENT in Nature entitled “Six priorities for Antarctic science”. In April 2014, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) convened 75 scientists and policy-makers from 22 countries to agree on the priorities for Antarctic research for the next two decades and beyond. This is the first time the international Antarctic community has formulated a collective vision through discussions, debate and voting. The Horizon Scan narrowed a list of hundreds of scientific questions to the 80 most pressing ones. Continue Reading

Biodiversity.aq is an official SCAR Product that builds upon SCAR-MarBIN (Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research - Marine Biodiversity Information Network) and offers free and open access to Antarctic biodiversity data. Feedback from users (and future users) of Biodiversity.aq / SCAR-MarBIN is requested by completing an online survey. The results of this survey will be discussed during the biodiversity.aq lunchtime workshop during the SCAR Open Science Conference in Auckland, New Zealand. It will take place on 28th August 2014 from 13.30 to 14.40. Continue Reading

The National Research Council's Polar Research Board and Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate are pleased to announce a call for abstracts for three AGU sessions: 1. Peeking Under the Ice: Revealing New Aspects of the Previously Hidden Polar Regions (Conveners: Julie Brigham-Grette, Katey Walter Anthony, Giff Miller). 2. Changing Ecosystems of the Arctic and Antarctic (Conveners: Eileen Hofmann, Gus Shaver, Jackie Grebmeier). 3. Removing Carbon Dioxide from Earth's Atmosphere (Conveners: Marcia McNutt, Jennifer Wilcox, Edward Dunlea). The abstract submission deadline is August 6, 2014. Continue Reading

New Zealand’s Antarctic Festival, NZ IceFest, presents an Auckland Taster of Evening Events and Exhibitions especially for the SCAR Open Science Conference. These events will showcase some of New Zealand’s renown artists and comedians, as well as SCAR’s own International Antarctic Expertise events open to both the general public and conference attendees. Continue Reading

SCAR is pleased to announce the launch of its 'Visiting Professor Scheme 2014'. The scheme is designed to encourage the active involvement of scientists and academics in Antarctic research, and to strengthen international capacity and cooperation in Antarctic research. The Visiting Professorship is for mid- to late-career stage scientists and academics (at least 5 years after completing their PhD) who are involved in Antarctic research, providing the opportunity for them to undertake a short-term visit (1 to 4 weeks) to an institute in another SCAR member country, to provide training and mentoring. Continue Reading

The Antarctic Environments Portal (Portal) project and APECS will jointly convene a workshop for Early Career Scientists (ECSs) at the upcoming SCAR Open Science Conference (OSC) in Auckland, New Zealand. This workshop is a great opportunity for ECSs to be involved in the development of a potentially significant tool to link Antarctic science and Antarctic policy. The workshop is open to 25 ECS applicants who will also receive a NZ$50 grant each as contribution towards their expenses. Funding for the workshop is kindly provided by the Norwegian Government. Apply by 30 June 2014. Continue Reading

The National Research Council (NRC) Committee to Advise NSF Science Priorities for Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research is seeking your input on "Future Science Opportunities in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean", as well as other relevant efforts such as the SCAR Horizon Scan. As input for this study, the committee is drawing widely on the expertise and experience of people across the Antarctic and Southern Ocean science communities. We are planning a series of outreach events to be held at various locations across the country, where you may have an opportunity to share your thoughts and ideas in person (dates and locations will be circulated once the plans for these events are further solidified). In addition, we've set up an online "Virtual Town Hall" where you are invited to submit your ideas in writing. This NRC study presents an important opportunity to help shape the future of Antarctic and Southern Ocean research, and we do hope you will submit your comments and ideas. The committee welcomes and values your ideas. The window for input will remain open for the next several months (until November 1, 2014), so you should have ample time to contribute. Continue Reading

The 10th annual Polar Technology Conference was hosted by the Pervasive Technology Institute of Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, on 15-17 April. The presentations from the conference are now available on-line. Continue Reading

Antarctica has been the focus of a major conference in Queenstown over Easter. Dozens of scientists came together, and for once they were not after answers, but questions. The world’s best Antarctic scientists say we cannot ignore the icy continent. Fifty-five scientists from 24 countries have convened in Queenstown for the first-ever Antarctic and Southern Ocean Horizon Scan conference. Their aim was to come up with the most important questions about Antarctica that need to be answered in the next 20 years. Delegates submitted 800 questions, and they were culled to about 100 over the three days of the conference. Continue Reading

SCAR and the Selection Committee for the Martha T Muse Prize for Antarctic science and policy join the Tinker Foundation in mourning the passing of Martha T Muse on 9th February 2014. Martha was a founding director of the Tinker Foundation. She served as its president for 27 years and its chairman for 33 years, retiring in 2008. It was under her direction that the Foundation became a leading funder of Latin American-related activities, providing support for educational, environmental, security, economic, legal and governance issues. One of her final directives to the Tinker Foundation was incorporating Antarctica-related subjects under its funding mandate. Her passion for Antarctica was recognised with the Tinker Foundation establishing the Muse Prize for Science and Policy in Antarctica, an award for mid-career Antarctic scientists and policy makers, recognised as leaders of tomorrow. The First Martha T Muse Fellows Colloquium will be held in her honour, in conjunction with the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Horizon Scan, in April 2014 in New Zealand. Continue Reading

Travel Grant Application forms for U.S. scientists to support travel to the SCAR Open Science Conference to be held in Auckland, New Zealand, from 25 - 28 August, 2014 are now available. Please return completed application WITH your submitted OSC abstract to Terry Wilson by March 24, 2014. Continue Reading

The 10th annual Polar Technology Conference will be hosted by the Pervasive Technology Institute of the Indiana University on 15-17 April 2014. Presentations in all technology fields are invited. Abstracts for oral presentations received after 24 March will only be considered if there is an open slot in the schedule. Abstracts will be considered in the order received. The block of rooms reserved at the conference hotel will be released after 13 March. For new reservations, the Biddle Hotel will honor the conference rate, after that date, only if rooms are available. Continue Reading

The Polar world and SCAR have lost a great friend. Phil Smith, known to SCAR members as the leader of the review that led to major restructuring of SCAR in the early 2000s, passed on February 16, 2014. SCAR members owe a great debt to Phil and those of us who knew him well, some for over 50 years, will miss his skills, humour, and leadership. SCAR today is a far better and more relevant organization due largely to the efforts of Phil Smith. Continue Reading

Travel Grant Application forms for U.S. scientists to support travel to the SCAR Open Science Conference to be held in Auckland, New Zealand, from 25 - 28 August, 2014 are now available. Please return completed application WITH your submitted OSC abstract to Terry Wilson by March 24th, 2014. Continue Reading

An important SCAR activity is recognition of excellence in Antarctic and Southern Ocean science and outstanding service to the international Antarctic community, both of which are critical to advancing SCAR‘s vision and mission. Peer-recognition rewards and highlights those who exemplify the best of the Antarctic community and serve as models for the next generation of scientists and researchers. SCAR created the Medals to provide this recognition: the Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research and the Medal for International Scientific Coordination. The deadline for nominations for the 2014 medals is 15th March 2014. Continue Reading

The Antarctic Near-Shore and Terrestrial Observing System (ANTOS) is proposed as a Life Sciences Expert Group which will survey the impact of change on Antarctic life. A workshop, aimed at developing an implementation framework for ANTOS, will be held in Auckland, New Zealand on Friday 22 August 2014, immediately prior to the start of the XXXIII SCAR meetings. Continue Reading