US-SCAR News

Following up on the success of the 2021 US Antarctic Science Meeting, US-SCAR will host a second US meeting in 2023 (20-23 June). This meeting is for US scientists who are conducting research in, from or about Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Scientists interested in getting involved in Antarctic research through US programs are also welcome and encouraged to attend. (Registration will be free.) The 2023 meeting will have a similar format to the 2021 meeting with plenary and contributed parallel sessions running for a few hours on each day. Further details and the call for abstracts will be sent out in January, but please mark your calendar now. Continue Reading

The XIII SCAR Biology Symposium will be held in Christchurch, New Zealand (31 July - 4 August 2023). The call for abstracts opens 7 December 2022 and will be announced here. Partial travel support for US scientists will be available through US-SCAR with funding from NSF Polar Programs/Antarctic Sciences. Details about how to apply for a travel award will be sent through this US-SCAR mail list in December. Continue Reading

As an organization committed to enhancing diversity and inclusion, and working towards building an inclusive and just environment in the polar sciences, the Polar Science Early Career Community Office (PSECCO) is excited to announce the pre-solicitation call for polar early career individuals and organizations to apply for PSECCO Belonging, Accessibility, Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (BAJEDI) Micro-grants! Do you have an idea that will advance BAJEDI in the polar regions but need a little funding to bring that idea to fruition? PSECCO is looking to support people or organizations with plans that will lead to tangible impacts in these areas, and the full solicitation has just been released! Deadline by which to apply is: October 31, 2022 at 11.59pm MT. Continue Reading

The Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) is an international scientific organization that promotes and facilitates cooperation in all aspects of Antarctic research. The Polar Research Board of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine serves as the U.S. National Committee to SCAR and is responsible for selection of U.S. representatives. We are currently seeking nominations for candidates to fill one representative position in the Geosciences Group. We seek candidates who have some existing understanding of SCAR’s structure and goals, have a strong commitment to SCAR’s vision for international research cooperation, are well-respected in their fields of work, and have a broad understanding of polar-region research more generally. Science Group representatives are appointed for a 6-year term and are expected to actively participate in the SCAR international business meetings and Open Science Conference that take place every other year (travel support is provided). In between the international meetings, SCAR representatives contribute to a variety of activities to help build community and expand SCAR engagement among U.S. Antarctic researchers. Please submit your nominations by Friday, October 14 to Morgan Disbrow-Monz (MMonz@nas.edu). Continue Reading

Dr. Rebecca Gast joins the NSF Office of Polar Programs from the Biology Department, Woods Hole Institution of Oceanography, where she is an Associate Scientist. Dr. Gast received her PhD in Molecular Genetics from the Ohio State University in 1994. Dr. Gast’s research pairs contemporary genomic technologies with more traditional lab and field approaches to studying marine organisms. A focus of her research is to evaluate the diversity and ecology of environmental protists. She also studies tubulin protein adaptations associated with psychrophilic functions to better understand how organisms have evolved to operate in the extreme cold. Since 2021, Dr. Gast has co-led the Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Mixotrophs and Mixotrophy Working Group. Continue Reading

A new NSF Dear Colleague Letter: Seafloor Geodesy 2022, (NSF DCL 22-124) has been posted inviting proposals for seafloor geodesy field campaigns to deploy transponders from an existing instrument pool for 1-4 sites at tectonic settings that target volcanic processes, transform processes, plate motions, or polar regions as identified in the 2021 Community Workshop report on Seafloor Geodesy. The geodetic instruments have a depth limit of 3000 m and a multi-year deployment is envisioned with requisite waveglider surveys. Projects can be Program Investigator-driven or Community-driven. Proposers should contact program officers Gail Christeson or Michael Jackson early in the proposal development process for seafloor geodetic facility budget preparation guidance. Proposals should be submitted by February 15, 2023. Continue Reading

A Ross Sea Planning Meeting aimed at formulating and sustaining a system-level research program in the Ross Sea in support of the Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area (RSRMPA) is being held in person at the University of Colorado in Boulder from Oct 3 to Oct 5, 2022. Please see our website for more information: http://www.rosssearesearch.org . If you have any questions, please email Cassandra Brooks (cassandra.brooks@colorado.edu) Continue Reading

The National Academies’ Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, in collaboration with the Polar Research Board and Ocean Studies Board, are currently soliciting nominations for a new ad hoc committee that will provide guidance to the National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs on future directions for Southern Ocean and Antarctic nearshore and coastal research. The study will provide guidance on key science drivers and consider the portfolio of tools, technologies, and ship capabilities needed to address these drivers. The National Academies is seeking individuals to serve on the committee with expertise in physical, chemical, and biological oceanography (particularly in ice-covered seas and among glaciers) and ocean technologies, continental margin processes, land-ocean-ice interactions, and Antarctic marine life and ecosystems. Self-nominations are welcome. The deadline to submit a nomination is September 19, 2022. Continue Reading

The U.S. National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs (OPP) in the Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) have awarded $4 million to Oregon State University to facilitate and manage the Polar Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (Polar STEAM) initiative. Educators, artists and writers who participate in the initiative will be given unique professional development opportunities in the Arctic or Antarctic through research station residencies and virtual and in-person experiences. Continue Reading

Calling Antarctic life scientists, genome scientists, informaticians, evolutionary biologists, experimentalists and computational biologists. We are seeking to develop a new research initiative for those with expertise and interest in applying ‘omics approaches to address key research questions on adaptation, evolution and diversity of Antarctic life. The “Mapping the future applications of ‘omics in Antarctic research” workshop will be an important community-building and initiative-planning event. Workshop Details: When: Oct. 18-19 2022 from 8-14:00 Pacific/11-17:00 Eastern time. Application Deadline: Sept. 26, 2022. Continue Reading

NSF's Office of Polar Programs (OPP) enlisted subject matter experts to examine sexual harassment and sexual assault in the USAP Community and identify corrective actions for concerns revealed by interviews and surveys. Read more about this effort and the report. Continue Reading

This September the Polar Science Early Career Community Office (PSECCO) is putting on a cohort-building and 'what to expect' series of events for early career researchers (ECRs) headed to Antarctica in the 2022-2023 season. Registration for these events is now open! There are also some events that are absolutely also open to any polar early career scientists who are just generally interested in Antarctica. Event dates and topics are: (i) September 06 - what to expect in Antarctica: a panel discussion for first-timers headed south; (ii) September 13 - lightning talks & social call for early career scientists headed to Antarctica; and (iii) September 22 - Antarctic Governance 101. Read more to access the links for registering. Continue Reading

Congratulations to the 2022 SCAR Medal Awardees, which include two US scientists: (1) Elisabeth Sikes (Rutgers University), SCAR Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research; and (2) Stephen Ackley (University of Texas at San Antonio), SCAR Medal for International Scientific Coordination. Other recipients were Pippa Whitehouse (Durham University, UK), SCAR Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research; and Bethan Davies (Royal Holloway University and Newcastle University, UK), SCAR Medal for Education and Communication. Continue Reading

The internationally recognised Erskine programme at University of Canterbury (UC), Christchurch, New Zealand currently supports international senior academics to complete lectures to UC undergraduate and postgraduate students. In the spirit of international cooperation associated with Antarctic research and scholarship, and to recognise Christchurch’s role as one of only five Antarctic Gateway cities, the University of Canterbury has recently created a new Short term Antarctic Visiting Erskine Fellowship programme. This new fellowship will support researchers travelling through Ōtautahi/Christchurch on their way to Antarctica to complete short visits (two to four weeks) to connect with University of Canterbury staff and students. Continue Reading

The Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) Symposium, Southern Ocean in a Changing World, will be held 14-18 August 2023 in Hobart, Tasmania. The SOOS Symposium will consist of plenary presentations, parallel sessions and workshops. These will be focused around topics and incorporate a wide spectrum of Southern Ocean research. Continue Reading

The Polar Science Early Career Community Office (PSECCO) is offering a belonging, accessibility, justice, equity, diversity & inclusion (BAJEDI) Training Workshop for polar early career scientists run in conjunction with THRIVE Lifeline, a non-profit dedicated to “changing the landscape of mental health support for people with intersecting marginalized identities” with excellent experience in running BAJEDI workshops for people in the STEMM field. This workshop is open for ALL polar early career scientists (from all stages of ‘early career’ to all disciplines to all identities). This training workshop will be run as a two-part series. Early bird registration closes on August 15th, so be sure to secure your spot by then if you are definitely keen to attend. Registration for the training is $10. Continue Reading

The 10th SCAR Open Science Conference will start on Monday August 1. Registration is free. Hope to "see" you there! Continue Reading

Tuesday, July 26. Interested in learning more about the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), and getting a quick update on SCAR Life Sciences Group activities and opportunities for involvement? Join the US representatives to the SCAR Life Sciences Group on Tuesday July 26 for a short (one hour) interactive Zoom session. Continue Reading

The recommendations and requirements laid out in this letter aim to advance open polar data to maximize the benefit of NSF's investments in research, facilitate transparency and replicability in polar science, and increase the impact of polar research. Office of Polar Programs (OPP) PIs are directed to align their research and dissemination plans and activities with the FAIR data principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) and CARE principles for Indigenous data governance (Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, Ethics). In this regard, research software/code is identified as a research object and outcome that can also help make data more interoperable and reusable. OPP also recognizes the effort that goes into data and sample management and therefore, beyond encouraging data and sample reuse, OPP expects appropriate authorship, attribution, and citation of data, samples, and code. Continue Reading

The 2022 SCAR Visiting Scholar scheme is open for applications! The SCAR Visiting Scholars program is for mid- to late-career stage scientists and academics (at least 5 years after completing their PhD) who are involved in Antarctic research. The program provides the opportunity to undertake a short-term visit (1 to 4 weeks) to an institute(s) in another SCAR member country to provide training and mentoring. See SCAR website for details and how to apply. The closing date for applications is Wednesday 28 September 2022. Continue Reading