SCAR Renewal

1
SCAR Renewal

• Colin Summerhayes
• Executive Director
• Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)

2
Background

• Formed in 1958 by ICSU to continue coordination
  of Antarctic research begun in IGY
• Comprises 32 Nations plus 7 ICSU Unions
• Delegates and Science Groups meet every 2 years
• Executive meets annually
• Secretariat housed at SPRI, Cambridge, UK
• Executive Director appointed April 2004.

3
SCAR Strategic Plan

• Needed
• to consolidate response to the 2000 Review of
  SCAR
• to respond to recommendations of ICSU, 2004
• to consider response to development of an IPY
• to consider how to understand the role of the
  Antarctic region in the global system
• to consider how to respond to the advance of
  global science programmes into the Antarctic
  region
• to consider how to acquire the appropriate level
  of resources to get the job done
• Provides
• a commonly agreed roadmap to the future
• a model for national committees

4
New Mission and Remit

• New definition of the SCAR Mission
• to be the leading independent organisation for
  facilitating and coordinating Antarctic research,
  and for identifying issues emerging from greater
  scientific understanding of the region that
  should be brought to the attention of policy
  makers
• 2. New geographical remit
• SCARs area of interest includes Antarctica, its
  offshore islands, and the surrounding Southern
  Ocean including the Antarctic Circumpolar
  Current, the northern boundary of which is the
  Subantarctic Front
• recognises the importance (a) of the Antarctic
  Circumpolar Current in thermally isolating
  Antarctica and (b) of the entire Southern Ocean
  system in governing Antarctic climate and its
  connection to the rest of the world.

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Five New Objectives

• to initiate, develop, and co-ordinate
  high-quality international scientific research in
  the Antarctic region, and on the role of the
  Antarctic region in the Earth System
• to provide objective and independent scientific
  advice to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative
  Meetings and other organizations on issues of
  science and conservation affecting the management
  of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean
• to facilitate free and unrestricted access to
  Antarctic scientific data and information
• to develop scientific capacity in all SCAR
  Members, especially with respect to younger
  scientists, and to promote the incorporation of
  Antarctic science in education at all levels
• to communicate scientific information about the
  Antarctic region to the public

6
New Structure
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New Science Organisation

• Umbrella provided by Standing Scientific Groups
  Geosciences, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences
• 5-6 Major Programmes lasting 4-10 years
• Action Groups to address short term initiatives
  (2 - 4 years)
• Expert Groups where a longer term view is
  required (4 - 10 years) Oceanography, Sea Ice
  (ASPeCT)
• Joint Committee for Antarctic Data Management
  (JCADM).
• New Open Science Conference every 2 years (from
  July 2004)

8
New Science Programmes

• AGCS Antarctic and the Global Climate System
• ACE Antarctic Climate Evolution
• EBA Evolution and Biodiversity in the Antarctic
• ICESTAR Interhemispheric Conjugacy Effects in
  Solar-Terrestrial and Aeronomy Research
• SALE Subglacial Lake Environments

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Action And Expert Groups

• Geosciences Neotectonics Digital Magnetic
  Anomaly Southern Ocean bathymetry Permafrost
  Geodetic Infrastructure Geographic Information
  Marine Survey Communication,
• Life Sciences Birds Seals Human Biology and
  Medicine Best Practices for Conservation Global
  International Waters Assessment (GIWA)
  Biological Monitoring
• Physical Sciences Plateau Astronomy Site
  Testing Middle Atmosphere Dynamics and Electron
  Precipitation Antarctic Peninsula
  Tropospheric-Ionospheric Coupling Oceanography
  Reference Antarctic Data for Environmental
  Research Modelling and Observational Studies of
  Katabatic Winds Tropospheric Aerosols and their
  Role in Climate Solar-Terrestrial Processes and
  Space Weather Astronomy and Astrophysics
  Operational Meteorology Ice Sheet Mass Balance
  and Sea level International Trans-Antarctic
  Scientific Expedition Sea-Ice Processes and
  Climate Ice-drilling technology King George
  Island

10
Developing Partnerships with Global Research
Groups

• WCRPs
• Climate and the Cryosphere (CliC) Programme
• Southern Ocean Implementation Panel
  (CLIVAR/CliC)
• International Programme for Antarctic Buoys
  (IPAB)
• SCOR
• SCAR-SCOR Oceanography Expert Group (with iAnZone
  Affiliated)
• SCAR/SCOR Southern Ocean interdisciplinary
  session at IAPSO/IABO Cairns meeting, 2005
• Bi-polar Cryosphere Theme study with
  IGOS-Partners (space agencies, UN agencies ,
  WCRP, ICSU, IGBP)
• GLOBEC Southern Ocean Panel
• JCADM (NADC) - IODE (NODC) Ocean Data and
  Information Network proposal
• Circum-Antarctic CoML

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Need New Strategic Elements

• Need to Develop Strategies for
• Capacity building
• Education
• Communication
• Data and Information Management

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Develop and Apply New Financial Strategy

• Apply New Financial Strategy
• Increase core income from Members
• Seek targeted income from specific agencies for
  specific programme activities (in Action Groups,
  Expert Groups and Scientific Research Programmes)
  - if possible to double the budget

13
SCAR Advisory Committee on IPY

• to advise the Executive Committee on the SCAR
  input to the IPY Science Plan
• to advise the Executive Committee on the SCAR
  role in IPY Implementation, and on the content of
  the IPY Implementation Plan
• to ensure that IPY is reflected in the SCAR
  Scientific Research Programmes
• to work with COMNAP and other appropriate
  organisations to realize IPY objectives for the
  southern hemisphere
• to monitor the IPY process as it unfolds, and
  advise SCAR on how its contribution to the IPY
  should develop.

14
Antarctica and the Global Climate System

• Use
• existing deep and shallow ice cores,
• satellite data,
• output of global and regional coupled
  atmosphere-ocean climate models
• in-situ meteorological and oceanic data,
  including
• some new ice core and oceanographic data,
• To assess
• ocean-atmosphere coupling and the role of ENSO in
  modulating Antarctic climate
• recent climate variability from shallow ice
  cores
• regional estimates of climate change over
  Antarctica during the next 100 years
• how climate changes in the Antarctic influence
  conditions elsewhere
• IPY Special Observing Period (I) test models and
  high-low latitude climate signal transfer
  functions and (ii) carry out a major bi-polar
  shallow ice drilling programme.

15
Antarctic Climate Evolution

• Quantitatively assess climate and glacial history
  of Antarctica
• Identify processes governing Antarctic climate
  change and links elsewhere
• Improve ability to model past climate changes in
  Antarctica
• Develop case studies for testing models of future
  change.
• Acquire and compile ground truth geoscience
  data from Eocene (40Ma) to end of Pleistocene
  glaciation (15,000 yrs)
• Develop/test paleoclimate models
  Eocene-Oligocene events Oligocene-Miocene
  boundary mid Miocene climate shift glacial warm
  events.
• Test and improve models ice sheet coupled
  ice-sheet/climate/ocean and coupled ice sheet
  and sediment.
• Assess role of polar ocean gateways in exchanges
  of heat and freshwater.
• IPY model mid-Miocene climate shift and
  Pleistocene warm periods model Trans-Antarctic
  Mountains-McMurdo region model East Antarctic
  Ice Sheet use new drilling technology to drill
  on land (SHALDRILL) and from ice shelves
  (ANDRILL)

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Evolution and Biodiversity in the Antarctic

• Examine evolutionary history of the biota.
• Determine evolutionary adaptations to the
  environment.
• Establish patterns of gene flow within, into and
  out of the region, and their consequences for
  population dynamics.
• Define patterns and diversity of organisms,
  ecosystems and habitats, and their controlling
  ecological and evolutionary processes.
• Determine impact of past, current and predicted
  environmental change on biodiversity and the
  consequences for Antarctic ecosystem function.
• IPY focus Circum-Antarctic Census of Marine
  Life, and establishment of MarBIN (Marine
  Biodiversity Information Network)

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Subglacial Lake Exploration

• determine the genetic diversity in the water
  columns and benthic sediments
• establish geochemical and isotopic composition of
  lake water constituents to determine their role
  in biological processes and water column
  stability, and to establish the age of lake
  water
• understand the tectonic and ice sheet setting of
  lakes
• understand the interrelation between ice sheet
  processes and lake water circulation
• determine lake and ice sheet histories
• IPY address technological challenges and
  environmental stewardship issues including
  environmental concerns and safeguards.
• IPY Contribute to initial exploration of selected
  lake(s) e.g small Lake Ellsworth (2007), larger
  Lake Concordia (2008)

18
Interhemispheric Conjugacy Effects in
Solar-Terrestrial and Aeronomy Research

• Coordinate bipolar research in solar-terrestrial
  physics and polar aeronomy
• Share experimental data from arrays of
  geophysical instrumentation deployed over the
  polar regions and in near-Earth space.
• Use emerging Grid technology (computers linked
  via Internet) to share data and converge data and
  models
• Fill gaps in understanding of the solar
  wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere interaction, and
  of the dynamics of the Earths magnetosphere
  during geomagnetic storms and coronal mass
  ejections.
• Learn how solar forcing affects the upper
  atmosphere (hence weather and climate) at high
  latitudes
• Create a data portal linking geophysical
  databases to provide a systems view of the polar
  upper atmosphere, and encourage collaboration
• IPY Develop the appropriate observatories (e.g.
  complete coverage with radars) for observing
  geospace (a contribution to SCARs ICESTAR
  programme)

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Generic Contributions to the IPY Legacy

• A comprehensive data and information management
  strategy that facilitates easy access to data
  collected during the IPY, and its use in GIS
• A benchmark series of geological, geophysical and
  bathymetric maps
• A network of autonomous geology/or geophysics
  observatories to investigate systems-scale polar
  geodynamics and interactions with the cryosphere,
  hydrosphere and atmosphere.
• Assessment of the viability of Dome A for a large
  diameter astronomical telescope
• An integrated Southern Ocean observing system
  including synoptic, multidisciplinary transects
  time series measurements enhanced atmospheric
  measurements and new paleoclimate data sets
• Improve coordination of cryospheric observations
  and generate data and information to support the
  Cryosphere Theme of the IGOS Partners
• Focus attention on major geological features for
  which no plate tectonic explanation exists
  (Gamburtsev Mountains)