WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION EXECUTIVE COUNCIL PANEL OF EXPERTS ON POLAR AND HIGH MOUNTAIN OBSERVATIONS, RESEARCH AND SERVICES Sixth session Reykjavik, Iceland, 8-11 September 2015 EC-PHORS-6/Doc.4.2.6 Submitted by: Steve Colwell Date: 28.7.2015 AGENDA ITEM: 4.2 REPORT OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ON ANTARCTIC RESEARCH (SCAR) SUMMARY This document provides the Annual Report of SCAR originally provided to ATCM-XXXVIII and slightly adapted by Steve Colwell. ISSUES TO BE DISCUSSED: 1. Report of SCAR, especially sections relevant to EC-PHORS DECISIONS/ACTIONS REQUIRED: 1. Collaboration with SCAR 2. Take into account this report in discussing agenda item 7 – Future Work Programme REFERENCES: none EC-PHORS-6/Doc.4.2.6, p. 2 THE SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ON ANTARCTIC RESEARCH (SCAR) ANNUAL REPORT 2014/15 1. Background The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is a non-governmental, Interdisciplinary Scientific Body of the International Council for Science (ICSU), and Observer to the Antarctic Treaty and the UNFCCC. SCAR’s Mission is (i) to be the leading, independent, non-governmental facilitator, coordinator, and advocate of excellence in Antarctic and Southern Ocean science and research and (ii) to provide independent, sound, scientifically-based advice to the Antarctic Treaty System and other policy makers including the use of science to identify emerging trends and bring these issues to the attention of policy makers. 2. Introduction SCAR’s scientific research adds value to national efforts by enabling national researchers to collaborate on large-scale scientific programmes to accomplish objectives not easily obtainable by any single country. SCAR’s Members currently include 39 nations and 9 ICSU scientific Unions. SCAR’s success depends on the quality and timeliness of its scientific outputs. Descriptions of SCAR’s research programmes and scientific outputs are available at: www.scar.org. SCAR produces an electronic quarterly Newsletter highlighting relevant science and other SCAR related issues. Please email: info@scar.org if you wish to be added to the mailing list. As well as the web (www.scar.org), SCAR is also available on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter. 3. SCAR Highlights (2014/15) In this paper we highlight examples of SCAR. For further details see www.scar.org. State of the Antarctic Ecosystem (AntEco) www.scar.org/srp/anteco The Scientific Research Programme (SRP) AntEco focuses on patterns of biodiversity across terrestrial, limnological, glacial and marine environments within the Antarctic, sub-Antarctic and Southern Ocean regions, and will provide scientific knowledge on biodiversity that can be also used for conservation and management. A primary product of this programme will be recommendations concerning Antarctica’s management and conservation. Antarctic Thresholds - Ecosystem Resilience and Adaptation (AnT-ERA) www.scar.org/srp/ant-era The AnT-ERA SRP examines the current biological processes in Antarctic ecosystems, to define their thresholds and thereby determine resistance and resilience to change. Polar ecosystem processes are key to informing wider ecological debate about the nature of stability and change in ecosystems. The programme will attempt to determine the likelihood of cataclysmic shifts or "tipping points" in Antarctic ecosystems. Antarctic Climate Change in the 21st Century (AntClim21) www.scar.org/srp/antclim21 EC-PHORS-6/Doc.4.2.6, p. 3 The goals of the SRP AntClim21 are to deliver improved regional predictions of key elements of the Antarctic atmosphere, ocean and cryosphere for the next 20 to 200 years and to understand the responses of the physical and biological systems to natural and anthropogenic forcing factors. Palaeo-reconstructions of selected time periods, recognised as past analogues for future climate predictions, will be used to validate model performances for the Antarctic region. Antarctic Biodiversity Informatics www.scar.org/ssg/life-sciences/abi Biodiversity Informatics is the application of informatics techniques to biodiversity information for improved management, presentation, discovery, exploration and analysis. This Expert Group will coordinate biodiversity informatics activities across SCAR for research, management, conservation and monitoring purposes and promote free and open access. Ice Sheet Mass Balance and Sea Level www.scar.org/ssg/physical-sciences/ismass The SCAR/IASC/CliC Expert Group on Ice Sheet Mass Balance and Sea Level aims to improve estimation of the mass balance of ice sheets and their contribution to sea level, to facilitate coordination of the different international efforts focused on this field of research, to propose directions for future research in this area, to integrate the observations and modelling efforts, as well as the distribution and archiving of the corresponding data, and to attract a new generation of scientists into this field of research. Operational Meteorology in the Antarctic www.scar.org/ssg/physical-sciences/opmet This Expert Group focuses on establishing links between groups working in the same area of operational meteorology in Antarctica, in particular the WMO EC-PORS (Panel of Experts on Polar Observations, Research and Services) group. Remote Sensing www.scar.org/ssg/life-sciences/remotesensing The SCAR Action Group on Remote Sensing has been established with the full name "Development of a satellite-based, Antarctic-wide, remote sensing approach to monitor bird and animal populations", with the aim to address the topic of "Animal monitoring via remote sensing". The Southern Ocean Observing System www.soos.aq The SCAR/SCOR Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) has the mission to establish a multidisciplinary observing system to deliver the sustained observations of the Southern Ocean. A SOOS International Project Office, established in Australia and supported by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania in Hobart and Antarctica New Zealand, supports implementation of the SOOS. See accompanying paper. The Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment www.scar.org/othergroups/acce The climatic, physical and biological properties of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are closely coupled to other parts of the global environment by the oceans and the atmosphere. In 2009 SCAR published the landmark Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment Report and since then has provided annual updates. See the separate IP on the ACCE. Southern Ocean Acidification www.scar.org/ssg/physical-sciences/acidification SCAR has undertaken a synthesis of the scientific understanding of Southern Ocean acidification. This landmark report was launched at the ATCM XXXVIII - CEP XVIII in Sofia, Bulgaria. EC-PHORS-6/Doc.4.2.6, p. 4 The Biogeographic Atlas of the Southern Ocean The Biogeographic Atlas presents a collection of 66 syntheses describing the distribution patterns and processes of a significant representation of Southern Ocean organisms, illustrated by more than 800 distribution maps and 200 pictures and graphs. The Atlas covered the Southern Ocean at large, south of the Sub-Tropical Front, but is focused in particular on the Antarctic region, south of the Antarctic Polar Front. The Atlas is a legacy of the International Polar Year 2007-2009 and of the Census of Marine Life (CoML, 2000-2010), contributed by the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) and the SCAR Marine Biodiversity Information Network (SCAR-MarBIN and biodiversity.aq). The Atlas is also a contribution to the SCAR scientific research programmes AntEco (State of the Antarctic Ecosystem) and AnT-ERA (Antarctic Thresholds - Ecosystem Resilience and Adaptation). The Atlas is available online via http://atlas.biodiversity.aq or to purchase at: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0948277289 The SCAR Science Horizon Scan www.scar.org/horizonscanning/ Following the crowdsourcing of over 850 unique scientific questions and the nomination of almost 500 leading scientist by the SCAR community, the 1st SCAR Antarctic and Southern Ocean Science Horizon Scan assembled more than 70 of the world's leading Antarctic scientists, policy makers and visionaries (including many early career scientists) in Queenstown, NZ, in April 2014. Their remit was to identify the most important scientific questions, that will or should be addressed by research in and from the southern polar regions over the next two decades. The initial outcomes were published in the journals Nature (http://www.nature.com/news/polar-research-six-priorities-for-antarctic-science-1.15658) and Antarctic Science (http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0954102014000674) . Many of the national Antarctic programmes are now developing their own strategies on how they will deliver their science programmes in the future. Delivery of such a "roadmap" is not without its challenges. Therefore COMNAP is leading the second stage in the process within the ARC Project in order to assist national Antarctic programmes to understand the challenges and develop ways to address the challenges, and share any innovation or access to such technology. The ARC project focuses on answering the question: "How will national Antarctic programmes meet the challenges of delivery of their Antarctic science in the next 20 to 30 years?" See https://www.comnap.aq/Projects/SitePages/ARC.aspxhttps://www.comnap.aq/Projects/SitePage s/ARC.aspx {See accompanying IP on the SCAR 2014 Horizon Scan} Antarctic Conservation in the 21st Century www.scar.org/antarctic-treaty-system/scats SCAR, in collaboration with several partners, is developing a strategy entitled ‘Antarctic Conservation for the 21st Century’. The activity has encouraged participation from all stakeholders in the region. The approach is structured to align with both the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty and the Five Year Work Plan of the Committee for Environmental Protection. It also has close links with the Antarctic Environments Portal. As part of this process an interactive symposium was held during the SCAR Open Science Conference in New Zealand in August 2014, and further discussions were held at a session of the IUCN World Parks Congress in Sydney in November 2014. Further interactive sessions are proposed for 2015, one of which will take place in Monaco in June 2015. The outcomes of these discussions will be inform the conservation strategy, which is expected to be made available for public comment by the end of 2015 EC-PHORS-6/Doc.4.2.6, p. 5 Antarctic Data Management www.scar.org/data-products SCAR promotes free and unrestricted access to Antarctic data and information by promoting open and accessible archiving practices, through its Standing Committees on Antarctic Data Management (SCADM) and Antarctic Geographic Information (SCAGI). SCAR also has several Products of use to the Antarctic Community. Snow in Antarctica (SnowAnt) Action Group www.scar.org/ssg/physical-sciences/snowant The SnowAnt Action Group was established in 2014. Its key goals are to: Investigate: Improve the knowledge on depositional and metamorphic processes in Antarctic snow and its feedbacks to the climate system; develop a snow classification for Antarctica. Protect: What is disturbed today will be in the ice core for the next ~1 My – preserve pristine snow areas; currently disturbed areas have to be mapped and coordinated with national logistic operators. Implement: SnowREADER (database) to document disturbed areas, historic snow profiles, accumulation data from AWS, stake farms, surface radar profiles, shallow firn – snow cores. Educate and Coordinate: Quantitative snow stratigraphy methods developed by the IACS working group MicroSnow should be implemented by snow schools; recognize the importance of snow for SCAR. 4. SCAR Fellowships and Prizes In order to expand capacity in all its Members, SCAR runs several Fellowship and Prize Schemes (www.scar.awards): SCAR/COMNAP Fellowships are focussed on early career scientists and engineers in Antarctic scientific research, to build new connections and further strengthen international capacity and cooperation in Antarctic research. The fellowships are being launched in tandem with the CCAMLR Scholarships. Martha T Muse Prize for Science and Policy in Antarctica, sponsored by the Tinker Foundation, is a US$ 100,000 unrestricted award presented to an individual in the fields of Antarctic science or policy. See: www.museprize.org. SCAR Visiting Professor Scheme provides mid to late career scientists the opportunity to undertake short-term visits to a facility in or operated by SCAR Member countries, to provide training and mentoring. A new Communications Award has been instigated for the most innovative presentation of Antarctic research results in any discipline at the SCAR Open Science Conference. 5. Other News During the SCAR Delegates’ Meeting held in New Zealand this September 2014, two new countries joined SCAR: the Czech Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran, bringing the total number of countries in the SCAR family to 39. Two new Vice Presidents were also elected – Azizan Abu Samah (Malaysia) and Terry Wilson (USA). During the SCAR Open Science Conference in Auckland, NZ, two SCAR medals were awarded. The first, the SCAR Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research went to Steven Chown for his extensive contributions to Antarctic Science and policy and to SCAR; and the second, the EC-PHORS-6/Doc.4.2.6, p. 6 SCAR Medal for International Scientific Coordination, was awarded jointly to Mahlon “Chuck” Kennicutt and Rasik Ravindra for their collaborative and coordination roles in the science community and the leadership and vision they have both shown to the community. Tim Naish has been awarded the 2014 Muse Prize, for his outstanding research in understanding Antarctica’s response to past and present climate change and the role of Antarctica’s ice sheets in global sea-level change through time. In December 2014 Renuka Badhe left the SCAR Office to become the new Executive Secretary of the European Polar Board. After an extensive search she was replaced by Eoghan Griffin. 6. Future SCAR Meetings There are several major SCAR Meetings coming up (www.scar.org/events/), including: XII International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences (ISAES) 2015. 13-17th July 2015, Goa, India. http://www.isaes2015goa.in XXXIV SCAR Meetings and Open Science Conference. 19-31 August 2016, KL, Malaysia. The SCAR Open Science Conference will be held on 25-29 August. See: http://scar2016.com XXXV SCAR and IASC meeting and joint Open Science Conference. Date TBD but in Davos, Switzerland