Mitgliedschaft Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research SCAR

• Research unit: SER
• Project number: P2008 SCAR

Key words (English)

Swiss, Antarctica, Antarctic Treaty system, Polar Research, International Cooperation, ICSU

Research programs (English)

The main focus of SCAR's international scientific coordination is on five Scientific Research Programmes:

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

Short description (English)

SCAR, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, is the principal organisation dealing with Antarctic scientific research. Formed in 1958 to continue activities begun during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58, it is an interdisciplinary committee of the International Council for Science (ICSU). Its area of interest includes Antarctica, its offshore islands, and the surrounding Southern Ocean including the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
Since 1991, Switzerland is an ordinary party (without the right to vote) of the Antartic Treaty.

Being a member of SCAR enables the Swiss Committee on Polar and High Altitude Research to participate in formulating SCAR policy and strategy.
Further, the membership enhances Swiss scientists' access to international cooperation and exchange in Antarctic Research.

Project aims (English)

SCAR's mission is “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”.

SCAR aims to achieve five main objectives:

1. To achieve its mission, SCAR aims to achieve five main 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
    
2. 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
    
3. To facilitate free and unrestricted access to Antarcticscientific data and information
    
4. 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
    
5. To communicate scientific information about the Antarctic region to the public.
     

Abstract (English)

For further information visit the the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) website at:
http://www.scar.org/

Swiss Delegate:
Prof. Rainer Wieler
Planetarwissenschaften
Institut für Geochemie und Petrologie (IGP)
ETH Zürich
Clausiusstrasse 25, NW
CH-8092 Zürich
Switzerland
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]