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History of the Institutionalisation of Antarctic Research
The XXVIII SCAR Delegates, meeting in Bremerhaven in October 2004, agreed to form an Action Group to deal with this topic, and in 2011 it became an Expert Group. The Group is chaired by Cornelia Lüdecke and has broad international membership, as similar research is on-going or has been done in several nations. Interested SCAR Members are encouraged to nominate members to the History Expert Group.
History Group Formation
History Group Meetings and Workshops
7th SCAR History Workshop, Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, Stellenbosch, South Africa, July 2011
'Antarctic History: probing the unknown'
The considerable role South African researchers have played in scientific, biological and meteorological discoveries in the sub-Antarctic Ocean lacks full recognition. But memories that lay scattered in national archives, personal diaries and mementos will now be accessible through a project to identify, digitise and archive this historical heritage online. For more information on the South African Antarctic Legacy Project, please read the full article on the University World News website.
For more information on the workshop, please see the Call for Papers, Workshop Programme and Workshop Report. See also the press release referring to the launch of the database of South African Antarctic research.
History Workshop: 'Exploring Ice and Snow in the Cold War', Deutsches Museum, Munich, Germany, January 2011
6th Meeting of SCAR History Action Group
Report of the 6th Meeting of the SCAR History Action Group, Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 2010
5th Meeting of SCAR History Action Group
Report of the 5th Meeting of the SCAR History Action Group, Washington D.C., USA, December 2009
- Abstracts of papers for the 5th meeting
Some participants at the 5th SCAR History Workshop in Washington DC, December 2009
4th Meeting of SCAR History Action Group
Report of the 4th meeting of the SCAR History Action Group, St Petersburg, Russia, July 2008
Publications
- Berkman, Paul Arthur, 2009, Common interests in the international space of Antarctica. Polar Record 46 (236), 167-175, 7-9.
- Elzinga, Aant, 2009, Through the lens of the polar years: changing characteristics of polar research in historical perspective. Polar Record 45 (235), 167-175
- Gan, Irina, 2009, 'Will the Russians abandon Mirny to the penguins after 1959 . . . or will they stay?' Polar Record 45 (233), 167-175
3rd Meeting of SCAR History Action Group
Publications
- The Proceedings of the 3rd SCAR Workshop on the History of Antarctic Research, published by the Byrd Polar Research Center in Columbus, Ohio, USA.
2nd Meeting of SCAR History Action Group
Report of the 2nd meeting of the SCAR History Action Group, Santiago, Chile, October 2006
Publications
- Proceedings of the 2nd SCAR Workshop on the History of Antarctic Research, October 2006
- Moore, Jason Kendall, 2008, Particular generalisation: the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 in relation to the anti-nuclear movement, Polar Record 44 (229), 115-125
Members of the SCAR History Group meeting in Santiago, Chile in October 2006
1st Meeting of SCAR History Action Group
Report of the 1st meeting of the SCAR History Action Group, Munich, Germany, July 2005
Publications
- Report on the First Workshop of the SCAR History Group, published in Earth Sciences History (2005)
- Proceedings of the 1st SCAR Workshop on the History of Antarctic Research, 2-3 June 2005
History of SCAR
The plans for the IGY, the International Geophysical Year, 1957-58, included a major Antarctic component.
At the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) Antarctic meeting held in Stockholm on 9 - 11 September 1957 it was decided that there was need for further international organization of scientific activity in Antarctica, and that a committee should be set up for this purpose. The Bureau of ICSU invited the twelve nations actively engaged in Antarctic research to nominate a delegate each to a Special Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR).
Delegates were also invited from the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG), the International Geographical Union (IGU), the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS), the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) and the Union Radio Scientific Internationale (URSI).The following permanent delegates were nominated: Argentina, Captain L. de la Canal; Australia, Professor J. van Mieghem; France, Mons. B. Imbert; Japan, Professor T. Nagata; New Zealand, Dr. E. I. Robertson; Norway, Professor L. Harang (also representing URSI; South Africa, J.J. Taljaard; United Kingdom, Dr G. de Q Robin; United States, Dr L.M. Gould; USSR, Dr M.M. Somov; IUBS, Dr A. Brunn; IUGG, Ing. Gen. G. Laclavère; and IGU, Dr V. Schytt.
The first meeting of SCAR was held at the Hague from 3 - 6 February 1958 and all the participating nations and societies were represented except New Zealand and South Africa. Dr R. Fraser and Colonel E. Herbays represented the ICSU. The meeting elected Ing. Gen. G. Laclavère President, Professor K.E. Bullen Vice-President, and Dr V. Schytt Secretary. The main ask of the committee at the first meeting was to "prepare a plan for the scientific exploration of Antarctica in the years following the completion of the International Geophysical Year programme". A Finance Committee was also formed. Three working groups were set up to discuss and prepare future research programmes and each later reported their recommendations to the Committee.
Subsequently SCAR was renamed the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.
A Brief Account of the Evolution of SCAR, 1958-2006 by Peter D.Clarkson
Achievements of SCAR to 2006: SCAR Report 29
International Collaboration in Antarctica - the IPYs, IGY and SCAR, with acknowledgements to Polar Record
Preparing SCAR for 21st century science in Antarctica - the Review of April 15 2000
SCAR Performance Review 2009: WP05 from EXCOM 2009
Geographical Scope:
For the purposes of SCAR, in 1958 "Antarctica" was defined as being bounded by the Antarctic convergence, and also including the Sub-Antarctic islands on which International Geophysical Year observations were being made.
In 2005, this definition was enlarged as follows (from the SCAR Strategic Plan 2004-2010): SCAR's 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. Subantarctic islands that lie north of the Subantarctic Front and yet fall into SCARs area of interest include: Ile Amsterdam, Ile St Paul, Macquarie Island and Gough Island.
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