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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.

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 SCAR's area of interest include: Ile Amsterdam, Ile St Paul, Macquarie Island and Gough Island.

Further information:

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 (C.Luedecke@lrz.uni-muenchen.de) 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

8th Meeting of SCAR History Group

The History EG organised two sessions at the XXXII SCAR Open Science Conference, held in Portland, Oregon, USA in July 2012 - 'Historical views on Gateways to Antarctica', focusing on the significance of port cities, and 'Voicing Silences in Antarctic History', showcasing the nature of historical scholarship on the Antarctic region.

Participants at the XXXII SCAR Open Science Conference sessions organised by the History EG:

Speakers at the 32 SCAR OSC session 37 Speakers at the 32 SCAR OSC session 36 Speakers at the 32 SCAR OSC session 36

From left: Adrian Howkins, Jason Kendall
Moore, Cornelia Lüdecke, Aant Elzinga, and
Colin Summerhayes

 From left: Heidi Prozesky, Lize-Marié van der Watt,
Peder Roberts, Joanna Rae, and Andrés Zarankin.		 From left: David Walton, Consuelo León Wöppke,
Alessandro Antonello and Brandon Luedtke

7th SCAR History Workshop, Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, Stellenbosch, South Africa, July 2011

'Antarctic History: probing the unknown'

Report of the 7th SCAR History Workshop held at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, South Africa, 26-29 July 2011

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

4th Meeting of SCAR History Action Group

Report of the 4th meeting of the SCAR History Action Group, St Petersburg, Russia, July 2008

Publications

3rd Meeting of SCAR History Action Group

Report of the 3rd meeting of the SCAR History Action Group, Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio, USA, October 2007

Publications

2nd Meeting of SCAR History Action Group

Report of the 2nd meeting of the SCAR History Action Group, Santiago, Chile, October 2006

Publications

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

Papers on the history and development of SCAR

SCAR Members and Officers