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You are in:  Home » About SCAR » History » before reorganization at XXVII SCAR, Shanghai » Working Groups

SCAR Working Group on Geosciences

At XXVI SCAR in Tokyo it was agreed that the SCAR Working Groups on Geology and Solid Earth Geophysics should unite to form a new Group - the Working Group on Geosciences

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Antarctica, the seventh continent, is an integral part of the World's geodynamic and climatic systems. Its rocks span more than 3 500 million years of Earth history and prior to 150 million years ago it formed the nucleus of a supercontinent of which South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Australasia and south-east Asia were also integral parts. The break-up of this supercontinent, Gondwana, resulted in a major re-arrangement of the continental masses, and the consequent oceanic and climatic isolation of Antarctica that was largely responsible for the development of the Antarctic icecap, a fundamental influence on the World climate of today. It follows that a proper knowledge of its geological constitution and history is essential to the understanding of our planet.

The Working Group on Geosciences applies the methods of Geophysics and Geology to achieve an understanding of Earth history, Earth structure, dynamic Earth behaviour and global change. By studying the rocks and fossils geologists can unravel Antarctica's climatic history and the evolution of the animals and plants that lived on and around it. Using Geophysics, which is essentially remote-control Geology, indirect measurements of the physical properties of regions can be made that the geological hammer cannot reach and the image of the sub-surface that it produces will often extend and deepen the insights that can be extracted from samples alone. These may lie deep within the Earth, or merely beneath a few kilometres of sea-water, sediments or ice.

For more information please contact the Group Secretary.

For current information go to the Standing Scientific Group on Geosciences information pages

Chairman Dr Rudolf A J Trouw Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Dept de Geologie I.GEO Ilha do Fundão CEP 21910-900 Rio de Janeiro Brazil Tel: +55 21 598 3258 Fax: +55 21 598 3280 E-mail: trouw@igeo.ufrj.br

Secretary Dr Phil O'Brien Australian Geological Survey Organization PO Box 378 Canberra ACT 2601 Australia Tel: +61 62 499 970 Fax: +61 62 499 970 E-mail: phil.obrien@agso.gov.au