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SCAR News - Archive from 2006

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Celebrations of SCAR 50th Anniversary initiated in South America

The National SCAR Committees in Ecuador, Argentina, Chile and Brazil in a joint effort with INAE (Instituto Antártico Ecuatoriano) has initiated the SCAR 50th Anniversary organizing an Antarctic Science Panel within the II National Congress for Research, Technology and Innovation in Guayaquil, 14 - 15 November 2006. The panelists are: Sergio Marenssi, Vice President of SCAR, Marcelo Leppe from INACH (Instituto Antártico Chileno) and Lucia de Siqueiros Campos from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (website in Portugeese), the Regional Coordinator for CAML (Census of Antarctic Marine Life). An audience of at least 400 researchers, teachers and university students is expected to attend the event. A similar event will take place at the Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena (UPSE). Funding for these events comes from the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT), UPSE and INAE.

SCAR Publishes Implementation Plan

One key result of the meetings of the SCAR Delegates and Executive Committee in Hobart in July 2006, was the compilation of a large number of actions into an Implementation Plan for the next 2 years prior to the XXX SCAR meeting in St Petersburg in July 2008. The Implementation Plan demonstrates how the goals of the SCAR Strategic Plan are to be met by the Secretariat and the Executive Committee during 2006-2008. Both plans can be downloaded from:
http://www.scar.org/about/introduction/futureplans/index.html

Latest News on the International Polar Year (IPY)

The Opening Ceremony for IPY will take place on Thursday 1st March 2007 in Paris at 1000GMT. This will be attended by the IPY Joint Committee, members of the IPO, and guests. An IPY international press release will be issued on Monday 26th February, as part of the lead up to the Opening Ceremony.

For the latest news on what's happening in the IPY, see the IPY Newsletter (Nov 2006)

International Antarctic Institute will start activities in 2007

On 8 July 2006 the International Antarctic Institute (IAI) came into being, and the Institiute will begin offering courses of study in 2007. The secretariat currently resides at the University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania. The IAI is a joint initiative of 17 partner institutions and 7 associate partners, with SCAR among the associates.

Information about IAI and course list is available on the IAI website:

http://www.iai.utas.edu.au/

Obituary Notice: Mr. Masayoshi Murayama

It is with sadness we report that Mr. Masayoshi Murayama, the leading Japanese expert in Antarctic expeditions since the early beginning of the IGY era, and the first Japanese to reach the South Pole overland, passed away on Sunday 6th November 2006 at age of 88. Mr. Murayama took part in the first Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) and was engaged in the establishment of the Syowa Station during the 1st JARE in the summer of 1956/57. He served as a vice leader of the 2nd and 3rd expeditions and leader of the 5th expedition. He was instrumental in the campaign to replace the first Japanese icebreaker "Soya", and led the 6th, 7th, 9th and 15th JARE expeditions. In 1968, on the 9th expedition, he led the traverse party from Syowa Station to the South Pole. On December 19th 1968, he became the first Japanese to reach the South Pole. In 1988, he arrived at the North Pole by a charter plane, and so became the first Japanese to reach the both poles.

AGCS Newsletter NOTUS

The Antarctica in the Global Climate System (AGCS) programme has produced the first issue of its newsletter: NOTUS. Contact person: Mike Meredith at: mmm@bas.ac.uk

SCAR Action Group on the History of Antarctic Research meets in Santiago, Chile, 21 - 22 September 2006

The 2nd workshop of the SCAR History Group met in Santiago to explore 'Multidimensional exploration of Antarctica around the 1950s'. 21 participants came from 7 countries (Argentina, Chile, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, Australia - Tasmania and the USA). The workshop was held in Santiago to facilitate the participation of colleagues from South America and to open the discussion on the history of Antarctic research to scholars of countries neighbouring Antarctica. The mixture of PhD students, historians, historians of science, and Antarctic veterans, as well as experts on the Antarctic Treaty System resulted in very lively and exciting discussions and comments. Those with interests in the topic should contact Cornelia Luedecke (Email: c.luedecke@lrz.uni-muenchen.de). For further details see Report of 2nd meeting of the SCAR History Action Group, Santiago, Chile, October 2006

New Issue of GeoReach available

SCAR Standing Scientific Group in Geosciences have published an October 2006 issue of its Newsletter GeoReach.

Swedish icebreaker "Oden" available for collaborative research projects in the Southern Ocean

As part of the International IPY effort, the Swedish icebreaker Oden will be used by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat (SPRS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to assist in icebreaking and resupply of McMurdo Station this year. While transiting from Punta Arenas to McMurdo in December, a suite of basic underway observations involving a small international group of scientists involved in SCAR Census on Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) will be carried out in the Southern Ocean and Ross Sea. Oden leaves Sweden in November and the researchers from the Swedish side have already been appointed.

While Oden's main mission this year is to break ice for NSF transports to McMurdo, the use of Oden in the Southern Ocean after the coming season, both within IPY and post IPY, is open for discussion. A future partnership between SPRS and NSF involving the Oden might present opportunities for collaborative oceanographic research but it also could include broader opportunities for cooperation between SPRS and NSF's US Antarctic Program.

Interested parties are invited to express their potential research and collaborative plans to Magnus Tannerfeldt (magnus.tannerfeldt@polar.se) at the SPRS.

First SCAR-MarBIN Newsletter - Sept 2006

SCAR MarBIN Team is happy to announce the publication of the First SCAR MarBIN Newsletter. SCAR-MarBIN has now taken off, reaching a growing phase, thanks to its partners worldwide and continuous feedback from its users and collaborators.

Since January 2006, the number of unique visitors has increased exponentially by a factor 6, and the number of hits by an order of magnitude. MarBIN Team would like to thank all for the support and commitment, hoping that its services are beginning to prove helpful.

Obituary notice: Cam Craddock

It is with sadness that we report the death of Professor Campbell Craddock (1930-2006). Cam Craddock was one of the first geologists to be funded by the United States Antarctic Research Program after the IGY. His early fieldwork was in the Ellsworth Nountains and he made numerous field trips to the Antarctic in subsequent years. He was the co-editor of and contributor to the excellent Geologic Maps of Antarctica (Folio 12) of the Antarctic Map Folio Series published by the American Geographical Society that summarized geological knowledge of the continent at that time. He will probably be best rememebered as the host of the Third SCAR Antarctic Geology Symposium held in Madison, Wisconsin, in August 1977, and as the editor of the proceedings volume Antarctic Geoscience. Cam will be missed by his many friends in the Antarctic earth science community who recognize the major contribution he made to Antarctic geological research.

New SCAR members

At the XXIX SCAR Delegates meeting in Hobart, Delegates welcomed Denmark and Portugal as new Associate Members of SCAR. Delegates also endorsed the move of Bulgaria and the Ukraine from Associate Membership to Full Membership. Finally, Delegates welcomed an additional ISCU Union Member, INQUA - the International Union for Quaternary Science. Membership now comprises 34 national Members (30 Full and 4 Associate) and 8 Union members. This widening of the SCAR family will bring with it an even wider engagement of the scientific community in SCAR's research activities.

SCAR's 29th meeting a success in Hobart

The organisers of the combined SCAR and COMNAP meetings in Hobart during the period July 8 to 19, 2006, were pleasantly surprised to attract some 850 registrants from 32 countries. Some 750 abstracts were submitted for the SCAR Open Science Conference (12-14 July). Most had been accepted, though some had later been withdrawn due to the inability of people to travel to the meeting. 53% of the papers presented had been oral and 47% posters. There were 13 parallel sessions, and 39 separate themes. 120 students attended, from 15 countries. Ian Allison, Kate Kiefer, and the Australian Antarctic Division were congratulated on the excellent organisation of the meeting.

SCAR elects new officers

During the 29th SCAR Delegates meeting (17-19 July, Hobart, Tasmania), SCAR elected as new President Professor Chris Rapley, Director of the British Antarctic Survey and a former SCAR Vice President. Chris has recently been much involved in developments surrounding the International Polar Year, having chaired the ICSU/WMO Planning Committee for the IPY, and now being a member of the ICSU/WMO Joint Committee for the IPY, which is charged with implementation. Chris will be joined on te Executive Committee by newcomers Dr. Sergio Marenssi, Director of the Instituto Antartico Argentino, Dr. Antonio Meloni of the Instituto Nazionale di Geofisica, Roma, and Dr. Zhanhai Zhang, Director of the Polar Research Institute of China. Dr. Chuck Kennicutt of Texas A & M University remains as Vice President, and Dr. Jörn Thiede, of AWI, as Past President. Dr. Thiede was elected an Honorary Member of SCAR.

Please click here for further information on Professor Rapley and his appointment as SCAR's new President

SCAR awards 5 new research Fellowships (2006-7)

Under the SCAR Fellowship awards for 2006-7, Stephenie Konfal will go from Ohio State University to the University of Modena, Italy. Nobue Kasamatsu will go from the National Institute of Polar research in Japan to the Australian Antarctic Division in Hobart. Olaf Eisen will go from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology to the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge. Victoria Metcalf will go from the University of Canterbury NZ to Northeastern University in Boston. Barbara Villoslada will go from Cordoba University in Argentina to the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.

SCAR signs Letter of Agreement with IASC

SCAR and the International Arctic Science Committee have signed a Letter of Agreement to strengthen the relationship between the two organisations over the next 5 years. SCAR and IASC intend to combine their efforts in selected fields and activities (to be decided by mutual agreement) so as to raise the level of impact of both organisations in terms of making scientific advances and of advising policy makers (for example of the likelihood and likely effects of climate change), as well as to avoid duplication. To facilitate the process, SCAR and IASC agree:

  1. to invite each other to attend the meetings of their major bodies (SCAR Delegates and IASC Council)
  2. to encourage appropriate linkages between the relevant existing SCAR and IASC Scientific projects
  3. to encourage their scientific communities to develop joint bipolar projects and approaches in apropriate fields
  4. to work together in arranging workshops, conferences, and reports on topics of mutual scientific interest
  5. to exchange ideas on best practices in data and information management
  6. to exchange newsletters and advertise each other's newsletters and websites on their own websites
  7. to develop combined approaches to communicating with the wider community on the significance of polar research to the solution of societal issues, including their respective experience in giving advice to the AC and ATCM

SCAR has invited IASC to work jointly on planning a bipolar theme for the next SCAR Open Science Conference, scheduled for July 2008 in St Petersburg, Russia.

SCAR Makes Progress at Antarctic Treaty Meeting

The 29th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) took place in Edinburgh, Scotland, from June 12-23, 2006. SCAR presented 4 Working Papers and 6 Information Papers, all of which can be accessed from http://www.scar.org/treaty/atcmxxix/. The papers were well received by the ATCM and by its Committee on Environmental Protection (CEP). In addition there were many references to SCAR in the discussions of other papers, and a number of requests for assistance from SCAR. It looks as if SCAR will be busy producing papers for the 30th ATCM. At the Edinburgh meeting the proposal to delist Arctocephalus species from Annex II generated considerable discussion, but the CEP accepted the scientific advice from SCAR and the ATCM delisted A.gazelle and A.tropicalis at the final plenary meeting. The report from SCAR's Cadiz Workshop on marine acoustics was well received and broke new ground in discussing the natural marine noise environment within which additional anthropogenic noise needs to be considered. The proposal for the SCAR Antarctic Climate Assessment met with almost universal support and it is possible that several countries will be willing to provide some limited support to enable this to be done on a reasonable timescale. The proposal to list Southern Giant Petrels as Specially Protected Species under Annex II could not be taken forward at the Edinburgh meeting, because new information from the very recent ACAP meeting (which had arrived subsequent to preparation of the SCAR paper) suggested from data outside the Antarctic region that the global status of the species might be less vulnerabe than the population may be in the Antarctic region. SCAR has been asked to contact Birdlife International over the reassessment of global status, and also to conduct a regional status assessment of Antarctic populations, for revision of the paper and its re-submission next year. One day was devoted entirely to IPY and the ATCM agreed an IPY Declaration. IPY will remain on the agenda for reporting and discussion until at least 2009. The ATCM noted the central role being played by SCAR and its scientific community in helping to develop, manage and provide leadership for the IPY programme in the Antarctic. A detailed report of SCAR's involvement in the ATCM and CEP meetings will be made available for the SCAR Delegates meeting in Hobart (July 2006).

The SCAR lecture was again a highlight of the meeting, with an excellent presentation by Valerie Masson-Delmotte explaining the importance of ice cores to climate change studies. This lecture was repeated in the evening for a public audience. The text of the lecture, and the PowerPoint slides are now available on the SCAR website at: http://www.scar.org/communications/.

SCAR Communications Plan (Report 25) Published

One of SCAR's five primary goals is "to communicate scientific information about the Antarctic region to the public." Accordingly, the SCAR Delegates meeting in Bremerhaven in October 2004 approved development of a Communication Plan as a key management tool for achieving SCAR's long-term goals. The objectives of the SCAR Communications Plan are to:

The Plan identifies a suite of target communities or audiences, each of which will require the SCAR message tailored in a different way. Because many of these communities are at the national level, the task of communicating SCAR's message has to be shared between the SCAR Secretariat acting centrally and at the international level, and the National SCAR Committees acting nationally and at the local level.The Plan describes a variety of communications tools that may be adapted for the purpose at hand, and a mechanism for evaluating the performance of communication efforts.

Timetable of the SCAR XXIX Science Meetings and Conference in Hobart, 8-20 July 2006 is now available

Thanks to the heroic efforts of the Local Organizing Committee the detailed timetables for the XXIX SCAR Meeting (July 8-20) with links to the abstracts for the SCAR Open Science Conference are now available live:
http://www.scarcomnap2006.org/speakersabstracts.php. ("Index of all authors" for SCAR is not working just yet - but there are plenty of alternative ways of viewing the abstracts)

Photos of Antarctic marine specimens needed - The SCAR Marine Biodiversity Information Network (MarBIN)

SCAR-MarBIN compiles and manages existing and new information on Antarctic marine biodiversity by coordinating, supporting, completing and optimizing database networking. SCAR-MarBIN integrates these efforts, giving a single and easy access to relevant marine biodiversity information and maximizing the exploitation of these resources. SCAR-MarBIN is the sister-project of the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML), and is equally an IPY core initiative (#83).

SCAR-MarBIN is currently in its implementation phase, concentrating essentially on taxonomic and distribution data. In this context, we are also working on a variety of complementary projects, such as an Antarctic marine gazetteer (based on the SCAR composite gazetteer, and other data sources), which is now available online (http://www.scarmarbin.be/SearchGazetteer.php). We are also developing an expedition section, and other useful integrative tools such as vizualisation maps, bibliography,....

We are trying to populate a photo gallery at SCAR-MarBIN. We are specifically looking for pictures of Antarctic marine specimens, including some "not-so-sexy", unusual species. If you would like to contribute to this part of the project, just go to this page: http://www.scarmarbin.be/photo_gallery.php. You can easily upload your pictures there. When uploading the pictures, you can enter metadata (your name, your email address, description, notes, the corresponding ID of the specimen in the Register etc.). This metadata will help us link the picture with corresponding information (e.g. expedition, taxonomy) and acknowledge you properly.
Don't hesitate to make use of this tool!
Any enquiries should be addressed to Dr Bruno Danis, MarBIN Scientific Coordinator at: bruno.danis@scarmarbin.be

Obituary for Tore Gjelsvik

Tore GjelsvikTore Gjelsvik (1916-2006)
Former SCAR President from 1974-1978, Tore Gjelsvik, died 23 January 2006 at the age of 89.

Tore Gjelsvik was born in Bodø, northern Norway on 7 September 1916. He completed his Cand Real. in geology at the University of Oslo in 1942, while he was playing an increasingly important role in the Resistance movement. Towards the end of World War II he had a central role in the movement and he later wrote two books on his wartime experiences. As a student he attended lectures by docent Adolf Hoel, a Svalbard geologist who led the institution that later became Norsk Polarinstitutt (the Norwegian Polar Institute, NPI).

Tore married Anne-Marie soon after the war and they had four children. He was research fellow at Harvard University in 1946/47, and then completed his dr.philos. degree in Norway in 1953. He worked for the next seven years with the Geological Survey of Norway and for the UN in Turkey and Burma. In 1960 he was appointed director of NPI, a position he held until retirement in 1983.

Tore had a high intellectual and working capacity, and a burning engagement for polar issues. He was result-oriented, and unpretentious on his own behalf. Combined with an extensive national and international network this gave him much influence. There is no doubt that Norwegian polar activities today owe much to the foundations he built. He worked incessantly for the institute, and those of us who worked at NP under Tore remember him as a informal, approachable leader with high integrity and loyalty.

In 1972 Tore started a process to bring Norway back with its own expeditions to Antarctica. He mustered both his own private channels and his influence in the relevant Ministries to ensure fresh funding so that national expeditions could be sent, which then started in 1976. No doubt it was his status as a polar leader, and his engagement for Antarctic affairs, rather than Norway's own efforts, that led to his election as SCAR president in 1974. At this time SCAR was moving from the period of the IGY-generation and the "Old Boys" who all knew each others, and it was educational for a relative youngster like myself to be his right-hand man in this evolution. I still remember his comments at the SCAR Meeting in Mendoza in 1976 when he spoke about bringing more women scientists to Antarctica!

Tore was also active in the Antarctic Treaty meetings, including the early discussions relating to mineral resources in Antarctica. With his geological background he was always very clear that the ideas that were afloat from the late 1970's on commercial activities in this area were not realistic in any foreseeable future.

Tore was chairman or member of many national and international committees and societies. He was honoured with the Swedish Nordstjärna order and the Polish Copernicus Medal in 1982, and the Norwegian Commander of St Olav order in 1984. He received the German Georg von Neumayer Service Medal in 1988 for his contribution to developing German polar research. He continued with polar activities after his retirement, including geologic field work at Svalbard and working up his material at NPI. Around 1990 he led an important effort to upgrade the Fram Museum in Oslo, of which he was chairman 1985-96.

Olav Orheim,
Head of Antarctic Research at NPI from 1972-1993, Director of NPI 1993-2005

SCAR Awards its first Medals for Achievement

On July 12, 2006, as part of the opening ceremony for the SCAR Open Science Conference, in Hobart, Tasmania, the President, Professor Jörn Thiede will award the following three SCAR medals: (i) to Dr. Peter Barrett (NZ), the SCAR President's Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Antarctic Science; (ii) to Dr. Paul Mayewski (USA) the SCAR Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research; and (iii) to Dr. David Walton (UK) the SCAR Medal for International Scientific Coordination. The full citations will be made available at the meeting. SCAR Secretariat team congratulates the Awardees and wishes them all the best in the future.

SCAR History Group Plans Meeting

A meeting on "History of Institutionalisation of Antarctic Research within SCAR" will take place in Santiago, Chile on September 21-23, 2006 (see SCAR Events web page).

For more information contact Dr. Cornelia Lüdecke at: C.Luedecke@lrz.uni-muenchen.de
or at:
SCAR AG History of Antarctic Research
Valleystrasse 40
D-81371 Munich
Germany
Tel./Fax: +49 89 725 6 725

SCAR Fellowships for 2006-2007 Announced.

Postgraduate and Postdoctoral students from SCAR Member Countries are encouraged to apply for one of the 3-5 SCAR Fellowships, which carry a bursary of up to US$10,000 per annum. General information about SCAR fellowships is also available.

Deadline for submission of applications: 31 May 2006

SCAR Open Science Conference and SCAR XXIX Meeting, July 2006 - Early Bird Registration closes on 14th April 2006!

SCAR XXIX logoFor further information go to: www.scarcomnap2006.org
Early Bird Registration (lowest registration fee!) closes on 14 April 2006.

The XXIX SCAR meeting will comprise:

Over 700 abstracts have been received for oral and poster sessions for the SCAR Open Science Conference. This will make for a lively and interesting meeting. Those who have not yet registered are encouraged to do so. A second circular will be issued in due course.

SCAR Open Science Conference Session list:

100 - Plenary
111 - Physical Sciences SSG sub-Plenary
112 - Life Sciences SSG sub-Plenary
113 - Geosciences SSG sub-Plenary
210 - Evolution and structure of the Antarctic continent
211 - Antarctic Tectonics and Siesmicity
221 - Cenozoic Climate and the transition to the Icehouse
223 - Pleistocene variability recorded in sediments and ice cores
224 - Palaeoclimate of the Holocene and recent past
230 - Permafrost and Soils in Antarctica
310 - Subglacial lakes
311 - Surface and bedrock topography and dynamics of the Antarctic ice sheet
312 - Ice sheet and glacier mass balance and variability
313 - Characteristics of ice shelves, ice tongues and icebergs, and their interaction with the ocean
320 - Weather and climate of the Antarctic region
321 - CO2, Ozone and other atmospheric trace gases over the Antarctic
322 - Aerosols
330 - Sea ice and its interaction with Southern Ocean climate
331 - The Southern Ocean and its role in the global climate system
332 - Water masses, circulation and variability in the Southern Ocean
333 - Biogeochemistry of the Southern Ocean
401 - Integrated analyses of circumpolar Climate and Ecosystem Dynamics in the Southern Ocean (ICED)
402 - Response to environmental change in the marine ecosystem
403 - Marine biodiversity and adaptation
404 - Marine ecosystem function
405 - Marine trophic interactions
410 - Ecology of krill
411 - Ecology of marine mammals
412 - Near shore benthic ecosystems
413 - Sea-ice zone ecosystems
414 - Deep water pelagic ecosystems
415 - Fish physiology, evolution and behaviour
420 - Evolution and function of Antarctic microorganisms
421 - Biodiversity of terrestrial and limnetic ecosystems
422 - Terrestrial and limnetic ecosystems: environments and response to change
423 - Terrestrial and limnetic ecosystems: life history strategies and performance
424 - Variability in terrestrial and inland water ecosystems
430 - Environmental impacts, protection and remediation
440 - Human health and well-being
510 - History, philosophy and education in Antarctic science
520 - Strategies for Data Presentation and Management
521 - International and National Data Centers: Coordination and Activities
530 - Technology
531 - GPS Applications and Techniques
610 - Magnetosphere/ionosphere/mesosphere coupling
621 - Fields and waves
622 - Global electric circuit
630 - Antarctic astronomy and cosmic ray research

Travel Support Available for attending the International Workshop on Antarctic Sea Ice Thickness, 5-7 July 2006 in Hobart, Tasmania

Some fund are available for U.S. applicants. Application deadline: Saturday, 15 April 2006
For further information, please visit the workshop website: http://www.aspect.aq/workshop2006.html

A New International Prize "Felice Ippolito" established

The Italian National Antarctic Research Programme (PNRA) has established an international prize dedicated to Antarctic research, in memory of Prof. Felice Ippolito.
The prize will be awarded annually to a living Italian or foreign scientist, who has outstanding contribution to Antarctic Research in either: Earth Sciences, Life Sciences or Physical Sciences. The "Felice Ippolito" Prize in 2006 is dedicated to Physical Sciences.

Recommendations, icluding motivation and documentation, should be sent by 21 April 2006 directly to:

Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Via della Lungara 10, 00165 Roma, Italy
fax. +39 06 6893616
e-mail ufficio.premi@lincei.it

We encourage SCAR scientists to sent the nominations directly to given address, please.

View the full announcement

An obituary for John Heap

John Arnfield Heap
5 February 1932 - 8 March 2006

John Heap was Head of the United Kingdom Delegation to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings during the 1970s and 1980s. In that capacity, he was known to many people in SCAR who attended those meetings.

While an undergraduate reading geography at Edinburgh University he led an expedition to Arctic Norway and so started his polar career. He sailed south with Sir Vivian Fuchs' Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1955-58) as the sea-ice observer. This work was published as an atlas of sea-ice distribution maps for the Weddell Sea region and led to the award of a PhD by Cambridge University. After two years as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Ann Arbor, Michigan, he returned to Britain and exchanged a career in glaciology for one in polar diplomacy in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, under the guidance of Brian Roberts.

He became a familiar and respected figure at Antarctic Treaty Meetings where his skilful diplomacy often showed a way through a difficult negotiation to reach consensus, a state that he would often describe as one where "everyone agrees not to disagree"! His knowledge of the Treaty and its instruments, particularly the rules of procedure, was supreme but then he had been involved in drafting so many of them. It was only natural that he should compile and edit the first eight editions of the Handbook of the Antarctic Treaty System. He was a firm believer in the importance of scientific research in the Antarctic and was a strong supporter of SCAR.

When he retired from government service he was appointed Director of the Scott Polar Research Institute where he committed himself to the daunting prospect of raising money for building an extension to the Institute. He was successful, and the ever-growing collections of the library should be assured of a good home for the next 30 years. He was a driving force for establishing the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust, a charity devoted to the conservation of Britain's heritage in the Antarctic Peninsula and the Ross Sea regions. He also served as chairman of the Trans-Antarctic Association, a charity that arose from the profit made by the Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

With the death of John Heap, Britain has lost one of her most illustrious polar advocates and supporters. He will be sadly missed by his many friends and colleagues, both in Britain and around the world. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife and family at this sad time.

CryoSat replacement mission has been officially approved.

The Cryosat mission lost in the Arctic Ocean last year minutes after launch from northern Russia will fly again. The European Space Agency (ESA) has agreed to build a copy of the original £95m (140m-euro) craft. Early estimates suggest Cryosat-2 could be ready to launch in three years. The mission will study how the Earth's ice sheets are responding to climate change amid mounting evidence that some areas are thinning. For more information see:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4745168.stm
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cryosat/SEM7WFMVGJE_0.html

Travel Grants Available to attend Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research Open Science Conference

12-14 July 2006, Hobart, Tasmania

Application Deadline: Tuesday, 28 February 2006

For further information, please go to:
http://usscar.tamu.edu/scarosc or contact Chuck Kennicutt at: m-kennicutt@tamu.edu

ICESTAR Revised Implementation Plan

The Interhemispheric Conjugacy Effects in Solar-Terrestrial and Aeronomy Research (ICESTAR) programme has submitted the revised version of its Implementation Plan. The document can be found on the ICESTAR web site (http://www.siena.edu/physics/ICESTAR/) and is also available here: ICESTAR Implementation Plan 31 January 2006

SCAR pays tribute to Dr Sayed El-Sayed, the Antarctic marine biologist, who died recently.

Sayed El-Sayed
(1926 - 2005)

With the death of Sayed El-Sayed, Antarctic oceanography has lost one of its pioneers, and most enthusiastic supporters. Sayed was born and educated in Egypt, graduating in Zoology and Geology from the University of Alexandria in 1949, where he was also awarded an MSc in Oceanography in 1951. In 1953 he moved to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the leading oceanographic institution in the US, as a biologist in the Marine Life Programme, USA. His work on the English Sole populations of Saratoga Passage, Holmes Harbour and Penn Cove gained him a PhD from the University of Washington in 1959. He joined the staff of the Oceanography Department at College Station, Texas A & M University in 1963, and remained there until his retirement in 1997, on which he was awarded Emeritus status.

Early on in his time at Scripps, Sayed became interested in the ecology of marine phytoplankton and Antarctic marine ecosystems. From 1962 to 1967 Sayed participated in nine Argentinean cruises in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, and nine American cruises in the Pacific sector. He presented a synopsis of this work at the Second SCAR Biology Symposium held in Cambridge UK in July 1968.

A significant outcome of this SCAR meeting was the recognition of our lack of knowledge of the fundamental ecology and dynamics of the entire Antarctic marine ecosystem. Coupled with the rapidly developing Antarctic fisheries for fin-fish and krill, this gave rise to great concern. Following a series of international meetings, in 1976 the BIOMASS (Biological Investigation Of Marine Antarctic Systems and Stocks) Programme was formulated under the aegis of the newly formed SCAR Group of Specialists on Southern Ocean Ecosystems and their Living Resources, with support from other international bodies including SCOR, IABO and ACMRR. The main object of the BIOMASS Programme was to gain a deeper understanding of the structure and dynamic functioning of the Antarctic marine ecosystem as a basis for the future management of potential living resources. It was a highly ambitious programme requiring the co-operation of 11 nations, standardisation of methodology and techniques, and pooling of results. To be successful it would require strong and dynamic leadership. That task was given to Sayed El-Sayed, aided by the BIOMASS Executive.

Over a ten-year period there were two multiship, multinational cruises (1981 and 1984-85) leading to 32 international workshops. The research produced an impressive number of publications in scientific journals. In addition there were 68 reports in the BIOMASS Report Series, 23 BIOMASS Handbooks, 10 volumes in the BIOMASS Scientific Series and 25 BIOMASS Newsletters. This represents an enormous scientific legacy, but arguably an even more important outcome from the BIOMASS programme was the establishment of the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources that now controls the developing fisheries in the Southern Ocean.

That BIOMASS was so very successful owes much to the unremitting hard work of Sayed El-Sayed. His leadership was exemplary. His enthusiasm never wavered and he was ever generous with his time and support, especially to the many young scientists who were just starting their careers in oceanography. His charm and cheerfulness ensured that co-operation between scientists and nations was always total. In spite of this heavy workload Sayed maintained his own research output.

Sayed was awarded the National Science Foundation Antarctic Service Medal, and the 1985 Distinguished Service Award by the American Institute of Biological Sciences. The U.S. Board on Geographic Names named El-Sayed Glacier in recognition of his work in Antarctica. He will be remembered with great warmth and affection by all who knew and worked with him.

Dr R B Heywood
Director BAS 1994 - 1997

Some personal reminiscences

The start of my own research career in Antarctica, working on krill from both shore stations and the RRS John Biscoe, coincided with the BIOMASS programme. Whilst the scientific shape of the programme was set by Dick Laws in the UK and Gotthilf Hempel in Germany, it was Sayed who drove the programme forward with his dynamic running of the BIOMASS Secretariat at Texas A&M University. Infectious in his enthusiasm, it was impossible to refuse him when approached for an article in the BIOMAS Newsletter, or a talk at a meeting. The enormous success of the BIOMASS programme was due in no small way to Sayed's charismatic and charming leadership. It was testament to the enormous affection in which Sayed was held that when he presented his final talk at a SCAR Antarctic Biology Symposium, the lecture hall was filled to capacity. And Sayed did not disappoint; pacing up and down energetically, waving his arms enthusiastically, and with a characteristic disregard for the passage of time, he described his most recent work on the effect of UV radiation on Antarctic phytoplankton and received a huge ovation at the end.

In the more personal surroundings of a smaller meeting in the mountain village of Ravello on the Amalfi coast of Italy, I learned more of Sayed's background and history (between his disappearances for games of tennis, a passion for all of his active life). With a typical Arab sense of hospitality and generosity, Sayed arrived with a small present for all the partners at the meeting, and presented these with style. Sayed was immensely proud of the work he had done in Antarctica, and also in the success of the BIOMASS Programme. However he also spent considerable time working in the Middle East, and he took enormous personal satisfaction in having received medals from both Egypt and Israel for his work furthering scientific cooperation across the religious divide in that troubled part of the world. I shall remember Sayed as a warm, generous character, who always had time for the younger generation of scientists, and who was one of the founder figures of Antarctic oceanography.

Andrew Clarke
British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge

Successful completion of deep ice coring in the Antarctic


On January 17, 2006 an international team of scientists and technical staff under the leadership of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research has successfully completed the deep ice coring at the Alfred Wegener Institute's Kohnen Station in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Reaching a depth of 2774 metres, first on-site examinations of the ice core indicate that the ice cored at the deepest 200 metres is very old.

For AWI Press Release click here.

NSF Launches New Web Portal: International Polar Year 2007-2008


The website is available at: http://www.us-ipy.gov

New web page of the National SCAR Committee of Spain

National SCAR Committee of Spain has just established the web page: www.uam.es/cn-scar.

We hope this page will contribute to improve the communication with the national and international scientific community
and to promote the SCAR objectives. The web page is bilingual (Spanish-English).

Any comments contributing to improving the content are welcome and shall be sent to Jerónimo López-Martínez, the President of the National SCAR Committee in Spain, at jeronimo.lopez@uam.es

Revised date for submitting abstracts for 2nd SCAR Open Science Conference on "Antarctica in the Earth System"

Wednesday 12th to Friday 14th July 2006, Hotel Grand Chancellor, Hobart, Australia.

DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION EXTENDED TO MONDAY FEBRUARY 13 2006 - please tell your colleagues!

This international and interdisciplinary meeting will cover all aspects of current Antarctic research, and particularly those that address the close couplings between Antarctic processes and the other parts of the Earth System. Topics include (but are not restricted to):
· present and future Antarctic climate and links to the rest of the globe
· palaeo-climate of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean
· subglacial hydrological processes and ice-bedrock processes
· evolution of the Antarctic continent and its role in global systems
· molecular and genetic biology of Antarctic ecosystems
· biodiversity of the Southern Ocean
· sun-earth interactions in polar regions
· Southern Ocean biogeochemistry and its response to climate change

For more information and submission of abstracts: http://www.scarcomnap2006.org/scarosc.php

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS


SCAR encourages all its National Committees and SCAR Delegates as well as all SCAR Scientific Groups (e.g. SRPs, Action Groups etc.) to propose candidates for two SCAR Medals. The first medal is "The SCAR Medal for Excellence in Antarctic Research", and the second medal is "The SCAR Medal for International Scientific Coordination".

There are no formal criteria for determining the recipients of the two SCAR Medals. It is expected that the exceptional nature of the candidates' qualifications will justify the award. For these awards there are no age limits. Awardees for the two SCAR Medals will be selected by an Awards Committee from nominations.

The nominations for the awards at XXIX SCAR Meeting in 2006 should be sent to SCAR Secretariat by 1 February 2006.
Please provide up to 1 page A4 of explanation why this particular candidate is nominated, what achievements/skills/values made you choose her/him to be awarded. The presentation ceremony will be held in Hobart during the SCAR Open Science Conference.