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SCAR Bulletin 149, April 2003
Appendix 3
Joint SCAR/COMNAP Executive Committee Meeting Shanghai, China, 16 and 18 July 2002
Report of the Meeting
Present:
SCAR: R H Rutford, A C Rocha-Campos, J Valencia, A D M Walker, R Schlich, C G Rapley, P D Clarkson.
COMNAP: K A Erb, G Jugie, G S Wratt, K Pitt, O Watanabe, J C A Sayers.
1. Opening remarks
R H Rutford took the Chair for the meeting. The draft agenda was adopted with the addition of three items under any other business
2. Antarctic Data
The Chief Officer of the Joint (SCAR-COMNAP) Committee on Antarctic Data Management (JCADM), M R Thorley, presented a progress report on the development of the Antarctic Master Directory (AMD) being undertaken on behalf of SCAR and COMNAP by the Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). The number of metadata records had increased from 1380 in May 2001 to 2476 in July 2002; the number of "hits" had increased from 640 in the first quarter of 2001 to 1900 in the first quarter of 2002. He emphasized the value of the AMD for scientists to identify data sources outside their own field of expertise when embarking on interdisciplinary research. He also stated that the AMD contained metadata on logistical matters that would be of value to managers of Antarctic programmes.
M R Thorley proposed a new structure for JCADM with a Chief Officer, Deputy Chief Officer and Secretary (in accordance with the proposed structure for a new SCAR Standing Committee) with a membership of representatives from the National Antarctic Data Centres (NADCs). Interaction with SCAR would be provided by a JCADM representative to each of the new Scientific Standing Groups (SSGs), (T de Bruin for Geosciences; L Belbin for Life Sciences; D Peterson for Physical Sciences) with reciprocal participation in JCADM by representatives of the SSGs. Interaction with COMNAP would be provided by regular reporting to COMNAP and by support ot operational projects.
Funding to the GCMD for the development contract had been set at $20,000 per annum each from SCAR and COMNAP for the years 2001 and 2002. M R Thorley proposed that future funding should be set at a total of $20,000 per annum from 2003 for the GCMD to support data entry and quality control and to provide maintenance services for portals and tools.
K Jezek, Chairman of the Steering Committee for the Antarctic Master Directory (STADM), provided a written report that recommended full payment under the terms of the 2-year contract for the work achieved in 2001 and 2002.
The meeting agreed that the GCMD should be asked to continue its work on the AMD to complete the initial 2-year period as proposed, and that STADM should continue to monitor and report on progress. It was also agreed to defer a decision on additional funding until after the SCAR Delegates had considered the proposed SCAR budget allocations for 2003 and 2004. It was noted that neither SCAR nor COMNAP could commit funding allocations for more than 2 years in advance. It was also noted that STADM would have no funding requirement because the committee worked entirely by mail.
The Chairman thanked JCADM and STADM for their very helpful reports. He also thanked M R Thorley for the work he had done on data issues for both SCAR and COMNAP over the past 10 years and wished him success in the future as he departed from the Antarctic community.
3. SCAR-COMNAP Discussion Forum
The Chairman described the proposed programme of presentations to be made at the SCAR&endash;COMNAP Discussion Forum on Saturday 20 July 2002.
Antarctic Subglacial Lakes
| J C Priscu and others | 90 minutes |
Antarctic Neotectonics
| T J Wilson and others | 30 minutes |
Cybercartographic Atlas
| D R F Taylor | 30 minutes |
Southern Ocean
| C G Rapley | 30 minutes |
Questions and discussion will be included in the above times.
4. Poster sessions
K A Erb drew the attention of the meeting to the National Programme posters on display during the COMNAP meeting.
The Chairman informed the meeting that some 50 posters illustrating the work of the Group of Specialists on Antarctic Neotectonics (ANTEC) would be displayed on 16 July 2002.
5. Symposia
K Pitt reminded the meeting that the Standing Committee on Antarctic Logiistics and Operations (SCALOP) Symposium on would begin at 1300 on 16 July 2002. There would be four sessions of oral presentations interspersed with poster sessions to allow further discussion.
The Chairman stated that the SCAR Symposium on "The Antarctic sea ice zone: physical and biological processes and interactions" would be held on 17 July 2002.
J Valencia reported that provisional offers to host the next SCAR Biology Symposium in 2005 had been received from Japan and Brazil.
6. ATCM matters
The Chairman confirmed the dates of XXV ATCM, Warsaw, Poland, as 10-20 September 2002 and XXVI ATCM, Madrid, Spain, as 9-20 June 2003. K A Erb reported a suggestion that, when the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat becomes operational, future ATCMs may be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. G S Wratt reported that there was support for the ATCM to return to a biennial cycle but that the CEP would need to meet annually with an ATSCM to adopt the report in non-ATCM years.
K A Erb said that COMNAP would be responding to a request for a paper on waste water disposal on inland areas of ice-free ground in Antarctica. He noted that the question of whether waste-water treatment plants produced effluent that could be discharged in such areas might require SCAR input.
J Valencia outlined the history of the SCAR scoping paper on the "State of the Antarctic Environment Report" (SAER) and said that the SCAR Working Group on Biology considered that the report should be linked to the Antarctic Master Directory (AMD). K A Erb noted that the national operators would be at least partly responsible for implementing any SAER and thus COMNAP might wish to comment on the process.
7. Future meetings
G Jugie confirmed that the COMNAP XV meeting would be held in Brest, France, 7-11 July 2003, when the SCAR Executive Committee would also meet.
The Chairman confirmed that the science week of XXVIII SCAR would be held in Bremen, Germany, 25-31 July 2004 and K A Erb confirmed that COMNAP XVI would be held in parallel.
8. Any Other Business
Medical screening: K A Erb reported that national operators currently accepted certificates of medical fitness for scientists from other national programmes and that COMNAP is conducting a survey to determine the comparability of such screening certificates.
Weather forecasting: C G Rapley reported that the SCAR Working Group on Physics and Chemistry of the Atmosphere (PACA) is considering forming a sub-group on operational weather forecasting. He suggested that there would be value in a liaison with COMNAP on the scope of this work.
Next meeting: In closing the meeting the Chairman asked the Executive Secretaries to schedule the next joint meeting of the Executive Committees during the COMNAP XV meeting in Brest during 2003.
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