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SCAR Report No 15, January 1998

SCAR Group of Specialists on Global Change and the Antarctic, (GLOCHANT)

Group of Specialists, Report to XXIV SCAR, August 1996

1. An Overview of GLOCHANT and its Linkages with IGBP, WCRP and SCOR

The fourth meeting of the Group of Specialists on Global Change and the Antarctic (GoS/GLOCHANT) was held in Madison, Wisconsin, USA on 10-14 April, 1996. The minutes of the meeting have been circulated within SCAR and are ready for publication in a forthcoming SCAR Report. The minutes of the previous GLOCHANT III meeting and the Joint GoSSOE/EASIZ and GLOCHANT Planning Groups 1 and 5 meeting in Tokyo, during April, 1995 have been published in SCAR Report 11.

The SCAR Global Change Programme Coordinator, I. Goodwin, presented to the meeting a progress report on the linkages and interactions between SCAR and the other international programmes, particularly, IGBP, WCRP and SCOR. Three research areas have been identified where SCAR has been encouraged to develop contributions to the global programmes. These are:

In order to discuss these issues and aid in the development of scientific proposals to accommodate these gaps in the global programmes, several invitees were included in the GLOCHANT IV meeting (see GLOCHANT IV Minutes).

This group of scientists identified the following existing and proposed GLOCHANT contributions to IGBP and WCRP:

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GLOCHANT Contribution to IGBP PAGES

The existing programme on Palaeoenvironments from Ice Cores (PICE, co-sponsored and approved by IGBP PAGES), the joint GLOCHANT/PAGES programme, International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expeditions (ITASE), on 200 years of past Antarctic climate and environmental change, and the proposed GLOCHANT/PAGES workshop on Late Quaternary Antarctic Ice Margin Evolution (ANTIME, preliminary approval from PAGES).

GLOCHANT Contribution to WCRP CLIVAR and ACSYS, and IGBP/SCOR SO-JGOFS

The proposed programme on Antarctic Sea-Ice Processes, Ecosystems and Climate (ASPECT).

GLOCHANT Contribution to IGBP LOICZ and a proposed Joint SCAR/IASC/ICSI/PAGES/WCRP Working Group on Glaciers, Ice Sheets and Sea-Level (GISSL)

The existing programme on Antarctic Ice Sheet Mass Balance and Sea-level (ISMASS),

SCAR Contribution to START

Strong affiliation with START is proposed through the recommended appointment of the GoS/GLOCHANT as the START Regional Research Committee for the Antarctic.

The linkages between the SCAR-GLOCHANT programmes and other international programmes are further illustrated in Appendix 1.

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2. Proposal for a GLOCHANT Programme on Antarctic Sea-ice Processes, Ecosystems and Climate (ASPeCt)

At the request of SCAR XXIII (Minutes of XXIII SCAR 5.1.1), ongoing and planned research on sea-ice and biogeochemical cycling in Antarctic waters was examined at the GLOCHANT-III meeting. It was determined that EASIZ, WCRP, SO-JGOFS, and other programmes do not together cover the full scope of required Antarctic sea-ice-zone research, and that there is a special role for the SCAR Global Change Programme in the shelf-to-ice-edge area (pack ice) that is not being adequately covered by other programmes.

Information on the Antarctic sea-ice zone is required for the development and validation of both coupled climate models and biogeochemical models, which currently do not include all important sea-ice processes. Important problems not adequately covered by existing Antarctic research programmes include:

To address the key identified deficiencies in our understanding and of the sea-ice zone, we propose to establish a programme of multi-disciplinary Antarctic sea ice zone research within the SCAR Global Change Programme. This programme on Antarctic Sea Ice Processes, Ecosystems and Climate is known as ASPECT. A draft science plan for ASPECT is included in Appendix 2. The broad objectives for ASPECT are:

A major thrust of the ASPECT programme is its multi-disciplinary focus on the sea-ice zone; combining research on physical sea-ice processes, ocean-atmosphere interaction and sea-ice biology. An inter-disciplinary research approach to the ecology of the sea-ice zone is vitally important in the overall programme. As a SCAR programme, ASPECT is focused towards the role of the unique regional environment of the Antarctic sea-ice zone, but it is essential that it be closely linked to the overall international global change research agenda. Hence interdisciplinary components of ASPECT are designed to contribute to, and extend, international open-ocean programmes, such as JGOFS and GLOBEC. ASPECT will also maintain close scientific links with the SCAR EASIZ programme, a study of the ecology of the Antarctic coastal and continental-shelf zones. Whereas ASPECT will undertake integrated physical and biological work in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) and deep within the pack-ice, the main thrust of the EASIZ work will be near-shore, year-round, and long-term. Work within EASIZ will thus provide important data on temporal variability at a series of sites, to complement the more detailed process studies or data on spatial variability to be obtained within ASPECT.

Many physical elements of ASPECT will contribute to the objectives of the WCRP CLIVAR Programme, a study of Climate Variability and Predictability, which involves investigations of atmosphere, ocean, and land at a variety of time scales. ASPECT plans are particularly relevant to the CLIVAR-DecCen component programme, which is concerned with decadal-to-centennial climate variability and predictability. The ASPECT programme will initiate implementation of parts of the sea-ice-zone research requirements of CLIVAR and will collaborate closely with CLIVAR and other WCRP programmes to ensure the essential global integration of Antarctic regional research. It may be appropriate for some research elements of ASPECT eventually to become a sub-component of CLIVAR, but because of the unique logistic requirements of work in the Antarctic sea-ice zone, ongoing SCAR involvement and sponsorship are essential.

The ASPECT programme will build on existing and proposed research programmes and the shipping activities of national Antarctic operators. The implementation plan includes some components that can be undertaken as part of normal resupply voyages; for example a system of simple but quantified shipboard observations, based on the WMO Classification for ice types, has been shown to provide statistical ice and snow thickness distributions similar to those obtained from more sophisticated techniques. ASPECT will also include a component of data rescue of valuable historical sea-ice-zone information.

The ASPECT programme will achieve its aims by:

GLOCHANT XXIV-1

We recommend that the ASPECT programme be approved and established as a SCAR Programme, to serve as the major SCAR contribution to global change research, particularly physical processes and climate in the Antarctic pack ice.

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3. Proposal for a Joint GLOCHANT/PAGES Workshop Initiative on the Late Quaternary Sedimentary Record of Antarctic Ice-Margin Evolution (ANTIME)

It was the original intention of SCAR-GLOCHANT in 1991 to establish a project on palaeoenvironments from Antarctic ice cores and the sedimentary record. This has been partially achieved through the establishment of a programme on Palaeoenvironments from Ice Cores (PICE). PICE has been approved by the IGBP PAGES SSC and is co-sponsored by GLOCHANT and PAGES. This proposal outlines the need to work towards the establishment of a sister programme to study the record of palaeo-environmental changes contained in the Late Quaternary Antarctic sedimentary record (last 250,000 years), in the marine, coastal, lacustrine, and glacial environments. The full proposal is in Appendix 3. The Antarctic sedimentary record has already yielded high-resolution information on palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic changes, particularly on ice marginal and outlet glacier fluctuations and in lacustrine and marine ecology and biogeochemistry. A coordinated SCAR initiative on circumpolar palaeoenvironmental research, particularly a detailed component on the last 20,000 years including the very-high-resolution Holocene records, would provide a solid basis for the understanding of present and future variability in the Antarctic, when combined with the ice-core records. It is important that the palaeoenvironmental data from ice cores and the sedimentary record be correlated to allow the optimal understanding of past circumpolar changes. It is recommended that the ANTIME initiative focus on two streams: Stream 1 (last 20,000 years) on the last deglaciation and interglacial environmental, climatic, and ice-sheet variability; and Stream 2 (last 250,000 years) on the environmental, climatic, and ice-sheet response to glacial-interglacial cycles. These are slightly different from the PAGES timescales, but are considered to be more appropriate to circumpolar studies.

The proposed ANTIME initiative would first involve the convening of an international workshop for SCAR palaeoenvironmental scientists. It is the intention to obtain joint sponsorship of this workshop from PAGES. The proposed ANTIME initiative has received preliminary approval from the Chairman of the PAGES SSC and the Executive Director. The proposal will be assessed at the PAGES SSC meeting, later this year. The workshop would address the status of knowledge in the following key topics:

The extent, timing, and regional differences of the Last Glacial Maximum in Antarctica;

What rapid or episodic events occurred during the Late Quaternary?

What are the key forcings and feedbacks that influence the retreat and readvance of the Antarctic ice sheet?

What changes have occurred to the ice shelves and outlet glaciers during the Holocene?

Technology coordination; and,

Correlation of Late Quaternary Antarctic environmental history and deep-ocean sedimentary records.

This workshop would take place in Hobart Australia, in July, 1997, in conjunction with the Symposium on Antarctica and Global Change. The workshop would allow a review of existing SCAR national programmes and the status of current knowledge on Late Quaternary environmental change within the Antarctic region. It will also facilitate the identification of priority geographic regions and field and analysis tasks, that would benefit from a multi-national approach. The workshop is seen as a first step in the correlation of circum-Antarctic palaeoenvironmental records from ice cores and the sedimentary record, which is required to understand past circumpolar changes.

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GLOCHANT XXIV-2

We recommend that SCAR approve the Late Quaternary Antarctic sedimentary record of Ice Margin Evolution (ANTIME) initiative for a workshop in Hobart, 1997, and encourage its joint sponsorship by IGBP PAGES.

4. The SCAR-PAGES Programme on the International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE)

The proposed International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE), was endorsed by two of the Working Groups that met at the workshop of the SCAR Steering Committee for the IGBP in Bremerhaven in 1991. Consequently, it was identified as "expected to make a major contribution to two of the core projects in "The Role of the Antarctic in Global Change", those relating to the palaeoenvironmental record and ice-sheet mass balance. It was formally endorsed by the Working Group on Glaciology and approved by the Delegates as Recommendation Glaciology XXII-5, and was subsequently formally endorsed by the GoS/GLOCHANT at their 4th Annual meeting in April, 1996, at Madison, Wisconsin, USA. ITASE has also been formally approved and adopted by the IGBP PAGES core project under their Focus II on Antarctic Palaeoenvironments, it is also a contribution to the IGBP International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) core project under their focus on Polar Air Snow Chemistry (PASC), and it links to SCAR-BIOTAS, SO-JGOFS and WCRP-CLIVAR.

The broad aim of ITASE is to establish how the modern atmospheric environment (climate and atmospheric composition) is represented in the upper layers of the Antarctic ice sheet. Primary emphasis is placed on the last ~200 years of the record. This time period was chosen for study because it is relatively simple to recover many ice cores covering this period, and to develop a spatially significant study. Even more importantly, this time period covers the onset of major anthropogenic involvement in the atmosphere and the end of the Little Ice Age. A revised science and implementation plan for ITASE is in preparation. An international ITASE workshop was held in Cambridge, on 2-3 August, 1996, prior to XXIV SCAR; the major outcomes of the workshop are included in Appendix 4. The workshop was co-sponsored by PAGES, GLOCHANT and the US NSF, with substantial financial support from PAGES and US NSF.

Specific ITASE objectives are:

ITASE OBJECTIVE 1

To determine the spatial variability of Antarctic climate (eg. accumulation, air temperature, atmospheric circulation) over the last 200 yrs.

These variations include;

This extended climatic depiction for the major global atmospheric heat sink will be unrivalled for 10% of the earth's land surface.

ITASE OBJECTIVE 2

In fulfilling these objectives ITASE will:

Some ITASE traverses have been completed by national programmes, including those of the Chinese, British and the Swedish/Norwegian programmes, since 1992.

It is recognised by the GoS/GLOCHANT and the PAGES SSC that ITASE is a fundamental global change programme, with substantial contributions to the scientific objectives of the GLOCHANT programmes on Ice Sheet Mass Balance and Sea-Level (ISMASS) and Palaeoenvironments from Ice Cores (PICE), and the joint PAGES/CLIVAR initiative.

There have been many field data collected on the physical, chemical and isotopic characteristics of the upper layers of the Antarctic ice sheet, along oversnow traverse routes in the last 30 to 40 years. It has been recognised by representatives of ITASE and GLOCHANT that a data compilation and mapping project is required as a baseline for the detection of global change. The proposed project would collate, synthesise and map the existing ITASE type data (covering the last 200 years), which was collected by expeditions over the last 30 to 40 years. This would allow planned and future fieldwork to be focused on priority geographic areas, where either no data exist, or where more detailed data are required in significant areas. The proposed compilation data set would include: accumulation rate; stable isotopes; chemistry (major anions and cations, MSA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), organic acids; trace metals; microparticles; cosmogenic isotopes; and borehole temperatures. It is proposed that the project would be undertaken by the SCCP office in Hobart. We request that the project receives some financial support from SCAR.

GLOCHANT XXIV-3

We recommend that SCAR Delegates approve ITASE as a SCAR Programme.

GLOCHANT XXIV-4

We also recommend that SCAR support the proposed project on 'Compilation of the existing ITASE data covering the last 200 years, and collected by expeditions over the last 30 years' as a baseline data set for the detection of global change.

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5. Proposal for the Assessment of the Status of Global Change in the Antarctic

It was the view of the participants at GLOCHANT IV, in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, that the importance of the Antarctic to global changes in climate, sea-level and ecosystems must be promoted, is still not fully recognised amongst the wider global scientific community. The participants resolved that an assessment of the status of global change in the Antarctic and the implications for global changes should be researched and communicated to the wider community of global policy makers and scientists. As a first step the participants have prepared the following examples of detected changes in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean (see Appendix 5). The participants in the SCAR Global Change Programme recommend to SCAR that a comprehensive document on the status of global change in the Antarctic should be prepared over the next two years. It is proposed that the document serve as an update to the previous SCAR publication, The Role of Global Change in the Antarctic, which was edited by Professor Gunter Weller in 1992. The document will be coordinated and edited by Goodwin in the Hobart office.

The proposed document would be based on the following structure:

GLOCHANT XXIV-5

We recommend that SCAR Delegates support the research and publication of an update of the 'white book', entitled the 'Status of Global Change and the Antarctic'.

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6. Reports on Existing GLOCHANT Programmes

A. Palaeoenvironments from Ice Cores (PICE)

The Programme on Palaeoenvironments from Ice Cores (PICE) met in Boston on 15 - 16 September 1995. The Minutes of that meeting are attached as Appendix 6. One important development for PICE since the last SCAR meeting is that it is now formally sponsored by IGBP PAGES as well as SCAR. As a consequence, the Boston meeting focussed on the bipolar aspect of ice cores by updating information about the major drilling projects in Antarctica and Greenland and discussing a bipolar science plan, the purpose of which would be to establish the interrelationships between the different ice-core-drilling projects. The output of these discussions was the preparation of a document An international strategy for ice-coring in Antarctica and Greenland - Reducing uncertainty in global environmental change, which was presented to GLOCHANT and PAGES at their respective meetings in April, 1996. A revised version of that document that takes into account the comments stemming from those two meetings is appended (Appendix 7). Another conclusion of the Boston meeting was strong endorsement of ITASE in its efforts to establish a network of surface samples and shallow cores linking existing and planned future deep drilling sites.

Members of the PICE programme met in Cambridge on 5 August, 1996. The members agreed that the phase 1 tasks on the planning and coordination of deep-ice core drilling projects, and the development of a bipolar strategy had been completed. They proposed that phase 2 of the project will involve the development of a data bank of deep-ice core records, which will be coordinated by the Hobart office. The establishment of the data bank will enable the focus of the PICE project to shift to the correlation of these palaeoenvironmental records. It is proposed that the SCAR Global Change Programme Office in Hobart coordinate the establishment of the data bank by correspondence during 1997. A joint SCAR/PAGES-sponsored workshop is proposed to be held in 1998 on the 'Correlation of Antarctic palaeoenvironmental records from deep-ice cores'. This workshop would be held in place of annual meetings for PICE.

B. Ice-Sheet Mass Balance and Sea-Level (ISMASS)

Members of the programme on Ice-Sheet Mass Balance and Sea Level (ISMASS) held its third meeting in Chamonix on 17 September 1995. The overall themes of the meeting were first, the coordination of radar sounding of ice thickness along the grounding zones of the entire ice sheet, and second, the evaluation of plans for measurements of surface mass balance and ice velocities.

In regard to the ice-thickness measurements, programme members reported on recent and planned airborne measurements in several different areas: the western margin of the Ronne Ice Shelf (UK, planned for 1995-96), the southeastern margin of the Ronne Ice Shelf (Germany, 1994-95), the grounding zone of the Brunt Ice Shelf (Germany, 1994-95), the grounding zone of Riiser-Larsen Ice Shelf (Germany, 1985-86), along the Princess Martha Coast of Queen Maud Land (Sweden, proposed for 1997-98), Enderby Land and American Highland, where extensive Russian soundings have been carried out on grids that include crossings of the grounding zones, the east coast of Victoria Land (Italy, planned for 1995-96 and 1997-98), and the eastern edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, where grid surveys by the U. S. (in 1993-96 and planned for 1996-97) extend across the grounding zone. In addition, Australia has carried out measurements on the surface on the 2500-m contour around the entire Lambert Glacier Basin.

An important future prospect for ice-thickness determinations is the accurate measurement of surface height at the edge of the grounding zone, where the ice has just gone afloat and where the ice thickness then can be calculated by Archimedes' principle. Satellite-borne radar altimeters are not effective in this zone, but a laser altimeter, with a much smaller footprint, should be. Consequently, a satellite-borne laser altimeter may obviate the need for airborne radar sounding around much of the Antarctic perimeter.

The principal source of velocities continues to be the analysis by the U. S. Geological Survey of repeated visual satellite imagery. Velocities are now available around most the northern coast of Marie Byrd Land. Glaciologists in other countries, notably Italy, Germany, Australia, and the UK, are also conducting this kind of research. Velocity determinations on the surface in or near the grounding zone have been made or are planned by the UK (Zumberge Coast), Germany (Foundation Ice Stream), Sweden (inland from Wasa Station), Italy (east coast of Victoria Land), and the U. S. (eastern edge of the Ross Ice Shelf). The programme members look forward to the development of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) interferometry into a widely applicable tool for measuring velocities: this will surely happen, but much research on the technique is still needed.

The determination of surface mass balance is a particularly difficult task because it must be extended over the entire surface of the ice sheet, not just around the perimeter. Over the last few years there have been significant advances in the modeling of moisture fluxes across the Antarctic continent, from satellite derived and ground-based meteorological data and a diagnostic circulation model: values for small-scale average accumulation rates with an accuracy of ± 10% are now attainable.

An exciting prospect for the determination of surface mass balance arises from the recent development of a technique to use a high-resolution radar system to provide continuous profiles of the depth to shallow horizons that appear to be annual layers, thus yielding continuous profiles of the accumulation rate. Swedish glaciologists have shown this to work effectively in coastal Queen Maud Land and U. S. researchers are developing the same technique in Greenland.

Another prospect of importance is the potential availability, at least from 1996 to 1998, of the long-range Lockheed P-3 aircraft that has been used for many years by the U. S. Naval Research Laboratory for a worldwide program of airborne magnetics. The P-3 has a range of 5000 km at a low-altitude flight height suitable for measurements and 7000 km at high altitude and thus would be capable of carrying out soundings on most sectors of the Antarctic coastline from a base in McMurdo. The challenge for using the P-3 is to find the financial support required for its operation, which must come from sources outside the United States Navy. The USAP cannot support the activity alone, although it might be able to contribute to an international effort. A more detailed prospectus on the use of the P-3 is attached as Appendix 8.

The members of the programme recognise that a full evaluation of the mass balance of the ice sheet will ultimately involve modelling sheet that incorporates ice dynamics. For such modelling, of course, it is necessary to know the surface elevation, ice thickness, and bed topography of the entire ice sheet, not just of the grounding zones. Consequently, as an aid to the ice sheet modeling projects and mass balance determinations, the ISMASS programme, together with members of the European Ice Sheet Modelling Initiative (EISMINT), proposes a compilation of all the existing surface and bed elevation data to produce a digital data set known as BEDMAP. A specific proposal for BEDMAP is attached as Appendix 9. Furthermore, the members of the programme strongly endorse the proposed laser-altimeter mission of NASA in the United States, which is designed to produce accurate surface elevation over all of the ice sheet north of 86° S.

The full minutes of the programme meeting will be published in a forthcoming SCAR REPORT. Since its meeting in September, the programme has developed a draft Science Plan. It is attached as Appendix 10.

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GLOCHANT XXIV-6

We recommend that SCAR recognise the importance of the required radar-sounding surveys of the ice-sheet grounding zones and encourage COMNAP to place a high priority on the logistic support for these surveys.

GLOCHANT XXIV-7

We recommend that the BEDMAP proposal be approved and supported by SCAR, jointly through ISMASS, the Working Group on Glaciology, and the Working Group on Geodesy and Geographic Information, and that SCAR approval be transmitted to EISMINT.

GLOCHANT XXIV-8

We also recommend that SCAR continue to encourage the plans of NASA to launch a laser altimeter (GLAS) on a satellite in a suitable polar orbit (ICESAT)

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7. START Regional Research Committee for the Antarctic

A. Response to XXIII-10 (1) Development of a SCAR-sponsored Antarctic Regional Research Network.

At XXIII SCAR it was agreed that a formal interaction with START (System for Analysis, Research and Training of the IGBP, WCRP, and IHDP (the International Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change Programme)) should be undertaken through the development of a SCAR-sponsored Regional Research Network (RRN) concept (Recommendation XXIII-10 (1)). GoS GLOCHANT member Thorley was tasked with the development of this interaction.

After discussion with the START Secretariat is was agreed that the interaction should be dealt with at 2 levels: (1) at the institutional level between SCAR, START, and its parent programmes (IGBP, WCRP and IHDP) and (2) at the core programme level, between the core projects of IGBP and WCRP and related programmes within SCAR. It was also recognised that there would be benefits in adopting a bi-polar approach to the interaction with START and its parent programmes. Accordingly, a round table meeting was held between members of SCAR, START, WCRP, and IASC in Hanover, New Hampshire, December 6, 1995 to look at these issues. The outcome of this meeting was the agreement that the institutional-level linkage between SCAR and IGBP/WCRP should be developed through the START RRN concept, whilst the inter-programme linkage should be formed through the SCAR Global Change Programme Office.

The institutional-level linkage is being facilitated through the development of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between SCAR and START. GoS GLOCHANT will take on the role of a START Regional Committee for the Antarctic to promote the principal programmes of IGBP and WCRP in the Antarctic. Whilst it is recognised that SCAR has a wider portfolio of interests than those of START, there is a close congruence of major interests between the two organisations, which indicates the value of joint planning and implementation for the good of global science. The MoU has been prepared in a succession of drafts, and has been reviewed and approved in principle by the SCAR Executive. The MoU was presented to the Deputy Director of START, Dr Hassan Virji, by Dr Ian Goodwin and Prof Olav Orheim at the IGBP Core Project Officers' meeting at Texel, in The Netherlands in February 1996. It has been approved in principle by Dr Hartmut Grassl, the Director of WCRP, and Dr Chris Rapley, Executive Director of IGBP (see Appendix 11 for the MoU). Following any revisions made as a result of discussions at the XXIV SCAR Delegates meeting, it is anticipated that a final version of the MoU will be submitted to the START Scientific Steering Committee meeting, 19-21 September, for their approval.

The programme level linkage, between the core projects of IGBP and WCRP and related programmes within SCAR, is being developed through direct project-to-programme links facilitated by the SCAR Global Change Programme Office; the process benefited greatly from discussions with the Directors of the IGBP Core Projects at the Texel meeting (see accompanying SCAR Global Change Programme annual report).

GLOCHANT XXIV-9

We recommend that SCAR Delegates approve the Memorandum of Understanding between SCAR and START (Appendix 11) for SCAR GLOCHANT to be appointed the START Regional Committee for the Antarctic within the START Regional Research Network, and that approval be forwarded to START.

NB Approval of this recommendation means approval of the concept that START must approve the membership of GoS GLOCHANT. We expect their approval to be routine and automatic, but we cannot guarantee it.

B. Response to XXIII-10 (2) Implementation Plan for an Antarctic Regional Research Cente

At XXIII SCAR it was agreed that an implementation plan for an Antarctic Regional Research Centre should be produced jointly by SCAR and START for discussion at XXIV SCAR (Recommendation XXIII-10 (2)).

A central component in the initial proposal for START Regional Research Networks was the Regional Research Centre (RRC), which would act as a focal point for the coordination of research and analysis within the regional network. START has now accepted that the centralised RRC model would not be appropriate for all regions. Much of the functionality required for Antarctic regional research coordination is already present within existing SCAR mechanisms and all that is required is a coordinating node to link these existing mechanisms together. The SCAR Global Change Programme Office in Hobart would provide the natural focus for this coordination function.

GLOCHANT XXIV-10

We recommend that SCAR Delegates task the GoS GLOCHANT (in its role as the START Regional Committee for the Antarctic) to investigate the requirement for Regional Research Centre functions within the Antarctic RRN and to work with the SCAR Global Change Programme Office to develop mechanisms to ensure these requirements are satisfied.

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8. Future Role of the GLOCHANT Group of Specialists

Since the establishment of the GLOCHANT Group of Specialists four years ago the role that we see the GoS playing has changed substantially. We now believe that its principal purpose should be to serve as the focus for internal and external coordination for all aspects of SCAR research related to global change. The primary differences from the earlier concept are in the word "all" and in the emphasis on coordination between existing projects and programmes. Between the existing programmes PICE and ISMASS, and the recommended programmes, ITASE, ASPECT and ANTIME, we believe that the important gaps in SCAR global-change-related research have been filled. What is important now is to assure that the SCAR programmes proceed in close coordination with each other and with the relevant programmes of IGBP, WCRP, and SCOR to form the most effective and efficient whole. We must also incorporate a viable mechanism for serving as the START Regional Research Committee for the Antarctic.

To facilitate the substantially altered role that we recommend for GLOCHANT in the future, we propose to SCAR that the membership of GLOCHANT be re-evaluated and replaced with a substantial representation from the global change activities within and without SCAR. We further believe it essential that individuals who agree to be members be required to be motivated and willing to participate actively. One specific suggestion that we have for the makeup of a revised Group of Specialists is as follows:

However, we also recognise that some balance must be achieved in the national representation, whereas the chairmen of the above science programmes are principally from English-speaking countries. For the SCAR programmes one possibility might be to combine a chair from a non-English-speaking country with a secretary from an English-speaking country. These important matters of representativeness notwithstanding, however, the GoS still believes that the most important criterion for membership selection should be the level of an individual's ability and motivation to contribute. We must keep in mind that the success of the whole SCAR Global Change Programme relies heavily on the active participation of member scientists at times between, as well as at, annual meetings. Furthermore, we must recognise that an important reason for a new membership structure is to establish a suitable committee to fulfil the role required by START to form the START Regional Research Committee for the Antarctic.

GLOCHANT XXIV-11

We recommend that SCAR Delegates re-evaluate the membership of the GoS/GLOCHANT in order to form the START Regional Research Committee for the Antarctic.

NB We suggest that the GLOCHANT programmes and other related SCAR groups be consulted about the proposed changes and that their suggestions for membership of the new GoS be solicited. As some of the task groups and related SCAR groups are jointly sponsored by other international organisations, such as IGBP/PAGES and JGOFS, and as there is a need for continued co-chairmanship from both organisations.

10. Statement of GLOCHANT Finances for 1995 and 1996

GLOCHANT XXIV-12

We recommend that a copy of this Report to SCAR be sent to the IGBP Secretariat and to the PAGES and JGOFS Core Project Offices, and to the START Secretariat.

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9. Terms of Reference

At GLOCHANT III, pursuant to action taken at XXIII SCAR (see Minutes 5.1.5), the GoS developed the following recommended set of revised Terms of Reference to eliminate the implementation aspect of the original Terms of Reference and to increase the emphasis on communication, coordination, and the identification of research needs:

These Terms of Reference were approved by the SCAR Executive in Sienna last year, but they may now need revision to accord with a new structure of the GoS, if that evolves from this meeting.

GLOCHANT XXIV-13

We recommend that SCAR delegates formally approve these revised Terms of Reference for the GoS/GLOCHANT, based on those given above but modified as necessary to reflect a re-evaluation of the goals and purposes of the GoS.

A. Statement of GLOCHANT Finances for 1995

Item Allocation Spend Balance
$ US $ US $ US
GLOCHANT III, Tokyo 25,000 18,085 6,915
PG 1 & 5, Tokyo 12,000 11,690 310
PG 2 / PAGES (PICE) 15,000 6,850 8,150
PG 3 (ISMASS) and other meetings 0 12,320 -12,320
PG 4 9,000 0 9,000
Project Office 11,000 11,000 0
Totals $ 72,000 $ 59,945 $ 12,055

B. Statement of GLOCHANT Finances for 1996

Item Allocation Spend Balance
$ US $ US $ US
GLOCHANT IV, Madison 15,000
Project Office 8,500
PGs 2 and 3 15,000
Total $38,500

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11. GLOCHANT Budgetary Requirements for 1997 and1998

The following budget is requested for planned GLOCHANT activities in 1997 and 1998 is listed below.

Item

 1997 1998

GLOCHANT

Annual Meeting of 10 people @ $1500

 15,000 15,000

ASPECT

Annual Programme Meeting, 6 people @ $1500

 9,000 9,000
Training workshop, 6 add'l people 9,000
Representation at CLIVAR DEC-CEN, one person 2,000
Sea Ice Observer's Handbook 3,000

ISMASS

Annual Programme Meeting, 6 people @ $1500

 9,000 9,000
BEDMAP project 3,000

PICE

Joint GLOCHANT/PAGES Workshop on the correlation of the ice core records, (partial support) 6 people @ $1500

 9,000
Ice core data compilation 3,000

ITASE

Annual Programme Meeting, 6 people @ $1500 (partial support)

 9,000 9,000
Palaeoclimatic data compilation 5,000 5,000

ANTIME
Joint GLOCHANT/PAGES Workshop, (partial support)

10 people @ $1500

 15,000

Annual Programme Meeting, 6 people @ $1500

 9,000

TOTALS

 $78,000 $65,000

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Appendix 1

List of Appendices

Appendix 1 SCAR Global Change Programme linkages
Appendix 2 Draft ASPECT Science Plan
Appendix 3 Proposal for an initiative on the Late Quaternary evolution of the Antarctic ice margin (ANTIME)
Appendix 4 Summary report of the GLOCHANT/PAGES workshop on the ITASE Programme, 2-3 August, Cambridge, UK.
Appendix 5 An overview of global change in the Antarctic
Appendix 6 Minutes of the PICE Task Group, Boston, 1995
Appendix 7 An international strategy for ice-coring in Antarctica and Greenland - Reducing uncertainty in global environmental change
Appendix 8 Proposal for joint support of a long-range radar-sounding aircraft
Appendix 9 Proposal for the joint support of BEDMAP
Appendix 10 Draft science plan for ISMASS
Appendix 11 SCAR-START Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of the START Regional Research Committee for the Antarctic
Appendix 12 List of acronyms and abbreviations

DIAGRAMS HERE

E. SCAR AND START LINKAGES