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Standing Scientific Group on Physical Sciences (SSG-PS)
SCAR SSG-PS Meetings
- SSG-PS Report to XXX SCAR Delegates Meeting, 14-16 July 2008, Moscow, Russia
- SSG-PS Report to XXIX SCAR Delegates Meeting, 17-19 July 2006, Hobart, Australia
- SSG-PS Report to XXVIII SCAR Delegates Meeting, 4-8 October 2004, Bremen, Germany
People in SCAR Physical Sciences
Recommendations from Physical Sciences
Ice Sheet Model Workshops
- Ice Sheet Modelling Summer School - 3 - 14 August 2009, Portland, Oregon, USA
- Workshop on improving Ice Sheet Models, 5-7 July 2008, St Petersburg, Russia
Reports & Articles
- 'Recent Change in the Climate and Atmospheric Chemistry over Antarctica', ITASE Synthesis Workshop Report, September 2008
- Recent High Latitude Climate Change: Report on the SCAR-CliC-IASC-ICPM Workshop, October 2007 - SCAR Report 32
- WCRP/CliC Global Prediction of the Cryosphere (GPC) Project Workshop, October 2007 - SCAR Report 31
- "Observing the polar oceans during the international polar year and beyond" (reprinted with permission from WMO Bulletin 56(4) October 2007, pp 271- 284)
- Workshop on the Antarctic Wind Field by Turner and Abu Samah, May 2007
- Cryosphere Theme Report (April 2007)
- Report on the CliC SSC meeting in Boulder, Colorado, 4-8 December 2006
- CliC Report for XXIX SCAR, July 2006
- Summary Statement from the Workshop on Understanding Sea-Level Rise and Variability, June 2006
- Report on the SCAR/CliC/ICPM Workshop on High Latitude Reanalyses, British Antarctic Survey, 10-12 April 2006
- Significant warming of the Antarctic winter troposphere by Turner and others, Report in Science, February 2006
- Report on the CliC Scientific Steering Committee meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, 6-9 November 2005
- Antarctic Climate Change During the Last 50 Years, Turner et al, February 2005
- Report on the Workshop on 'Recent High Latitude Climate Change', Fairbanks, Alaska, 6-8 December 2004
Action Groups
- Pan-Antarctic Observations System (PAntOS) Contact: Scott Palo (scott.palo@colorado.edu) and Jonathan Shanklin (j.shanklin@bas.ac.uk)
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Environmental Contamination in Antarctica (ECA)
During the last SCAR Conference held in St Petersburg in June 2008, the Standing Scientific Group on Physical Sciences agreed to continue the action group on Environmental Contamination in Antarctica (ECA). During the same meeting the 2nd ECA workshop took place (view the workshop report); there, the data collected by the groups formed during the 1st workshop (held in Venice) were presented and discussed.
The following priorities were identified for future activities:
- to support the integration of the ECA data base in the JCADM by construction of one dedicated portal;
- to recognize and separate local sources (bases, aircrafts, ships, traverses) from global contaminant signatures by identifying proxies of the potential sources. In this activity, the national individuals/officers responsible for the application of the Madrid protocol relevant to environmental impact monitoring of the logistic and scientific activities should be involved;
- to optimize the use of samples collected for environmental characterization purposes and warranty reliable data by:
- defining the role of specimen banks (international collaboration);
- organizing proficiency tests for trace contaminant determination in environmental matrices which should take into account the possibility of preparing specific Antarctic reference materials;
- to organize the 3rd ECA workshop aimed at:
- completing datasets for environmental contaminants;
- identifying gaps in the existing data;
- defining topics for joint research projects on environmental contamination in Antarctica.
The 3rd ECA workshop programme will present contributions from scientists involved in programmes dealing with ECA and studying the transport of micro-components and pollutants in polar regions. In this context, contributions from researchers studying environmental contamination on a large scale, particularly in relation to climate change, are of particular interest. The workshop will take place in Venice from 22-23 June 2009. It will be dedicated to the memory of colleague Kevin Rosman, who recently passed away. For details, please see the Events page.
- King George Island Science Coordination Group (cross-SSGs initiative) Contact: Colin Summerhayes (cps32@cam.ac.uk)
- King George Island Cross-SSG Action Group Terms of Reference
- Report on KGI Workshop, 6 July 2008, St Petersburg, Russia
- KGI and SCAR Science - final document as presented to the COMNAP meeting in Punta Arenas by Sergio Marenssi on 6 August 2009
- GPS for Weather and Space Weather Forecasting (GWSWF) (Cross SSGs Group) Contact: Giorgiana De Franceschi (defranceschi@ingv.it) or Pierguido Sarti (p.sarti@ira.inaf.it)
- Polar Atmospheric Chemistry at the Tropopause (PACT) Contact: Andrew Klekociuk (Andrew.Klekociuk@aad.gov.au) or Gennadi Milinevsky (genmilinevsky@gmail.com)
- Prediction of Changes in the Physical and Biological Environment of the Antarctic (PCPBEA) (Cross SSGs Group) Contact: John Turner (J.Turner@bas.ac.uk).
- Code of Conduct for the Exploration and Research of Subglacial Aquatic Environments (AG-CCER-SAE) (Cross SSGs Group)
Expert Groups
- Ice Sheet Mass Balance and Sea Level (ISMASS)
- Operational Meteorology in the Antarctic (OpMet)
- Joint SCAR/SCOR Oceanography Expert Group co-sponsored with SSG-LS
- International Partnership in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS)
Scientific Research Programmes within SSG-PS:
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ICESTAR: Interhemispheric Conjugacy Effects in Solar-Terrestrial and Aeronomy Research (end date August 2010)
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Astronomy and Astrophysics from Antarctica (AAA) Contact: John Storey (j.storey@unsw.edu.au) (official start date August 2010)
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AGCS: Antarctica and the Global Climate System (co-sponsored by the World Climate Research Programme)
AGCS incorporates, among other things, two previously free-standing Expert Groups which still operate as separate communities, though integrated with AGCS:-
Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment (ACCE) Review
SCAR's AGCS team was asked to take the lead in the preparation of a report on Antarctic Climate Change and the Environment (ACCE), to consider the past and possible future changes in the physical environment of the Antarctic and the impact on the biota. A new draft will be circulated for comment in the spring of 2009.
Data and Information Services
The SCAR REference Antarctic Data for Environmental Research (READER) initiative aims to create high quality data sets of key variables for investigation of climate variability and change. There are currently three components:
- MET-READER providing surface and upper air mean climate data
- ICE-READER providing links to ice core data
- OCEAN-READER which holds oceanographic data
Partnerships and Co-Sponsorships
CliC - Climate and Cryosphere Programme
SCAR co-sponsors CliC with the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). For further information, see the Memoranda of Understanding between SCAR and the WCRP.
CLIVAR/CliC/SCAR Southern Ocean Implementation Panel
SCAR co-sponsors the CLIVAR/CliC Southern Ocean Implementation panel with the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). For further information, see the Memorandum of Understanding between SCAR and the WCRP.
iAnZone - International Antarctic Zone Programme
SCAR has agreed that the International Antarctic Zone programme (iAnZone) will be affiliated to the SCAR/SCOR Oceanography Expert Group.
ICED - Integrating Climate and Ecosystem Dynamics in the Southern Ocean Programme
SCAR partners SCOR and other organisations in sponsorship of ICED. For more information on the Integrated Analyses of Circumpolar Climate Interactions and Ecosystem Dynamics in the Southern Ocean (ICED), see the SCAR ICED page.
IGOS-P - Integrated Global Observing Strategy Partnership
SCAR and the WCRP are co-sponsors of the Cryosphere Theme, a plan for a Cryosphere observing system. The observing system was developed for the IGOS Partners, and was published in hard copy in late 2007. It can be found on the Internet at http://www.eohandbook.com/igosp/cryosphere.htm.
IPAB - International Programme of Antarctic Buoys
SCAR co-sponsors IPAB with the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP). For further information, see the Memorandum of Understanding between SCAR and the WCRP.
IPICS - International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences
At their XXIX meeting in Hobart, July 2006, SCAR Delegates decided that SCAR should formally become a co-sponsor of the International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS).
SCOR - Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research, Oceanography Expert Group
In addition to the SCAR/SCOR partnership sponsoring ICED (see above), a joint SCAR/SCOR Oceanograpy Expert Group was set up to focus on physical oceanography, while recognising the inter-dependence of physical, chemical and biological processes in the Southern Ocean. It is co-sponsored with the Life Sciences SSG.
SCOSTEP - Scientific Committee on Solar Terrestrial Physics
SSG-PS member and officer, Maurizio Candidi, is the SCAR representative on the Bureau of the Scientific Committee on Solar-Terrestrial Physics (SCOSTEP), and provides a key link between SCOSTEP and SCAR programmes, such as ICESTAR (see under Scientific Research Programmes above).
WCRP - World Climate Research Program
The WCRP and SCAR share common goals in seeking to observe, understand, and predict climate variability and change in the Antarctic region, including the Southern Ocean. Through the SCAR-WCRP Memoranda of Understanding, the WCRP and SCAR aim to share corresponding efforts and resources and avoid duplication. This will be achieved through SCAR co-sponsoring the following activities of the WCRP:
(i) the CLIVAR/CliC/SCAR Southern Ocean Implementation Panel,
(ii) the Climate and Cryosphere Project (CliC), (jointly with IASC and WCRP),
(iii) the International Programme for Antarctic Buoys (IPAB)
as well as through the WCRP co-sponsoring the new SCAR programme on Antarctica in the Global Climate System (AGCS).
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