Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Key SCAR scienti
c achievements
SCAR programmes have made major contributions to understanding such
diverse phenomena as: Antarctic weather and climate; the evolution of Antarctic
climate; changes in the volume of the Antarctic ice sheet; the distribution of sea ice;
the distributions of seabirds and seals; invasive species; the suitability of Antarctica
for an astronomical observatory; an understanding of Sun
Earth interactions in
the upper atmosphere; subglacial lake environments; geodesy; magnetism; and
the biodiversity of the Antarctic
-
flora and fauna.
Key achievements in recent years include the following:
Determining the functional ecosystem processes of the Southern Ocean ecosystem,
including the key role of krill (El-Sayed, 1994), and documenting the distribution,
abundance and long-term trends in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic seabirds.
Understanding the diversity, ecology and population dynamics of the organisms
beneath the Antarctic sea ice, and their sensitivity to change.
Establishing how Antarctic land, lake and pond life respond to climate change,
and identifying the processes determining community response to stress
(Bergstrom
et al
., 2006).
Discovering a major warming of the Antarctic winter troposphere, 5 km above sea
level, that is larger than any other tropospheric warming on Earth.
cantly (3
Con
average and 5
C in winter on the west coast over the past 50 years), air
temperatures in East Antarctica have remained steady or cooled.
Con
rming that, while the Antarctic Peninsula has warmed signi
Determining that the Larsen-B Ice Shelf collapsed because prevailing westerly
winds brought more warm air across the Antarctic Peninsula as the planet warmed.
Providing the basis for determining the mass balance of the Antarctic Ice Sheet.
West Antarctica is losing mass; East Antarctica remains largely stable.
Developing a climatology of Antarctic sea ice for understanding sea ice formation,
validating satellite data and feeding coupled ocean
-
ice
-
atmosphere models.
Generating plans and guiding principles for the exploration and environmental
stewardship of unique, pristine, subglacial lakes.
Developing and publishing plans for a cryosphere observing system.
Developing and publishing plans for a Southern Ocean Observing System.
Some of these achievements have come about through the development of
major scienti
c programmes, such as the Biological Investigations of Marine Antarctic
Systems and Stocks (BIOMASS) Programme (1977
-
91), which SCAR led in a
consortium including the Scienti
c Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), the
International Association of Biological Oceanography (IABO), and the Food
and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. Ships from 12 countries
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