Open Science Conferences

The SCAR Open Science Conferences (OSC) are held every two years to draw attention to Antarctic issues. They provide an opportunity for scientists from a variety of disciplines and countries to present their work, to network and become more involved in SCAR science activities.

If you are interested in hosting the biennial SCAR Meetings, please see:

Examples of successful bids:

Upcoming SCAR Open Science Conference

12th Open Science Conference

XXXVIV SCAR, Oslo, Norway, 8-18 August 2026

Preliminary conference website

Call for event proposals

Past SCAR Open Science Conferences

11th Open Science Conference

XXXVIII SCAR, Pucón, Chile, 19-23 August 2024

“Antarctic Science: Crossroads for a New Hope”

The conference was hosted by Instituto Antártico Chileno and was held in Pucón, Chile from 19-23 August 2024.

Recordings of main events SCAR 2024

 

10th Open Science Conference

XXXVII SCAR, Online, 1-10 August 2022

“Antarctica in a Changing World”

The conference was hosted by the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India.
The conference consisted of:

  • 11 main events
  • 48 parallel session
  • 5 workshops
  • 5 satellite meetings
  • 945 abstracts
  • 2726 registered participants

SCAR Open Science Conference 2022 – Website
Watch the full list of recordings here.

Conference Abstracts:

SCAR Open Science Conference 2022 – Abstracts

SCAR 2020 Online Square webSCAR 2020 Online

The 2020 OSC was planned as a physical conference to be held in Hobart, Tasmania, but was cancelled due to the global pandemic.  SCAR 2020 Online was held during the week originally planned for the in-person OSC (3rd-7th August 2020) with a combination of live streaming and recorded presentations. There were plenary presentations, mini-symposia, workshops, discussion forums and interactive opportunities.  Related events, including many sessions from the planned physical conference, were held during the weeks before and after the main conference. SCAR 2020 Online consisted of:

  • 24 key events
  • 21 related events
  • 2712 registered participants from 60 countries
  • 584 virtual displays.

Authors who submitted abstracts for the physical conference were invited to upload additional materials, such as posters, presentations and videos, for display.  A Book of Abstracts was produced containing the abstracts accepted for the cancelled Hobart OSC.

Many of the presentations, mini-symposia and workshops were recorded and are now available through the SCAR YouTube channel:

Some information from the SCAR 2020 Online website has been retained.  Please contact the Secretariat if you need access.

9th Open Science ConferenceSCAR2020 COMNAP Vert CMYK web

The physical 2020 conference and meetings were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
XXXVI SCAR was scheduled to be held in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia from 31 July to 11 August 2020

“Antarctic Science – Global Connections”

 

Polar 2018 logo

8th Open Science Conference

XXXV SCAR, Davos, Switzerland, 15-26 June 2018

“Where the Poles come together”

SCAR-IASC Open Science Conference 2018 website

Meeting Highlights by Juliana D’Andrilli, published in Limnology and Oceanography Bulletin, DOI: 10.1002/lob.10275

Conference Abstracts:

7th Open Science ConferenceSCAR OSC 2016 Logo

XXXIV SCAR, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 20-30 August 2016

“Antarctica in the Global Earth System: From the Poles to the Tropics”

Abstracts:

XXXIII SCAR logo only web6th Open Science Conference

XXXIII SCAR, Auckland, New Zealand, 22 August to 3 September 2014 

“Global Messages from Antarctica”

Conference Abstracts:

SCAR Open Science Conference 2014 – Abstracts (with COMNAP Symposium)

32 SCAR xxxii logo color web5th Open Science Conference

XXXII SCAR, Portland, Oregon, USA, 16-19 July 2012

“Antarctic Science and Policy Advice in a Changing World”

Conference Abstracts:

SCAR Open Science Conference 2012 – Abstracts

31 SCAR XXXI 2010 logo web4th Open Science Conference

XXXI SCAR, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 3-6 August 2010

“Antarctica – Witness to the Past and Guide to the Future”

Conference Abstracts:

4th SCAR Open Science Conference – Antarctica: Witness to the Past and Guide to the Future. Submitted Abstracts. S. Marenssi (editor), 2010. Cambridge, SCAR. CD-ROM. ISBN 978 0 948277 24 5

 30 SCAR XXX logo web3rd Open Science Conference

XXX SCAR, St Petersburg, Russia, 8-11 July 2008

“Polar Research – Arctic and Antarctic perspectives in the International Polar Year”

Photographs from 3rd Open Science Conference – XXX SCAR Science Week:

29 SCAR XXIX 2006 logo web2nd Open Science Conference

XXIX SCAR, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 12-14 July 2006

“Antarctica in the Earth System”

 28 SCAR Logo OSC blue Jul04 web1st Open Science Conference

XXVIII SCAR, Bremen, Germany, 26-28 July 2004

“Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in the Global System”

Travel Support for Early-Career Researchers

General Information

We understand that travel funding is often one of the main limitations for people to attending conferences. Unfortunately, SCAR does not have specific funds set aside to help support travel/registration for SCAR conferences and symposia.  The vast majority of SCAR funds are allocated to its groups to support their activities. Some of these groups use parts of their budgets to support travel/registration costs for people participating in their group business meetings held at SCAR conferences and/or to help encourage new participants to join their efforts.  If you are part of a SCAR group, you may wish to contact the group chair to see if they are planning to award any funds for this purpose. However, please keep in mind that these groups have small budgets ($1000-5000 USD), so large amounts of support for individuals is not possible.  If funds do become available, announcements will be made through the SCAR group email list or posted on the SCAR website.

In addition, from time to time, national funding calls are coordinated to support participation in SCAR events. You may want to contact the SCAR Delegate and/or your SCAR National Committee contact to see if there are specific funds to support attendance of participants from your country at SCAR’s conferences and symposia. You can find the contact information for SCAR Delegates, National Committees, and Group Leaders under the About Us/Leadership section of the SCAR website.

Further, APECS has put together a helpful resource on finding travel funding, “Tips for Finding Funding“, which may be of interest to you.