pdf SCAR XXXVI Paper 13: Report of Geosciences Group

SCAR XXXVI Delegates Meeting, Online, 16-25 March 2021

SCAR XXXVI Paper 13: Report of Geosciences Group

Agenda Item: 8.1
Person Responsible: Jesús Galindo-Zaldívar

Authors: Jesús Galindo-Zaldívar (Chief Officer, Spain), Naresh C. Pant (Deputy Chief Officer, India), Marcelo Leppe (Secretary, Chile), Contributions of Chief Officers of Expert Groups and Action Groups.

Summary of activities from 2018-20

This report includes the activities of Geosciences Group in a setting where the global COVID19 pandemic prevents in person meeting to advance in the programmed 2020 activities. Most of these proposed meetings have been delayed at least for the next year. The internal discussions of most of the groups are postponed, including GSG, waiting for a new virtual or in person setting for meetings. In this framework, it is not possible to adequately develop the activities, including elections and budget allocation, and in consequence planning is mostly extrapolated from previous years.

Geosciences Group include 7 expert groups and 4 action groups, three of them cross- disciplinary. The action group GeoMAP has successfully completed their tasks for which they were stablished and is proposed to end. GeoMAP Action Group has constructed a GIS dataset describing exposed bedrock and surficial geology of Antarctica. The recommendation is that the produced map becomes a SCAR product. Action Group on Geological Heritage and Geoconservation has provided valuable results in response to the request from SCAR for advice on the protection of geological heritage sites from the CEP. SCAR should consider the best way to advance in the identification of Antarctic Geological Heritage and proposals of Geosites that will require the close interaction of the Geosciences Group and the SCATS. This group aimed to become an expert group during the cancelled Hobart SCAR 2020 meeting and will continue as an action group up to the next GSG meeting. Recommendations to Delegates are included in the Group report. Other EG / AG continue their scheduled activities and do not have any major issue. Please peruse details of their activities in Progress reports submitted by each EG/AG.

The main activity in this period have been the ISAES XIII, in Incheon, Republic of Korea, July 22-26, 2019, hosted by the KOPRI, with 443 submitted abstracts, about 300 international participants and 100 to 150 Korean attenders (https://www.isaes2019.org:12090/home/).