Information about SCAR Members

• Delegate: Prof Dr Aleksandr Makarov – Arctic & Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), email
• Alternate Delegate: Prof Irina A Repina – A.M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics RAS, email
• National Committee: Russian Committee on Antarctic Research, email; website: igras.ru

National Reports on SCAR activities – Russia

• Delegate: Prof Deneb Karentz – University of San Francisco, email
• Alternate Delegate: Dr Allan T Weatherwax – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, email
• National Committee: Polar Research Board, email; websites: usscar.org and dels.nas.edu/prb/

National Reports on SCAR activities – USA

• Delegate: Dr Walter Mac Cormack – Instituto Antártico Argentino, email
• Alternate Delegate: Dra Viviana Alder – Instituto Antártico Argentino, email
• National Committee: Dirección Nacional del Antártico, email

• Delegate: Prof Nerilie Abram – Australian National University, email
• Alternate Delegate: Rhonda Bartley – Australian Antarctic Division, email
• National Committee: National Committee for Antarctic Research, email

National Reports on SCAR activities

• Delegate: Prof Jefferson Cardia Simões – Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, email
• Alternate Delegate: Prof Eduardo Resende Secchi – Universidade Federal do Rio Grande – FURG, email
• National Committee: Comitê National de Pesquisas Antárticas-CoNaPA, email; website: www.gov.br/mcti

National Reports on SCAR activities – Brazil

• Delegate: Dr Bo Sun – Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC), email
• Alternate Delegate: Dr Yong Wang – Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration (CAA), email
• National Committee: National Committee for Antarctic Research, email; website: www.chinare.gov.cn

 National Reports on SCAR activities – China

• Delegate: Dr Yan Ropert-Coudert – Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, email
• Dr Catherine Ritz – Université Grenoble Alpes, email
• National Committee: Secrétariat du Comité National des Recherches Antarctiques (CNFRA), email; website: www.cnfra.org

National Reports on SCAR activities – France

• Delegate: Prof Dr Antje Boetius – Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar & Marine Research, email
• Alternate Delegate: Prof Dr Monika Rhein – Universität Bremen, email
• National Committee: German National Committee for SCAR/IASC, email; website: www.scar-iasc.de

National Reports on SCAR activities – Germany

Germany has a long and involved history in Antarctica from the expedition led by Eduard Dallman in 1873-74, through the Heroic Agewith expeditions into the Weddell Sea (Erich von Drygalski 1901-1903 and Filchner 1911-1912). During the last four decades, Germany developed a strong Antarctic programme and is now at the forefront of modern research in Antarctica.

Germany is a signatory nation to the Antarctic Treaty with the former East Germany (DDR) signing in 1974 and the former West Germany signing in 1979 and both joined SCAR in 1981 (BRD) and 1982 (DDR). The German national SCAR committee was established in 1978 by the German Research Foundation (DFG), which is the official member of SCAR.Within the Treaty, Germany is a consultative party with voting rights able to make decisions about Antarctica. Germany held the XVIII SCAR Delegates meeting in Bremerhaven in 1984 and twenty years later the XXVIII SCAR Delegates meeting and first Open Science Conference in the same location.

The lead agency for the German national Antarctic Programme is the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) which was established as a foundation of public law in 1980 and which conducts research in the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as in temperate latitudes. AWI works closely with university groups and research institutions within Germany and beyond to coordinate research efforts in Antarctica. The institute has an important role in keeping the federal government updated on its research results and providing competent advice for the development of environmental policies. The AWI works in the following scientific topic fields: reconstructing the history of the polar continents and seas; ecology and physiology of key species and changes of habitats in polar regions; the coupled ocean-ice-atmosphere system and its importance for the global climate; biogeochemical fluxes of carbon in polar regions and their impact on global carbon cycles and atmosphere. AWI also hosts the global data base for the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN).

The Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) focuses on geological and geophysical research in the Antarctic since 1976 in close cooperation with German and foreign universities and research institutions. Since 1979, BGR’s ongoing GANOVEX programme (German Antarctic North Victoria Land Expedition) has been conducting geoscientific research in northern Victoria Land and adjacent regions in the greater Ross Sea area. BGR has also organized several expeditions to East Antarctica, e.g. within the frame of the GEA programme (Geodynamic Evolution of East Antarctica). BGR is responsible for the land-based component of German geoscientific research in the Antarctic. Its main targets focus on the crustal structure and evolution of Antarctica and its relationship to the neighbouring continents within the former Gondwana and Rodinia supercontinents. In addition to institutional research, coordinated German polar research is supported by DFG within the framework of a Priority Programme since 1981.

AWI operates three Antarctic research stations. Neumayer III is the current winter over base on the Ekstrom Ice Shelf, having been constructed between 2007 and 2009, the third station to occupy this space since 1981. Close by, at 757 kilometers away, is Kohnen Station, a summer base which was established in 2001 and used for deep ice core drilling purposes for the EPICA project until 2006 and now serves a deep ice lab and as an advance base for deep field activities on the polar plateau. The Dallmann Laboratory, founded in 1994, is a smaller seasonal working space with four laboratories. It is an annex to the Argentinian base Carlini on King George island, operated jointly with Instituto Antarctico Argentino(IAA). The BGR operates Gondwana Station as a summer base at Gerlache Inlet in the Terra-Nova Bay of the Ross Sea since 1983. In 1980, BGR erected the Lillie-Marleen-Hut in the Everett Range of the Transantarctic Mountains; the hut has been recognized as a “Historic Site” by the Antarctic Treaty System and is still used temporarily as a base for geoscientific operations in the region. Since 1991 the German Aerospace Center (DLR) operates the GARS O’Higgins Station at the Antarctic Peninsula (as a winter base since 2010).

The pride of the AWI is the icebreaker RV Polarstern first commissioned in 1982. The ship is equipped for biological, geological, geophysical, glaciological, chemical, oceanographic and meteorological research, and contains nine research laboratories. The ship has a maximum crew of 44, and offers work facilities for a further 50 scientists and technicians. Plans for a new icebreaker are currently under development. There are two ski equipped polar aircraft (BASLER BT-67) which can be used both for logistic and science purposes. They can be equipped for aerogeophysical, meteorological, glaciological and atmospheric chemistry studies.

• Delegate: Dr Thamban Meloth – National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), email
• Alternate Delegate: Dr Rahul Mohan – National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), email
• National Committee: National Committee for Antarctic Research, email; website: insaindia.res.in

National Reports on SCAR activities – India

The Indian Antarctic Programme is the responsibility of the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), an autonomous organisation of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.

India’s first expedition to Antarctica was in 1981. Two years later, India signed the Antarctic Treaty, and constructed its first research base, Dakshin Gangotri, during the 1983-84 season. It joined the SCAR family on 1 October 1984.

India’s second base, Maitri, was opened in 1989, shortly before Dakshin Gangotri was buried in ice and abandoned (but it continues to be used as a supply base). Maitri is a year-round station, located in the Schirmacher Oasis, where geomorphologic mapping is carried out along with emphasis on atmospheric-biological-glaciological-earth science research. This was followed in 2012 by the construction of Bharati station, located in the Larsemann Hills. Bharati’s proximity to the coast enables oceanographic research, along with the study of continental drift, adding to the understanding of the geological history of the Indian subcontinent and its linkages to Godwana.

Research highlights from the past season include studies in meteorology and atmospheric measurements, climate change research, sea ice and ice shelf dynamics, glaciological studies of the Larsemann Hills, topographical mapping, geophysical and geological investigations, seismological recording, past-climate reconstruction from lake sediments, environmental and wildlife monitoring, and even a study on the effect of yogic practices in Antarctica!

In 2017, the Indian National Committee produced a special issue of the journal Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy entitled “Recent Antarctic Research in India: The National Committee Report to SCAR (2017)”.  The editors, Shailesh Nayak, Rahul Mohan, M Ravichandran, Naresh Pant, A Ganju Satyakumar, said, “This is [the] first such volume which provides a birds eye view of the Antarctic Research by India. We hope that these proceedings will help to identify future research areas to be undertaken on the pristine continent and surrounding waters.”

The publication is a SCAR product. It has several articles on recent research as well as overviews of Indian research in various fields from paleoclimate, glacier monitoring, geology, biodiversity, environmental and wildlife monitoring, sea ice, aerosols, meteorology, social sciences and more.

Download the full report and individual chapters from the Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy website.

• Delegate: Dr Giovanni Macelloni – Italian National Research Council, email
• Alternate Delegate: Prof Giorgio Budillon – University of Naples Parthenope, email
• National Committee: Unità Tecnica Antartide (UTA) dell’ENEA, email; website: www.uta.enea.it

National Reports on SCAR activities – Italy

• Delegate: Dr Takuji Nakamura – National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR), email
• Alternate Delegate: Prof Satoshi Imura – National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR), email
• National Committee: National Antarctic Committee, email; website: www.scj.go.jp

National Reports on SCAR activities – Japan

• Delegate: Dr Yeadong Kim – Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI), email
• Alternate Delegate: Dr Hyoung Chul Shin, email
• National Committee: Korean National Committee for Polar Research, email; website: www.kopri.re.kr

National Reports on SCAR activities – Korea

Background to the Korea Antarctic Programme:

Korea’s interest in Antarctica first began in the late 1970s when it undertook exploratory krill surveys in the Antarctic Oceans. Ever since it joined the Antarctic Treaty as a consultative party in 1986, the Republic of Korea has strived to become a fully-fledged member of the Antarctic community. In July 1990, it was accredited as a full member of SCAR. Korea continues to be an active participant in various international organizations and fora, such as the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM), the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), SCAR, and the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP). Korea has also put efforts into building a foundation for cooperative research activities in the Asian region by providing the initial momentum for the organization of the Asian Forum for Polar Sciences (AFoPS) in 2004.

The Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI), as a government sponsored research organization under the umbrella of the Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries of Korea, is the lead agency to conduct and coordinate the Korean Antarctic as well as Arctic Research Programs, which includes logistical support.

The infrastructure operated by KOPRI includes two permanent Antarctic research stations and an icebreaking research vessel. King Sejong Station was inaugurated in 1988 and Jang Bogo Station has been active since 2014.  The icebreaking research vessel, RV Araon, was constructed and commissioned in late 2009 and has been conducting supply and research missions, spending nearly 300 days away at sea per year.

To address safety concerns about the outworn facilities and to further elevate the quality of research support, KOPRI is currently in the process of repairing and reconstructing the King Sejong Station.

Some of KOPRI’s research is aimed and undertaken to demonstrate its commitment as a responsible member of the Antarctic community, for example to facilitate the management of and utilize the scientific value of ASPAs (Antarctic Specially Protected Areas) and MPAs (Marine Protected Areas), and to deal with the issue of alien species in the Antarctic such as a the non-native fly found in some of the stations on King George Island.

Over the last three decades, Korea’s polar research activities and research fields have expanded rapidly. The scope of KOPRI’s Antarctic research encompasses core areas such as marine and terrestrial observation and prediction, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, biodiversity and adaptation of polar organisms. Through ceaseless efforts on these core research areas, KOPRI is attempting to respond to global issues and explore prospects for the future. A few key examples of KOPRI’s Antarctic research projects are as follows:

1. The Antarctic Korean Route Expedition and Development of Technologies for Deep Ice Coring and Hot Water Drilling: The KOPRI research team is putting its efforts into developing the “Korean Route”, a safe and reliable route to approach inland Antarctica for research. The project also aims to develop Hot Water Drill and Deep Ice Core Drilling, and cutting-edge technology for microbiology, glaciology and geochemistry.
2. Ocean-to-Ice Interactions in Amundsen Sea: To estimate the short-term trend of the ice-shelf retreat and freshwater discharge, the KOPRI research team conducts field observations on the Amundsen ice mass. With the data obtained from the observations, the study will evaluate the imminent impact on ocean processes caused by ice-shelf melting.
3. Reconstruction of the Antarctic ice sheet and ocean history for the past two million years: To reconstruct past changes in cryosphere-ocean-climate and understand ice sheet stability in the Antarctic, the KOPRI research team conducts analyses of sedimentary records. The outcome of the project is expected to expand our knowledge on the Antarctic since the Last Glacial Maximum, reconstruct Pleistocene paleoceanographic/paleoclimatic changes in the Antarctic, and explore relevant climate indicators.
4. Investigation for the cause of east-west different climate responses in Antarctica: By investigating the sensitivity of Antarctic climate change and understanding the cause of the regional differences in sea ice surface temperature, the project aims to contribute to future projections of sea ice change and increased predictability in weather conditions.
5. Modeling responses of terrestrial organisms to environmental changes on King George Island: In order to predict ecosystem changes on King George Island, this project applies a biological response modelling technology to the Antarctic Peninsula as well as other regions, including the Korean Peninsula. In so doing, the project aims to develop a prototype model to predict biological responses to changing environments, and develop a database system for the Antarctic Near-Shore and Terrestrial Observation System (ANTOS) and Linking of Antarctic Peninsula Ecosystem Sciences (LAPES).
6. Genome analysis of polar organisms and establishment of application platform (Polar Genomics 101 Project): This project aims to provide understanding of genomic properties and develop useful genomic resources from polar organisms. Through this project, Polar-specific environment adaptation mechanisms will be identified and model transformants with useful target genes are to be developed from polar organisms.

These scientific research endeavours are conducted in the form of 13 in-house projects and 7 national Research and Development projects. In addition, KOPRI has operated the Polar Academic Program (PAP) since 2010 to provide research funds to Korean universities that proposed creative themes for polar research, and has launched the Polar Industrial Program (PIP) to enhance its cooperation with industries. These programs are expected to vitalize polar research and nurture specialists.

Read more about the Korean Antarctic Program on the website of the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) and in the KOPRI Annual Reports.

• Delegate: Dr Daan Blok – Netherlands Polar Programme (NPP), email
• Alternate Delegate: Mr Renno Hokwerda – Dutch Research Council NWO, email
• National Committee: The Netherlands SCAR Committee, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, email; website: www.nwo.nl
  

National Reports on SCAR activities – Netherlands

• Delegate: Prof Gary Wilson – GNS Science, email
• Alternate Delegate: Associate Prof Nancy Bertler, Victoria University of Wellington, email
• National Committee: National Committee on Antarctic Sciences, email; website: www.royalsociety.org.nz

National Reports on SCAR activities – New Zealand

• Delegate: Prof Camilla Brekke – Norsk Polarinstitutt, email
• Alternate Delegate: Dr Geir Huse – Institute of Marine Research, email
• National Committee: Norwegian National Committee on Polar Research, email; website: www.forskningsradet.no

National Reports on SCAR activities – Norway

Norwegian activity in the southern Polar Regions began in 1892 with ship owner Lars Christensen’s Jason expedition led by Captain C. A. Larsen. Norway was also particularly active during the heroic age of the explorers, in which the achievement of the Norwegian Roald Amundsen and his team in being the first people to reach the South Pole on 14. December 1911 is well-known to many. Norway has since continued its interests in the frozen continent through its engagement in assuring the preservation and protection of Antarctica. Norway was, due to its active participation in IGY, among the original signatories to the Antarctic Treaty and one of the first 12 countries to form the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research in 1958. Norway played an active and important role in the preparation of the Proto­col on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, signed by the Antarctic Treaty Parties on 4 October 1991.

Norway’s recent Antarctic facilities include Troll station in Dronning Maud Land, a year-round facility that was first established as a seasonal station in 1990, then upgraded to a year-round station in 2005, and the 3000-m-long Troll Airfield. A small additional field station, Tor, is used for ornithological studies. They have also reestablished their station on Bouvetøya, an island between South Africa and Antarctica, which is the base of operations for a CEMP seal, penguin and bird monitoring program that started in the mid-1990s. The ice-strengthened vessel Lance has been used for research in polar waters since 1994. Norway is in the process of building a new national ice-strengthened research vessel, Kronprins Haakon, that will be operative both in the Arctic and the Southern Ocean from early 2018.

The Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) is tasked with coordinating the Antarctic activities within the fields of scientific research, mapping and environmental monitoring. NPI provides logistic support for the national research effort in Antarctica, and is responsible for the station facilities. The Institute also advises Norwegian authorities in strategic and thematic matters relating to the polar regions, represents Norway internationally on various arenas and is Norway’s competent environmental authority in Antarctica.

From as early as the 1920s and 1930s Norwegians conducted research in Antarctica through Norvegia expeditions, and later through the Maudheim expedition in 1949-52 and IGY activities in 1957-58. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the first NARE expeditions (Norwegian Antarctic Research Expeditions) were con­ducted by the Norwegian Polar Institute. Today Norwegian Antarctic research focuses on enhancing understanding of processes that govern climate and environmental change in the polar regions, and of their impacts on the natural environment and society. Norway also conducts topographic and geological mapping and research in Dronning Maud Land.

Recent research activities focus on a) investigating the stability of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet through mapping, monitoring and process studies concerning the Recovery Lakes, ice rises and ice-ocean interactions at Fimbul and Filchner-Ronne ice shelves, b) investigating past climate changes from ice core records (Beyond Epica oldest ice), c) investigating atmospheric composition, processes and sources of air pollution in the Antarctic environment, d) measuring and modeling Antarctic geomorphology and ice change in Dronning Maud Land, e) understanding the interactions between changes in sea-ice dynamics and Antarctic seabird foraging, and the consequences on seabird demography, f) understanding population structure and contemporary gene flow in two sympatrically-breeding Southern Ocean predators with contrasting demographics – Antarctic fur seals and macaroni penguins.

Norway also hosts Quantarctica (a SCAR product), a collection of Antarctic geographical datasets which work with the free, open-source software Quantum GIS.

Robert Larter from the British Antarctic Survey received a SCAR Visiting Professorship in 2016 to spend time in Norway, being involved in strengthening their marine geoscientist training program. We are also very pleased that Norway has made an additional donation to the SCAR Visiting Professor Scheme for 2017 which will provide another opportunity for capacity building between SCAR member countries.

• Delegate: Bettine Jansen van Vuuren – University of Johannesburg, email
• Alternate Delegate: Tracy Klarenbeek – National Research Foundation, email
• National Committee: South African National Committee for SCAR, email; website: www.nrf.ac.za

National Reports on SCAR activities – South Africa

• Delegate: Dr Carlota Escutia – Universidad de Granada, email
• Alternate Delegate: tbd
• National Committee: Comité Nacional del SCAR, email; website: www.uam.es/otros/cn-scar/

Spain joined SCAR in January 1987. This was during the early period of Spanish Antarctic activities, shortly before the establishment of the first Spanish Antarctic Station, when Spain’s National Antarctic Research Programme was first included in the Spanish Research & Development National Plan. Spain had acceded to the Antarctic Treaty in 1982 and was granted Consultative Status in 1988.

In the last three decades, Spanish Antarctic research has developed in importance. While Spanish scientists have contributed to the efforts of the international community through SCAR, Spain has also benefitted from being a member. Participation in SCAR has enabled many Spanish groups to carry out their research in the framework of big international projects, and fruitful collaborations have been established.

National Reports on SCAR activities – Spain

• Delegate: Prof Dame Jane Francis – British Antarctic Survey, email
• Alternate Delegate: Prof Mike Bentley – Durham University, email
• National Committee: UK National Committee for Antarctic Research, email; website: uk-national-committee-for-antarctic-research

National Reports on SCAR activities – UK

• Delegate: Prof Frank Pattyn – Université Libre de Bruxelles, email
• Alternate Delegate: Dr Anton Van de Putte – IRScNB, email
• National Committee: Belgian National Committee on Antarctic Research, email

National Reports on SCAR Activities – Belgium

Belgium has a long history with Antarctica. Commander Adrien de Gerlache set sail to Antarctica with the Belgica in 1897 for what became the first recorded wintering in the Antarctic. On board was a multinational crew, amongst whom the explorer-to-become Roald Amundsen and the later-to-become infamous dr Frederick Cook were the most renowned. Moreover, the winter expedition gave rise to the first detailed observational measurements in meteorology and biology, thanks to the scientific efforts by Antoni Dobrowolski, Henryk Arctowksi and Emil Racovita. Many Belgian place names in the Antarctic Peninsula witness of this heroic effort.

During the IGY in 1957, it was de Gaston de Gerlache who followed in his father’s footsteps to respond amongst several other countries to the call to establish a research station in Antarctica. He constructed the Roi Baudouin Station on an ice shelf in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. The station itself remained operational until 1967; the last expeditions being a joint Belgian-Dutch endeavour. Due to this long-term involvement in Antarctica, Belgium signed the Antarctic Treaty in 1959 and was amongst the 12 countries that initiated the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research in 1958. In 1982 the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) was established with the objective of conserving Antarctic marine life. Again Belgium was among the original signatories.

While sporadic Belgian efforts continued over the next years in collaboration with South Africa, it was only in 1985 that the Belgian Federal Science Policy (BELSPO) revived scientific interests in Antarctica by launching a multi-annual research programme that is still ongoing. During the decades that followed, Belgian researchers joined expeditions of other SCAR partners, both in marine science (ships) as on the continent. Inaugurated in 2009, Belgium built a summer research station named Princess Elisabeth Base in Dronning Maud Land, perched on a rock ridge just off the Sor Rondane Mountains, 120 km south of the former Roi Baudouin station and 60 km away from the former Japanese Asuka station. Due to its inland position, the station also works as a hub for scientific activities with suitable access to the Polar Plateau, the Sor Rondane Mountains, dry valleys, the coastal area and the ice shelf. This led to several geological, biological and glaciological expeditions and discoveries since, such as the exploration of a major meteorite field, new endemmic micro-organisms and the role of surface melt water in ice shelf stability, recently published in Nature Climate Change. At the station, several geophysical and meteorological measurements ensure to fill in a gap in our understanding of the Antarctic continent, since neighbouring stations are more than 400 km away. The construction of the station not only unlocked the Dronning Maud Land sector scientifically, but also allowed for international collaborations within the SCAR community.

Despite its size, Belgium has since long been very active within SCAR. Belgian researchers are active in various SCAR expert and action groups. Belgium hosts the Antarctic Biodiversity portal, an official SCAR product that was launched initially as SCAR-MarBIN and that provides access to both marine and terrestrial Antarctic biodiversity data published by a wide range of countries. As part of this work, Belgian researchers coordinated an unprecedented international collaboration of 147 scientists from 91 institutions across 22 countries, hence combining their expertise and knowledge to produce the Biogeographic Atlas of the Southern Ocean.

For this atlas, more than 9000 species were recorded, ranging from microbes to whales. Hundreds of thousands of records show the extent of scientific knowledge on the distribution of life in the Southern Ocean.

Through the continous financial support from BELSPO and strong international collaboration in the Antarctic, Belgian research manages to have a strong impact on the overall scientific activities in the Antarctic.

Belgian National Committee on Antarctic Research (BNCAR): www.bncar.be

Belgian Antarctic Programme: www.belspo.be/antar

• Delegate: Prof Dr Christo Pimpirev – Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, email
• Alternate Delegate: Ass Prof Dr Lyubomir Kenderov – Sofia University “St Kliment Ohridski”, email
• National Committee: Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, email; website:www.bai-bg.net

National Reports on SCAR Activities – Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Antarctic Program is a responsibility of Bulgarian Antarctic Institute (BAI) which was designated as the national operator of the activities of Republic of Bulgaria in Antarctica by the Council of Ministers in 1997. During the period from 1987 to 2017 the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute has organized and conducted 25 national Antarctic campaigns and operates the Bulgarian Antarctic Base “St. Kliment Ohridski” on Livingston Island, South Shetlands.

The Bulgarian Antarctic Institute has been a member of the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) since 1994, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) since 1995 and the European Polar Board (EPB) since 1998. Its representatives participate actively in the annual meetings of the above-mentioned organisations and have held senior positions in them (prof. Christo Pimpirev was a Vice Chair of COMNAP from 2006 to 2010 and a Vice Chair of EPB from 2010 to 2013). The Bulgarian Antarctic Institute organized and held the XVII meeting of COMNAP in Sofia in 2005 and the annual meeting of EPB in 2013. Bulgaria hosted the  XXXVIII Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) in 2015.

In 2008 the National Center for Polar Studies was set up as a separate department at the Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, working in conjunction with BAI for organizing many educational and outreach activities in the country.

The Bulgarian Antarctic Base “St. Kliment Ohridski” (BAB) is equipped with biological and geological laboratories for pre-treatment of selected samples of the bio- and geosphere. Within the Bulgarian Antarctic expeditions, numerous Bulgarian scientists from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Medical Academy, Mining and Geology University “St. Ivan Rilski”, University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy and the National Sports Academy “Vasil Levski” have conducted research in the areas of geology, geophysics, geochemistry, glaciology, meteorology, geodesy, zoology, botany, ecology, medicine and engineering. As a result of this research many M Sc, PhD and Sc.D. theses were defended.

Since 1996 BAI has been issuing the periodic scientific journal “Bulgarian Antarctic Research, Life sciences”. Research in the field of Earth Sciences and Biology were published in a monography “Bulgarian Antarctic Research, A synthesis” (editors: Chr. Pimpirev and Nesho Chipev, Sofia University Publishing house, 2015 – http://www.bai-bg.net/science.html).

In recent years Bulgaria has participated in a number of large international projects funded under the Framework Programmes of the European Community such as ERA-NET EUROPOLAR, ERICON European Research Icebreaker Consortium – AURORA BOREALIS and EU-PolarNet within Horizon 2020.

BAI maintains lively contacts with the international scientific community. Many scientists from Argentina, Great Britain, Germany, Spain, Canada, Colombia, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Mongolia, Poland, Portugal, USA, Turkey, Chile, South Korea and Japan have conducted their own research as well as joint projects with Bulgarian scientists at the Bulgarian Antarctic Base.

The results of the research conducted in BAB have been published in scientific journals with high impact factors and have been reported at numerous prestigious international conferences.

In 1994 the Antarctic Toponymic Committee in Bulgaria was established and they have been working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2001. A map of Livingston Island was made in scale 1:100,000.

Now BAI starts the implementation of the five-year National Program for Polar Research (NPPI) 2017-2021, adopted by the Council of Ministers.

• Delegate: Dr Ian Hogg – Polar Knowledge Canada, email
• Alternate Delegate: Dr Thomas James – Natural Resources Canada, email
• National Committee: Canadian Committee on Antarctic Research, email; website: https://www.canada.ca/en/polar-knowledge.html

National Reports on SCAR activities – Canada

• Delegate: Dr Marcelo Leppe – Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Millenium Nucleus EVOTEM, email
• Alternate Delegate: Dr Marcelo Gonzalez – Instituto Antártico Chileno, email
• National Committee: Comité Nacional de Investigaciones Antárticas de Chile, email

National Reports on SCAR Activities – Chile

Chile built its first Antarctic base on Greenwich Island in 1947. Along with the UK’s Wordie House, this was one of the first bases to be built in Antarctica.   As Chile was one of the 12 countries active in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year (1957-58), it was therefore both a founder member of SCAR in 1958 and one of the original signatories of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959.

In Chile, Antarctic research is coordinated by the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH), which was created by the Chilean government in 1963.  Chile is a member of COMNAP and has stations and shelters in various locations on the South Shetland Islands, Antarctic Peninsula, and in the Patriot Hills region of the Ellsworth Mountains.

The Chilean Antarctic Programme has grown substantially over the past few years and we are pleased to share with you several reports highlighting their activities from the 2015-2016 season.

As Dr. Jose Retamales Espinoza, Director of the Chilean Antarctic Institute, writes in the introduction to the ilaia, an annual publication which summarizes Chile’s 2016 activities:

“We see Antarctica from the depths of its waters to the brilliance of its skies. In the seas we observe the ties of coexistence linking marine sponges with other organisms. On the horizon we assess the role of the Antarctic continent in the global energy balance. In this issue of ILAIA we cover many of the concerns of the world-wide international scientific community.

From the forever-relevant question of the Origin of the Continent to the worrying possibility of humans introducing diseases that may affect Antarctic wildlife, from the looming arrival of climate change to the Southern Ocean, to studying the Antarctic in winter, this issue covers the growth of the Chilean Antarctic Science Program.

Our ship, the Karpuj, will become operational next summer, opening up a new world of possibilities for marine researchers. In addition, we are making great strides with the mega-project, the International Antarctic Center in Punta Arenas. For the two hubs already mentioned – science and logistics – we are adding another to focus on education and dissemination. In the coming months there will be an international call for the architectural design for the new center, and of course all are invited to participate.

The latest dynamic of our Antarctic program has allowed a rejuvenation of polar science, with more scientists added every year who will begin their careers with their sights set on the White Continent. To cover this point, the recent work of APECS-Chile is introduced by its directors in the  2016 issue of ILAIA.

• Delegate: Capt Juan Camilo Forero Hauzer – Comisión Colombiana del Océano, email
• Alternate Delegate: tbc
• National Contact: Comisión Colombiana del Océano, email

National Reports on SCAR Activities – Colombia

• Delegate: Assoc Prof Daniel Nývlt – Masaryk University, email
• Alternate Delegate: Prof Miloš Barták – Masaryk University, email
• National Committee: Czech Antarctic Research Programme, email

• Delegate: Eng. Ashley Casierra – Instituto Oceanográfico y Antártico de la Armada (INOCAR), email
• Alternate Delegate: Mónica Riofrío Briceño – Instituto Oceanográfico y Antártico de la Armada (INOCAR), email
• National Committee: Ecuadorian Antarctic Program, email; website: www.inocar.mil.ec

National Reports on SCAR Activities – Ecuador

Ecuador’s interest in Antarctica goes back to 1967, with an official declaration by the National Assembly of the country’s rights on the southern continent. Only 20 years later, the country decided to accede to the Antarctic Treaty and to participate in keeping Antarctica as an area of peace and science. Preparations began immediately through the Navy to carry out the first Ecuadorian Scientific Expedition on board the R/V Orion, a modern oceanographic vessel built in Japan for the Ecuadorian Navy and operated by the Navy Oceanographic Institute. Since then, Ecuador has conducted 21 expeditions and built, in 1990, a summer scientific station (Pedro Vicente Maldonado Scientific Station, honoring the first Ecuadorian geographer). The station is located at Fort William Point,Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands, just three miles north of the Chilean Arturo Prat Base.  A refuge is also available to explorers at Hennequin Point, Admiralty Bay, King George Island, among the research stations of Poland, Brazil and Peru. In the long-term, Maldonado Station will become a year-round facility within the next five years.

In parallel with the expedition preparations, the government created official entities to deal with Antarctic issues: on one side, the Ecuadorian Antarctic Program (PROANTEC, Spanish acronym) was in charge of Antarctic matters and the logistics of expeditions and Antarctic research stations. On the other side, the Sectorial Commission on Antarctic Research, created by the National Scientific and Technology Council, helped deal with Antarctic Science.  An Executive Secretary directed both entities. Later on, according to Executive Order No. 1610 in May 2004, the Ecuadorian Antarctic Institute (INAE, Spanish acronym) under the authority of the Ministry of Defense, took over the tasks of the former programme PROANTEC. This way, Ecuador has a solid national structure and the government funding through the annual budget to deal with the participation, promotion and scientific research within the context of the Antarctic Treaty System.

The Sectorial Commission on Antarctic Research is now the Scientific Advisory Group. This Group coordinates with INAE through the Technical Scientific Direction and it is responsible for the planning, preparation and execution of the annual scientific programme.

Initially, most of the science was done in the Bransfield Strait, with projects related to surface circulation, water mass distribution and associated biodiversity. Because R/V ORION has not been available in subsequent years, research projects focus mainly on the ice-free areas of Fort William Point and the Dee, Torres and Barrientos islands, and in the Chacon and Discovery Bays. Projects include research on beach geomorphology, glacier behaviour, wind driven circulation, bay hydrodynamics, mapping using GIStechniques and tourism path studies on the Barrientos penguin colony, among others.  Ecuador is committed to aligning its new science vision with the high priority questions, identified by the 1st SCAR Antarctic and Southern Ocean Science Horizon Scan, that Antarctic scientists should answer in the coming decades. This needs the strong commitment of researchers in the near future.

Ecuador has gained experience in managing protected marine areas, for example in the Galapagos National Park and the Galapagos Marine Reserve. This experience can be translated to Antarctica to reduce tourism impacts by visiting places within the Aitcho archipelago of the South Shetland Islands.

Scientists from other SCAR member countries have been included in most of the recent expeditions in order to support networking and achieve better results. A good example is the cooperation with researchers from Malaysia and coauthoring papers in the ASM Science Journal edited by the Academy of Science Malaysia.

ECUADOR Antártico is the official magazine edited twice a year by INAE and can be viewed and read on INAE’s Revista Ecuador Antártico page.

For more information on Ecuadorean research in the Antarctic, please visit the INAE website.

• Delegate: Dr Jyri Näränen – Finnish Geospatial Research Institute (FGI), email
• Alternate Delegate: Dr Eija Asmi – Finnish Meteorological Institute, email
• National Committee: National Committee of Arctic and Antarctic Research, email; website: www.academies.fi

National Reports on SCAR activities – Finland

• Delegate: Prof Dr Azizan Samah – Yayasan Penyelidikan Antartika Sultan Mizan, email
• Alternate Delegate: Abd. Shukor Jamaluddin – Yayasan Penyelidikan Antartika Sultan Mizan, email 
• National Committee: Malaysian Committee for Antarctic Research, email; website: www.ypasm.my

National Reports on SCAR Activities – Malaysia

• Delegate: Minister José Mariano De Cossio Rivas – Directorate of Antarctic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru, email
• Alternate Delegate: Dr. Rubén Pablo Londoñe Bailon – Peruvian Antarctic program, the Antarctic Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, email
• National Committee: Antarctic Affairs Division – Ministry of Foreign Affairs

National Reports on SCAR Activities – Peru

• Delegate: Prof Dr Robert Bialik – Polish Academy of Sciences, email
• Alternate Delegate: Prof Dr Wojciech Majewski – Polish Academy of Sciences, email
• National Committee: Committee on Polar Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, email; website: kbp.pan.pl
  

National Reports on SCAR activities – Poland

• Delegate: Prof Adelino V M Canário – Universidade do Algarve, email
• Alternate Delegate: Dr Pedro Guerreiro –  Universidade do Algarve, email;
• National Committee: Centre of Marine Sciences, email; website: www.ccmar.ualg.pt

National Reports on SCAR activities – Portugal

• Delegate: Dr Ulf Jonsell – Swedish Research Council, email
• Alternate Delegate: Dr Magnus Friberg – Swedish Research Council, email
• National Committee: Swedish Research Council, email; website: www.vr.se
  

National Reports on SCAR activities – Sweden

• Delegate: Dr Naki Akçar – University of Bern, email
• Alternate Delegate: Dr Ruzica Dadic – WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, email
• National Committee: Swiss Commission for Polar and High Altitude Research, email; website: www.polar-research.ch

National Reports on SCAR activities – Switzerland

• Delegate: Prof Burcu Özsoy, TÜBİTAK MRC Polar Research Institute (KARE), email
• Alternate Delegate: Dr Atilla Yilmaz, TÜBİTAK MRC Polar Research Institute (KARE), email
• National Committee: TÜBİTAK MRC Polar Research Institute (KARE), email; website: kare.mam.tubitak.gov.tr

• Delegate: Dr Evgen Dykyi – National Antarctic Scientific Center of Ukraine, email
• Alternate Delegate: Dr Andrii Fedchuk – National Antarctic Scientific Center of Ukraine, email
• National Committee: National Antarctic Scientific Centre, email; website: www.uac.gov.ua

National Reports on SCAR activities – Ukraine

• Delegate: Eng. Martín Etcheverry – Instituto Antártico Uruguayo and Ministry of the Environment, email
• Alternate Delegate: Mr Eduardo Juri – Instituto Antártico Uruguayo, email
• National Committee: Comité Nacional SCAR, email; website: www.iau.gub.uy

National Reports on SCAR activities – Uruguay

• Delegate: Dr Birgit Sattler – University of Innsbruck, email
• National Contact: Austrian Academy of Sciences, Bernhard Plunger, email

• Delegate: Prof Sergey Kakareka – Institute for Nature Management, email
• National Contact: Institute for Nature Management of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, email; website: nature-nas.by/antarctic-res

• Delegate: Prof René Forsberg – Technical University of Denmark, email
• National Contact: The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, email

National Reports on SCAR Activities – Denmark

• Delegate: Dr Mortaza Tavakoli – Iranian National Institute for Oceanography & Atmospheric Science (INIOAS), email
• National Contact: National Centre for Antarctic Research (NCAR), email; website: www.inio.ac.ir/INIO-POLAR

• Delegate: to be confirmed
• National Contact: to be confirmed

• Delegate: Dr Patricia Valdespino, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, email
• National Contact: Mexican Academy of Sciences, Dra Susana Lizano, email

• Delegate: Dr Céline Van Klaveren-Impagliazzo – Ministere d’Etat, email
• National Contact: National Monegasque Committee, email; website: www.centrescientifique.mc

National Reports on SCAR Activities – Monaco

• Delegate: Ms Saira Ishaq – National Institute of Oceanography, email
• National Contact: National Institute of Oceanography, email; website: www.niopk.gov.pk

National Reports on SCAR Activities – Pakistan

• Delegate: Dr. Cristina Purcarea – National Commission for Antarctic Research (NCAR), email
• National Contact: National Commission for Antarctic Research (NCAR), email; website: www.acad.ro

• Delegate: Dr. Voranop Viyakarn – Chulalongkorn University, email
• National Contact: Polar Science Consortium of Thailand (PSCT), email

• Delegate: Dr Juan A. Alfonso – Centro de Oceanología y Estudios Antárticos, email
• National Contact: Centro de Oceanología y Estudios Antárticos, email; website: www.ivic.gob.ve