Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) in United States

Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)

SCAR, the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, is a committee of ICSU , the International Council for Science, and it is charged with the initiation, promotion and co-ordination of scientific research in Antarctica. SCAR also provides international, independent scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty system and other bodies.

The membership of SCAR comprises the appropriate bodies of those national scientific academies or research councils which are the adhering bodies to ICSU (or by some other means, if a country currently has no national organisation adhering to ICSU) and which are, or plan to be, active in Antarctic research, together with the relevant scientific Unions of ICSU.

There are three categories of membership: Full Members, ICSU scientific unions members and Associate Members. Full Members are those countries with active scientific research programme in Antarctica, currently 31; union members are those ICSU scientific unions that have an interest in Antarctic research, currently 9; and Associate Members are those countries without an independent research programme as yet or which are planning a research programme in the future, currently 5. In addition, there are the Honorary Members of SCAR; those individuals who have, over many years, rendered outstanding service to SCAR and scientific research in Antarctica.

The National Committee of each Full Member of SCAR appoints a Permanent Delegate and an Alternate Delegate to SCAR; ICSU Unions appoint a single Union Delegate; and Associate Members appoint a Delegate. These delegates attend the bi-ennial SCAR Delegates Meeting but only the Permanent and Union Delegates may vote.