Abstract
The early national expeditions to Antarctica were short-term, with science usually driven by the interests and opportunities of those scientists who were taken along. Some expeditions made important collections of both data and specimens that proved crucial in establishing why more research should be funded. However, in those early days, there was little coordination other than attempts to use similar instruments and protocols for collecting physical data such as magnetic and meteorological records. With our present-day sophisticated communications, aerial and oceanic surveys, regular access to scientific stations and ships across Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, and research on and around the continent by many nations, collaboration is essential to make the most of the resources. Establishing the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) in 1958 proved to be a crucial step in developing the Antarctic scientific community and maximising the value of research across all scientific fields. In parallel to this, SCAR has also developed a major role as the primary scientific advisor to the Antarctic Treaty Parties on scientific and environmental matters.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barr S, Lüdecke C (eds) (2010) The history of the International Polar Years. Springer, Berlin
Berkman PA (2011) President Eisenhower, the Antarctic Treaty and the origin of international spaces. In: Berkman PA, Lang MA, Walton DWH, Young OR (eds) Science diplomacy. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, Washington, DC, pp 17–27
El Sayed SZ (ed) (1994) Southern ocean ecology: the BIOMASS perspective. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p 399
Fowler AN (2000) COMNAP – the National Managers in Antarctica. American Literary Press Inc., Baltimore
Jacobsen M (2011) Building the international legal framework for Antarctica. In: Berkman PA, Lang MA, Walton DWH, Young OR (eds) Science diplomacy. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, Washington, DC, pp 1–15
Kennicutt MC et al (2014a) Polar research: six priorities for Antarctic science. Nature 512(7512):23–25. doi:10.1038/512023a
Kennicutt MC et al (2014b) A roadmap for Antarctic and southern ocean science for the next two decades and beyond. Antarctic Sci 26. doi:10.1017/S0954102014000674
Lüdecke C (ed) (2007) Steps of Foundation of Institutionalized Antarctic Research. In: Proceedings of the 1st SCAR workshop on the history of Antarctic research, Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Munich, 2–3 June 2005. Berichte zur Polar und Meeresforchung 560, pp 1–228
Orheim O, Press A, Gilbert N (2011) Managing the Antarctic Environment: the evolving role of the Committee for environmental protection. In: Berkman PA, Lang MA, Walton DWH, Young OR (eds) Science diplomacy. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, Washington, DC, pp 209–221
Summerhayes CP (2007) Achievements of SCAR to 2006. SCAR Report No. 29:38
Summerhayes CP (2008) International collaboration in Antarctica: the International Polar Years, the International Geophysical Year and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. Polar Rec 44(231):321–334
Turner J, Bindschadler RA, Convey P, Di Prisco G, Fahrbach E, Gutt J, Hodgson DA, Mayewski PA, Summerhayes CP (2009) Antarctic climate change and the environment. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, Cambridge, ISBN 978-0-948277-22-1, p 526. www.scar.org/publications/occasionals/acce.html
Walton DWH (2011) SCAR and the Antarctic Treaty. In: Berkman PA, Lang MA, Walton DWH, Young OR (eds) Science diplomacy. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, Washington, DC, pp 75–88
Walton DWH, Clarkson PD (2011) Science in the snow: fifty years of international collaboration through the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. SCAR, Cambridge, p 258
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Walton, D.W.H., Kennicutt, M.C., Summerhayes, C.P. (2015). Antarctic Scientific Collaboration. In: Liggett, D., Storey, B., Cook, Y., Meduna, V. (eds) Exploring the Last Continent. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18947-5_29
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18947-5_29
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-18946-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-18947-5
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)