National Committee for Antarctic Research

The National Committee for Antarctic Research (NCAR) aims to foster Antarctic science in Australia and serve as an effective link between Australian and overseas scientists working on Antarctic issues. It liaises with the International Council for Science (ICSU) Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and other international bodies, and promotes, supports and, where appropriate, coordinates active Australian involvement in the planning, implementation and management of international programs within SCAR and other ICSU bodies.

NCAR seeks to ensure that research programs of Australian national importance are supported within SCAR subcommittees and at delegates' meetings. It promulgates the national value and benefits of Antarctic and Southern Ocean science, and provides, as required, independent, in-depth and expert reviews of the national Antarctic scientific program.

The scope of research covered by NCAR reflects that identified in the Australian Antarctic Science Plan.

Governance

• Terms of reference (PDF, 105 KB)

Reports and activities

• Submission - Submission—The importance of Antarctica to Australia's national interests , April 2024
• Submission—Inquiry into Australian Antarctic Division funding, September 2023
• Submission—Revision of the Australian Antarctic Science Strategic Plan 2011–12 to 2020–21, September 2019
• Submission — Inquiry into Australia's Antarctic Territory, August 2017
• Submission—Review of the Bureau of Meteorology's space weather services, July 2014
• Submission—20 Year Australian Antarctic Strategic Plan, March 2014
• Submission — The importance of Antarctica to Australia's national interests, April 2024

Related groups and organisations

• Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)
• Association of Polar Early Career Scientists
• Pure Antarctic

Members

• Chair: Professor Nicole Webster
  • Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies, Executive Director.
  • Research expertise: Marine microbial ecology, environmental science, climate science.
• Deputy Chair: Dr Ariaan Purich
  • Monash University, Lecturer in Climate Science, School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment; and Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future.
  • Research expertise: Southern Ocean climate, ocean and ice processes; climate modelling
• Observer: Professor Nerilie Abram FAA
  • Australian National University, Professor of Climate Science, Associate Director (Research)
  • Research expertise: Paleoclimate science, natural climate variability, human-caused climate change impacts from the tropical oceans to Antarctica
• Committee member: Professor Steven Chown FAA
  • Monash University, Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF)
  • Research expertise: Antarctica biogeography, biological invasions, climate change
• Committee member: Professor Juan Francisco Salazar
  • Western Sydney University Institute for Culture and Society (ICS), Interim Director.
  • Research expertise: environmental humanities, Antarctic humanities, media and environment, social studies of outer space.
• Committee member: Professor Delphine Lannuzel
  • University of Tasmania, Professor in Oceans and Cryosphere.
  • Research expertise: Marine biogeochemistry, glaciology, chemical oceanography, atmospheric composition and chemistry.
• Committee member: Dr Steve Rintoul
  • CSIRO, Research Team Leader for the Southern Ocean Team
  • Research expertise: Physical oceanography, dynamics of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the Southern Ocean overturning circulation, water mass formation, the influence of Southern Ocean currents on biology and biogeochemistry.
• Committee Member: Distinguished Professor Sharon Robinson
  • University of Wollongong Australia, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences
  • Research expertise: Climate change, ecological impacts of climate change, ecological adaptation, ecological physiology