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ARCSS Program | Co-oP Concept Paper Submissions By Author

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Lilian Na'ia Alessa  Complexity and Synthesis in Arctic Hydrology
Thomas Douglas  Arctic TRACE: Tracking Routes of Atmospheric Components in the Environment
Ivan Eyefor Watts  (Example Submission) The Arctic Energy Budget
Kenneth Hinkel  Thaw Lakes and Basins in the Arctic Landscape
Andrea Lloyd  Surface Dynamics and Human Environments of the Arctic System
Patricia Matrai  Ocean-Atmosphere-Sea Ice- Snowpack (OASIS) Interactions
Gifford Miller  Volcanoes in the Arctic System

Andrea Lloyd

Andrea Lloyd
Middlebury College
lloyd@middlebury.edu

Q1. What is the tentative name of the proposed Community of Practice (Co-oP)?

Response: Surface Dynamics and Human Environments of the Arctic System

Q2. List up to three keywords that describe the primary focus of this Community of Practice concept.

Response: Land Surface Change, Human Dimensions

Q3. Identify the lead contact person(s), as well as other key Co-oP participants.

Response: Andrea H. Lloyd
Lil Alessa
Craig Fleener
Craig Gerlach
Maribeth Murray
Josh Schimel
Heidi Steltzer

Q4. What are the focusing science questions and goals of the Co-oP? (<300 words)

Response: We have resolved to organize into a research community with a focus on the following three fundamental questions related to earth surface change in the Arctic.
1. What are the rates and trajectories of earth surface change, and how do feedbacks between the ocean and land surface affect those rates/trajectories (i.e., where do the synergies and antagonisms lie)?
2. What are the relative roles of, and interactions among, climate and human activities in driving collective earth surface change on land and in the ocean?
3. How might the impacts of simultaneous land and ocean surface change interact with other forces of global change to affect both human populations and resource development in the Arctic?

Q5. How do the Co-oP science question(s) and goals fit within arctic system-scale science and the overall ARCSS Program goals? (<300 words)

Response: Of the array of changes that have been identified in the Arctic System, changes in the surface of the Arctic--sea ice and the land surface--could have the most direct and immediate impact on human activities in the Arctic with the greatest effects extending outward to the more temperate latitudes. Indeed, a common component of SEARCH and of the challenges for the International Polar Year (IPY) is the characterization of changes in both the ocean surface and the land surface--collectively, the earth surface. We contend that changes in the surface of the Arctic are profound and will significantly impact human activities on local, regional, and global scales. Whereas past ARCSS initiatives have tended to focus on either land surface change (e.g., ATLAS), changes in the ocean system (e.g., SBI), or on human dimensions of global change (e.g., HARC), we propose the formation of a research community whose goal is to undertake the integrated study of earth surface changes in the Arctic, particularly as they interact with and affect humans in the Arctic system. The outcome of past domain-specific initiatives has been a substantial body of information from which we can conclude that both the land surface and the ocean surface are changing, that the rate of those changes may be unprecedented in recent times, and that the changes are beginning to affect human activities in the Arctic in tangible ways. We propose to pursue an understanding of the interactions between land and ocean surface change and their effects on human societies.

Q6. What other groups and disciplines do you expect the Co-oP to interact with?

Response: HARC
Sea ice research community
Glaciology/land ice research community
Climate modeling research community

Q7. What is the appproximate number of currently active Co-oP participants?

Response: Less than 30, more than 10

Q8. What is the approximate size and scope of anticipated future Co-oP participation?

Response: More than 30

Q9. What other researchers or groups (based on expertise, focus, methodology, etc) would you like to connect with in order to further develop the Co-oP goals and science questions?

Response: Researchers with expertise in sea ice dynamics, glaciology, climate modeling.

Q10. What type of support from the ARCSS Science Management Office would best facilitate your Co-oP development?

Response: Electronic email list

Q11. What additional (other) Science Management Office support would facilitate your Co-oP development?

Response: Support in identifying sources for funding for face-to-face workshops.