First SEARCH Open Science Meeting
27-30 October 2003
The National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs is sponsoring
an open science meeting in support of the Study of Environmental Arctic
Change (SEARCH) program. Planned for 27-30 October 2003, at the Bell
Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle, Washington, the
meeting will focus on science with presentations from keynote speakers,
posters, and working groups discussing the state of our knowledge on
SEARCH research themes and activity areas.
A broad, interdisciplinary program, with strong international links, the
U.S. component of SEARCH has been developed by the SEARCH Science Steering
Committee as a long-term interagency effort of observations, modeling,
process studies, and applications devoted to understanding:
* the complex of significant, interrelated changes in recent decades in
arctic atmospheric, oceanic, and terrestrial systems,
* the relations of the complex to global climate, and
* its impacts on ecosystems and society.
The planning phase for the U.S. SEARCH effort is now complete. A large
number of scientists contributed to the development of the SEARCH
Science and Implementation Plans (http://psc.apl.washington.edu/search/)
through an open process in a comprehensive series of disciplinary
meetings. The plans have been or will soon be approved by the sponsor,
an Interagency Working Group of sponsoring Federal Agencies. SEARCH
plans and successes now will be presented to the community in an open
meeting, a symposium that focuses on our understanding of the science of
environmental change in the Arctic. The purpose of the open science
meeting is to inform and engage a broad arctic research community, with
the ultimate purpose of inspiring them to go forth and engage in
research contributing to SEARCH, both in the US and international arenas.
An organizing committee established by ARCUS is working with the SEARCH
Science Steering Committee, the Interagency Working Group, and the
International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), to determine the broad
themes and format of the meeting, and to enrich the international
involvement and contributions to SEARCH science planning.
The sponsoring agencies and the organizing committee for the SEARCH open
science meeting invites anyone interested in the potential of the SEARCH
effort to participate in the discussions. We particularly encourage
students and colleagues from outside of the US to attend. We expect
about 300 participants. There will be a registration fee of
approximately $200 (USD).
For more information about the SEARCH open science meeting, or to
pre-register, see the ARCUS web site at
http://www.arcus.org/search/search.html.