Speaking: Sandy Starkweather CIRES/ESRL-PSL
Part of the NOAA in Alaska and the Arctic seminar series hosted by NOAA NCEI Regional Climate Services Director, Alaska Region.
Remote Access
Please register for NOAA in Alaska and the Arctic seminar series September 28, 2021 at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4266490361750202126
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Abstract
Arctic observing and data systems have been identified as critical infrastructures to support scientific understanding and decision-making from local to regional and global scales, yet there remain significant challenges to developing, integrating and sustaining the needed systems. These challenges arise from the complexity of coordination across many organizational centers of action, sparse deployment and telecommunications infrastructure and physical conditions of polar regions that constrain technology options. Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks (SAON) was initiated to address the challenges related to coordination across a heterogeneous collection of national and organizational actors engaged in Arctic observing. Within this complex partnership setting, SAON recognizes the value of polycentric' governance models, which work to generate alignment around shared goals across many centers of action in non-hierarchal arrangements. Polycentric thinking has inspired SAON's vision for a coordination and planning framework for developing observing and data system requirements and implementation strategies under its Roadmap for Arctic Observing and Data Systems (SAON-ROADS). ROADS' guidance, among other things, calls for equitable partnering with Indigenous Peoples, a focus on shared benefits from observing and data systems, complementarity to existing regional to global observing efforts, and incremental approaches that are flexible and inclusive. The success of the SAON-ROADS vision is highly dependent on the engagement of SAON partners in the planning process. This talk will illustrate how nationally coordinated actions within the US are serving as a model for supporting the ROADS process.
Bio
Sandy Starkweather is the Executive Director for the US Arctic Observing Network (US AON, NOAA-chaired), where she advances US agency participation in the international Arctic Observing System. With a joint background in engineering (energy conservation, renewables), earth science (Arctic climatology) and science policy, Sandy has worked in a consulting engineering capacity, university research, project management and planning. During this time, she spent twelve years traveling to/from Greenland to either participate in or support Arctic field research. She is currently serving as the Chair of Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks (SAON) and leading SAON's efforts to develop its Roadmap for Arctic Observing and Data Systems (ROADS).