An "Understanding Arctic Change" workshop was held 29 September–1 October 2010 in Seattle, Washington as a collaborative activity of the SEARCH and ARCSS programs. The workshop gathered a diverse group of scientists to develop a white paper that:

  1. Identifies key unknowns and key science questions for understanding arctic system change; and

  2. Identifies the next steps in synthesis activities, methodologies, mechanisms, and approaches to address the identified key science questions.

The Understanding Arctic Change Task Force, convened in late 2009 (see Witness winter 2009, is leading the final development of the white paper, which will be distributed for broad community review this fall. Final publication is expected in winter 2011.

For more information on the workshop and related activities, see the Understanding Arctic Change website: http://www.arcus.org/search/meetings/2010/understanding-arctic-change or contact Task Force Co-chairs Josh Schimel (schimel [at] lifesci.ucsb.edu) or John Walsh (jwalsh [at] iarc.uaf.edu), or Helen Wiggins at ARCUS (helen [at] arcus.org).