U.S. Arctic Observing Coordination Workshop Held in March

A U.S. Arctic Observing Coordination Workshop was held in March in Anchorage, Alaska, to coordinate U.S. activities to observe and monitor the Arctic. The workshop brought together 104 participants, including arctic scientists; local, state, and federal agency representatives; decision makers; data managers; and other stakeholders.

The workshop was funded by the NSF Division of Arctic Sciences, the Office of Naval Research, the Arctic Landscape Conservation Cooperative, the North Slope Science Initiative, the North Pacific Research Board, and the Alaska Ocean Observing System.

After an introductory plenary session on a vision of an arctic observing network and underpinning science needs, workshop participants divided into breakout groups to develop ideas for showcase projects—activities to highlight effective approaches of coordination in the context of the interagency Arctic Observing Network (AON).

A workshop report to be released this fall will summarize the results of the discussions, including presentation of several showcase projects spanning ocean-, land-, and data-focused activities. The results of this workshop will set the stage for an international Arctic Observing Summit in 2013.

More information about the workshop, including the agenda, plenary presentations, attendee list, and background materials, is available at:
http://www.arcus.org/search/meetings/2012/coordination-workshop.