The "Future Directions for Arctic Research Logistics" workshop, funded by the NSF Research Support and Logistics (RSL) program, was held 7-9 October in Arlington, Virginia (see also the spring Witness article).
The workshop was held to discuss strategies and recommendations for future Arctic research support and logistics. Despite the U.S. government shutdown, 62 participants attended from a diverse range of disciplines and perspectives. The workshop was structured around breakout group discussions on:
- A shared vision of future logistics support.
- Logistics needs for Arctic domains (terrestrial, marine, ice sheets, atmosphere, and social sciences).
- Platforms and regions (Alaska, Greenland, marine operations, ice camps, and autonomous platforms).
- Cross-cutting issues (interagency coordination, international coordination, coordination of field opportunities and assets, capacity building, and maximizing safety/minimizing risk).
- Synthesis and prioritization.
The goal of the discussions was to develop a suite of specific, actionable steps for developing logistics support to best serve Arctic science over the next decade. Products from the workshop will include a workshop report, a brief highlights flyer, and an open webinar that summarizes the workshop findings.
More information about the workshop, including the final agenda, participant list, plenary presentations, and background information, can be found through the workshop website.
For questions, contact Helen Wiggins (helen [at] arcus.org) or Kristina Creek (creek [at] arcus.org) at ARCUS.