ISAC - International Study of Arctic Change

International Study of Arctic Change (ISAC)
Responding to Change Workshop Planning Meeting Report
13 June 2010, Oslo, Norway

Click here to download a PDF version of this report.

On 13 June 2010, the International Study of Arctic Change (ISAC) held an open meeting to being the planning process for a workshop focused on Responding to Arctic Change. Responding to change is a key component of the ISAC science program as described in the ISAC Science Plan; the emphasis is on developing science for society - for problem solving and for managing and adapting to future arctic changes (www.arcticchange.org). Implementation of the Responding to Change component of ISAC is planned through a series of ongoing workshops. The planning meeting in Oslo was the first step in this initiative.

Twenty-four people attended the planning meeting and the discussion focused on the need for and feasibility of a pan-Arctic approach to responding to change, workshop goals, workshop topics, and alignment with similar national, regional, programmatic and project efforts. Participants agreed that responding to change is increasingly important and necessary. However, there is a need for conceptual clarity so that the community of arctic scientists understands what is meant by responding to change and what the role of science may be in that effort. Participants further agreed that there is a need to assess the extent to which science priorities align with stakeholder priorities including those relevant to observational and modeling initiatives developed during the last decade and over the course of the International Polar Year. In the absence of a framework that can be used to define and address priorities and emerging issues at the pan-Arctic scale, scientific and stakeholder collaboration on the relevant science is problematic and slow in coming to fruition.

Here you can download and view a summary report and data on the State of the Arctic Conference. This presentation was prepared by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS).

Day 4 of the State of the Arctic Conference (16-19 March, Miami).
International Day Presentations Now Available

Day 4 was devoted to discussion of international collaboration in arctic research and was sponsored by ISAC. There were 100+ participants, presentations from more than 15 international, national organizations, programs and projects, a panel discussion, and a talk and Q and A period with Alaska Senator, Hon. Lisa Murkowski. The presentations, (oral and poster/pdf) are  posted on the ISAC website (see more below) and on the SoA Conference website. A summary report of the activities of Day 4 will also be prepared. Below you can read presentation abstracts, follow links to different organizations, program and projects, and view the presentations from Day 4.

The fall edition of the ISAC Newsletter is available here for download. If you would like to submit a short article to the spring edition (publication in March 2010), please contact Maribeth S. Murray at Den här e-postadressen är skyddad från spamrobotar, du måste ha Javascript aktiverat för att visa den .

Synthesizing International Understanding of Changes in the Arctic Hydrological System International Workshop 30 September - 4 October 2009, Stockholm, Sweden

ISAC partnered with NSF-ARCSS Freshwater Integration Study, with Arctic Hydra, and others to organize a synthesis workshop on the Arctic hydrological system. The workshop strengthened international cooperation in efforts to develop pan-Arctic system-level understanding of arctic change. Participants took stock of recent advances in our understanding of changes in the Arctic hydrological system; identified key remaining research gaps/unanswered questions; gathered insight on where to focus future research efforts and national and international initiatives; and began to develop strategies for integration of hydrological research into broader system-science initiatives, including those for responding to rapid environmental change in the Arctic.

The SEARCH Sea Ice Outlook - August Report is now available. The outlook for arctic sea ice in September 2009, based on July data, indicates a continuation of low pan-arctic sea ice extent and no indication that a return to historical levels will occur.

The August Sea Ice Outlook Report is based on a synthesis of 13 pan-arctic contributions (plus nine updates from participating regional groups) utilizing a range of methods.

The SEARCH Sea Ice Outlook is an international effort to provide a community-wide summary of the expected September arctic sea ice minimum. Monthly reports released throughout the summer synthesize community estimates of the current state and expected minimum of sea ice—at both a pan-arctic and regional scale.

The intent of the SEARCH Sea Ice Outlook effort is not to issue predictions, but rather to summarize all available data and observations to provide the scientific community, stakeholders, and the public the best available information on the evolution of arctic sea ice.

First Announcement:
2010 State of the Arctic Conference
Hyatt Regency Miami at the Miami Convention Center
Miami, Florida 16-19 March 2010

The State of the Arctic Conference, to be held 16-19 March 2010 in Miami, Florida, will be an international meeting to present, exchange, and discuss the latest knowledge on the state of the Arctic and future directions of arctic science and policy.

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES
The State of the Arctic Conference will review our understanding of the arctic system in a time of human-induced, rapid environmental change. It will provide an open international forum to discuss future research directions towards a better understanding of the arctic system and its trajectory. It will address topics ranging from basic understanding of the Arctic and system-wide change, to developing response strategies for better adaptation to, and mitigation of, the impacts of change. Specifically, the conference will address the following topics:
1. Scientific understanding of the basic functioning of the arctic system, including human subsystems;
2. Capacity to observe and understand the system, especially in light of rapid system-scale changes in all subsystems; 3. Capability to project future states of the arctic system under various scenarios; and
4. Options for solutions to the problems caused by human-induced environmental change. This science meeting will provide ample opportunities to present and discuss research results, and a conference report will summarize the meeting's major findings.

The ISAC Draft Science Plan, prepared by the ISAC Science Steering Group, is now available for review and public comment. The Science Plan can be downloaded below. Comments should be submitted to Den här e-postadressen är skyddad från spamrobotar, du måste ha Javascript aktiverat för att visa den . The comment period (25 March - 1 May 2009) is now closed. A revised science plan will be available in fall 2009.