2006 Annual Meeting and Arctic Forum

Poster and Invited Presentation Abstracts

List of Abstracts

Water Sampling

Mattea Bagley¹, Ashley Macy², Torbrafe Ley³
¹Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us
²Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us
³Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us

In December of 2005 Shannon Gmyrek came to our school and talked to us about the pollution in the water and how it can kill the fish. She also talked to us about pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphorus, and nitrate.

This poster presentation will explain what three 5th grade students from Salisbury Community School learned about water sampling and how water was analyzed in the Arctic as part of the PARTNERS project. Their teacher, Amy Clapp, participated in Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (TREC) in 2004 and 2005. These posters are part of a unit she taught in her classroom about the Arctic.

International Policy Cooperation in the Arctic

Scott Barrett¹
¹Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, 1619 Massachusetts Avenue, NM, Washington, DC, 20036-2213, USA, Phone 202-663-5761, Fax 202-663-5769, sbarrett [at] jhu.edu

Beginning in the 1950s, the Arctic states faced the environmental challenge of protecting polar bears from possible extinction. At first they responded unilaterally. These efforts failed, however, because the bears crossed national borders. A country that restricted hunting at home risked losing its bears to its neighbors. So an international agreement was negotiated: the Polar Bear Treaty. It entered into force in 1974, and has been fairly successful.

Today, of course, the bears are threatened once again, but not by hunting. Their new threat, like that for all of the Arctic, is global climate change. To address this problem, a global agreement really is required, and this will prove a much harder challenge.

Two agreements already address the problem: the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Unfortunately, neither is very helpful. The Framework Convention emphasizes the need to avoid "dangerous interference" with the climate, but no one knows exactly what level of atmospheric concentrations is dangerous. The Kyoto Protocol by design limits the emissions of just a small number of countries by a little bit for a short period of time. Even if it worked as intended, it would have almost no effect. However, as I shall explain, the agreement will not work as intended. A different approach needs to be tried.

That approach must do more that just seek to limit emissions. It must also undertake R&D to develop and diffuse new technologies. It must address the challenge of adaptation, since climate change is sure to occur—indeed, seems already to be occurring in the Arctic—no matter how successful mitigation proves to be. Finally, because of the threat of "abrupt" climate change, consideration needs to be given for a very different kind of response: geoengineering, or deliberate climate modification.

HOTRAX-2005: International Collaborative Research in a Trans-Arctic-Ocean Expedition

Glenn W. Berger¹
¹Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Desert Research Institute, 2215 Raggio Parkway, Reno, NV, 89512-1095, USA, Phone 775-673-7354, Fax 775-674-7485, glenn.berger [at] dri.edu

The Arctic Ocean is the last great ocean to be explored with modern geophysical and geological tools, largely because of the extensive and variable ice cover. Not only is the ocean itself a "canary-in-the-mine" responder to global climate change, but may be an amplifier (via. feedbacks) of the same. Furthermore, we know little of the bottom sediments (containing a "long-term" record of past climate changes) and basement rocks. Thus in 2005 the execution of only the second two-ship trans-Arctic-Ocean scientific expedition had historical importance. The two icebreakers were the USCG Healy and the Swedish Oden. This expedition was sponsored by the US-National Science Foundation and Sweden's Polar Research Secretariat. On-board scientists and students were mainly from the US, Sweden, Canada, Norway, and Japan.

During the 2-month phase of the expedition, scientists on the icebreaker Healy collected data on sea-ice properties (thickness, albedo, etc.), recovered soft-sediment cores, conducted side-scan-sonar bottom mapping, and obtained sub-bottom sonar and seismic data. HOTRAX-05 increased the number of kilometers of seismic tracks for the Arctic Ocean by 30% (adding 2200 km), increased the number and quality of sediment cores in the western part by perhaps 100%, and obtained 29 piston cores greater than 12 m in length across the ocean. This unique collection of cores contains valuable information on the paleoclimatic and paleo-oceanographic conditions of this ocean, as well as regional sedimentation patterns. From the on-board magnetic-susceptibility measurements on cores, we now have a new regional correlation of sediment cores. However, much work on collected ice, seismic, and core data and samples is still in progress.

Dynamical Downscaling Over Alaska and it's Potential Applications

Uma S. Bhatt¹, Jing S. Zhang², Craig S. Lingle³, Wendell Tangborn⁴
¹Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-2662, Fax 907-474-7290, bhatt [at] gi.alaska.edu
²Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-6135, Fax 907-474-6141, jing [at] rathlin.iarc.uaf.edu
³Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7320, USA, Phone 907-474-7679, Fax 907-474-7290, clingle [at] asf.alaska.edu
⁴HyMet, Inc., HyMet, Inc., 19001 Vashon Hwy, SW, Suite 201, Vashon, WA, 98070, USA, Phone 206-463-1610, hymetco [at] centurytel.net

Many applications require gridded climate data of higher resolution than is available from global climate analyses or global climate models. To provide this information, one strategy is to dynamically downscale coarse climate data to higher resolution using a regional climate model, which can resolve the complex topography over Alaska. Results will be presented from a study that uses dynamical downscaling in conjunction with a glacier mass balance model that has been employed to estimate glacier melt in Alaska. Additional uses of dynamically downscaled climate data will be explored.

Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment of the Arctic Council: Responding to Changing Marine Access in the Arctic Ocean

Lawson W. Brigham¹, Victor Santos-Pedro², Ross McDonald³, Kimmo Juurmaa⁴, Soffia Gudmundsdottir⁵
¹U.S. Arctic Research Commission, 420 L Street, Suite 315, Anchorage, AK, 99501, USA, Phone 907-271-4577, Fax 907-271-4578, usarc [at] acsalaska.net
²Marine Safety (AMSR), Transport Canada, 330 Sparks Street, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0N8, Canada, Phone 613-991-6003, Fax 613-991-4818, santosv [at] tc.gc.ca
³Transport Canada, 330 Sparks Street, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0N5, Canada, Phone 613-991-3145, Fax 613-993-6414, macdora [at] tc.gc.ca
⁴Deltamarin Inc., Helsinki, -, Finland, Phone 358-9-47884-443, kimmo.juurmaa [at] deltamarin.com
⁵PAME International Secretariat, Borgir, Nordurslod, 600 Akureyri, 600, Iceland, Phone 354-461-1355, Fax 354-462-3390, pame [at] pame.is

The results of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) provided the impetus to the Arctic Council Ministers to request, in November 2004, that the working group PAME (Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment) conduct a comprehensive Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment(AMSA). The lead countries for AMSA are Canada, Finland, and the United States, and the final assessment report will be reported at the 2008 Ministerial meeting in Norway. The Arctic Council acted because the arctic sea ice cover, as documented by ACIA, is undergoing an unprecedented transformation; sea ice thinning, extent reduction, and a reduction in the area of multi-year ice in the central Arctic Ocean. The ACIA sea ice simulations for the 21st century indicate increasing ice-free areas and suggest plausible increases in marine access throughout the Arctic Ocean. Under PAME, the lead countries are to work closely with the Permanent Participants and all the working groups of the Arctic Council to conduct the three-year assessment.

AMSA's first task has been to initiate a survey of arctic shipping or marine activity data for 2004; six arctic coastal states are responsible for providing this information. Shipping has been defined broadly to include all possible ship activities and types: tankers, container ships, bulk carriers, fishing vessels, drill ships, research ships, offshore supply/support vessels, and others. The results of ACIA (primarily sea ice changes) will be coupled with regional economic analyses of marine shipping to develop plausible scenarios for levels of marine activity in 2020 and 2050. AMSA will assess the current (2004) and future (2020 & 2050)social, economic, and environmental impacts of these arctic marine activities on arctic communities, large marine ecosystems (LMEs), and all arctic coastal states. The findings of AMSA will be passed to the arctic states, all arctic stakeholders, and the global maritime community.

The Svalbard REU Program: A High-Latitude Undergraduate Research Experience in Glacial, Marine, and Lacustrine Processes Relevant to Arctic Climate Change

Julie Brigham-Grette¹, Ross D. Powell², Al Werner³, Steve Roof⁴, Mike J. Retelle⁵
¹Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Morrill Science Building, Campus Box 35820, Amhest, MA, 01003, USA, Phone 413-545-4840, Fax 413-545-1200, juliebg [at] geo.umass.edu
²Department of Geology & Environmental Geosciences, Northern Illinios University, 312 Davis Hall, DeKalb, IL, 60115, USA, Phone 815-753-7952, Fax 815-753-1945, ross [at] geol.niu.edu
³Earth and Environment, Mt Holyoke College, 321 Clapp Lab, South Hadley , MA, 01075, USA, Phone 413-538-2134, Fax 413-538-2239, awerner [at] mhc.mtholyoke.edu
⁴School of Natural Science, Hampshire College, 893 West Street, Amherst, MA, 01002, USA, Phone 413-559-5667, Fax 413-559-5448, sroof [at] hampshire.edu
⁵Department of Geology, Bates College, 44 Campus Avenue, Lewiston, ME, 04240, USA, Phone 207-786-6155, Fax 207-786-8334, mretelle [at] bates.edu

The Svalbard Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, initiated in 2003, provides a research opportunity for undergraduate students in arctic Quaternary geology and climate change. The Svalbard archipelago, between 74 degrees and 81 degrees N latitude, lies at the northern end of the warm Gulf Stream and North Atlantic currents and therefore, is sensitive to subtle climate and oceanic changes. Svalbard has warmed considerably during the last 90 years and climate proxies indicate even greater Holocene climate variability. Despite this, little is known of sub-century-scale climate change and virtually nothing is known of decadal scale variability in this region. In this program, undergraduate students are conducting glacilacustrine research at Lake Linne, west of Longyearbyen, and pilot studies of glacimarine systems in Kongsfjorden, near Ny Alesund, in order to establish linkages between climate, glacier mass balance, sediment transport, and lake and fjord sedimentation.

Our program provides genuine research experiences in Arctic Quaternary science. Students receive a total immersion experience, including being surrounded by scientists and students from different nations associated with UNIS (the University Centre on Svalbard) and at the large international research center of Ny Alesund, from disciplines differing widely from their own. They interact with these scientists and among themselves to develop their own research plans, making decisions and modifying sampling schemes throughout the field season. Following summer fieldwork we require that a strong home academic advisor guide the student through completion of the project during each student's senior academic year. Many of students have continued on in graduate studies and consider their REU exposure to have been invaluable. Key to the success of our field program are tight logistics with the integration of research objectives with UNIS (the University Centre on Svalbard). In future, we plan to work more closely with a growing number of UNIS faculty developing stronger linkages for curriculum planning and summer fieldwork.

The Search For a Past: The Prehistory of the Indigenous Saami of Northern Coastal Sweden

Noel D. Broadbent¹
¹Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History (MRC 112), Smithsonian Institution, 10th & Constitution Avenue, Washington, DC, 20013-7012, USA, Phone 202-633-1904, Fax 202-357-2684, broadben [at] si.edu

The goal of this project has been to document and evaluate the long term evidence for Saami settlement and land use on the Bothnian coast of Northern Sweden. Archaeological, ethnographic, historical and place-name evidence indicate that Saami territory once extended as far south as Olso, Stockholm and Helsinki. The Saami had been involved in widespread independent social and economic networks until the 14th Century. By AD 1300 the Swedish State and Church had extended its influence into the far north leading to the displacement of the Saami from the Bothnian coastal regions and into the interior. Taxation and ecological imperatives led to a greater reliance on reindeer. Agrarian and mercantile expansion, combined with the effects of the Black Death and Little Ice Age, transformed the Saami from a northern hunter-gatherer-based society into a nomadic herding society within a complex state system. Saami land rights are still tied to this historical transformation.

Research Opportunities in the Barrow, Alaska Area

Tim Buckley¹
¹Barrow Hisgh School, North Slope Borough School District, PO Box 960, Barrow, AK, 99723, USA, Phone 907-852-8950, Fax 907-852-8969, Tim.Buckley [at] nsbsd.org

The poster outlines the research opportunities available in the Barrow area for visiting scientists. The variety of field data collection undertaken by scientists and support personnel is illustrated. A satellite image of the Barrow Environmental Observatory is also included and will allow some of the equipment involved with the Biocomplexity project to be seen. A recent picture of the Barrow Global Climate Change Research Facility will be on the poster showing the steel framework already in place. A list of organizations and individuals with long-term involvement in Barrow area research projects is also provided.

Animal Adaptations in the Arctic

Brooke Burlett¹, Maria Ploff²
¹Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us
²Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us

In December, of 2005, we studied animal adaptations in the Arctic with a a college student. We worked with Shannon Gmyrek and she taught us about polar bears and their adaptations. She made a power point presentation, and she had us do an experiment with blubber.

This poster presentation will explain what two 5th grade students from Salisbury Community School learned about animal adaptations in the Arctic. Their teacher, Amy Clapp, participated in Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (TREC) in 2004 and 2005. These posters are part of a unit she taught in her classroom about the Arctic.

Planning the Barrow Cabled Observatory: Real-Time Oceanographic and Environmental Data for Northern Alaska

Dale N. Chayes¹, Bernard Coakley², Richard Machida³, Andrey Proshutinsky⁴, Thomas Weingartner⁵
¹Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Instrument Laboratory, 61 Route 9 West, PO Box 1000, Palisades , NY, 10964, USA, Phone 845-365-8434, Fax 845-359-6940, dale [at] ldeo.columbia.edu
²Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7320, USA, Phone 907-474-5385, Fax 907-474-5163, bernard.coakley [at] gi.alaska.edu
³Office of Information Technology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757700, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7700, USA, Phone 907-474-7102, Fax 907-474-5910, Richard.Machida [at] uaf.edu
⁴Department of Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanograpic Institute, 360 Woods Hole Road, Mail Stop 29, Woods Hole, MA, 02546, USA, Phone 508-289-2796, Fax 508-457-2181, aproshutinsky [at] whoi.edu
⁵Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757220, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7220, USA, Phone 907-474-7993, Fax 907-474-7204, weingart [at] ims.uaf.edu

Study of the Arctic Ocean is limited by sea ice and harsh weather that restrict access using traditional methods for much of each year. This has limited data acquisition in the past and obscured understanding of events, processes and variability of the environment over most of the Arctic Ocean. Breaching this isolation can be achieved through the use of cabled observatory technology and instrumentation to monitor the shelf and basin independent of surface conditions.

Located at the confluence of the Chukchi Sea, the Beaufort Sea and the Bering Strait, Barrow, Alaska, is an ideal location both to observe local phenomena and to address mixing issues having global significance. The Beaufort and Chukchi shelves are heterogeneous environments, characterized by complex oceanography that dramatically impacts the local ecosystem and, ultimately, the communities that depend on this ocean. Because this region is particularly sensitive to climatically driven environmental changes, understanding the variability and the linkages between and within the atmosphere and the ocean are necessary to constrain change, to predict how it will evolve over time, and to develop plans to mitigate the consequences to local communities

A design effort to address the science needs and technical issues associated with a cabled observatory at Barrow, Alaska, is well underway. A science workshop was held in Barrow in February 2005 with the results reported in EOS. A technical working group met in Monterey, California, in November 2005 to develop a conceptual design for a cabled seafloor observatory at Barrow. This poster reports on the results of these two workshops.

Aquatic Invertebrates

Amy Clapp¹
¹Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us

In November 2005, our class worked with some students from the University of Vermont who were working to improve our nature trails. One day, the UVM students brought some of their equipment to our school and we went down to the pond and trails to look for aquatic invertebrates.

This poster presentation will explain what several 5th grade students from Salisbury Community School learned about aquatic invertebrates. Their teacher, Amy Clapp, participated in Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (TREC) in 2004 and 2005. These posters are part of a unit she taught in her classroom about the Arctic.

Arctic Science Education: Partnerships Build Bridges Across the Learning Continuum

Renee D. Crain¹
¹Office of Polar Programs, Arctic Sciences Section, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA, 22230, USA, Phone 703-292-8029, Fax 703-292-9082, rcrain [at] nsf.gov

The Arctic Sciences Section at the National Science Foundation supports the integration of scientific research with science education at all levels. Support from the Arctic Research and Education program has enabled arctic researchers to involve K-12 students, teachers, journalists, arctic residents and the broader public in their research. Researchers, including graduate-level students, convey the latest theories and questions in arctic science in an active, inquiry-based way that engages learners. Researchers impart to their audiences the importance of the polar regions to the global system, act as role models for young people seeking career opportunities and provide invigorating collegial interactions for teachers and other professional. This poster describes some of the projects supported by the Arctic Sciences Section to involve students and the public in arctic research, with an emphasis on including and providing experiences for arctic residents. The results have provided thousands of students and many others with unique and informative experiences in arctic science. With support from the Arctic Sciences Section, researchers are finding new avenues to ensure the broader impacts of their research while they gain new perspectives about science teaching and learning through these enriching activities.

Paleolimnological Perspective on Long-term Environmental Change in the Canadian High Arctic.

Marianne Douglas¹, Dermot Antoniades², Bronwyn Keatley³, Darlene Lim⁴, Neal Michelutti⁵, Roberto Quinlan⁶, John P. Smol⁷
¹Department of Geology, University of Toronto, 22 Russell Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B1, Canada, Phone 416-978-3709, Fax 416-978-3938, msvd [at] geology.utoronto.ca
²Centre d'Etudes Nordiques, Universite de Lavale, Department de Biologie, Pavillon Abitibi-Price, 1208, Quebec, QC, G1K 7P4, Canada, Phone 418-656-2131, dermot.antoniades [at] cen.laval.ca
³Department of Biology, Queen's University, 116 Barrie Street, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada, Phone 613-533-6193, Fax 613-533-6617, keatley [at] biology.queensu.ca
⁴Ames Research Center, National Aeronatics and Space Administration (NASA), Moffett Field, CA, USA, dlim [at] arc.nasa.gov
⁵Department of Geology, University of Toronto, 22 Russell Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B1, Canada, Phone 613-533-6000, Fax 613-533-6617, neal.michelutti [at] gmail.com
⁶Biology, York University, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada, rquinlan [at] yorku.ca
⁷Department of Biology, Queen's University, 116 Barrie Street, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada, Phone 613-533-6147, Fax 613-533-6617, smolj [at] biology.queensu.ca

High arctic lakes and ponds have been shown to be critical bellwethers of environmental change. Our limnological and paleolimnological data from the Canadian High Arctic show that lakes in different settings follow different ecosystem trajectories dependent on local and regional factors such as geological and climate characteristics. This poster reviews three case studies including marked limnological changes, global transport of pollutants and archaeological applications. These demonstrate some of the exciting kinds of paleoenvironmental data that can be obtained from Arctic freshwater sediments. Given the spatial and temporal coverage, much still remains to be completed, especially given the sensitive nature of these high latitude sites.

Sediment Coring!

Elizabeth Dwire¹, Jesse Otis²
¹Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us
²Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us

In November 2005 Shannon Gmyrek from Middlebury College came to our class to work with us. We got to see a sediment corer and a sediment grabber. Shannon brought in a 3D map of Lake Champlain and it's depths.

This poster presentation will explain what two 5th grade students from Salisbury Community School learned about sediment coring in the Arctic. Their teacher, Amy Clapp, participated in Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (TREC) in 2004 and 2005. These posters are part of a unit she taught in her classroom about the Arctic.

Biomass-NDVI-LAI Relationships Along the Full Arctic Bioclimate Gradient

Howard E. Epstein¹, Donald (Skip) A. Walker², Gensuo J. Jia³, Alexia M. Kelley⁴, Martha K. Raynolds⁵
¹Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, PO Box 400123, Charlottesville, VA, 22904-4123, USA, Phone 434-924-4308, Fax 434-982-2137, hee2b [at] virginia.edu
²Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 262 Arctic Health Building, PO Box 757000, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-2460, Fax 907-474-2459, ffdaw [at] uaf.edu
³Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Watershed Stewardship, Colorado State University, 206 Natural Resources, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1472, USA, Phone 970-491-0495, Fax 970-491-2339, jiong [at] colostate.edu
⁴Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, PO Box 400123, Charlottesville, VA, 22903, USA, Phone 434-924-0576, Fax 434-982-2137, alexiakelley [at] yahoo.com
⁵Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757000, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-6720, Fax 907-474-6967, fnmkr [at] uaf.edu

A common methodology for assessing the potential effects of terrestrial ecosystems to environmental change is to develop present-day spatial relationships between environmental variables and ecosystem properties. Spatial relationships between climate variables and ecosystem variables should of course be used cautiously when extrapolating these patterns over time, i.e. space-for-time substitutions. Nevertheless, this approach has been extremely useful along regional climate gradients, in addition to providing support for vegetation dynamics models. We have developed several datasets of latitude, temperature, aboveground plant biomass, the NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) and LAI (leaf area index) for arctic tundra ecosystems along an 1800-km transect from the Low Arctic tundra in northern Alaska to the Polar Desert of the northern Canadian Archipelago. Another useful application of these data is the relationships between NDVI and aboveground plant biomass, which can allow for the conversion of satellite data to on-the-ground ecosystem properties.

Grow

Seth Fisher¹, Dino Jandric²
¹Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us
²Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us

In November Shannon Gmyrek came to our class and she told us about the different colors in white light. She had said if you have some thing colored the different colors will absorb into that thing except the color it is.

This poster presentation will explain what two 5th grade students from Salisbury Community School learned about plant growth in the Arctic. Their teacher, Amy Clapp, participated in Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (TREC) in 2004 and 2005. These posters are part of a unit she taught in her classroom about the Arctic.

Trends in Circumpolar Photosynthetic Activity from 1982-2003

Scott Goetz¹, Andrew Bunn²
¹Woods Hole Research Center, 149 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, MA, 02540, USA, Phone 508-540-9904, Fax 508-540-9700, sgoetz [at] whrc.org
²Woods Hole Research Center, 149 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, MA, 02540, USA, Phone 508-540-9904, Fax 508-540-9700, abunn [at] whrc.org

Temperature increases in the northern high latitudes over the past few decades have led to a wide variety of ecosystem changes, including modification of the productivity of plants as measured by ground cover (growth) and associated changes in global CO₂ exchange. Well-known studies of "greening" trends between 1982 and 1991 in high latitude vegetation indicate an earlier onset of growing season and more active photosynthesis in the mid-summer months. Our recent work indicates that these trends do not continue uniformly in time or space but instead vary between vegetation types and different periods of the growing season. These results provide some of the first evidence that high latitude forests may be in decline following an initial growth spurt associated with CO₂ and warming. The satellite observations are supported by a range of field observations, and indicate that natural ecosystems may be responding to climate change in unexpected ways that will have significant further effects on the biosphere.

Preparing for IPY in Canada

David Hik¹
¹Canadian IPY Secretariat, Biological Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada, Phone 780-492-9878, Fax 780-492-0493, dhik [at] ualberta.ca

International Polar Year 2007-2008 will expand our understanding of the polar regions, especially the complex interactions between physical, biological and human dimensions. Canadian participation, planning and support for IPY activities is advancing rapidly, and this poster will highlight recent developments in science and research projects, community partnership, private sector participation, youth engagement, education and outreach programs.

Migration in the Arctic: Subsistence, Jobs, and Well-being in Urban and Rural Communities

Lee Huskey¹, Matthew Berman², Lance Howe³, Wayne Edwards⁴, Robert Harcharek⁵, Jack Hicks⁶, Stephanie Martin⁷
¹Department of Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Drive, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA, Phone 907-786-1905, Fax 907-786-4115, aflh [at] cbpp.uaa.alaska.edu
²Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Drive, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA, Phone 907-786-5426, Fax 907-786-7739, matthew.berman [at] uaa.alaska.edu
³Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Drive, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA, elhowe [at] uaa.alaska.edu
⁴Department of Economics, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Drive, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA, we21011 [at] earthlink.net
⁵Public Works, North Slope Borough, PO Box , Barrowr, AK, 99723, USA, Phone 907-852-2611, Fax 907-852-0337, Bob.Harcharek [at] north-slope.org
⁶Nunavut Research Institute, Nunavut Arctic College, PO Box 1720, Iqaluit, NU, X0A 0H0, Canada, jack [at] jackhicks.com
⁷Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Drive, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA, Phone 907-345-8130, Fax 907-345-8130, anslm1 [at] uaa.alaska.edu

This project studies patterns of migration of North American arctic indigenous people between rural communities, larger regional centers, and urban areas over the past several decades. It has four primary research objectives: (1) develop improved methods for analyzing migration decisions of individuals participating in mixed subsistence and cash economies; (2) apply these methods to improve understanding of Inuit migration decisions in a comparative multi-decadal study of Alaska and arctic Canada; (3) develop and make available to other researchers metadata for research and policy applications; and (4) involve arctic communities in policy-relevant research.

We address questions about the causes and consequences of migration such as the roles of subsistence opportunities and community quality of life amenities, gender differences, and national policies on migration decisions. Comparing the Inupiat regions in Alaska to the Nunavut Territory of Canada, we ask whether Canadian Inuit are less mobile than Alaska Inupiat; and if so, to what extent can this be attributed to differences in policies in the two nations? We also investigate the long-term consequences of migration decisions: is mobility on balance improving living conditions in arctic communities, especially the poorest places, or is it draining leadership to larger settlements and exacerbating inequalities?

We are analyzing microdata collected from the late 1970s to the present, including the US Census, the Survey of Living Conditions in the Arctic, North Slope Borough Censuses, Statistics Canada's Aboriginal People's Survey, and other household survey data from Nunavut and Alaska. In the first year of the project, we have created a new large-sample household-level dataset from 1990 and 2000 Decennial Census Long Form data, in cooperation with the US Census Center for Economic Studies. Our preliminary findings for Alaska Inupiat from the 2000 Census dataset include:

- Overall, the largest migration flows from 1995-2000 occurred to and from urban areas. - Migration among arctic villages occurs primarily among places in the same census regions. - Migration patterns are consistent with a "stepping stones" migration hypothesis. That is, the highest village out-migration rates are to regional centers; regional center out-migration is greatest to Alaska urban centers; out-migration from Alaska urban centers is greatest to other US states. - Net outmigration rates from Arctic regional centers to urban areas are higher for women than for men, but net outmigration rates are higher for men from urban Alaska to other states. College-educated Inupiat moved from Arctic places to Anchorage, at considerably higher rates than those with less formal education.

Northern Material Culture Through International Polar Year Collections, Then and Now: In the Footsteps of Murdoch and Turner

Anne M. Jensen¹
¹Science Division, Ukpeagvik Iñupiat Corporation, PO Box 577, Barrow, AK, 99723, USA, Phone 907-852-3050, Fax 907-852-2632, anne.jensen [at] uicscience.org

This poster describes a developing project based on the encyclopedic ethnological reports resulting from expeditions to Pt. Barrow, Alaska and Fort Chimo in the Ungava District (now northern Quebec) which are perhaps the most lasting product of the scientific output from the 1st IPY. Together, John Murdoch's Ethnological Results of the Point Barrow Expedition (1892) and Turner's Ethnology of the Ungava District (1894) form the intellectual bedrock of northern native studies in their respected regions. These publications are likely the only research results from the original IPY which still are consulted routinely by researchers.

We will be undertaking a modern version of these ethnological collecting projects. Using the categories developed by Murdoch and Turner, with appropriate additions (e.g. communications equipment, navigation devices), the project will document modern equivalents of the items they collected and their uses. Project documentation will provide a valuable resource for comparative studies of Inupiat material culture change through time. The project's value will be enduring and will only grow through time, as happened with the material collected during the 1st IPY, leaving a legacy for future generations of researchers.

Similar programs will be carried out in other Northern communities. There are reportedly some collections & photographs from other original IPY sites. However, this program need not be limited to those locations. It can be undertaken in any interested community. An K-12 educational component involving partnerships between Northern and southern schools has also developed in connection with this project.

Learning from the Past: Archaeology of Nuvuk

Anne M. Jensen¹, Dennis H. O'Rourke², Shawn Miller³
¹Science Division, Ukpeagvik Iñupiat Corporation, PO Box 577, Barrow, AK, 99723, USA, Phone 907-852-3050, Fax 907-852-2632, anne.jensen [at] uicscience.org
²Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, 270 S. 1400 E., Room 102, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112-0060, USA, Phone 801-581-7454, Fax 801-581-6252, orourke [at] anthro.utah.edu
³Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, 270 S. 1400 E., Room 102, Salt Lake City, UT, USA, Phone 801-581-6251, Fax 801-581-6252, shawn.miller [at] anthro.utah.edu

North America's northernmost village, Nuvuk, was once located at the tip of Point Barrow, Alaska. Erosion has been exposing ancient human remains at an alarming rate. An NSF-funded survey of the area revealed that there are a large number of old unmarked graves in severe danger of erosion. Many cultural features, including work areas and apparent tent sites, are also threatened with erosion.

This project, with funding from the Department of Education's (DoEd) Education through Cultural and Historical Organizations (ECHO) program is involving students in all phases of a major archaeological project to excavate these threatened cultural resources, and save the data they contain about the past 1100 or 1200 years of history at Nuvuk.

Several additional research projects have developed in connection with this excavation, including skeletal morphometrics, a specialist analysis of wood and woodworking, and geophysical site mapping. Projects involving ancient human DNA, and a controlled intercomparison of additional geophysical techniques are proposed and seeking funding. Additional projects being considered include a geomorphological study of the Point Barrow spit and ancient DNA from faunal remains.

Village-Based Monitoring of Coastal Dynamics Along the Beaufort Sea in Northern Alaska

Torre Jorgenson¹, Jerry Brown², Tim Buckley³, Chien-Lu Ping⁴
¹ABR, Inc., PO Box 80410, Fairbanks, AK, 99709, USA, Phone 907-455-6777, Fax 907-455-6374, tjorgenson [at] abrinc.com
²International Permafrost Association, PO Box 7, Woods Hole, MA, USA, Phone 508-457-4982, Fax 508-457-4982, jerrybrown [at] igc.org
³Barrow High School, North Slope Borough School District, PO Box 960, Barrow, AK, 99723, USA, Phone 907-852-8950, Fax 907-852-8969, Tim.Buckley [at] nsbsd.org
⁴Department of Plant, Animal, and Soil Sciences, Palmer Research Center - University of Alaska Fairbanks, 533 East Fireweed Avenue, Palmer, AK, 99645, USA, Phone 907-746-9462, Fax 907-746-2677, pfclp [at] uaa.alaska.edu

A village-based network for monitoring coastal dynamics along the Beaufort Sea Coast of northern Alaska was initiated in 2004 to provide local residents, the science community, industry, and policymakers information on changes along the coast. The network of four key sites at Barrow, Nuiqsut, Kaktovik, and Beaufort Lagoon is designed to monitor sea level and storm surges, wave dynamics, coastal erosion, sedimentation, and permafrost temperatures. Local teachers, students, village representatives, and scientists collaborate to collect the data that are available to students for use in classroom exercises and science fair projects. Information from the local network is provided to the circum-Arctic network of the Arctic Coastal Dynamics program. The village-based monitoring is supported by the National Science Foundation's Study of Northern Alaska Coastal Systems, Barrow Arctic Science Consortium, and EPSCOR programs, and the North Slope Borough's School District and Department of Wildlife Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc., International Permafrost Association, and ABR, Inc.

Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (TREC) experienced by students in Brownsville, Texas

Ute Kaden¹
¹Brownsville I.S.D, School District, 2864 Fleet Street, Brownsville, TX, 78521, USA, Phone 956-546-2795, ukaden [at] aol.com

In Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (TREC), K-12 teachers participate in arctic field projects, working closely with researchers to improve science education through experiences in scientific inquiry. TREC builds on the scientific and cultural opportunities of the Arctic to link research and education through topics that naturally engage students and the wider public. TREC immerses teachers in scientific research across the Arctic.

I am a physics teacher at Homer Hanna High School in Brownsville, TX and was selected as a TREC teacher on the USCGC Healy during the HOTRAX 2005 expedition transecting the Arctic Ocean from Dutch Harbor, AK (August 4,2005) visiting the North Pole (September 12, 2005) to Tromsoe, Norway (October, 01, 2005). The program enabled me to work with Dr. Bernie Coakley and a group of U.S., Swedish, and Norwegian investigators collecting an integrated geophysical data set including bathymetry, sub-bottom profiles, geomagnetic properties of sea ice and cores to create a cross-basin sedimentary transect.

While in the field, Captain Dan Oliver, of the USCGC HEALY, Coast Guard members and researchers from the US, Sweden, Norway and Russia communicated with students and teachers at Homer Hanna High School in Brownsville, TX, the Goethe Gymnasium in Saxony, Germany, and the Peroa College in New Zealand using satellite phones, online journals, and interactive "webinars" (web-based seminars).

TREC impacts the minds of students, educators and scientists, it keeps their curiosity alive and encourages careers in math, science and technology- listen to them…

The Need for Technological and Scientific Collaboration: Arctic Upper Atmospheric Research

John D. Kelly¹
¹Center for Geospace Studies, SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA, Phone 650-859-3749, Fax 650-322-2318, kelly [at] sri.com

The upper atmosphere in Polar Regions has direct electrical coupling with the Solar wind giving rise to energy input via electrical currents and particle precipitation often manifested by visual aurora. Instruments that are needed to study these phenomena are complex and expensive, and as a result are few in number. In order to develop the next generation instrumentation, we need to share innovative ideas and resources. A new instrument funded by the NSF, Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar, AMISR, is being developed at this time by SRI International with partnerships with universities and industry. Beyond this level of cooperation, we recognize the need and benefits of more formal collaboration with our peers and the need to leverage the resources of the relatively sparse set of remote sensing instruments. Of course some collaboration exists now, however there are obstacles preventing extended collaboration that we need to address and eventually overcome. What can we learn from other Arctic researchers that recognized the advantage of adopting the holistic approach and formed collaborations with an overarching theme?

Climate Warming Greatly Restricts Growth and Recovery of Lichens Following Heavy Grazing by Reindeer on a Bering Sea Island

David R. Klein¹
¹Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757020, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7020, USA, Phone 907-474-6674, Fax 907-474-6967, ffdrk [at] uaf.edu

Lush, lichen-dominated plant communities on St. Matthew Island in the northern Bering Sea were markedly altered by grazing pressure following introduction of reindeer there in 1944. The reindeer were introduced by the U.S. Coast Guard to provide an emergency food source for their personnel operating a Loran navigational aid station there during the latter part of World War II. The Coast Guard abandoned the island after the end of the war in 1945 and the reindeer increased from 29 animals in 1944 to 6,000 in 1963 in the absence of humans and other potential predators. By 1963, lichens, the primary winter food of the reindeer, had been virtually eliminated in the previously lichen-dominated plant communities on the island. In late January and early February of the following winter, an anomalous weather event of extreme cold and heavy snow fall resulted in a massive and near total die off of the reindeer, with less than 50 animals surviving. No viable males survived, thus in the absence of breeding by the few remaining females, extirpation of the population followed. By 1963, those plant communities that had been lichen-dominated prior to the population explosion of the reindeer had become dominated by vascular plants, mainly sedges (Carex spp.) and willows (Salix arctica). A factor contributing to the loss of lichens, in addition to grazing by the reindeer, was the strong winds common on the island that resulted in large amounts of lichens fractured by grazing and trampling being blown to sea, rather than potentially serving as living propagules for lichen re-growth. When the island was re-visited in 1985, little lichen recovery had occurred in the 22 years following the reindeer die-off. In vegetation plots established in 1957, re-growth of lichen biomass, primarily by "pioneering" species, accounted for less than 10% of lichen biomass in plant communities on adjacent and un-grazed Hall Island where "climax" lichen species predominated in the thick lichen mats. When these vegetation plots on St. Matthew Island were again examined in 2005, 42 years after the reindeer die-off, we were surprised to find no significant changes in lichen biomass as well as species composition within the vegetation plots. A major climatic regime shift in the northern Bering Sea in recent decades, accounting for warming, reduced summer fog, and associated drying is believed responsible for greatly reducing favorability for lichen growth on St Matthew Island. Thus, the warming climate has stabilized change in plant community structure brought about by the relatively short presence of a large herbivore species on the island.

Beyond 2009: Broadening the Legacy of International Polar Year

Karen Kraft Sloan¹
¹Foreign Affairs Canada, Canadian Federal Government, 125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0G2, Canada, Phone 613-944-0784, Fax 613-944-1304

The first International Polar Year (IPY) in 1881 was built on the rationale that research of certain global phenomena must not only be polar based, but must also be achieved through international cooperation. That spirit, which served the first IPY so well, continues to inform polar research.

IPY 2007 will build on the legacies of its three predecessors. It will also illustrate the enormous energy and resources required to scale up for such international efforts, and thereby challenge us to sustain the momentum and enhance the benefits that it will create.

IPY 2007 can serve to focus attention on the value of international Arctic science cooperation, inspiring a discussion of practical measures to formalise and insitutionalize that collaboration.

Scientific Diving Under Ice: A 40-Year Bipolar Research Tool

Michael A. Lang¹, Adam G. Marsh², Martin D. Sayer³
¹Office of the Under Secretary for Science, Smithsonian Institution, PO Box 37012 - MRC 415, Washington, DC, 20013-7012, USA, Phone 202-786-2815, Fax 202-357-4048, langm [at] si.edu
²College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE, 19958, USA, amarsh [at] udel.edu
³Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, Scottish Association for Marine Science, Dunbeg, Oban, Argyll, -, PA371QA, UK, martin.sayer [at] sams.ac.uk

The 40-year history of scientific diving under ice validates its effectiveness as a research tool in increasing our knowledge of polar science. The conduct of underwater research in extreme environments requires special consideration of scientific diving equipment design and maintenance, diver training and operational procedures, and human physiological factors. National scientific diving programs of the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Germany share a common risk management approach in this regard and will likely increase their research diving activities and network in support of the International Polar Year.

In 2003 and 2005, under-ice training courses for diving scientists were conducted in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, which will continue in March 2007. Formalized scientific diving drysuit training in the U.S. is conducted through the Smithsonian Institution and Scripps Institution of Oceanography and is available in the U.K. through the National Facility for Scientific Diving. The U.S. Antarctic Program (National Science Foundation) and the British Antarctic Survey (Natural Environment Research Council) scientific diving exposures in support of underwater research enjoy a remarkable safety record and scientific productivity. A greater understanding and mitigation of the physiological impacts of cold-water diving and advances in diving equipment technologies have evolved to support underwater polar scientific research. Overall, diving in extreme polar environments is challenging, and underwater research beneath the ice is only possible with a significant allocation of logistical support and resources to ensure personnel safety. Scientific diving has been an essential research tool in the production of some of the milestone polar publications of the past 40 years.

Plots and Transects

Morgan LaRoche¹, Wren Hobbs², Jennifer Rich³
¹Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us
²Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us
³Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us

Back in October a Middlebury college student named Shannon gave us a power point presentation about plots and transects. We went out on the Nature Trail and learned about what plots and transects are. Some of the tools that we got introduced to are a tape measurer, and a meter stick.

This poster presentation will explain what three 5th grade students from Salisbury Community School learned about plots and transects and observing growth of vegetation. Their teacher, Amy Clapp, participated in Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (TREC) in 2004 and 2005. These posters are part of a unit she taught in her classroom about the Arctic.

The People of Point Hope: Their Past and Their Present

Karlene B. Leeper¹, Aanauraq Lane², Mark S. Cassell³
¹611th Civil Engineer Squadron, US Air Force, 10471 20th St, Ste 302, Elmendorf AFB, AK, 99506, USA, Phone 907-552-5057, Fax 907-552-9563, karlene.leeper [at] elmendorf.af.mil
²PO Box 43, Point Hope, AK, 99766, USA, Phone 907-368-2200, aanauraq2003 [at] yahoo.com
³Northern Land Use Research, 2600 Cordova St, Ste110, Anchorage, AK, 99503, USA, Phone 907-360-2668, msc [at] northernlanduse.com

As part of its federally mandated role as resource stewards of lands it manages, the U.S. Air Force in Alaska has taken a broad-based contextual approach to cultural resource management. A manifestation of this approach was the March 2005 collaborative cultural heritage workshop it sponsored in Point Hope, an Iñupiat Eskimo village on the Chukchi Sea coast of northwestern Alaska where archaeologists have been working since the 1930s. Point Hope Eskimo elders, high school students, interested community members, and a small group of northern-oriented archaeologists spent two days engaged in a thoughtful, heartfelt, and occasionally somewhat confrontational discussion of the region's archaeological past, its heritage concerns, and the social present.

In those early days of archaeology around Point Hope, professional investigators did not trouble themselves much with self-critical notions of living Eskimos as objects or subjects in their archaeological research. Living Eskimos were thus the objects, their past and the course to their present given meaning by archaeologists through artifacts and archaeological sites. In recent years, archaeologists working among Eskimos have come to realize that not only is the Eskimo present alive, but also that their pasts are very much alive. Eskimos themselves are thus subjects, active attributors of meaning to material culture, to Eskimo pasts, and to the development of Eskimo society. This poster looks at the varied paths traveled during the workshop and illustrates the active signification by the people of Point Hope regarding their past and their present and, indeed, their future.

Arctic Plants

Sean MacCallum¹, Allison Haskell²
¹Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us
²Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us

In the fall of 2005 Shannon came into our class and taught us about growing plants and what they need to live. She gave us a power point presentation on how you see color and what plants need to grow and germinate.

This poster presentation will explain what two 5th grade students from Salisbury Community School learned about arctic plants and how they grow.Their teacher, Amy Clapp, participated in Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (TREC) in 2004 and 2005. These posters are part of a unit she taught in her classroom about the Arctic.

The Canadian Circumpolar Institute at the University of Alberta

Elaine L. Maloney¹, Ryan Danby²
¹Canadian Circumpolar Institute, University of Alberta, Suite 308, 8625-112 St., Campus Tower, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1, Canada, Phone 780-492-4999, Fax 780-492-1153, elaine.maloney [at] ualberta.ca
²Circumpolar Studfents' Association/Biological Sciences, Canadian Circumpolar Institute, University of Alberta, Suite 308, 8625-112 St., Campus Tower, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E1, Canada, Phone 780-492-1799, Fax 780-492-1153, rdanby [at] ualberta.ca

Established on 1 July 1990, the Canadian Circumpolar Institute (CCI) was founded on a 30-year tradition of excellence in northern research fostered by its predecessor, the Boreal Institute for Northern Studies. The institute builds on the continuing involvement of Northernists and Northerners from around the world, and has been involved with numerous important initiatives, from the development of a world-class northern library collection, to establishing and sustaining a number of North - South links with a diverse set of client communities. The CCI is a multidisciplinary research institute whose role is to foster northern studies in a wide range of academic and professional faculties at the University of Alberta. Its role is to foster scholarly activity related to the circumpolar North, to be responsive to calls for research on northern issues, and to encourage Northerners to participate in research development and execution. It fulfills its mandate in a number of ways, but primarily through a program of grants and scholarships, and by encouraging communication through workshops, seminars, conference, and newsletters, and through the publication program of CCI Press.

Arctic Science Discoveries

National Science Foundation¹
¹Office of Polar Programs, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA, 22230, USA, http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/

Our understanding of the Arctic has increased enormously over the past five decades of intense research, but much remains to be learned, and new discoveries await researchers who study this unique region. The Arctic Sciences Section of the National Science Foundation funds basic research of the Arctic through the Arctic Natural Sciences, Arctic Social Sciences, and Arctic System Science programs, with field research support from the Research Support and Logistics program. Some important research results are presented both as answers to important questions and leads to future research directions:

Studying Arctic Change: The Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) is an interagency, interdisciplinary, multiscale program to study changes occurring in the Arctic and their potential impacts.
A look at Ringed Seal Migration: Working with Alaska Native hunters, researchers captured a ringed seal and attached a satellite tracking device to get the first-ever look at spring migration in this species as it moves northward with the melting ice of the Chukchi Sea.
Photochemistry in Greenland Snow: Scientists have discovered that light-mediated chemical reactions (photochemistry) occur at the air-snow interface and significantly impact the chemical composition of air trapped in ice and of the air overlying the snow.
Small Streams on the Move: Researchers have discovered that small streams contribute more to removing nutrients such as nitrogen from water than do their larger counterparts. The findings are based on data collected initially from streams in NSF's Arctic Tundra Long-Term Ecological Research site in Alaska and subsequently from 12 sites across the country.
Living Conditions in the Arctic: This is an international effort involving a partnership of researchers and indigenous organizations across the Arctic. The purpose is to advance our understanding of changing living conditions among Inuit and Saami peoples and the indigenous peoples of Chukotka.
Life on the Gakkel Ridge: The Gakkel Ridge is the slowest spreading center in the world, giving scientists the opportunity to explore the earth's inner layers as the mantle spreads at about 1cm per year onto the ocean floor near the North Pole.
Understanding the Arctic Ocean: The Western Arctic Shelf Basin Interactions(SBI) project is investigating the impact of global change on physical, biological, and geochemical processes over the Chukchi and Beaufort Sea shelf basin in the western Arctic Ocean. Closely affiliated is the Chukchi Borderlands project to study the region where relatively cold, fresh, and nutrient-rich water from the Pacific Ocean meets warmer, saltier and deeper water from the Atlantic Ocean over a bottom tortuously rife with slopes, ridges and deep-sea plateaus.

The International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY)

National Science Foundation¹
¹Office of Polar Programs, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA, 22230, USA, http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/

The International Polar Year 2007-2008 (IPY) will extend from March 2007 through March 2009. IPY is envisioned as an intense scientific campaign to explore new frontiers in polar science, improve our understanding of the critical role of the polar regions in global processes, and educate the public about the polar regions. Projects are expected to involve a pulse of activity during the IPY period; have multi- and interdisciplinary scopes;leave a legacy of infrastructure and data; expand international cooperation; engage the public in polar discovery; and help attract the next generation of scientists and engineers.

In anticipation of IPY, the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources(EHR)have identified special emphasis areas that will require preparation in advance of IPY. The research emphasis areas are: ice sheet history and dynamics; biological adaptations at the cellular and genomic level to life in extreme cold and prolonged darkness; and the arctic observing network.

The IPY web page maintained by NSF's Office of Polar Programs is located at:
http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/ipy/ipyinfo.jsp

The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) Network

Frederick E. Nelson¹, Nikolay I. Shiklomanov², Kenneth M. Hinkel³, Jerry Brown⁴, Galina Mazhitova⁵
¹Department of Geography, University of Delaware, 216 Pearson Hall, Newark, DE, 19716, USA, Phone 302-831-0852, Fax 302-831-6654, fnelson [at] udel.edu
²Department of Geography, University of Delaware, 216 Pearson Hall, Newark, DE, 19716, USA, Phone 302-831-1314, Fax 302-831-6654, shiklom [at] udel.edu
³Department of Geography, University of Cincinnati, 400 F Braunsttein Hall, PO Box 210131, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA, Phone 513-556-3430, Fax 513-556-3370, kenneth.hinkel [at] uc.edu
⁴International Permafrost Association, PO Box 7, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA, Phone 508-457-4982, Fax 508-457-4982, jerrybrown [at] igc.org
⁵Komi Science Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, 28 Kommunisticheskaya St, Syktyvkar, 167982, Russia, Phone +7 8212 245115, Fax +7 8212 240163, galina_m [at] ib.komisc.ru

The Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) program is one of several global-change programs affiliated with the International Permafrost Association (IPA). CALM was initiated in the early 1990s to track possible changes and trends in the seasonally frozen ("active") layer in the permafrost regions. Widespread, large-magnitude increases in the thickness of the active layer induced by climatic warming could liberate carbon sequestered in near-surface permafrost, create irregular topography ("thermokarst terrain") in areas of ice-rich permafrost, damage human infrastructure on the surface, and induce pronounced ecological changes.

CALM is a hypothesis-driven program that monitors active-layer thickness and shallow ground temperature, coordinates field experiments, and provides data for use by investigators involved in a wide-range of cold-environment research and modeling activities. The CALM network is currently comprised of more than 125 sites distributed throughout the Arctic, parts of Antarctica, and several mountain ranges of the midlatitudes. Efforts to expand the number and capabilities of sites in the Southern Hemisphere (CALM-S) are underway. Instrumentation and data-acquisition methods include monitoring the soil thermal and moisture regimes with automatic data loggers, mechanical probing of the seasonally thawed layer at specified spatial and temporal intervals, frost/thaw tubes, and a variety of instruments for measuring frost heave and thaw subsidence. Several groups of sites have been used to create maps of active-layer thickness, and estimates of the volume of thawed soil at regional scales. The CALM network has also provided a large amount of data pertaining to cryostratigraphy, cryoturbation, and soil carbon. Data obtained from the network have been used in validation procedures for hydrological, ecological, and climatic models, at a variety of geographic scales. Data are archived at the Frozen Ground Data Center (http://nsidc.org/fgdc/) in Boulder, Colorado.

CALM is sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs. CALM is linked with many other global-change programs through the network of observatories known collectively as the Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P), a network under the WMO Global Climate Observing Network (GCOS). With its sister programs Thermal State of Permafrost (TSP), Antarctic Permafrost, Periglacial, and Soil Environments (ANTPAS), Carbon Pools in Permafrost Regions (CAPP), and Arctic Coastal Dynamics (ACD), CALM forms a comprehensive effort on the part of the International Permafrost Association to monitor, understand, and predict the effects of environmental change in the world's permafrost regions. CALM is a major component of the IPA's coordinated program for the International Polar Year. Detailed information about the CALM program can be found at http://www.udel.edu/Geography/calm/.

The U.S. Permafrost Association

Frederick E. Nelson¹, Jon E. Zufelt², Kenneth M. Hinkel³, Michael R. Lilly⁴, Vladimir E. Romanovsky⁵, Larry D. Hinzman⁶, J. David Norton⁷, Jennifer Harden⁸
¹Department of Geography, University of Delaware, 216 Pearson Hall, Newark, DE, 19716, USA, Phone 302-831-0852, Fax 302-831-6654, fnelson [at] udel.edu
²PO Box 4656, Ft. Richardson, AK, 99505, USA, jon.e.zufelt [at] erdc.usace.army.mil
³Department of Geography, University of Cincinnati, PO Box 210131, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA, Phone 513-556-3430, Fax 513-556-3370, kenneth.hinkel [at] uc.edu
⁴GW Scientific, PO Box 81538, Fairbanks, AK, 99708, USA, Phone 907-479-8891, Fax 907-479-8893, mlilly [at] gwscientific.com
⁵Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-7459, Fax 907-474-7290, ffver [at] uaf.edu
⁶International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757340, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-7331, Fax 907-474-1578, ffldh [at] uaf.edu
⁷Hawk Consultants, 200 W. 34th Street, Anchorage, AK, 99503, USA, Phone 907-278-1877, Fax 907-278-1889, davenorton [at] hawkpros.com
⁸U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, USA, Phone 650-329-4949, Fax 650-329-4920, jharden [at] usgs.gov

Permafrost is an important component of the cryosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere, and exerts a significant influence in the natural and human systems of cold regions. Interest in permafrost and related topics has been growing steadily, in concert with concerns about the impacts of global climate warming. The U.S. Permafrost Association (USPA), incorporated in Alaska as a not-for profit organization, promotes scientific, engineering, and educational investigations and activities on all aspects of frozen ground. An important component of the USPA mission is to promote awareness about permafrost among the public, and training of new generations of scientists, engineers, and other professionals to work in fields related to permafrost.

USPA acts as the U.S. representative to the International Permafrost Association. USPA functions as the parent organization for the Ninth International Conference on Permafrost (NICOP), to be held June 29 - July 3, 2008 on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The conference will include a full complement of paper and poster sessions, a large number of local and regional field excursions, and a series of publications. A U.S. National Committee for NICOP has been established under USPA to assist the University's Local Organizing Committee. Further details are available at http://www.nicop.org. Memberships in USPA are available in three forms: Individual, Corporate, and Institutional. Detailed information about USPA can be found at http://www.uspermafrost.org/.

Inuit and Scientific Descriptions of the Narwhal: Connecting Parallel Perceptions. Inter-disciplinary Studies of the Narwhal with a Focus on Tusk Function.

Martin Nweeia¹, Frederick Eichmiller², Cornelius Nutarak³, Jack R. Orr⁴, James Mead⁵, Peter Hauschka⁶
¹Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, 188 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA, Phone 860-364-0200, Fax 860-364-5606, martin_nweeia [at] hsdm.harvard.edu
²Paffenbarger Research Center, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive - MS8546, NIST - Bldg. 224, Rm. A153, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899-8546, USA, Phone 301-975-6813, Frederick.eichmiller [at] nist.gov
³Inuit Elder, PO Box 116, Pond Inlet, NU, X0A 0S0, Canada, Phone 867-899-8693, in care of Lucy Quasa, lkubluquasa [at] yahoo.ca
⁴Arctic Research Division, Central & Arctic Region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 501 University Crescent, Winnipeg, MB, R3T2N6, Canada, Phone 204-984-2187, Fax 204-984-2403, orrj [at] DFO-MPO.GC.CA
⁵National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, MRC 108, PO Box 37012, Washington, DC, 20013-7012, USA, Phone 202-633-1256, Fax 202-786-2979, mead.james [at] NMNH.SI.EDU
⁶Department of Orthopeadic Surgery, Children's Hospital Boston, 300 Longwood Avenue, Enders-1007, Boston, MA, 02115, USA, Phone 617-919-2950, Fax 617-730-0239, peter.hauschka [at] childrens.harvard.edu

To discover the purpose and function of the erupted tusk of the narwhal, a multinational team has been established using an interdisciplinary approach that crosses borders of biologic, chemical, physical and social science. Thus far, 27 institutions worldwide and over 48 scientists have combined their insights and backgrounds with 32 Inuit elders from the Canadian High Arctic and Greenland to assemble the pieces of this marine mammal puzzle that has eluded scientific discovery for hundreds of years. Investigators with myriad backgrounds in cellular biology, histology, anatomy, marine mammal science, dental medicine, evolutionary genetics and mathematics are currently analyzing narwhal teeth and their associated structures. Inuit elders, who have experienced decades of intimate interactions with narwhal, are providing their knowledge and experiences to help researchers understand the whale's behavior and social characteristics. Each of these parallel perceptions has shared points that contribute to, guide, and challenge past studies and current findings. For example, Fourier transform infrared fluorescent mircro-spectroscopy results on the flexibility and strength of the tusk hard tissue scientifically confirms what Init elders have known for years. Currently underway are studies involving CT and MRI imaging of anatomical head specimens, electron microscopic and cellular examinations of hard and soft tissue associated with narwhal teeth, mathematical modeling of tusk spirals in relation to function, collection and compilation of digital audio, and video interviews recording Traditional Knowledge, and arctic ice formation examination from satellite records. Realizing the evolutionary precedents for the expression of the narwhal tusk are limited, tooth microstructure studies of Odobenoceptops and other animals in the fossil record will be investigated.

These broad based evaluations have led to significant findings about tusk function. Among them is an unusual anatomic expression of sensory tubules extending from the tooth pulp to the outer tusk surface, and a reverse hard tissue architecture. Both of these findings are unique in the expression of teeth. These studies bring scientists face to face with Inuit elders on a common platform that integrates observation and scientific findings to establish a better understanding of the narwhal and its extraordinary tooth.

Six Weeks in the Arctic, A Teacher Research Experience in Svalbard, Norway

Robert S. Oddo¹
¹Horace Greeley High School, 70 Roaring Brook Road, Chappaqua, NY, 10514, USA, Phone 914-861-9400, rooddo [at] ccsd.ws

During the summer of 2005, Robert Oddo, a high school science teacher at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, New York participated in Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (TREC), a program that pairs teachers with researchers to improve science education through arctic field experiences. Through TREC, K-12 teachers embark on scientific expeditions as part of a program that strives to make science in the Arctic a "virtual" reality. TREC builds on the scientific and cultural opportunities of the Arctic, linking research and education through topics that naturally engage students and the wider public.

Robert Oddo joined the Svalbard REU Program, which focuses on understanding how high latitude glaciers, melt-water streams, and sedimentation in lakes and fjords respond to changing climate (http://www.mtholyoke.edu/go/svalbard). Robert accompanied researchers Steve Roof, from Hampshire College, Mike Retelle, from Bates College, and seven undergraduates to investigate processes associated with a glacier-river-lake system on the island of Svalbard, Norway to understand Holocene climate change. The 2005 expedition was the 2nd of three summer field seasons for the National Science Foundation-sponsored Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program, which provides undergraduate students genuine field and research experience in the remote Arctic.

This six-week field experience in the Arctic gave Robert an authentic research experience that allowed him to think about scientific inquiry differently and examine different ways to teach science. This knowledge has changed the way that he thinks about science and how he shares science with his students. Robert's poster will provide an overview of TREC as well as highlight how this unique research experience impacted him both personally and professionally.

TREC is funded by the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs, and administered by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS). Logistical support is provided by VECO Polar Resources. More information about TREC can be found on the website at: http://www.arcus.org/trec.

Coastal Erosion Across Northern Alaska and Community Action

Chien-Lu Ping¹, Torre Jorgenson², Jerry Brown³, Landong Guo⁴, Yuir Shur⁵
¹Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Palmer Research Center, 533 E. Fireweed Avenue, Palmer, AK, 99645, USA, Phone 907-746-9462, Fax 907-746-2677, pfclp [at] uaa.alaska.edu
²ABR, Inc., PO Box 80410, Fairbanks, AK, 99708, USA, Phone 907-455-6777, Fax 907-455-6374, tjorgenson [at] abrinc.com
³International Permafrost Association, PO Box 7, Woods Hole, MA, 02543-0007, USA, Phone 508-457-4982, Fax 508-457-4982, jerrybrown [at] igc.org
⁴Department of Marine Science, University of Southern Mississippi, 1020 Balch Blvd, Stennis Space Center, MS, 39529, USA, Phone 228-688-1176, Fax 228-688-1121, laodong.guo [at] usm.edu
⁵Department of Civil and Environmental Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 755900, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-7067, Fax 907-474-6087, ffys [at] uaf.edu

Over the past decades the accelerated erosion of the arctic coastline has been the focus of scientists, land managers, policy makers and the native communities located along the arctic coast. The retreating of the coastline along the Beaufort Sea, northern Alaska has been monitored for the past decade. The objectives of this National Science Foundation project are to monitor the erosion rates, to estimate the amount and fate of the organic carbon in the tundra soils and underlying permafrost eroded into the Arctic Ocean, and to involve coastal communities in awareness and partnership development in the research and land-use planning. The estimated average erosion rate along the 1800 miles of Beaufort Sea coast from Pt. Barrow to the Alaska-Canadian boundary is 6 feet per year. This transforms to about 2000 acres of land lost to the Arctic Ocean per year. Based on first year's measurements, the average ice content of the soils measured to 6-foot depth is 55% ice and carbon content of 120 pounds per cubic yard which amounts to 750,000 tons of carbon entered into the biogeochemical processes and cycling in the Beaufort Sea and Arctic Ocean. During the thawing and erosion into the Arctic Ocean, the thawed permafrost soils release CO₂ and methane into the atmosphere and the carbon eroded into the ocean will further decompose and release more gases. The fate of the eroded carbon is being studied through our on-going field and laboratory experiments. A good model of partnership with the native community has been established in the project. Residents of the communities of Barrow, Nuiqsut, and Kaktovik have participated in the monitoring of the coast erosion, provided logistic support, and the researchers present their findings to the local schools and communities.

Arctic Weather

Heather Ploof¹, Hailey LaFave², Devon Artis-White³
¹Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us
²Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us
³Salisbury Community School, 642 Monument Hill Road, Castleton, VT, 05735, USA, aclapp [at] acsu.k12.vt.us

In the fall of 2005 Shannon Gmyrek introduced us to the weather station where collected data. For example we measured precipitation, cloud cover, wind speed (knots), snow fall, and temperature. What we used to collect weather data is a wind speed measurer on the weather station.

This poster presentation will explain what three 5th grade students from Salisbury Community School learned about weather and climate change in the Arctic. Their teacher, Amy Clapp, participated in Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (TREC) in 2004 and 2005. These posters are part of a unit she taught in her classroom about the Arctic.

Multidecadal Variability in the Arctic/North Atlantic Climate System

Igor Polyakov¹, Uma S. Bhatt², David Walsh³, Harper L. Simmons⁴, John E. Walsh⁵, Xiangdong Zhang⁶, Leonid A. Timokhov⁷
¹International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 930 Kouykuk Drive, PO Box 757335, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-2686, Fax 907-474-2643, igor [at] iarc.uaf.edu
²Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-2662, Fax 907-474-7290, bhatt [at] gi.alaska.edu
³HI, USA
⁴International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 930 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-5729, hsimmons [at] iarc.uaf.edu
⁵International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757340, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-2677, Fax 907-474-2643, jwalsh [at] iarc.uaf.edu
⁶International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 930 Koyukuk Drive, PO Box 757335, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-2675, Fax 907-474-2643
⁷Department of Oceanology, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, 38 Bering Street, St. Petersburg, 199397, Russia, Phone +7-812-352-3179, Fax +7-812-352-2883, aaricoop [at] aari.nw.ru

Over the last several decades, the Arctic and North Atlantic have undergone substantial changes. Enhanced transport of warmer air from lower latitudes led to increased arctic surface air temperature associated with decreased arctic sea-level pressure and increased polar atmospheric cyclonicity which led to reductions in arctic ice extent and a decrease of ice thickness. Changes in the Arctic Ocean are also significant. Positive temperature anomalies in the intermediate Atlantic Water (AW) layer of the Arctic Ocean were found in the 1990s and 2000s. Freshwater content in the upper layer of the Arctic Ocean was also reduced dramatically over the recent decades. Concurrent with these high-latitude changes are North Atlantic warming and salinification in the upper 300 m layer (except the subpolar North Atlantic) and widespread cooling and freshening in the 1000-3000 m layer. We suggest that both long-term climate trend and low-frequency variability play a substantial role in shaping these recent changes in the Arctic/North Atlantic climate system. Understanding the key factors influencing the Arctic/North Atlantic multi-decadal variability may provide a reasonable means for developing climatic forecasts of widespread persistent anomalies.

Barrow Sea Ice Observatory: Online, Near-Real-Time Delivery of Ice Conditions

Daniel Pringle¹, Andy Mahoney², Hajo Eicken³, Patrick W. Cotter⁴
¹Arctic Region Supercomputing Center & Geophysical Institute, University Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-1159, Fax 907-450-8603, pringle [at] arsc.edu
²Geophysical Institute, University Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-1156 , Fax 907-474-7290, mahoney [at] gi.alaska.edu
³Geophysical Institute, University Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-7280, Fax 907-474-7290, eicken [at] gi.alaska.edu
⁴Geophysical Institute, University Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-7558, pcotter [at] gi.alaska.edu

As part of the developing Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS) we have established online, near real time delivery of landfast sea ice conditions in Barrow, Alaska (http://www.gi.alaska.edu/BRWICE). A webcam and radar mounted on a four story building in Barrow give views of the near-shore ice in the visible and microwave, and a radio-equipped ice mass balance site transmits half-hourly measurements including the air-snow-ice-water temperature profile, snow depth and ice thickness, and local sea level.

There are both scientific and public safety objectives of this work. The webcam and radar allow us to record near-shore ice dynamics, including seasonal landfast ice formation and break up. Scientific objectives of the mass balance site include the identification of small-scale seasonal processes such as sea ice response to onshore surges, and the occurrence of convective brine motion within the ice triggered by spring warming. In keeping with the enhanced public safety objective of AOOS (http://www.aoos.org), a key aspect of this work is to work with the local community to provide useful information in regards to on-ice safety. Further to the webcam, this currently includes hourly online updates of local sea level variations and ice thickness.

Here, we describe our measurements and advertise the available results and data online. We welcome feedback on the web delivery and suggestions for other potentially useful measurements for both the local community and scientific users.

New Approaches to Understanding a Changing Arctic

Peter Schlosser¹
¹Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, PO Box 1000 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY, 10964-8000, USA, Phone 845-365-8707, Fax 845-365-8155, schlosser [at] ldeo.columbia.edu

Recent observations have revealed rapid system-scale changes in the physical, chemical, biological and human domains of the Arctic. Placing these changes into the context of past changes and natural variability of the Arctic environment, as well as into the global context of a warming world with possible non-linear, abrupt transitions pose major challenges to our scientific understanding. To address these challenges, new observational approaches including system-scale, integrated, long-term observing systems and development of new observing methods are required. The data streams of the observing platforms have to be captured and readily made available to the research community. Synthesis activities and model studies have to be synchronized with observing efforts and linked to the development of Earth system models capable of projecting the future evolution of the planet and its subsystems including the Arctic. This presentation outlines the nature of these new challenges, possible ways to address them, programs that have been formulated to meet them, and the progress in the implementation of these programs on the national and international level.

A Small Diameter CTD-Rosette for Sampling Through Sea Ice from Aircraft

William M. Smethie, Jr.¹, Dale N. Chayes², Richard S. Perry³, Peter Schlosser⁴, Robert T. Williams⁵
¹Department of Geochemistry, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, PO Box 1000, Palisades, NY, 10964, USA, Phone 845-365-8566, Fax 845-365-8157, bsmeth [at] ldeo.columbia.edu
²Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, PO Box 1000, Palisades, NY, 10964, USA, Phone 845-365-8434, Fax 845-359-6940, dale [at] ldeo.columbia.edu
³Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY, 10964, USA, Phone 845-365-8744, Fax 845-359-6940, perryri [at] ldeo.columbia.edu
⁴Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, PO Box 1000, Palisades, NY, 10964, USA, Phone 845-365-8707, Fax 845-365-8155, schlosser [at] ldeo.columbia.edu
⁵Ocean Data Facility, Scrpps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0214, USA, Phone 858-534-4426, Fax 858-534-7383, rtw [at] ucsd.edu

Some polar regions are difficult to sample from ships or ice breakers because of thick multiyear ice ridges. These regions are accessible by aircraft, submarines and drifting ice camps. However these working environments preclude the use of large CTD-Rosette systems typically used in oceanographic research. We have developed a lightweight vertical CTD-Rosette that can be deployed through a 12-inch hole in sea ice. The rosette is modular, consisting of one CTD module and multiple water sampling modules. The CTD module includes a SeaBird 19 plus CTD with a SBE 43 Dissolved Oxygen sensor and a modified SeaBird rosette controller. Each water-sampling module has four 4-liter bottles and the associated release mechanism for each bottle. The modules are about 1 m high and 27.9 cm (11 inches) in diameter. The CTD module is attached to the end of the conducting cable and one, two or three water-sampling modules are attached above it. The modified rosette controller and cabling between the water sampling modules and the CTD module enable selective closing of each sampler by command from the surface. Temperature, salinity, and oxygen are acquired in real time and displayed on a laptop computer and bottles are tripped on the up cast as in a typical CTD-Rosette cast. At the completion of a station, each module is placed in an insulated container to prevent heating or freezing and the modules are returned to a base camp for sampling of a variety of substances under well-controlled conditions. The system has been used from Twin Otter aircraft on the Switchyard project, which is coordinated with the North Pole Environmental Observatory program and samples a section between Alert and the North Pole each year. It has provided high quality data for salinity, oxygen, nutrients, CFCs, helium isotopes, oxygen isotopes, barium, and I-129, demonstrating its capability to collect high quality water samples for a variety of measurements, as well as to make high quality CTDO measurements. Data collected during the Switchyard 2005 field season will be presented and perhaps data from the 2006 field season, which is currently underway, if they can be processed in time.

This project is funded by the Office of Polar Programs of the US National Science Foundation, grant number OPP02-30238.

Changes In Arctic Tourism and the Need for a New Outlook on Collaboration

John Snyder¹
¹Strategic Studies, Inc., 1789 E. Otero Avenue, Centennial, CO, 80122, USA, Phone 303-347-2095, Fax 303-347-2051, sssieti [at] aol.com

Tourism is now the single largest human activity in the Arctic. The number of tourists visiting the Arctic each year far exceeds their host populations. Additionally, polar tourism is the fastest growing segment of the world tourism market, in percentage terms, and arctic economies are increasingly reliant on the revenues, jobs, and personal income derived from it. As a result of these circumstances, changes in the Arctic's climate will have potentially significant effects upon the arctic resources and its people. Examples include decreased arctic sea ice cover that will facilitate improved tourist access; alteration of wildlife habitat and animal behavior that will influence both resource and tourism management practices; and transformation of ecological zones and seasonal characteristics that will affect both Native People's and tourist use of the Arctic. This presentation will briefly identify key relationships between tourism and its environmental, cultural, and economic setting. It will describe the most probable ways in which those relationships will be significantly influenced by Arctic climate change. Based on that review it will be evident that the Arctic is experiencing a new resource management paradigm that deserves an innovative collaborative response. Collaborative initiatives designed to meet that challenge will be presented.

Alaska's North Slope Science Initiative; Managing Oil and Gas Development through Science on Alaska's North Slope

Kenton P. Taylor¹, John F. Payne², Ann Claerbout³
¹North Slope Science Initiative, Bureau of Land Management, 222 W. 7th Avenue, #13, Anchorage, AK, 99513, USA, Phone 907-271-3131, Fax 907-271-4596, kenton_taylor [at] ak.blm.gov
²Alaska State Office, Bureau of Land Management, 222 W. 7th Avenue, #13, Anchorage, AK, 99513, USA, Phone 907-271-3431, Fax 907-271-5479, jpayne [at] ak.blm.gov
³Bureau of Land Management, 222 W. 7th Avenue, #13, Anchorage, AK, 99513, USA, Phone 907-271-3278, Fax 907-271-5479, ann_claerbout [at] blm.gov

The mission of the North Slope Science Initiative (NSSI) is to enhance the quality and quantity of the scientific information available for aquatic, terrestrial and marine environments on the North Slope and to make this information available to decision-makers, governmental agencies, industry and the public.

Formalized in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, The NSSI is composed of the land and resource management agencies at the local, state and federal level. The Oversight Group includes: Mayor, North Slope Borough; President, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation; Commissioners of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources; State Director, Bureau of Land Management; Regional Directors, Fish and Wildlife Service, Minerals Management Service, National Park Service, National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Geological Survey. The U.S. Arctic Research Commission and U.S. Department of Energy serve in an advisory capacity to the group. A Science Technical Group was established by the Secretary of the Interior to advise the Oversight Group on science needs.

NSSI objectives include:
- Develop an understanding of information needs for regulatory and land management agencies, local governments and the public;
- Identify and prioritize information needs for inventory, monitoring and research activities to address impacts of past, ongoing and anticipated development activities on the North Slope;
- Coordinate ongoing and future inventory, monitoring and research activities to minimize duplication of effort, share financial resources and expertise, and assure the collection of quality information;
- Identify priority needs not addressed by existing agency science programs and develop a funding strategy to meet these needs;
- Maintain and improve public and agency access to accumulated and ongoing research, and to contemporary and traditional local knowledge; and
- Ensure through appropriate peer-review that the science conducted under the oversight of the NSSI and by participating NSSI agencies and organizations is of the highest technical quality.

Polar Politics: The Marriage of Scientists, Stakeholders, and Policy Makers

Fran Ulmer¹
¹Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER), University of Alaska Anchorage, 3211 Providence Drive, Anchorage, AK, 99508, USA, Phone 907-786-5402

In the Arctic, the rate of change is accelerating in the physical environment, ecosystems, and societies. This makes it much more difficult for decision makers to absorb and process information that might improve their understanding of conditions and their decisions. In both the public and private sectors, the combination of this accelerating rate of change and the complexity of problems we face has increased the need for relevant scientific research and analysis. However, cultural differences between scientists and policy makers often get in the way. Many scientists feel uncomfortable working with policy makers and prefer "pure" to "applied" research. Moreover, research results are not communicated in ways that make it likely that non-scientists can understand easily or utilize. How can scientists become better communicators about their research so stakeholders and policy makers understand it? How can we make it easier (and more desirable) for policy makers and stakeholders to use that research to improve decisions? How can we make science that is relevant to policy makers and stakeholders more interesting to the scientific establishment? Fran Ulmer will discuss why it is important for us to explore these questions now more than ever for the future of the Arctic and the planet.

An Accessible Arctic: Arctic Education and Outreach

Juanita Urban-Rich¹
¹Department of Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA, 02125, USA, Phone 617-287-7485, Fax 617-287-7474, juanita.urban-rich [at] umb.edu

For those who work there, the Arctic is a fascinating place and one of vital importance to global systems. However, for many other people, the Arctic is a remote, desolate place that has no connections to their daily lives. In order to try and overcome these beliefs and to help make the Arctic more accessible and "alive" we have developed several Arctic Education programs; a website diary, hands-on investigations and an interactive web-based exchange program. Each of the programs is designed to engage both the general public and elementary school students and teachers. The programs provide opportunities for inquiry based learning and by using different methods they try to bring a distant place into our daily lives. Come and see how technology and the internet can bring places closer together. See the Arctic through a day or a year in the Windows Around the World program ( http://www.windowsaroundtheworld.org ). Travel down the Mackenzie River to the Beaufort Sea and hear what the scientists were doing and how a teenager from the Arctic saw our work ( http://jurban.es.umb.edu/ardex_home.aspx ). Come watch how children can explore a simulated Arctic Ocean and observe climate change effects ( http://jurban.es.umb.edu/estme/2005/ ).

Greening of the Arctic: An IPY initiative

D.A. (Skip) Walker¹, Howard E. Epstein², Jiong Jia³, Uma Bhatt⁴, Vladimir Romanovsky⁵, Josefino Comiso⁶, Jed Kaplan⁷, Marina Leibman⁸, Natalia Moskalenko⁹, Bruce Forbes¹⁰, Gary Kofinas¹¹, Charles Tarnocai¹², Hilmar Maier¹³, Chien-Lu Ping¹⁴, Martha Raynolds¹⁵, Corinne Munger¹⁶, William Gould¹⁷, Carl Markon¹⁸
¹Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 75700, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-2460, Fax 907-474-2459, ffdaw [at] uaf.edu
²Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, PO Box 400123, Charlottesville, VA, 22904-4123, USA, Phone 434-924-4308, Fax 434-982-2137, hee2b [at] virginia.edu
³Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Watershed Stewardship, Colorado State University, 206 Natural Resources , Fort Collins , CO, 80523-1472, USA, Phone 970-491-0495, Fax 970-491-2339, jiong [at] colostate.edu
⁴International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757340 , Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7340, USA, Phone 907-474-2662, Fax 907-474-2643, bhatt [at] iarc.uaf.edu
⁵Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757320, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7320, USA, Phone 907-474-7459, Fax 907-474-7290, ffver [at] uaf.edu
⁶Cryospheric Sciences Branch, National Aeronautics & Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center , Code 614.1 , Greenbelt , MD, 20771, USA, Phone 301-614-5708, Fax 301-614-5644, comiso [at] joey.gsfc.nasa.gov
⁷European Commission Joint Research Center, Bern, 3013 , Switzerland, Phone 011-41-21-312-4, jed.kaplan [at] ips.unibe.ch
⁸Earth Cryosphere Laboratory, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov str 30/6-74a , Moscow, 117982, Russia, Phone +7-95135-9828, Fax +7-95135-6582, mleibman [at] online.ru
⁹Earth Cryosphere Laboratory , Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilov Str. 30/6, Moscow, Russia
¹⁰Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, PO Box 122, Rovaniemi, FIN-96101, Finland, Phone +358-16341-2710, Fax +358-16341-2777, bforbes [at] ulapland.fi
¹¹Dept. of Resources Management & Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757000, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7000, USA, Phone 907-474-7078, Fax 907-474-6967, ffgpk [at] uaf.edu
¹²Research Branch (ECORC), KW Neatby Building Room 1135, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6, Canada, Phone 613-759-1857, Fax 613-759-1937, tarnocaict [at] em.agr.ca
¹³Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757000, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7000, USA, Phone 907-474-1540, Fax 907-474-6967, fnham [at] uaf.edu
¹⁴Department of Plant, Animal, and Soil Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 533 East Fireweed Avenue, Palmer, AK, 99645, USA, Phone 907-746-9462, Fax 907-746-2677, pfclp [at] uaa.alaska.edu
¹⁵Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757000, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7000, USA, Phone 907-474-6720, Fax 907-474-6967, fnmkr [at] uaf.edu
¹⁶Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757000, AK, 99775-7000, USA
¹⁷International Institute of Tropical Forestry, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, PO Box 25000, PR, 00928-2500, USA, Phone 787-766-5335 x1, Fax 787-766-6302, wgould [at] fs.fed.us
¹⁸Alaska Geographic Science Office, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 4230 University Drive Suite 230, Anchorage, AK, 99508-4664, USA, Phone 907-786-7023, Fax 907-786-7036, markon [at] vector.wr.usgs.gov

A primary objective of IPY is to characterize and model circumpolar patterns of carbon, water and energy, and how these interact with the human component of the Arctic System. The Greening of the Arctic (GOA) IPY initiative will examine the spatial and temporal variability of on-going changes to the abundance and distribution of plant biomass in the Arctic. The initiative's central theme is to explore the potential linkages and feedbacks between changes in sea-ice distribution and the changes to tundra biomass. GOA consists of four separately funded projects that in total are addressing IPY themes 1 (Current State), 2 (Change), 3 (Teleconnections), 4 (New Frontiers), and 6 (Human Societies).

Component I: Synthesis and models to examine the effects of climate, sea-ice, and terrain on circumpolar vegetation change. This component is examining the 24-year record of greenness across the entire circumpolar Arctic as measured by the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and how these are covary with climate, changes in sea-ice distribution, land-surface-temperatures (LSTs), snow-cover, bioclimate subzones, vegetation type, glacial history, and other variables in a circumpolar GIS database.

Component II: Human dimensions of greening on the Yamal Peninsula, Russia. A major focus of this project is the analysis of changes to the patterns of forage conditions of the Nenets reindeer herds, including patterns of greening, shrubification, grassification, and desertification and how these affect the culture of the Nenets people.

Component III: Arctic Geobotanical Atlas. This project is an outreach/education component of the GOA initiative to develop a web-based Arctic Geobotanical Atlas (AGA) using internet map server software and other web-based GIS tools.

Component IV: The North American Arctic Transect (NAAT). This proposed project will establish a string of satellite terrestrial observatories in all five bioclimate subzones in North America as part of the Arctic Observatory Network.

Downscaling Characteristics of Sea Ice and Ocean Circulation in the Beaufort-Chukchi Seas Simulated by an IARC Coupled Ice-Ocean Model (CIOM)

Jia Wang¹, Haohuo Hu², Kohei Mizobata³, Meibing Jin⁴
¹International Arctic Research center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 930 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-2685, Fax 907-474-2643, jwang [at] iarc.uaf.edu
²no contact info
³Graduate School of Fisheries Science, Hokkaido University, 3-1-1 Minato-cho, Hakodate, Hokkaido, 041-8611, Japan, Phone +81 138 40 5618, mizobata [at] salmon.fish.hokudai.ac.jp
⁴International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757340, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7340, USA, Phone 907-474-2442, Fax 907-474-2643, mjin [at] iarc.uaf.edu

We applied an IARC regional CIOM (Coupled Ice-Ocean Model, Wang et al. 2002, 2005) based on POM to simulate the downscaling ice and ocean processes with a 4-km resolution. The Beaufort CIOM was nested to the CCSR/NIES/FRCGC high-resolution (1/6 x 1/4 degrees) global coupled atmosphere-sea ice-ocean model. Atmospheric forcing data were derived from the NCEP reanalysis. Simulation of seasonal cycle was conducted. In the Chukchi Sea, the Bering inflow separates into three branches: the first main branch flows along the Alaska's coast that is the Alaska Coastal Current (ACC); the second branch flows northward and turns to the right, joining the ACC along the Beaufort coast; and the third branch flows toward the Northwind Ridge. The Beaufort Gyre is well reproduced, superimposed by numerous mesoscale eddies, with anticyclones outnumbering cyclones. We also investigated downscaling sea ice dynamics, such as sea ice ridging, rafting, leads and landfast ice, which are not resolved in the previous coarse resolution model (Wang et al. 2002, 2005). This approach combining the global model for the 20th century climate simulation with the regional downscaling/nesting simulation helps understanding of both large-scale sea ice variability and small-scale sea ice dynamics. Sea ice breaks up offshore piece by piece with landfast ice untouched along the Beaufort Sea coast. Sea ice cracks from pack ice with irregular shapes due to 1) complex ocean circulation, coastal current, and mesoscale eddies, 2) multi-category sea ice dynamics, and 3) complex and high-resolution geometry and topography. Sea ice ridging, rafting, and openings/leads can be well reproduced in sea ice thickness and concentration. Model validation using in situ observations, satellite measurements, and historical datasets is underway.

Wang, J., Q. Liu and M. Jin, 2002. A User's Guide for a Coupled Ice-Ocean Model (CIOM)
in the Pan-Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans. International Arctic Research Center-
Frontier Research System for Global Change, Tech. Rep. 02-01, 65 pp.
Wang, J., Q. Liu, M. Jin, M. Ikeda and F.J. Saucier, 2005. A coupled ice-ocean model in
the pan-Arctic and the northern North Atlantic Ocean: Simulation of seasonal cycles.
J. Oceanogr., 61, 213-233.

Simulating the 20th Century Arctic Sea Ice and Ocean Circulation Variability Using a Global Coupled Atmosphere-Ice-Ocean Model

Jia Wang¹, Meibing Jin², Jun Takahashi³, Tatsuo Suzuki⁴, John E. Walsh⁵, Hiroyasu Hasumi⁶
¹International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 930 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-2685, Fax 907-474-2643, jwang [at] iarc.uaf.edu
²International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757340, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7340, USA, Phone 907-474-2442, Fax 907-474-2643, mjin [at] iarc.uaf.edu
³International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757335, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7335, USA, Phone 907-474-1959, Fax 907-474-2643, jt [at] iarc.uaf.edu
⁴Frontier Research Center for Global Change, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokohama, Japan
⁵International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, PO Box 757340, Fairbanks, AK, 99775-7340, USA, Phone 907-474-2677, Fax 907-474-2643, jwalsh [at] iarc.uaf.edu
⁶Center for Climate System Research, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan, hasumi [at] ccsr.u-tokyo.ac.jp

The simulations of the Arctic ice-ocean circulation using the high resolution global coupled atmosphere-ice-ocean model with 1/6x1/4 degrees and 48 vertical layers on the 'Earth Simulator' supercomputer are evaluated to determine the model performance, physics soundness, and its sensitivity to different process parameterizations. The model was parameterized by GM (Gent McWilliams 1990) parameterization to the north of 45N. The statistical time series of the total oceanic and ice kinetic energy and ice areas suggest that the model reaches an equilibrium without any T/S restoring or flux adjustment, and no model drifting is found. The model climatology (mean over all the model years) and variability were examined and compared with the available observations, such as ice area, temperature and salinity at certain key depths and transects. Several important physical features in the Northern Hemisphere, such as the thermohaline structure in the Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Water, meridional overturning, transports from Bering Strait, Fram Strait etc., were examined to determine physical soundness of the model. An important achievement is that the Atlantic Layer in the Arctic can be reasonably reproduced with no restoring temperature and salinity to observations. An important criterion of reproducing the Atlantic Layer variability is measured by the core (max) temperature of the layer of 500-1500m. The model reproduces reasonably the Atlantic Water core temperature in the 20th century that compares well with the observation by Polyakov et al. (2004). The model catches the 1930s-40s warming and the 1990s warming, similar to the observations. These results indicate that this coupled global model captures most important dynamic and thermodynamic processes in the Arctic Ocean. Further analyses of the model performance is underway.

Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (TREC)

Janet Warburton¹, Wendy K. Warnick², Helen V. Wiggins³, B. Zeb Polly⁴, Sarah Behr⁵
¹Project Manager, ARCUS, 3535 College Road, Suite 101, Fairbanks, AK, 99709, USA, Phone 907-474-1600, Fax 907-474-1604, warburton [at] arcus.org
²Executive Director, ARCUS, 3535 College Road, Suite 101, Fairbanks, AK, 99709, USA, Phone 907-474-1600, Fax 907-474-1604, warnick [at] arcus.org
³Program Coordinator, ARCUS, 3535 College Road, Suite 101, Fairbanks, AK, 99709, USA, Phone 907-474-1600, Fax 907-474-1604, helen [at] arcus.org
⁴System Administrator, ARCUS, 3535 College Road, Suite 101, Fairbanks, AK, 99709, USA, Phone 907-474-1600, Fax 907-474-1604, zeb [at] arcus.org
⁵Project Manager, ARCUS, 3535 College Road, Suite 101, Fairbanks, AK, 99709, USA, Phone 907-474-1600, Fax 907-474-1604, sarah [at] arcus.org

In Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating (TREC), K-12 teachers participate in arctic field projects, working closely with researchers to improve science education through experiences in scientific inquiry. TREC builds on the scientific and cultural opportunities of the Arctic to link research and education through topics that naturally engage students and the wider public. In addition to arctic field research experiences, TREC supports teacher professional development and a sustained community of teachers, scientists, and the public through workshops, Internet seminars, an e-mail listserve, and teacher peer groups.

TREC immerses teachers in scientific research across the Arctic. The program enables teachers to work side-by-side with researchers on arctic field projects investigating topics such as tundra and wildlife ecology, marine biology, atmospheric chemistry, and long-term climate change. Locations of field sites vary - TREC teachers participate in arctic research aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy in the Arctic Ocean; at scientific research stations on the Alaskan tundra, the Greenland Ice Sheet, and in the Svalbard Archipelago; at remote field camps in Russia; and at numerous other arctic locales.

While in the field, teachers and researchers communicate extensively with their colleagues, communities, and hundreds of students of all ages across the globe, using a variety of tools including satellite phones, online journals, and interactive "webinars" (web-based seminars). The online outreach elements of the project convey these experiences to a broad audience far beyond the classrooms of the TREC teachers.

Currently in its third year, TREC is funded by the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs and managed by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS) with logistical support from VECO Polar Resources.

Researchers, educators, classrooms and the public are encouraged to visit the TREC website: www.arcus.org/trec to learn more about calls from the field, online message boards and presentations, photo albums, and learning resources. For further information, contact Janet Warburton, ARCUS Project Manager, at warburton [at] arcus.org or 907-474-1600.

The Arctic Research Consortium of the United States

Wendy K. Warnick¹
¹Executive Director, ARCUS, 3535 College Road, Suite 101, Fairbanks, AK, 99701, USA, Phone 907-474-1600, Fax 907-474-1604, info [at] arcus.org

The Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS) is a nonprofit membership organization, composed of universities and institutions that have a substantial commitment to research in the Arctic. ARCUS promotes arctic research by improving communication among the arctic research community, by organizing workshops, and by publishing scientific research plans. ARCUS was formed in 1988 to serve as a forum for planning, facilitating, coordinating, and implementing interdisciplinary studies of the Arctic; to act as a synthesizer and disseminator of scientific information on arctic research; and to educate scientists and the general public about the needs and opportunities for research in the Arctic.

Community Needs Assessment and Portal Prototype Development for an Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure (ASDI)

Wendy K. Warnick¹, Helen V. Wiggins², Lamont C. Hempel³, Jordan Henk⁴, Mark Sorensen⁵, Craig E. Tweedie⁶, Allison Graves⁷
¹Executive Director, ARCUS, 3535 College Road, Suite 101, Fairbanks, AK, 99709-3710, USA, Phone 907-474-1600, Fax 907-474-1604, warnick [at] arcus.org
²Program Coordinator, ARCUS, 3535 College Road, Suite 101, Fairbanks, AK, 99709, USA, Phone 907-474-1600, Fax 907-474-1604, helen [at] arcus.org
³The Redlands Institute, University of Redlands, PO Box 3080, 1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA, 92373, USA, Phone 909-793-2121, monty_hempel [at] redlands.edu
⁴The Redlands Institute, University of Redlands, PO Box 3080, 1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA, 92373, USA, Phone 909-793-2121, jordan_henk [at] redlands.edu
⁵Redlands Institute, University of Redlands, PO Box 3080, 1200 E. Colton Avenue, Redlands, CA, 92737, USA, Phone 909-867-7628, Fax 909-867-5310, mark_sorensen [at] redlands.edu
⁶Department of Biology, University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX, 79968-0513, USA, Phone 915-747-8448, Fax 915-747-5808, ctweedie [at] utep.edu
⁷Nuna Technologies, PO Box 1483, Homer, AK, 99603, USA, Phone 907-235-3476, nunatech [at] usa.net

As the creation and use of geospatial data in research, management, logistics, and education applications has proliferated, there is now a tremendous potential for advancing science through a variety of cyberinfrastructure applications, including Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) and related technologies. SDIs provide a necessary and common framework of standards, securities, policies, procedures, and technology to support the effective acquisition, coordination, dissemination and use of geospatial data by multiple and distributed stakeholder and user groups. Despite the numerous research activities in the Arctic, there is no established SDI and, because of this lack of a coordinated infrastructure, there is inefficiency, duplication of effort, and reduced data quality and search ability of arctic geospatial data. The urgency for establishing this framework is significant considering the myriad of data that is likely to be collected in celebration of the International Polar Year (IPY) in 2007-2008 and the current international momentum for an improved and integrated circumarctic terrestrial-marine-atmospheric environmental observatories network. The key objective of this project is to lay the foundation for full implementation of an Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure (ASDI) through an assessment of community needs, readiness, and resources and through the development of a prototype web mapping portal.

Arctic Sea Ice Simulations in the 20th Century and in Global Warming Scenarios

Xiangdong Zhang¹
¹International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 930 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA, Phone 907-474-2675, Fax 907-474-2643, xdz [at] iarc.uaf.edu

Sea ice is an essential component of the climate system and an outstanding indicator of global climate change. Recent dramatic shrinking of arctic sea ice cover has drawn much attention scientifically and societally. Remarkable global warming has been manifested in the polar region, which may continue and be further amplified, leading to a rapid decrease of sea ice cover or an ice-free summer in the Arctic Ocean, as projected in global warming scenarios.

The decreased sea ice cover would naturally result in significant climate consequences by changing energy budgets and hydrological cycle; for example, altering atmospheric circulation regimes and impacting the North Atlantic deep convections and Meridional Overturning Circulation. In this study, we analyzed changes of the arctic sea ice cover based on the multiple model outputs for the IPCC AR4 (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the 4th Assessment Report), which was archived by PCMDI (Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison).

We first examined the arctic sea ice simulations for the climate of the 20th century (20c3m) and validated the model's performance against observations. Considering availability of accurate sea ice measurements by satellites, we selected a period of 1979-99 from ensemble means of each model's simulations and compared model results with observational data. Then, we investigated changes of sea ice area in the 20th century and in the 21st century under global warming scenarios (SRES A1B, SRES A2, and SRES B1). The results demonstrated various capabilities of the participating models in simulating sea ice climatology. A number of models relatively captured realistic sea ice climatology, while a few models noticeably overestimated or underestimated sea ice cover. Nevertheless, most models show encouraging results in portraying decreasing sea ice during 1979-1999. In the global warming scenarios, all the models indicated a pronounced reduction of sea ice cover from 2000 to 2100 through out the Arctic Ocean. Generally, the strongest sea ice decrease occurs in the SRES A1B and A2 scenarios and the weakest occurs in SRES B1. Close examination shows that a ice-free Arctic Ocean in the summer can be expected in the later 21st century in a number of models, while sea ice is relatively stable and can survive in summer in other models.

Overview

2006 Arctic Forum Volume