ARCTIC

Chronicles of the NSF Arctic Sciences Program Spring/Autumn 1999, Volume 7 Number 1

Healy Prepares for Arctic Operations by Jonathan Berkson and George Dupree

SCGC Healy, the first polar ice- operational days per year. USCGC Healy To increase involvement of the scien- Ubreaker to be commissioned by is commanded by Captain Jeffrey Garrett. tific community during construction and the United States Coast Guard since Even before the U.S. Congress autho- testing, the University-National Oceano- 1978, was launched in 1997 (see Witness rized funds to build the Healy in 1990, graphic Laboratory System (UNOLS) Spring and Autumn 1998) and delivered vessel requirements for a research ice- Arctic Icebreaker Coordinating Commit- in November 1999. breaker were developed with input from tee (AICC) was formed in September 1996, The ship is named for Captain governmental, academic, and industrial with Dr. James H. Swift as Chairman (see Michael A. Healy, a legendary figure of groups. The detailed design and construc- Witness Spring 1997). The initial design of Alaskan history and Commanding Officer tion contract, managed by the Naval Sea the scientific spaces on Healy was modified of the U.S. Revenue Cutters Corwin Systems Command, was awarded to on the basis of input from scientists. The (1884–85) and Bear (1886–95); Captain Avondale Industries, Inc. in July 1993. AICC, which is supported jointly by the Healy’s voyages were important in early The program office consists of Naval Sea U.S. Coast Guard and NSF, provided exploration and mapping of the Arctic. Systems Command officers, civilian valuable input to the design of the science USCGC Healy was designed as a high- employees, and Coast Guard officers. suite. It also provides advice for the plan- latitude research platform for conducting Coast Guard Captain Greg Johnson is the ning and operation of arctic science sup- a wide variety of research tasks in diverse Program Manager. The Navy Supervisor port for the two Polar Class icebreakers fields of science and engineering, and for of Shipbuilding in New Orleans, through Polar Star and Polar Sea. extended polar operations including the a Coast Guard office of technical person- ability to winter over for planned science nel, managed the construction contract, Healy’s Capabilities missions. The Coast Guard intends to and will also manage the engineering With a length of 420 feet, beam of operate the ship primarily as an arctic shakedown, as well as the icebreaking and 82 feet, and displacement of over 16,000 research vessel scheduled for up to 200 science trials. tons, Healy will be one of the world’s larg- est non-nuclear polar icebreakers. The ship, built by Avondale Industries, Inc., New Orleans, Louisiana, has diesel electric propulsion with 30,000 shaft horsepower. The ship control systems include: • an anti-roll stabilization tank, • a bow thruster, • two rudders, • fixed pitch propellers, and continued on next page

The Healy is equipped with a highly automated engineering plant, a state-of-the-art array of naviga- tional equipment, extensive communication and computer systems, a voyage-management system, and a modern suite of science systems (figure courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard).

Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 600 University Avenue • Suite 1 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 1 Feature Article

cations for scientific work. Healy is also • Bathy2000 depth sounding and equipped with a ship-wide computerized subbottom profiling system; Laboratory and data-logging system to record and store • SeaBeam 2112 multibeam sonar system; Science Support data from the navigation, oceanographic, • Oceanographic Data Acquisition System engineering, and communications systems. (ODAS) for expendable oceanographic Spaces Healy was designed specifically to accom- probes (e.g., Expendable Bathythermo- (in square feet) modate scientific operations. For example: graphs); Main Laboratory 1,233 • sonar hydrophones are flush-mounted • TeraScan weather satellite system; Wet Laboratory 390 in the hull, • meteorological measurement system; Biological/Chemical Analysis Lab 310 • the ship’s engines are located on the • Conductivity-Depth-Temperature Climate-Controlled Chambers (2) 200 main deck to reduce noise for the sonar (CDT) acquisition and analysis system; Aloft Conning Station 256 systems, and • rosette water sampling system; (Wildlife Observation Platform) • the ship has the ability to hold over- • a bow tower for clean air experiments; Meteorological Laboratory 64 board discharges up to 24 hours to allow • a dedicated area for daylight incubation Lounge/Library/Conference Room 300 uncontaminated water sampling. experiments; Dive Locker Facilities 225 With a crew of 75 and maximum • a continuous flow, seawater sampling Photography Laboratory 105 scientific party of 50, Healy accommodates system; and Communications Center 62 more scientists than the Coast Guard’s • a jumbo coring system. Electronics/Computer Laboratory 528 Polar Class icebreakers with half the crew. Data will be stored and analyzed with Future Laboratory 475 The ship normally will carry 35 scientists the aid of a dedicated fiber optic Science Conning Station 439 living two to a stateroom. Each science Data Network (SDN) with computer Hazardous Materials Locker 100 stateroom can accommodate a third jacks throughout the ship, including two Freezer 130 person in a fold-down rack; this allows a in each stateroom. The SDN will date- Refrigerator 130 surge capacity of 50 people. Living spaces and time-stamp all data collected from the Dry Assembly Area 152 dedicated to the science users include two 24 installed scientific, navigational, and Vestibule/Arctic Gear Locker 240 conference rooms, a lounge, and library. engineering systems and will have the In addition, all personnel have access to capability of handling 12 additional Science Staging Areas the central messroom, laundry, gym, the systems, such as other sensors that scien- ship’s store, and medical treatment. tists may install. To minimize the effect Starboard Staging Area 315 Healy is well equipped for towing and of disk crashes, files will be simultaneously Aft Staging Area 315 for handling the wide variety of sensor stored on two separate hard disks. For arrays and oceanographic gear needed for convenience of the scientists, the system Exterior Support Spaces ocean research. Deck equipment and five will allow the use of Microsoft, OS-2, Daylight Incubation Area 108 cranes are strategically located for: Apple, and UNIX operating systems. Data Forward Working Deck 820 • loading supplies and equipment, can be transferred by e-mail via INMAR- Starboard Overside Handling Area 600 • setting up experiments, SAT through the dedicated science com- Aft Working Deck 3,000 • positioning vans, and munications system. • deploying/recovering scientific gear and boats. Performance Trials Two separate ocean winches and a Healy will start a series of warm water • a bow wash-bow thruster system that double-drum trawl/core winch are shakedown tests in the Gulf of Mexico and can lubricate the hull during icebreaking available for scientific operations. A-frames Caribbean Sea in early 2000. During these operations. located on the stern and starboard quarter post-delivery tests, all scientific equipment The minimum icebreaking design provide versatility for over-the-side opera- will be tested, and the bottom mapping requirements are 4.5 feet at 3 knots going tions. Two helicopters and five boats are sonar will be calibrated. Following the ahead and 8 feet backing and ramming. available for aiding science operations and warm water tests, Healy will begin a north- The computerized, integrated navigation logistics. Healy has a helicopter deck, a ward transit to the eastern Arctic to con- system will use electronic charts, an auto- hangar, and will normally carry two HH- duct six weeks of icebreaking performance pilot, and electronic positioning informa- 65 helicopters. The ship can also carry: trials followed by four weeks of science tion to automate many ship control func- • one 39-foot Arctic Survey (ABS) boat, suite testing and evaluation. In conjunc- tions. A dynamic positioning system • two 36-foot LCVP cargo boats, and tion with the AICC and the UNOLS allows precise station-keeping and • two 23-foot Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats. Research Vessel Technical Enhancement movement. Science systems and equipment on Committee (RVTEC), chaired by John In addition to a variety of ship Healy include the: S. Freitag, the Healy project office has con- communication systems, a separate system • Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler tracted with a group of engineers, scien- will provide dedicated satellite communi- (ADCP); tists, and technicians to conduct rigorous 2 Feature Article integrated testing of all science systems throughout the shakedown period. Healy will transit to her homeport of STAGING CONTAINERS LABS Seattle at the conclusion of the testing AREAS and trials program. BENCHES Healy will be operated by the Coast Guard as a dedicated research vessel for the diverse needs of the U.S. science VESTIBULE/ARCTIC GEAR LOCKER

HAZ community, with services equivalent to AFT MAT'L STAGING LKR those provided on UNOLS large research AREA vessels. During the shakedown cruises, the SCIENCE MAIN LAB REFRIGERATOR Coast Guard will refine administrative and HELO DECK (OVER) operational procedures to optimize ser- SCIENCE FREEZER vices. The complex array of science equip- ment will be operated by Coast Guard

Marine Science Technicians with support DRY ASSEMBLY STAGING CLIMATE CLIMATE SCIENCE AREA AREA CONTROL CONTROL from contracted specialists as required. CONTAINER WET LAB (LOWER CHAMBER CHAMBER (TYP) LEVEL) SCIENCE HOIST HOIST MACHINERY Science Cruises BIO-CHEM LAB Healy’s first unrestricted science cruise "A" is anticipated for 2001, after completion FRAME of maintenance and warranty work Main Deck required by shakedown operations. Effi- cient and full utilization of Healy in the Arctic will require expeditionary planning to identify and coordinate schedules and logistics, and to arrange for companion MAIN DECK vessels when high-arctic missions are (BELOW) made. The AICC held the first annual HELO ELECT/COMPUTER DECK LAB arctic planning meeting in December (OVER) 1999, at the annual fall American Geo- physical Union meeting in San Francisco, PHOTO LAB SCIENCE to discuss a five-year rolling community- CONTAINER (ON MAIN DECK) drafted plan for arctic marine science use of Coast Guard icebreakers. The advent (UNA of Healy, with its extensive capabilities LAB) SCIENCE STAGING and dedicated scientific mission signals an CONNING AREA STA (BELOW) unprecedented era of research opportunity in the Arctic. To schedule time on Healy, see the UNOLS web site http://gso.uri.edu/unols/ unols.html. For more information, see the 01 Deck Coast Guard web page for Healy http:// www.uscg.mil/hq/g-a/Healy.

Jonathan Berkson is the Marine Science Advisor at Coast Guard Headquarters. There are over 5,000 square feet of interior science laboratories and science support rooms in addition to covered science George DuPree is a U.S. Coast Guard Com- staging areas and exterior space on the Healy. The main science lab is the scientific operations center and has immediate mander and the Chief of the Icebreaking access to the wet lab, the dry assembly area, science vestibule, hazardous material locker, two of the science vans, the two science staging areas, and the after working deck. The layout allows scientists to move from the stateroom or mess area to Division. the after working deck without going through the main science lab or the weather. The biological/chemical analysis lab and the climate-controlled chambers are also accessible from the interior of the ship without going through the main science lab. The three science cargo holds provide for up to 20,000 cubic feet of storage space with hoist. Each of the two staging areas for science operations has roller door access with a freezer curtain to the weather deck. In addition there are spaces for eight 20-foot science vans (two on the 01 level bow, two on the 02 level port and starboard, and four on the fantail, two of which open into the ship and two onto the fantail) and two 40-foot science vans (02 level port and starboard in the location of the science work boat and the LCVPs). The science van spaces are provided with most ship services, including telephone, Science Data Network, various water systems, and electrical power (figure courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard and James Swift). 3 Arctic Logistics

Research Support and Logistics Group Updates Priorities

n November 1999, the Arctic Research The working group will examine arctic • identify technical experts to review the ISupport and Logistics Working Group research support issues from a thematic development of specific capabilities; (RSLWG) met to outline the scope and rather than disciplinary perspective. • report to the arctic research community identify priorities for an update of arctic Overarching research issues that transcend about logistics improvements and their logistics needs and opportunities. ARCUS traditional disciplines and the support potential impacts on science; and formed the RSLWG at the request of the necessary to address those issues will be • assist in the development of the Arctic Office of Polar Programs (OPP), to build identified. The group also will: Logistics Information Access Service upon the work of the former Logistics • guide the development of an implemen- (ALIAS) web site as a research support Working Group, convened in 1995 at tation plan for improving arctic and logistics information resource. the request of the U.S. Arctic Research logistics, working with the research For more information, see the ARCUS Commission (USARC) and NSF. The community, the USARC, NSF, and web site (http://www.arcus.org) or contact new group’s mission is to represent the other federal agencies; ARCUS ([email protected]). arctic research community in providing for OPP long-term expertise and advice on arctic logistics and science-support issues. U.S. and Norway Sign Agreement The new working group will first to Promote Joint Polar Research reexamine science priorities and associated research support and logistics require- ments, which have shifted in the past two n October 1999, the NSF OPP signed organized by the Norwegian Research years because of new research findings and Ia “Statement of Cooperation” (SOC) Council and ARCUS, to discuss joint sci- improvements in logistical capability. The with the Norsk Polarinstitutt in Tromsø, ence plans for Svalbard research. The 20- group will update Logistics Recommenda- Norway to promote interactions among member American delegation worked with tions for an Improved U.S. Arctic Research U.S. and Norwegian scientists in arctic Norwegian colleagues to explore research Capability, the 1997 report that has pro- and Antarctic research efforts. The SOC activities, possibilities, policies, and infra- vided guidance to the OPP Arctic Program focuses on potential expanded U.S. efforts structure in both Longyearbyen, where in making logistics improvements. The on Svalbard and potential U.S. presence at major research installations are located, report was designed to be a living docu- the archipelago’s multinational facilities. and in Ny-Ålesund, where several interna- ment that would be updated periodically The two countries also co-sponsored tional research stations operate (see Witness to reflect changing science priorities. an August 1999 community workshop, Autumn 1998). The workshop empha- sized the importance of long-term observa- tions and research platforms. Participants discussed the potential for: • cooperative projects in upper Stephenson Named Arctic Research Support atmosphere research; and Logistics Program Manager • collaborative work in global-change research, including new opportunities n June 1999, the NSF Office of Polar Programs (OPP) announced the appoint- for U.S. researchers to participate in Iment of Simon Stephenson as the Program Manager for Arctic Research Support programs funded by the European and Logistics. Stephenson will provide leadership and serve as a liaison with the science Community; community in improving research infrastructure to support first-class national and • education of American students at Uni- international arctic programs. versity Courses on Svalbard (UNIS; see Stephenson comes to the Arctic Program with 21 years experience in polar page 22), research. He holds a Master of Philosophy in Glacier Geophysics from the Council • establishment of a U.S. observation for National Academic Awards, UK. He worked 11 years as a glacier geophysicist platform in Svalbard; and with British Antarctic Survey and then with a team based at NASA’s Goddard Space • collaborations among U.S., Russian, Flight Center studying the dynamics of West Antarctic ice streams. In these roles, he and Norwegian investigators for work participated in light, two-person field teams and large, integrated, multi-institutional in Russian waters. field campaigns. More recently, Stephenson worked in OPP as the Research Support For more information on the U.S.- Manager for the Antarctic Program, leading development of support plans for more Norway workshop, contact ARCUS. A than 100 projects annually and research infrastructure in the disciplines of aeronomy, draft of the workshop report will be avail- astrophysics, biology, geology, geophysics, climate studies, and oceanography. able soon on the ARCUS web site (http:// Stephenson can be reached at NSF in Arlington, VA (703/306-1029; fax 703/ www.arcus.org). For information about 306-0648; [email protected]). Svalbard, see the Norsk Polarinstitutt web site (http://www.npolar.no/np/). 4 Arctic Logistics

Northernmost Community Focuses on Research Support

n December 1998, at the request of the INSF Office of Polar Programs, ARCUS organized a community workshop to con- sider means and priorities to support sci- ence activities in the area serviced by Bar- row, Alaska. The area around Barrow has supported marine, coastal, freshwater, ter- restrial, and atmospheric research for more than 100 years. Barrow is located at 72o N latitude, where the North Slope of the continent meets the Arctic Ocean. The predomi- nantly Iñupiat community is the site of the former Naval Arctic Research Labora- tory (NARL), which was established in 1947 and is now owned by the local Na- tive corporation, Ukpeagvik Iñupiat Cor- poration (UIC). Adjacent to the former The Arctic Research Facility (ARF) has been converted by the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife NARL is the Barrow Environmental Management into modest laboratory space and bunkhouse living quarters for visiting researchers. Since the closure of Observatory (BEO), a 7,466-acre research NARL, the ARF has been the only multipurpose facility available to assist individual investigators and its capacity of 20 preserve, which was set aside by UIC as a persons is often exceeded during the summer field season.The skull in front and shoulder blades on the wall are from a permanent site for scientific research in bowhead whale (photo by Dave Ramey). 1992. In addition to the natural resources and substantial infrastructure in the area, Five overarching recommendations In addition to these overarching the human resources that the indigenous developed at the workshop were refined recommendations and basic support community has offered to scientists are through community discussion. They are: (e.g., housing, transportation, field gear), the foundation for important research • Identify and fund an organization participants cited several specific, high- projects in the U.S. Arctic (see Witness based in Barrow to provide research priority needs. These include: Autumn 1997). support, infrastructure development, • The Arctic Research Facility at UIC- The Barrow Area Research Support and coordination. NARL must be supported in the short- (BARS) workshop, which convened in • Evaluate regularly researchers’ needs term to provide some living and work Marshall, California included 63 research and the adequacy of facilities and space to visiting researchers. scientists, Barrow residents, federal agency resources to ensure that support evolves • Planning should begin for construction representatives, logistics providers, and adequately and that investments are of a dedicated multipurpose facility to regional government officials. The goal of effectively shared among appropriate support research. the NSF and participants in this planning agencies. • A master plan for use of the Barrow process is to increase the efficiency, effec- • Promote, through coordination of Environmental Observatory (BEO) tiveness, and extent of research taking research and data, integrated multi- should be prepared. The plan should place in the Barrow area. disciplinary and interdisciplinary stud- address appropriate uses for the BEO, Participants recommended investments ies that improve the scientific under- scientific research requirements, infra- to build upon the rich combination of fac- standing of the arctic system. structural needs, and environmental and tors in Barrow for the benefit of research • Promote interactions between the com- cultural issues. in the area. Expanded logistical capability munity and researchers to disseminate • A high-speed, high-capacity data link will make possible the pursuit of new research plans and results, incorporate from Barrow to the lower 48 states research opportunities in the Barrow area. community participation, promote use should be installed. Hardware and soft- Improved coordination of logistical and of traditional knowledge, and ware are needed to support the data link research support also could realize consid- develop collaborative projects. and to run a web site to provide logisti- erable economies of scale for the many • Provide educational opportunities for cal information. researchers who now base fieldwork in young researchers and local residents Copies of The Future of an Arctic Barrow. The federal agencies that were through internships and fellowships to Resource: Recommendations from the represented at the workshop indicated a encourage local involvement as well as Barrow Area Research Support Workshop desire to improve interagency cooperation the development of local scientific capa- are available from ARCUS and as a PDF in support of arctic research efforts in the bilities and a strong cohort of arctic file on the ARCUS web site (http:// Barrow area. researchers in the future. www.arcus.org). 5 NSF News

NSF Initiatives Open Doors for Arctic Research

n early 1999, NSF made several Life in Extreme Environments (LExEn) graphic surveys, observations of animal I announcements that are expanding Life in Extreme Environments populations, submarine surveys of ice, opportunities for arctic researchers. (LExEn) is an NSF-wide program of monitoring of terrestrial and oceanic Although the deadlines for the 1999 com- particular interest to arctic researchers that weather, atmospheric sampling, and petitions under these new announcements explores the relationships between organ- snow measurements. Related needs have passed, the programs are expected to isms and the environments within which include the development of improved continue in FY 2000. Two programs are they exist, with a strong emphasis upon sensing devices and deployment for agency-wide; two are within the Office of those life-supporting environments that better spatial and temporal coverage. Polar Programs (OPP). In addition, OPP exist near the extremes of planetary condi- • Sample Repositories—Facilities for has made funding available to improve tions. Examples include hydrothermal sys- new arctic samples of particular value long-term observations in the Arctic and tems, high-radiation fields, sea ice and ice due to their rarity, importance for studies established an office in Moscow to facili- sheets, anoxic habitats, hypersaline lakes, and education, or expense of re-collection. tate logistics for collaborative research in high-altitude or polar deserts, and indus- The program solicitation is at http:// the Russian Arctic. trial environments. www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf99101. LExEn is focusing, at least initially, on Proposals were due in June 1999. Nine Biocomplexity in the Environment (BE) microbial systems, their diversity, and the proposals were funded for a total of An NSF-wide effort, Biocomplexity mechanisms that allow them to survive approximately $14.3 million, with addi- in the Environment (BE) includes both and alter extreme environments. The tional awards expected in the near future. ongoing programs and focused initiatives LExEn program announcement is avail- designed to foster research and education able at http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/ Contaminant Behavior and Impact on the complex interdependencies among getpub?nsf9943. Seventeen proposals were in Northern Polar Regions the elements of specific environmental sys- funded in 1999, totaling $7.4 million. Another program solicitation that tems and interactions of different types of developed from the Opportunities in Arctic systems. Three overlapping and interactive Human Dimensions of the Arctic System Research workshop encourages research categories of research activity describe In February 1999, the OPP dissemi- on the physical, chemical, and biological NSF’s ongoing efforts related to environ- nated its first Announcement of Opportu- processes that sequester and disperse con- mental sciences: nity for Human Dimensions of the Arctic taminants in arctic natural systems and on • Global and Environmental Change, System (HARC) research, an ongoing the socio-economic impacts and human • Environment and the Human addition to the Arctic System Science responses to such contaminants. Dimension, and program (see Witness Autumn 1998 and The program solicitation can be found • Biodiversity and Ecosystems Dynamics. http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub? at http://www.n sf.gov/pubs/1999/ In the 1999 Biocomplexity: Phase I nsf9961). nsf9997/nsf9997.htm. Proposals were due initiative, NSF solicited proposals that Two proposals were funded for a total of in May 1999. Approximately $2.7 million focused explicitly on the role that micro- $1.6 million. Future HARC proposals can has been awarded in 10 grants. organisms play in structuring or control- be submitted at the regular Arctic Section ling complex systems. In FY 2000, NSF deadlines (15 February and 1 August). Improving Logistics Coordination has announced a special Biocomplexity in Russia competition to improve understanding of Long-Term Observations in the Arctic The Arctic Sciences Section of OPP the complex interdependencies among liv- Based on recommendations formulated has established a science liaison office in ing organisms and the environments that at the Opportunities in Arctic Research Moscow to assist U.S. and Russian research- affect, sustain, and are modified by them. workshop in September 1998 (see Witness ers conducting collaborative research in the The multidisciplinary $50 million Biocomp- Autumn 1998), OPP announced a new geosciences and arctic research. lexity initiative will emphasize enhancing program to improve the observational This support is the result of collabora- analytical and predictive capabilities in the infrastructure in the Arctic, including: tion between OPP and two other branches study of environmental systems. • Environmental Observatories—The of NSF—the Geosciences Directorate and For more information on Biocom- coordinated development of strategically the International Office—and the U.S. plexity in the Environment, see the NSF placed facilities, equipped for on-site Civilian Research and Development web site (http://www.nsf.gov/home/ research and collection of year-round Foundation (CRDF). crssprgm/be/start.htm). For more infor- observations. For more information, see the Arctic mation on the special Biocomplexity com- • Remote/Autonomous Instruments— Info archive on the ARCUS web site petition, see http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/ Relevant activities not directly tied to (http://www.arcus.org) for the message 2000/nsf0022/nsf0022.htm. Messages of specific environmental observatories posted on 30 March 1999. Investigators intent to submit a proposal are due 31 include moorings, drifting and land- interested in using these services should January and full proposals 1 March 2000. and ice-based sampling stations, hydro- contact their NSF Program Manager. 6 ARCSS Program Updates

ARCSS Committee Advances Integrative Agenda

he Arctic System Science (ARCSS) initiatives, including the Study of Envi- • Sponsor a workshop to develop TCommittee (AC) met in Virginia ronmental Arctic Change (see page 9) and an ARCSS-wide science-education Beach, Virginia in October 1999. The AC the Western Arctic Shelf-Basin Interac- initiative, including its focus, strategy, provides guidance to the ARCSS Program tions (see page 8). The AC also discussed: and partnerships. and acts as a liaison between the program • development of an ARCSS-wide • Plan for an ARCSS-wide All-Hands and the arctic research community. At the education initiative, Meeting in 2001. 1999 meeting, the AC assessed progress on • encouragement of ARCSS-focused For more information about AC two evolving research agendas in ARCSS: Biocomplexity proposals (see page 6), discussions and plans see the ARCUS • interactions between global and arctic • the status of the Long-Term Observato- web site (http://www.arcus.org). systems, and ries program (see page 6), and For more information on the ARCSS • assessments of the effects of global • strategies for improving response to Program, contact Program Director Mike changes on arctic and sub-arctic regions. the Human Dimensions of the Arctic Ledbetter (703/306-1029; fax 703/306- The AC discussed improving extrapo- System (HARC; see page 6) solicitation. 0648; [email protected]) or AC Chair lation, integration, and prediction in the Plans for immediate action include: Jack Kruse (413/367-2240; fax 413/367- ARCSS Program and developed strategies • Form a HARC Science Steering 0092; [email protected]) or see the to advance the evolving research agenda. Committee to facilitate the development ARCSS web site (http://www.nsf.gov/od/ The AC was briefed on several ARCSS of effective proposals. opp/arctic/system.htm).

PARCS Research Encompasses PALE and ESH

ecause arctic paleoclimatic research New climate-model simulations from rating with LAII investigators (see page Bfalls under both the ARCSS and Earth the eastern Canadian Arctic and northwest 10) on long-term changes in land-cover Systems History (ESH) Programs at NSF, North Atlantic confirm the important role on the North Slope and coastal plain of the two programs are coordinating a new of oceans in arctic climate change. With Alaska; the mutual interest of PARCS overarching effort—Paleoenvironmental Icelandic colleagues, PALE researchers are and LAII in merging long-term records Arctic Science (PARCS). A science and documenting glacial and deglacial ice of change with modern, process-oriented implementation plan for the program, The dynamics off the coast of Iceland, and data promises to be an important future Arctic Paleosciences in the Context of Global research with Danish colleagues will direction in ARCSS. Change Research, was recently published. describe high-frequency and long-term Work continues on development of PARCS will foster new opportunities variability in the Labrador Sea region. new paleoclimate proxy indicators, includ- for interaction among the disciplines that The Russian Arctic generally lacks data ing varve-based sediment records, fossil are contributing to arctic paleo research. regarding past land-cover and climatic beetle assemblages, and alkenones in The Steering Committee will include change. A lake-sediment core recently lake sediments. representatives from: retrieved by an American-Russian-German Synoptic climate studies and data syn- • the Paleoclimates from Arctic Lakes and team from far eastern Siberia promises a theses continue to underscore the regional Estuaries (PALE) community, as well as paleoclimate record spanning the Quater- heterogeneity in arctic climate patterns. • other essential PARCS research sectors nary. This site will contribute substantially Northeast Siberia, Beringia, and Alaska (e.g., ice core, marine sediment, tree ring to the climate chronology for the Pacific show clear differences in circulation fea- analysis, glacial and sea-level dynamics). sector. In European Russia, a project tures centered in the North Pacific sector; PARCS will also build on the international documenting treeline changes on the Kola heterogeneity is also seen in past records collaborations developed under the GISP2 Peninsula is filling a data gap in the post- and at smaller scales. This variability and PALE paleoenvironmental programs. glacial record of the arctic treeline. emphasizes the need for comprehensive For more information about the PALE investigators have been collabo- site coverage, and has implications for scal- initiative, see the recently released PARCS rating with the Long-Term Ecological ing observations and for predictions about report (see Publications page 23). Research Program at Bonanza Creek in the Arctic’s response to climate changes. interior Alaska to examine the influence of For more information, see the PARCS Ongoing PALE/PARCS Research Projects hydrologic change on the boreal forest. web site (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/ The PALE program, which began in With Canadian colleagues, they are devel- paleo/parcs/index.html) or contact Mike 1990, has established a solid network of oping a paleolimnological description of a Retelle, co-chair of the PARCS Steering paleo-sites in the Arctic. Some of the transect of lakes from boreal forest to tun- Committee, in Lewiston, ME (207/786- research that continues within the PARCS dra as the basis for future integrated paleo- 6155; fax 207/786-8334; initiative is described below. modern studies. Two groups are collabo- [email protected]). 7 ARCSS Program Updates

OAII Shares Results at Second All-Hands Meeting

he second Ocean-Atmosphere-Ice • an improved understanding of how arc- more information, see the SBI web site TInteractions (OAII) All-Hands tic processes might cause or modulate (http://utk-biogw.bio.utk.edu/SBI.nsf/ meeting convened in Virginia, in October global change (see Witness Spring and pages/Arctic), or contact Jackie Grebmeier 1999. More than 100 international scien- Autumn 1998). in Knoxville, TN (423/974-2592; fax tists participated in briefings and sessions The SBI program will include field and 423/974-3067; [email protected]). on logistics, with an emphasis on plans for modeling studies to elucidate the physical The OAII Science Steering Committee Healy (see page 1), outreach and educa- and biological shelf and slope processes (SSC) also met in October 1999. Lou tion, the Study of Environmental Arctic that influence the structure and function Codispoti succeeded Jackie Grebmeier as Change initiative (see page 9), SHEBA of the Arctic Ocean. chair of the SSC. Two new members of (see below), and the Western Arctic Shelf- Eighteen SBI Phase I projects, with 31 the SSC are Patricia Matrai (Bigelow Basin Interactions (SBI) initiative. principal investigators (PIs) and co-PIs Laboratory for Ocean Science) and Paul The All-Hands meeting was followed and various international collaborators, Shepson (Purdue University). by the organizational meeting for SBI were funded in the first competition. For more information on OAII, see the Phase I, which is beginning implementa- Funded projects include retrospective, OAII web site (http://arcss-oaii.hpl.umces. tion. SBI is designed to improve under- experimental, and modeling studies in edu/index.html) or contact Lou Codispoti standing of shelf-basin exchange processes fields of biological, chemical, geological, at the University of Maryland’s Horn and lead to: and physical oceanography. An SBI Point Lab in Cambridge, MD (410/221- • an enhanced predictive capability for Project Office is coordinated by Jackie 8479; fax 410/221-8390; codispot@hpl. global change impacts in the Arctic, and Grebmeier and Terry Whitledge. For umces.edu).

SHEBA Researchers Plan Analysis of Data

n October 1999, data sets from the and integration of the SHEBA data set to • The SHEBA melt season was longer ISurface Heat Budget of the Arctic investigate feedback mechanisms and than normal; preliminary results suggest Ocean (SHEBA) field experiment were develop improved formulations for climate that net surface radiation was enhanced submitted to the SHEBA data-manage- models. Results from the SHEBA experi- by cloud cover during the summer. ment system. These unprecedented data ment were discussed in more than 60 pre- • Measurements by the Department of sets simultaneously document the upper sentations at the December 1998 meeting Energy Atmospheric Radiation ocean, sea ice, and atmosphere as a con- of the American Geophysical Union Measurement (ARM) Program’s Atmo- tinuous time series over a full year. They (AGU) and the January 1999 meeting of spheric Emitted Radiance Interferom- have already improved simulations of arc- the American Meteorological Society. eter indicate that current models for tic climate using global climate models. Highlights included: clear-sky radiative transfer systematically The data sets will be archived at the • On their arrival in Fall 1997, the sea ice underestimate the downward spectral National Snow and Ice Data Center. was considerably thinner than SHEBA irradiance in the water-vapor continuum The Office of Polar Programs (OPP) investigators expected, and instead of absorption bands at the low tempera- released the Program Solicitation for Phase getting thicker over the year as pre- tures of the arctic troposphere in winter. 3 of SHEBA in December 1999 (see http:/ dicted, the ice grew thinner by approxi- • The insulative value of the snow cover /www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf0019). mately 35 centimeters. on sea ice has been considerably under- Proposals are due 8 March 2000. The • Sea-ice cover in the study region estimated in previous models. goals of Phase 3 are to utilize data sets remained greater than 90–95%. Additional results from the SHEBA collected during the field program to: • In winter, the snow-covered ice reflected field experiment were presented in sessions • determine the ice-ocean-atmosphere about 80% of incoming solar radiation. at the December 1999 AGU meeting in processes that control the ice albedo Melt ponds, which have lower albedo San Francisco. Investigators will also be feedback and cloud-radiation feedback than the ice itself, covered more than meeting with collaborators at a joint mechanisms over an annual cycle, lead- 20% of the study region during mid-late SHEBA/FIRE (First ISCCP Regional ing to improvement of models of arctic summer, lowering the reflectivity of the Experiment) workshop 17-20 April 2000. ocean-atmosphere-ice processes; and surface to approximately 40%. For more information, see the SHEBA • develop models that improve simula- • Liquid particles constituted approxi- web site (http://sheba.apl.washington.edu) tions of the present arctic climate, using mately 20% of the cloud mass during or contact Richard Moritz in Seattle, WA coupled General Circulation Models. the coldest season (November-January) (206/543-8023; fax 206/543-3521; To accomplish these goals, Phase 3 and 100% during the peak melt season [email protected]). projects will combine modeling, synthesis, (late July). 8 ARCSS Program Updates

SEARCH Plan is Designed to Evolve with New Insights

n July 1999, 38 researchers from a wide focused on the air-ice-ocean variations that social science efforts will examine the Irange of fields gathered to draft a sci- appear connected to the AO, rather than a human impacts of the Onami. ence plan for the Study of Environmental program defined by discipline or scale. Jamie Morison, who is leading the Arctic Change (SEARCH) program. Participants proposed that this suite of SEARCH planning effort, presented the SEARCH is envisioned as a long-term changes be named Onami, or “tomorrow” draft plan at the Ocean-Atmosphere-Ice program to investigate the changes associ- in Inuit—much as the periodic disruption Interactions (OAII) All-Hands meeting in ated with the increasing Arctic Oscillation in the ocean-atmosphere system of the October 1999 (see page 8). Participants in (AO) index documented in the Arctic in tropical Pacific is known as El Niño. those discussions agreed that SEARCH the past decade (see Witness Autumn SEARCH aims to understand Onami should be an ARCSS-wide research pro- 1998). The AO appears to be a natural and its implications. The recommended gram, rather than contained within OAII. mode of atmospheric variation that is program includes long-term observations, SEARCH Science Steering Committee active over a broad range of time scales modeling, process studies, and assessment members are David Battisti, Ed Carmack, and is linked to global atmospheric and in the physical, biological, and social sci- Lou Codispoti, Hajo Eicken, Doug ocean circulation patterns. The recent ences. Physical science efforts will try to Martinson, Jamie Morison, Jim Overland, complex of changes related to the AO may elucidate the feedbacks between land, air, Jonathan Overpeck, Peter Schlosser, Mark be part of an oscillation or the beginning ice, and ocean that drive the Onami com- Serreze, and Charles Vörösmarty. of a long-term modal shift. plex and couple it to the rest of the globe, For information, see the SEARCH web Because the increase in the AO index with the goal of predicting the course of site (http://psc.apl.washington.edu/search/ appears to be linked to many other envi- Onami. The biological science effort will index.html) or contact Jamie Morison in ronmental changes, workshop participants look for the ecosystem changes that are Seattle, WA (206/543-1394; fax 206/616- recommended a multidisciplinary program driven by the physical changes, and the 3142; [email protected]).

First RAISE Projects Receive Funding

he objective of the Russian-American • Create a mechanism of support for joint For information, contact Vladimir TInitiative on Shelf-Land Environ- RAISE scientific expeditions. Romanovsky in Fairbanks, AK (907/474- ments in the Arctic (RAISE) is to facilitate • Prepare a draft of an intergovernmental 7459; fax 907/474-7290; [email protected]) collaborative research between Russian agreement for scientific cooperation in or Steve Forman in Chicago, IL (312/413- and American scientists in order to under- the Russian Arctic. 9404; fax 312/413-2279; [email protected]). stand processes and events in terrestrial, shelf, and ocean environments in northern Eurasia (see Witness Spring 1996, Autumn 1997). RAISE was created in 1995 in RAISE Proposals Funded in 1999 accordance with an agreement between NSF and the Russian Foundation for Basic • An International Workshop on Arctic Coastline Dynamics (E. Bierly and J. Brown); Research (RFBR). • The Late Pleistocene Glacial and Sea Level History of Wrangel Island, Northeast The International RAISE Steering Siberia (P.M. Anderson, J.B. Grette, S.L. Vartanyan, A.V. Lozhkin, and Committee met in November 1999 and L. Gualtieri); made the following recommendations: • Linkages Between Riverine Freshwater Dispersal, Sea-Ice Formation, and Large- • Continue to inform Russian, American, Scale Sediment Transport in the Central and East Siberian Arctic (H. Eicken and and international arctic science commu- A.Y. Proshutinsky); nities about the RAISE program. • Reconstructing the Limits of the Last Glaciation and Postglacial Environments in • Publish the RAISE “Prospectus” in the Southeastern Barents and Southwestern Kara Seas (L. Polyak and S. Forman); Russian. • Russian-American Initiative on Shelf-Land Environments in the Arctic (RAISE) • Publish (in both languages) a list of Science Management Office (V.E. Romanovsky and S.L. Forman); scientific projects in the Arctic (with • Sensitivity of the West Siberian Lowland to Past and Present Climate (L.C. Smith, abstracts) funded by the NSF Office G. MacDonald, A. Velichko, and R. Foster); and of Polar Programs and RFBR. • Water and Constituent Fluxes Across the Eurasian Arctic: Evolving Land-Ocean • Organize an international workshop Connections Over the Past 20,000 Years (B.J. Peterson, R.M. Holmes, in Russia in 2000, to present results of C. Vörösmarty, C. Willmott, S. Forman, R. Lammers, V.V. Gordeev, M. Meybeck, RAISE and other ARCSS projects. and I. Shiklomanov). 9 ARCSS Program Updates

LAII Researchers Model the Response of Sub-Arctic Vegetation to Transient Climatic Change in Alaska

nderstanding the responses of terres- These simulated changes in vegetation and LAII Meetings Utrial ecosystems to climatic warming disturbance dynamics under a warming In March 1999, seventy LAII investi- is problematic because of the complex climate have important implications for gators met in Seattle for the annual LAII interactions among climate, disturbance, regional carbon budgets and biotic workshop. Highlights included results and population changes across the land- feedbacks to regional climate. from the first field season of Arctic Transi- scape. Most models of the effects of The LAII researchers are also using tions in the Land-Atmosphere System climatic change on vegetation predict the ALFRESCO to investigate the interaction (ATLAS) and discussions of international future equilibrium distribution of vegeta- of mountain barriers and climate in the opportunities and ideas for enhanced inte- tion on the basis of current relationships Holocene advance of spruce into western gration between ARCSS components. between climate and vegetation. The Alaska. The paleo data indicate that white The LAII 2000 Science Workshop will present challenge in global-change research spruce expanded rapidly from Canada into be held in Seattle, WA, 23-26 February is to simulate short-term transient changes interior Alaska approximately 9,000 BP. 2000. ITEX investigators plan to meet for in climate, disturbance regime, and Spruce reached the southern reaches of the the first three days, and ATLAS investiga- recruitment that drive long-term vegeta- Brooks Range but did not cross over the tors for the final three days, allowing two tion distributions. These short-term, mountains to the North Slope. The fact days of overlap between the groups for transient changes are controlled by that white spruce has never been north of presentation of results and planning for inherently spatial processes (e.g., distur- its current limit in Alaska suggests that the development of a Biocomplexity initia- bance propagation, and seed dispersal). mountains (and their environments) act as tive (see page 6). The LAII Science Steer- LAII researchers Scott Rupp, Terry major geographic barriers limiting species’ ing Committee will meet at the workshop, Chapin, and Anthony Starfield have migration responses to climatic change. focusing on the Biocomplexity initiative developed a frame-based, spatially explicit For more information, contact Scott and long-term directions of the program. model (ALFRESCO) that: Rupp (907/474-7019; fax 907/474-6184; For more information, see the LAII • simulates landscape-level response of [email protected]), Terry Chapin (907/ web site (http://www.laii.uaf.edu/) or vegetation to transient changes in 474-7922; fax 907/474-6967; fschapin@ contact Patricia A. Anderson at the LAII climate, and lter.uaf.edu), or Anthony Starfield (612/ Science Management Office in Fairbanks, • explicitly represents the spatial processes 625-5721; fax 612/624-6777; starf001@ AK (907/474-5415; fax 907/474-6722; of disturbance propagation and seed maroon.tc.umn.edu). [email protected]). dispersal. As part of LAII- and SIMS-funded research, ALFRESCO was used to simu- late the transient response of sub-arctic ITEX Shares Syntheses, Plans Future vegetation to climatic warming on the Seward Peninsula (80,000 km2) in north- nvestigators with the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) initiated the first west Alaska. Model simulations indicated Imajor synthesis of their global data sets in 1996; the resulting meta-analysis of that a warming climate would lead to: ITEX data produced in cooperation with the National Center for Ecological Analysis • slightly more frequent and much larger and Synthesis has been published in Ecological Monographs. One important result of fires; this effort has been the general observation that the response of plants to warming • expansion of forest into previously decreases over time, suggesting alternative resource constraints on growth in tundra treeless tundra; ecosystems. For more information, contact Marilyn Walker in Fairbanks, Alaska • changes in vegetation and fire regime (907/474-2424; fax 907/474-6251; [email protected]). The paper is also avail- continuing for centuries after cessation able at: http://www.esajournals.org/esaonline/?request=get-issue&issn=0012- of the simulated climate warming; 9615&volume=069&issue=04. • up to 228% increase in area burned per The 9th ITEX meeting was held in East Lansing, Michigan in January 1999. The decade, leading to a landscape domi- meeting established ten working groups on issues including metadata, soils, and link- nated by a more homogenous, early ages to other programs. These efforts will facilitate integration and synthesis within successional deciduous forest; ITEX and among other research programs, including Arctic Transitions in the Land- • development of a novel grassland-steppe Atmosphere System (see Witness Autumn 1998) and international programs such as ecosystem, following a single transient Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (see Witness Spring 1997 and page 18). 40-year drought, that persisted indefi- The proceedings of the meeting are available in hard copy. For more information, nitely and caused permanent increases contact Bob Hollister in East Lansing, MI (517/432-2399; fax 517/432-2150; in fires in both the grassland and [email protected]; http://www.cevl.msu.edu/ael/index.html). adjacent vegetation. 10 Arctic Natural Sciences Program Updates

Arctic Natural Sciences Program Funds Variety of Studies

ithin the Office of Polar Programs sonal snow, glaciers, the Greenland ice • the exchange of salt and heat with the W(OPP), the Arctic Natural Sciences sheet). Program emphases include ice Atlantic Ocean and the Bering Sea; (ANS) Program provides core support for dynamics, numerical modeling, glacial • magnetic anomalies, heat flow, and disciplinary research in the Arctic and geology, and remote sensing. gravity variations; coordinates arctic research with the Direc- • sedimentary history; and torates for Geosciences and Biological Sci- Oceanography • the role of the Arctic Ocean and ences. The program also helps facilitate Oceanographic research focuses on the adjacent seas in global climate. OPP multidisciplinary, cross-disciplinary, structure of the Arctic Ocean and adjacent Several noteworthy projects funded by and bipolar projects. Specifically, ANS seas, their physical and biological interac- the Arctic Natural Sciences program are supports research in atmospheric sciences, tions with the global hydrosphere, and the highlighted in the articles on this and the biological sciences, earth sciences, glaciol- formation and maintenance of the arctic following two pages. ogy, and oceanography. Areas of special sea-ice cover. Areas of interest are: For more information about the interest include: • the distribution of life in high-latitude program, see the ANS web site (http:// • ozone depletion in the Arctic, oceans; www.nsf.gov/od/opp/arctic/natural.htm) • space weather, and • low-temperature life processes; or contact ANS Program Manager Jane • exploration of the Arctic Ocean and its • the growth and decay of sea ice; Dionne at NSF in Arlington, VA (703/ environmental processes. • the formation, movement, and mixing 306-1029; fax 703/306-0648; of arctic water masses; [email protected]). Atmospheric Sciences This research focuses on stratospheric and tropospheric processes, and arctic climate and meteorology. ANS has also SuperDARN Monitors Magnetic Field supported research on past climates (e.g., atmospheric gases preserved in snow and ne of the principal ways in which to Siberia. In the Southern Hemisphere, ice cores), and on atmosphere-sea and Osolar activity influences the Earth is four radars are operational, and two are atmosphere-ice interactions. through the effect of the solar wind on the under construction. Each radar covers magnetosphere and the upper atmosphere. 3,500 km in range and 56° in azimuth. Biological Sciences Over the past several years, a global-scale The radars operate continuously and ANS supports projects emphasizing network of high-latitude, high-frequency deliver images of the high-latitude understanding of the adaptation of organ- radars has begun to probe some of the key convection pattern every two minutes. isms to the arctic environment. Studies questions in solar-terrestrial research. The Scientists from ten countries operate include: international network, known by the acro- the network. U.S. participation is funded • research in freshwater, marine, and nym SuperDARN (Super Dual Auroral by NSF (through OPP-ANS and the terrestrial biology; Radar Network), is designed to measure Division of Atmospheric Sciences of the • organismal adaptation to the arctic global-scale magnetospheric convection by Directorate for Geosciences) and NASA. environment; observing plasma motion in the Earth’s SuperDARN is the only experiment • ecology; upper atmosphere (ionosphere). that yields continuous, large-scale, direct • ecosystem structure and processes; and Plasma convection is controlled by observations of the high-latitude electrical • the biological consequences of interactions between the solar wind, the field. The network provides insight into: ultraviolet radiation. Earth’s magnetosphere, and the iono- • the structure and evolution of high- sphere in the Arctic and Antarctic. Mea- latitude ionospheric convection patterns Earth Sciences suring this convection will contribute to at a large scale; This area of research includes all sub- a better understanding of: • the effects of ionospheric convection on disciplines of terrestrial and marine geol- • processes in the near-Earth space the structure and dynamics of the upper ogy and geophysics. Special emphasis is on environment, and atmosphere; understanding geological processes impor- • the importance of electromagnetic • global distribution and transport of tant to the arctic regions and the geologic energy input to the high-latitude regions high-latitude ionospheric irregularities; history dominated by those processes. of Earth’s upper atmosphere. and Currently, the northern hemisphere • the large-scale distribution and propaga- Glaciology component of SuperDARN consists of six tion of gravity waves excited by high- OPP is the focal point for glaciological radars with coverage extending from Fin- latitude sources. research within NSF. This includes study land to central Canada. Three new radars For more information, see the Super- of the history and dynamics of all naturally will be added to the network in Canada DARN web site (http://superdarn.jhuapl. occurring forms of snow and ice (e.g., sea- and Alaska to complete coverage westward edu). 11 Arctic Natural Sciences Program Updates

Navy and Civilians Complete Submarine Science Series

n April 1999, researchers funded by the find an opportunity to better under- The Future of Submarine Support IArctic Natural Sciences Program sailed stand processes that contribute to the In June 1999, the report from the aboard the U.S. Navy submarine USS creation of oceanic crust; 1998 SCICEX 2000 workshop was pub- Hawkbill to map oceanic ridges and basins • a search for glacial scouring on the lished. The report summarizes scientific beneath the arctic ice cap and study ocean Chukchi Borderland that could provide insights from the four SCICEX cruises currents that may affect global climate. evidence of the extent and depth of ice that had been completed at that time and This Scientific Ice Expeditions cover during the last Ice Age; explores the future of submarine support (SCICEX) ’99 cruise was the last of a • examination of the Lomonosov Ridge to for civilian research. According to Rear series of five annual missions that have obtain clues as to how the Amerasian Admiral Winford Ellis, the Navy will have employed Sturgeon Class nuclear subma- basin may have formed; other obligations for its greatly reduced rines as research platforms for civilian • studies of undersea sediments on the U.S. submarine force for at least the next scientists (see Witness Spring 1998). The Yermak Plateau; and few years. U.S. Office of Naval Research has played • monitoring of the temperature, salinity, NSF is working with the RAND a key, sustained role in this collaboration and composition of the strong circum- Corporation to assess the feasibility of between the U.S. Navy and NSF. polar current that flows around the operating a decommissioned Sturgeon SCICEX ’99 was under the direction boundary of the Arctic Ocean, trans- Class nuclear submarine as an unclassified of Commander Robert H. Perry and Chief porting water from the Atlantic and oceanographic research vessel. Scientist Margo H. Edwards (University of Pacific oceans throughout the Arctic. For more information, see the Hawaii). Research included: Edwards was the first woman to travel SCICEX web site (http://www.ldeo. • examination of the Gakkel Ridge, the aboard a U.S. Navy submarine, and Rita columbia.edu/scicex) or the RAND Cor- slowest spreading mid-ocean ridge in Colwell was the first NSF director to visit poration web site (http://www.rand.org/ the world, where scientists expect to a SCICEX cruise. centers/stpi/special/meade.minutes.html).

Russian-American Team Determines Bering Strait’s Age

or more than 100 million years, the FBering land bridge between Siberia and Alaska divided the Arctic Ocean from the North Pacific. Generations of paleon- tologists, biogeographers, and oceanogra- Konstantin Barinov (left) and Louie Marincovich (right) on phers have sought to assign a date to the Sandy Ridge. The strata between flooding of the land bridge by the Bering them contain white fossil clams, Strait because of the strait’s dual role in: many of which are Astarte. An accurate date for the Bering Strait • terminating the interchange of is relevant for numerical models of mammals between Eurasia and the oceanographic and atmospheric Americas; and circulation and their influences on global climate, as well as for • enabling the migration of marine biotas understanding the evolution of between the North Pacific, Arctic, and mammalian and marine fauna North Atlantic oceans. (photo courtesy of Louie Marincovich). Discovery of fossil mollusks from southwestern Alaska in the collections at the California Academy of Sciences led to only in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, in Strait that was previously inferred from fieldwork on the Alaska Peninsula in sandstone beds at Sandy Ridge near Port indirect evidence in Russia, Alaska, arctic August 1998 by a team of American and Moller on the north (Bering Sea) side of Canada, and the high-latitude North Russian paleontologists who assigned a the Alaska Peninsula. The clam’s presence Atlantic region. The Bering Strait is the well-founded age to the strait for the first clearly indicates an open Bering Strait. last of the Pacific Ocean gateways to be time. Sponsored by OPP-ANS, Louie Fossil diatoms from within the shells of assigned a precise age. Marincovich (California Academy of Astarte were used to date them at 4.8–5.5 For more information, contact Louie Sciences), Anton Oleinik (Florida Atlantic million years old, based on the diatoms’ Marincovich in San Francisco, CA (415/ University), and Konstantin Barinov (Rus- occurrences in North Pacific deep-sea 750-7110; fax 415/750-7090; lmarin@ sian Academy of Sciences Geological Insti- cores. This age is considerably older than best.com). tute) found Astarte, a clam that dwelled the 3.1–4.1 million year age for the Bering 12 Arctic Natural Sciences Program Updates

International Efforts Focus on “Arctic Oasis”

olynyas are areas of open water sur- The central hypothesis of NOW is that Prounded by sea ice. Polynyas occur in the mechanism responsible for the open- the midst of the ice pack that covers the ing of the North Water (latent vs. sensible Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas and can heat) dictates the duration and intensity of persist for nine or ten months of the year. biological productivity. The growth of Because some polynyas occur at the same algae starts as early as April in the NOW time and place each year, animals have area. This biological productivity can last adapted their life histories to this regular- up to six months in the North Water, ity, making recurring polynyas of special while it may last less than three months in ecological significance. adjacent areas such as Lancaster Sound, 5,000 years ago Inuit peoples settled where ice break-up and the phytoplankton the area around Thule (then called bloom occur typically in late July. Avanersuaq) in Greenland, because of its In addition to a long growth season, proximity to the resources of the North the surface stratification resulting from the Water Polynya, the largest polynya in the melting of the ice cover in sensible-heat Canadian Arctic. The North Water is an areas of the North Water accelerates the overwintering ground for belugas, wal- warming of surface waters by solar radia- ruses, and narwhals. In spring, cliffs and tion. This longer production season and a islands on the nearby coasts harbor warmer surface layer allow key metazoan immense populations of nesting marine species such as copepods, appendi- birds such as thick-bill murres and dove- cularians, and arctic cod to flourish in the This image of the North Water Polynya area was derived kies. Explorer Robert Peary described the open waters. According to this hypothesis, from measurements of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer on the NOAA-14 satellite on area’s “abundance of vegetable and animal the early and sustained availability of 5 June 1998. Thin cirrus cloud partially obscures the life” as an “Arctic oasis”. plankton would explain the abundance of dark, open water of the polynya, bordered to the east by In January, the North Water area is mammals and birds in the North Water. the coast of Greenland; to the west by the coast of Ellesmere Island, with some fast ice attached to the coast; almost completely covered with thin drift- Another aspect of the NOW research is and to the south by the pack ice in northern Baffin Bay. ing ice. By late March or early April, the the study and modeling of carbon seques- The northern boundary of the polynya is marked by a polynya has opened along the Greenland tration in the North Water. In seasonally well-formed arch straddling Nares Strait, holding back the ice flow that would otherwise come down from the coast and begun to spread south and west, frozen seas, the ice cover forming in early Arctic Ocean through Kane Basin. The picture is of reflected sunlight, at a wavelength of about 0.65 micron. reaching its maximum extent in July autumn prevents the CO2 dissolved in the (about 80,000 km2). Although the polynya surface waters and assimilated in summer The image has been rectified so north is to the top and is shown in a polar stereographic projection, centered at has generally been considered to be due to by microalgae from returning to the atmo- 77oN, 73oW, where the pixel resolution is 1 km square. currents removing the ice (latent heat sphere in winter. Therefore, seasonally ice- There are 700x500 pixels in the image (figure courtesy polynya), new evidence suggests that covered areas (in particular around highly of Peter Minnett, prepared at the University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, upwelling of relatively warm water may productive polynyas) could contribute from data downlinked at the Geophysical Institute, contribute to the polynya’s existence and disproportionately to the sequestration University of Alaska Fairbanks). growth in winter and spring (sensible heat of atmospheric CO2. polynya). Fieldwork for NOW began in 1997 ter surveys from the Radisson, as well as The oceanographic and meteorological with mooring of instrument lines in the measurements taken from bases on the processes responsible for generating and North Water and preliminary biological coastline and by automatic instruments set maintaining the North Water are among sampling during a 14-day expedition of up on the polynya’s perimeter, extended the main scientific issues addressed by the the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker the spatial range of the observations. International North Water Polynya Study Louis S. St. Laurent. The moored instru- Finally, a third international expedition, (NOW), which is part of the International ments allowed scientists to record the jointly funded by Canada, Japan, and the Arctic Polynya Programme (IAPP) of the physical and biological conditions that United States, was completed in October Arctic Ocean Science Board (AOSB). The prevailed during the winter months pre- 1999, allowing an interannual comparison NOW Research Network links researchers ceding the vernal expansion of the polynya of the dynamics of the North Water and a from Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Japan, in 1998. The main field effort for NOW first glimpse of autumnal processes as the Mexico, Poland, the United Kingdom, was carried out from April through July polynya begins to close for the winter. and the United States. Work undertaken 1998, when more than 100 experts from For more information, see the Interna- by the nine U.S. principal investigators in five countries, distributed on four 28-day tional NOW project web site (http:// the NOW project is supported by NASA legs, combined forces for multidisciplinary www.fsg.ulaval.ca/giroq/now/wel.htm) and by NSF through the Arctic Natural study of the North Water on board the or contact Jody Deming in Seattle, WA Sciences Program. CCG icebreaker Pierre Radisson. Helicop- ([email protected]). 13 Arctic Social Sciences Program Updates

Arctic Social Sciences Program Presents Opportunities

he OPP Arctic Social Sciences Pro- the opportunities and needs in the arctic • integrate social and natural sciences; Tgram (ASSP) is a multidisciplinary social sciences. Research areas of particular • are collaborations between researchers and interdisciplinary program encompass- focus include culture and environment; and those living in the Arctic; ing all social sciences supported by NSF. resources and economic change; develop- • include traditional knowledge; or These include anthropology, archaeology, ment of social and political institutions; • link disciplines, regions, researchers, economics, geography, linguistics, political ethnic and regional identities; and knowl- communities, and/or students. science, psychology, sociology, and related edge systems. Building and maintaining relationships subjects. The ASSP encourages projects that: between arctic communities, researchers, In 1999, ARCUS published Arctic • include new investigators or indigenous and funding agencies requires scrupulous Social Sciences: Opportunities in Arctic peoples; attention to sociopolitical and ethical con- Research on behalf of the ASSP, outlining • are circumpolar and/or comparative; siderations, but the returns are proving to be greatly valued. Examples of partnership approaches taken by arctic communities and researchers include: Photos Preserve Northern History • The Shishmaref Native Corporation and Susan Fair have documented place he Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museum are to increase understanding of these names along the Saniq coastline, includ- Tcollection at Bowdoin College important images and to make them more ing oral histories associated with place, includes thousands of photographs taken accessible to both researchers and the graphic arts, and paintings produced by by Donald MacMillan during nearly 50 people whose lives they document. Iñupiaq inhabitants of the region. years of work in Greenland, Labrador, and Working with Thule Museum staff in • Henry Huntington has worked with Baffin Island. MacMillan recorded places, Qaanaaq, LeMoine and an undergraduate communities in northwest Alaska to natural history, and the lives of the people conducted interviews with members of the identify a feasible way to document tra- between 1908 and 1954, during the piv- communities where the photographs had ditional ecological knowledge of beluga otal period when foreign cultures were first been taken. They gathered information whales (see Witness Spring 1997). influencing indigenous people in the Arc- about people in the photos and the places • Yup’ik elders and Ann Fienup-Riordan, tic. Along with MacMillan’s journals, pub- with which they were associated (e.g., their in collaboration with the Association of lications, and collection of objects, these birthplaces; homes; fishing, hunting and Village Council Presidents, have images are a rich source of historic, envi- gathering sites; the sites where the photos researched an extensive collection of ronmental, and ethnographic information. were taken). Such information represents a Yup’ik artifacts at a Berlin museum. In 1999, Genevieve LeMoine recovered history, deepening the historical Several noteworthy ASSP projects are conducted anthropological fieldwork in and anthropological utility of the images. highlighted in the articles on this and the Northwest Greenland using MacMillan’s For more information, contact following two pages. photographs to revisit the 20th-century Genevieve LeMoine in Brunswick, ME When appropriate, ASSP pursues joint history of the Greenland Inuit. The goals (207/725-3304; fax 207/725-3499; review and funding with programs in the of the project, supported by the ASSP, [email protected]). Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Eco- nomic Sciences (http://www.nsf.gov/sbe). Special funding opportunities also may be available through NSF-wide initiatives and activities, such as the Human Dimensions of Global Change (http://www.nsf.gov/ sbe/hdgc/hdgc.htm) and Biocomplexity in the Environment (see page 6). Joint review of human dimensions proposals with the Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Program is also possible (http://www.nsf.gov/od/ opp/arctic/system.htm). For more information, contact ASSP Program Manager Fae Korsmo at NSF in Arlington, VA (703/306-1029; fax 703/ 306-0648; [email protected]) or see the Ittukasuk (far left), who worked extensively with Donald MacMillan, and his family over-wintered in 1923-24 in Refuge Harbor where MacMillan had frozen-in his schooner Bowdoin. The other family members in this photo from the spring of ARCUS web site for a copy of Arctic Social 1924 were identified by informants, including Ole Petersen, as Aviaq, Ane Petersen (wife of Ittukasuk) holding Ole, and Sciences: Opportunities in Arctic Research Qiajunguaq (photo courtesy of the Arctic Museum, Bowdoin College). (http://www.arcus.org). 14 Arctic Social Sciences Program Updates

Project Investigates Prehistoric and Modern Aleuts

he world today has no ethnographic Tor historic resources to document the unique lifestyles of the people of the a l Western Aleutians in any period of their u BRISTOL s n BAY i history. An international team of research- n Pribilof Islands e P ers is now investigating the Near Island a k s Near Islands a Aleuts, combining archaeology, historical A l ttu ya A em ecology, molecular biology, and ethnogra- Sh ldir S Bu D A A N phy to better understand the history and L E S L U T I A N I ka las R na a ak ka U environment of the isolated islands. t Ad At I s l a Since 1997, with funding from the n d s Map © Mountain High Maps, nak atig revised by Sue Mitchell. Arctic Social Sciences Program, the West- Am ern Aleutians Archaeological and Paleobio- logical Project (WAAPP) has investigated the archaeology of Buldir and Attu ers and trappers had exterminated the sea This body of data should add greatly to Islands. Dixie West (University of Kan- cows in the Commanders. While the early understanding of ancient Attuans as well sas), Christine Lefevre (Museum of Natu- Russian explorers never reported sea cows as preserving more recent history. ral History, Paris), and Debra Corbett in the Aleutians, discovery of bones in the In the future, the archaeologists and (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchor- Buldir midden suggests that these animals historical ecologists will work in Austin age) serve as principal investigators for once lived in the Aleutians as well. Cove on the north shore of Attu. The the research project. Arkady Savinetsky During the first field season on Attu Russian team will examine buried soils for (Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow) in 1998, archaeologists surveyed, mapped, information on changes in rainfall and leads the historical ecologists. and tested ancient Aleut village sites in temperature. Soil profiles will be com- Thus far, archaeological investigations Nevidiskov Bay, Massacre Bay, and Austin pared with those from Shemya, Adak, and of tools have shown that Aleuts from both Cove. Radiocarbon dates suggest that Attu Buldir islands to develop a paleoenviron- the Rat and Near islands used Buldir, was inhabited by 390 BC. The research mental framework for the region. sometimes concurrently. Organic cultural team discovered a cave approximately 5 m Archaeologists will sample whale bone remains have yielded dates from 240 BP to wide and 48 m deep. Near the entrance of in house structures to establish temporal 2347 BP. Archaeologists discovered and the cave are hearths, work areas with patterns of whale use. DNA analysis will excavated a feature, probably a culturally carved wood and a porcelain cup with a allow the researchers to identify the species arranged superstructure, made of numer- Chinese motif, and sleeping/sitting areas of whales used, which may allow infer- ous whale ribs and long bones on Buldir— lined with dried grass. In the dark interior ences about prehistoric/historic whale the only such structure excavated and of the cave were two stone features and hunting in the Near Islands. documented for the Near Islands. Mixed human bones, evidently associated with Archaeologists will excavate house in the collapsed bone rubble were a variety human burials. Until this discovery, no features to allow comparison of western of cobbles with signs of use-wear, griddle- cave burials had been noted west of and eastern Aleutian house construction. stones, stone lamps, and stone points. Amatignak Island. They also will carefully map the cave A partial whale skull was partially buried, The WAAPP archaeologists are work- interior, and collect wood and animal snout down, in a shallow 2 m-wide pit ing with the Aleut community and cul- bones for analyses. The Aleut Corporation that had been dug into the floor and lined tural organizations to preserve the history has given West permission to collect with sea lion scapula. A large amorphous of the Western Aleuts. On Unalaska human remains from the cave for radiocar- hearth occupied much of the northern and Atka islands, Alice Petrivelli, a native bon dating and DNA analysis by molecu- edge of the excavated area, and three Aleut and ethnographer affiliated with the lar geneticists Michael Crawford (Univer- smaller pockets in the floor contained Aleut Corporation, is interviewing the last sity of Kansas) and Dennis O’Rourke bones, needles, and fish hooks. Organic surviving Aleuts who once lived in the (University of Utah). The bone analyses samples taken from the whale-bone struc- Western Aleutians. Petrivelli is gathering also will provide information about the ture suggest the feature was constructed data on: age, general health/nutritional condition, during the 15th century AD. • family histories; and cultural affiliation of the humans in Researchers recovered a rib bone of a • hunting, fishing, and collecting the cave. In turn, this information will be Stellar sea cow in the midden on Buldir. practices; integrated within a larger, regional frame- This species, a large herbivorous sea mam- • Attuan history; work for Aleut origins and distribution. mal, was discovered by Russians in 1741 • women’s activities including basket For more information, contact Dixie on Bering Island in the Commanders to weaving and plant collecting; and West in Lawrence, KS (785/864-4103; the west. Within 27 years, Russian explor- • concepts of identity. fax 785/864-5224; [email protected]). 15 Capitol Updates

OMB Publishes New Regulations on Data Access

rider attached to the FY 1999 omni- implementing the law “will likely harm to repeal the original rider; in July 1999, A bus appropriations bill by Senator the process of research in all fields.” In hearings were held on Brown’s bill, which Richard Shelby (R-AL) effectively subjects April 1999, the American Association for had 54 co-sponsors, before the House federal nonprofit grantees to the Freedom the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Committee on Government Reform’s of Information Act (FOIA), essentially wrote that “the proposed revisions... Subcommittee on Government Manage- overturning a 1980 Supreme Court deci- represent a fundamental shift in federal ment, Information and Technology. sion limiting FOIA to governmental agen- policy that will create serious unintended For more information, see the AAAS cies. The Shelby amendment makes “all consequences for scientists, their institu- web site (http://www.aaas.org/), the OMB data” produced under a grant subject to tions, federal funding agencies, and the web site (http://www.whitehouse.gov/ the procedures of FOIA and would permit wider public.” omb/), and the U.S. Congress web site the federal agency to impose a user fee on The late Congressman George Brown (http://thomas.loc.gov/). the requestor equaling the incremental (D-CA) introduced legislation (HR 88) cost of obtaining the data. In accordance with the new law, the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published draft revisions to its Revision to OMB Circular A-110.36 data-disclosure regulations (Circular A-110) in February and August 1999. he Federal Government has the right to (1) obtain, reproduce, publish or After receiving comments on the drafts, Totherwise use the data first produced under an award, and (2) authorize oth- OMB published the final revisions, some ers to receive, reproduce, publish, or otherwise use such data for Federal purposes. of which limited the scope of the law, in In addition, in response to a FOIA request for data relating to published research September 1999 (see box). findings produced under an award that were used by the Federal Government in The scientific community has developing an agency action that has the force and effect of law, the Federal awarding expressed concern about the extension of agency shall request and the recipient shall provide, within a reasonable time, the the FOIA to federal grantees. NSF Direc- research data so that they can be made available to the public through the procedures tor Rita Colwell stated, in her February established under the FOIA. 1999 comments to OMB, that regulations

NSF Budget Increases in FY 2000

This article has been abstracted from Although growth in the NSF budget ment, $10 million more than requested. information on FY 2000 federal funding slowed in the mid-1990s, recent years have The additional $10 million will fund a for research and development prepared each brought significant increases for the new high-altitude research aircraft; and year by the American Association for the agency, and most disciplines have shared • $60 million for the third year of the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Office of in this growth. Highlights of the FY 2000 Plant Genome Research Program. Science and Policy Programs. For more research appropriations for NSF include: The Education and Human Resources information, see the AAAS web site • increased arctic research logistics fund- Directorate receives $697 million, $35 (http://www.aaas.org/spp/R&D). ing to $25 million, $3 million more million more than FY 1999. This includes than the President’s budget request; $55 million, up from $48 million, for the n October 1999, President Clinton • $50 million for the new Biocomplexity Experimental Program to Stimulate Com- Isigned into law an FY 2000 VA-HUD initiative (see page 6); petitive Research (EPSCoR), a program to appropriations bill (HR 2684) that in- • a major increase in NSF’s investments in improve the research competitiveness of creases the NSF budget by 5.4% ($202 information technology (IT) research— 18 states (and Puerto Rico) traditionally million). Each NSF directorate receives an The Clinton Administration has under-represented as recipients of federal increase of at least 3%, and the Research proposed a multi-agency Information research funding. The final bill transfers and Related Accounts budget climbs 5.5% Technology for the 21st Century (IT2) the EPSCoR program and its funds to a to $2.9 billion. The budget agreement of initiative in computing and IT research. new Office of Innovation Partnership; the 18 November 1999 applied an across-the- Congress appropriated $90 million for bill also dedicates $10 million beyond the board cut of 0.38% to all appropriated the NSF Directorate for Computer and EPSCoR funds for the new office to assist programs, including NSF, to bring the Information Science and Engineering to non-EPSCoR institutions that receive little budget technically in line with the FY take the lead on this initiative; federal research funding to expand their 1997 spending caps. • $95 million for Major Research Equip- research capacity and competitiveness. 16 U.S. Arctic Research Commission

The USARC Studies Arctic Infrastructure and Bering Sea

he U.S. Arctic Research Commission structure. Robert Perry, Commander of 12 federal agencies engaged in arctic T(USARC) met in July 1999 at the the 1999 SCICEX submarine, gave a research—NSF (the IARPC lead agency); Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research detailed report on operations. Rita the Departments of Agriculture, Com- (INSTAAR) at the University of Colorado Colwell, Director of NSF and ex officio merce, Defense, Energy, Health and in Boulder. Margo Edwards, Chief Scien- Commissioner, joined the meeting for a Human Services, Interior, State, and tist for the 1999 SCICEX expedition, broad discussion of arctic research needs. Transportation; as well as the National briefed the Commissioners on the results In December 1999, the Commissioners Aeronautics and Space Administration, of that submarine cruise (see page 12). convened in Alaska to address research the Environmental Protection Agency, The Commissioners were briefed on needs and progress in planning for the and the Smithsonian Institution. For more INSTAAR research activities and, during study of the Bering Sea ecosystem. A information on IARPC, see http://www. visits to their respective facilities, heard multiagency forum was held at the Alaska nsf.gov/od/opp/arctic/iarpc/start.htm. reports from: Resources Library and Information Ser- The January 2001 edition of the Report • the National Snow and Ice Data vices (ARLIS) in Anchorage; the Fisheries on Goals and Priorities for Arctic Research Center, Industry Technology Center hosted the will be prepared during Spring and • the National Geophysical Data Center, Kodiak segment of the meeting. Summer 2000. The 1999 Report can be • the National Ice Core Repository, and The USARC published the 1999 found on the USARC web site (http:// • the National Center for Atmospheric edition of its biennial Report on Goals and www.uaa. alaska.edu/enri/arc_web/ Research. Priorities for Arctic Research (see Witness archome.htm). Input from the arctic The Commission met again in Octo- Spring 1998) in January 1999, providing research community is welcomed. ber 1999 in Arlington, Virginia to discuss guidance to the Interagency Arctic For more information, contact Garry infrastructure, including the basic and Research Policy Committee (IARPC) in Brass in Arlington, VA (800-AURORAB applied research needed to cope with the its biennial revision of the National Arctic or 703/525-0111; fax 703/525-0114; effects of climate change on arctic infra- Research Plan. The Plan coordinates the [email protected]).

Polar Research Board

PRB Stresses Importance of Ocean Drilling in the Arctic

n its most recent report, Ocean • outlines questions about the origin and arctica as well as temperate oceans around IDrilling Research: An Arctic Perspective evolution of the Arctic Ocean Basin that the globe. His research addresses larval (see Publications page 23), the Polar remain unresolved; biology of marine invertebrates, environ- Research Board (PRB) argues that the • reviews the technical challenges that mental chemistry, and developmental Arctic Ocean Basin should be included have historically prevented deep ocean changes in physiology. New members of in any ocean-drilling research program drilling at arctic sites; and the PRB are Henry Huntington (Hunting- that reaches past the current program’s • proposes ways that these might now ton Consulting), P. Buford Price (Univer- scheduled expiration in 2003. be addressed. sity of California, Berkeley), and Marilyn According to the report, justification The PRB has two new studies under- Walker (University of Alaska Fairbanks). for the perpetuation of scientific ocean way. At the request of the National Retiring members were John Anderson drilling should be based, at least in part, Atmospheric and Space Administration (Rice University), Walter Oechel (San on the need for information from the last (NASA), the committee is reviewing its Diego State University), Glenn Shaw real frontier in ocean drilling. The Arctic polar geophysical data sets and providing (University of Alaska Fairbanks), and Basin contains the Alpha-Mendeleyev advice to make them more useful. Another Robert Walker (Washington University). Ridge system—the largest essentially committee will review the Gulf of Alaska For more information, contact Chris unexplored geologic feature on Earth, and Ecosystem Monitoring Program for the Elfring, PRB Director, in Washington, the basin itself is the only one in the world Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. DC (202/334-3479; fax 202/334-1477; that has never been drilled. As a conse- Donal Manahan (University of South- [email protected]; http://www4.nas.edu/ quence, its geologic and climatologic ern California) succeeded David Clark as cger/prb.nsf). histories are largely unknown. The report: Chair of the PRB in Spring 1999. • reviews what is known about Earth’s Manahan is a marine environmental physi- crust and paleoclimate in the Arctic; ologist with extensive experience in Ant- 17 Arctic Policy

Arctic Council Meets Under U.S. Leadership

n November 1999, more than 150 (SDWG), chaired by Ray Arnaudo of the Public Awareness, Education, and Idelegates to the Arctic Council met in U.S. State Department, held its first meet- Outreach Washington, DC, under the chairmanship ings in May and November 1999. Mem- A Council priority is public outreach of the United States, to discuss cooperative bers reported on progress they have made concerning arctic issues within its measures to promote environmental pro- in improving the well-being of arctic chil- mandate. Delegations were briefed on: tection and sustainable development in the dren and youth, managing regional fisher- • the science education program Global Arctic. The meeting followed up on issues ies, and expanding use of telemedicine on a Learning and Observation to Benefit discussed at the previous Arctic Council circumpolar basis. The working group the Environment (GLOBE), which meeting in Anchorage, Alaska in May endorsed a project to promote cultural and links primary and secondary schools 1999. Delegates included senior officials eco-tourism and received an update on the world-wide through the internet and of the eight arctic nations, representatives comparative Survey of Living Conditions collects valuable environmental data; of arctic indigenous organizations that in the Arctic. • progress in forming a University of have Permanent Participant status, and The SDWG heard presentations and the Arctic, which will promote use of representatives of accredited observers. proposals on health issues such as emerging internet and student/faculty exchanges The Arctic Council is a high-level, infectious diseases, occupational health and among institutions of higher learning intergovernmental forum of the arctic safety in the fishing industry, and the in the Arctic (see page 22); nations established in 1996 (see Witness health and environmental needs of indig- • use of the Arctic Council web site Spring 1997). The Council grew out of enous communities. Fae Korsmo, director to build an inventory of arctic research the groundwork initiated between 1991 of the NSF Arctic Social Sciences Program and other programmatic activities; and 1996 as those nations pioneered the (see pages 14-15), reviewed social science • the Arctic Environmental Data Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy work in the Arctic, calling attention to sev- Directory; and (see Witness Autumn 1997). eral international joint projects and the • the Arctic Environmental Atlas. participation of indigenous communities in The Senior Arctic Officials will meet Environmental Protection such research. next in April 2000 in Fairbanks, Alaska. Four of the Council’s five working The SDWG also discussed common For more information, see the Arctic groups address environmental issues such themes and possible priorities for the Council web site (http://arctic-council. as contaminants, conservation of living Council’s sustainable development pro- usgs.gov) or contact Tracy Hall at the resources, and environmental threats. gram. The discussion advanced efforts to State Department in Washington, DC These groups—the Arctic Monitoring and draft a framework document to guide its (202/647-4972; fax 202/647-1106; Assessment Program; Conservation of activities. [email protected]). Arctic Flora and Fauna; Emergency Prevention, Preparedness, and Response; and Protection of the Arctic Marine Envi- ronment—reported on progress they have he existence of the Arctic Council certainly recognizes that everyone here is made since the May 1999 meetings. Tneighbors. Alaska shares a common border with our neighbors to the east, in Delegates reviewed plans to further Canada...; less than three miles away at the closest point are our neighbors in Russia...; develop an Arctic Council Action Plan, just over the top of the world are our European neighbors in Denmark, Finland, Nor- which identifies priorities for reducing way, Sweden, Greenland, and Iceland. And certainly we are neighbors as well of ...the emissions and cleaning up contaminants. Council’s permanent participants: the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, the Saami Efforts are also underway to develop a Council, the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North, and the Aleut comprehensive Arctic Climate Impact International Association. Assessment to examine the implications “As we look to a prosperous society in the new century, I believe it must be built on of climate change and increased ultraviolet the understanding that economic and environmental policies are not confrontational (UV) radiation on the Arctic. Delegates but are joined—that in progress, each is dependent on the other.... Part of our common encouraged arctic states to ratify the proto- work here stems from the legacy of past contamination. The work of the Arctic Moni- cols on persistent organic pollutants and toring and Assessment Program, the Russian PCB-sites assessment project, and the core heavy metals that are part of the United blood monitoring study all point to the need to plan and prevent.... Responsible devel- Nations’ convention on long-range opment provides the resources necessary to address our other priorities—educating our transboundary air pollution. Canada is the children, keeping police on our streets, plowing the snow from our roads, caring for our only nation to have ratified the protocols. elders, and making the necessary investments to protect our environment.” —Alaska Governor Tony Knowles Sustainable Development from an address welcoming the Arctic Council The Council’s newly established 4 May 1999 Sustainable Development Working Group 18 Arctic Policy

Changing Climate for Arctic Research in Canada

t the same time that Canada is experi- researchers, NORTHSCI, and has been In 1998, the Canadian Centre for Aencing political devolution with the working to promote northern research in Foreign Policy Development at the formation of separate territories of academia and government (see http://aix1. Department of Foreign Affairs and Inter- Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, uottawa.ca/associations/aucen-acuns/). national Trade held a series of meetings, several national initiatives on northern sci- The Natural Sciences and Engineering at the request of Minister Lloyd Axworthy, ence and technology, research, and foreign Research Council (NSERC) and the Social addressing the development of a northern policy are demonstrating an increased rec- Sciences and Humanities Research Coun- foreign policy for Canada. These consulta- ognition of science needs in the Canadian cil (SSHRC) are collaborating on a task tions, workshops, and expert panels North. The new territorial governments force on northern research which has been resulted in recommendations on the struc- and land claims organizations in the North appointed by NSERC. The mandate of ture of Canadian policy, which are being are, however, taking much of the lead in the task force is: discussed in the government and will be research, promoting research in a wide • to document the state of northern submitted to the cabinet by Axworthy. range of disciplines, developing research science in Canada, and Members of a post-secondary educa- capacity within the communities, and • to recommend ways in which the tion committee of the governing Liberal stimulating economic activity. challenges of northern science might Party of Canada have toured a number In February 1999, a new Chair and be addressed in the granting councils. of arctic research programs and com- Board were appointed to the Canadian Po- After extensive consultation with the munities. They have been active in elevat- lar Commission, which serves as the link university and northern communities, ing understanding of northern research between the population of Canada and the the final report is now being drafted. and training among parliamentarians. federal government in both north and A committee of Assistant Deputy Min- Other initiatives on northern science and south polar affairs. The Chair is Michael isters from all federal government depart- technology, such as hearings on arctic Robinson, formerly executive director of ments with an interest in the North, and research by the Standing Committee on the Arctic Institute of North America at representatives from the Canadian Polar Industry and the increase in support for the University of Calgary, and currently Commission and the granting councils has the Polar Continental Shelf Project in President and Chief Executive Officer of been discussing a Northern Science and 1999, are further indications of a changing the Glenbow Museum. The northern resi- Technology Strategy for Canada. A work- climate for northern research in Canada. dents on the Board are Richard Binder, a ing group established by this committee For more information, contact Peter Native harvester and tourism entrepreneur has drafted a framework for northern Johnson in Ottawa, ON (613/562-5800 from Inuvik; Josie Sias, an educator and science and technology within the ext 1061; fax 613/562-5145; peterj@aix1. former park interpreter from the Kluane federal government. uottawa.ca). region; and Jean Dupuis, who has been ac- tive in the regional government of Kativik in northern Quebec. The academic com- munity is represented by Julie Cruikshank, IASC Starts Forum of Arctic Operators a professor of Anthropology (University of British Columbia), and Peter Johnson, he International Arctic Science discussions on the terms of reference, a professor of Physical Geography (Uni- TCommittee (IASC) has led the devel- membership, and tasks, which include versity of Ottawa) and President of the opment of a Forum of Arctic Research developing: Association of Canadian Universities for Operators (FARO). The Forum, which • a circumarctic network of environ- Northern Studies. Johnson was appointed would be similar to the Council of Manag- mental observatories; Vice-Chair of the Board. Wayne Adams, a ers of National Antarctic Programmes, • uses of innovative technologies (e.g., consultant and former cabinet minister in would assist communication and coopera- satellite observations) and seminars on the government of Nova Scotia, completes tion among the various entities involved in arctic technologies; and the Board. In August 1999, Steven Bigras arctic research logistics management. An • a database for logistical information. was appointed Executive Director of the initial meeting, held in August 1998, was Participants also elected the FARO Commission. The Canadian Polar Com- attended by 24 representatives from eleven Executive Committee, whose main task mission is now implementing a Canadian countries who agreed to initiate the will be to plan the development of FARO. Polar Information Network (CPIN) and Forum, appointed a small group to draft The members are: has established indicators to monitor the terms of reference, and had an initial • Bonni Hrycyk, Chair (Canada), state of polar science in the country (see discussion about tasks. • Anders Karlqvist (Sweden), http://www. polarcom.gc.ca). The second FARO meeting, held dur- • Olav Orheim (Norway), and The Association of Canadian Universi- ing IASC’s Arctic Science Summit Week • Tom Pyle (United States). ties for Northern Studies has established a in April 1999 in Tromsø, Norway also For more information, see the IASC communication system for northern was well attended. Participants started web site (http://www.iasc.no). 19 International News

ARTERI Links European Research Efforts

he Arctic-Alpine Terrestrial Ecosys- but was designed to enhance communica- on the development of a collaborative net- Ttem Research Initiative (ARTERI) has tion by providing a forum for the work of high-latitude terrestrial research just completed its three years (1996–99) of exchange of information and development sites (SCANTRAN) to facilitate integra- concerted action focusing on the interac- of collaboration within the research com- tive and comparative research. The emerg- tive effects of changes in land-use, climate, munity. ARTERI has involved approxi- ing SCANTRAN network, if it can be and composition on arctic and alpine ter- mately 200 researchers from at least 14 established, will contribute to activities of restrial ecosystems. The arctic-alpine focus European countries and from Russia, other international arctic research pro- was funded by the European Commission Canada, and the United States. Nine grams, including the Arctic Monitoring as a component of the Terrestrial Ecosys- workshops covered the following topics: and Assessment Programme (AMAP) and tem Research Initiative (TERI) program. A • climate-change impact scenarios in Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna final report is now available on the cold regions; (CAFF) (see page 18), and the Barents Sea ARTERI web site (http://www.dpc. dk/ • a high-latitude terrestrial transect Impact Study. ARTERI.html). (SCANTRAN); An ARTERI workshop in October ARTERI based its work on the research • a University of the Arctic (see page 22); 1997 explored a case study of the environ- plan developed by the International Arctic and mental, social, cultural, and economic Science Commission (IASC) working • human-environment interactions. issues concerning Sami peoples in Upper group on Terrestrial Ecosystems and Feed- Participants at four workshops Lapland. The workshop highlighted: backs on Climate Change. Objectives of focusing on the responses of plants, • the differences between official and the latter included understanding the animals, soils, and landscapes to climate local viewpoints, and environmental and biological controls on, change in cold regions developed detailed • perceptions of issues and research and spatial and temporal variation in: climate-change impact scenarios. Partici- priorities. • feedbacks from surface energy and pants attending the final ARTERI The organization of the workshop also water balances; workshop in January 1999 developed: provided a model of participatory plan- • feedbacks of cycling and storage of • a summary of the predicted impacts of ning applicable to other situations where carbon and nutrients, and consequences climate changes, and interaction between researchers and for ecosystem structure; • implications for policy. stakeholders are essential. • feedbacks from trace-gas fluxes; and The impact scenarios represent working For more information, see the • redistribution of species and ecotones, hypotheses that can guide further research. ARTERI web site (http://www.dpc.dk/ and changes in biodiversity, focusing on In collaboration with the International ARTERI.html) or contact Bill Heal in causes and consequences of the changes. Geosphere Biosphere Programme, Edinburgh, UK (+44/1968-674-927; fax ARTERI was not a research program ARTERI contributed to three workshops +44/1968-674-927; [email protected]).

ACSYS Broadens into Global Cryosphere

ince March 1997, the role of the on Climate and Cryosphere (CLIC) and • interacting with other WCRP efforts, Scryosphere in the climate system has established a Task Group to develop a particularly the Global Energy and been the subject of discussions within the science and coordination plan for presen- Water Experiment (GEWEX) and the World Climate Research Programme tation to the JSC in March 2000. At that Climate Variability Project (CLIVAR); (WCRP). time, the JSC will decide whether to and In March 1998, the Arctic Climate initiate CLIC as a full WCRP project. • identifying appropriate mechanisms for System Study (ACSYS) Scientific Steering The draft science and coordination collaboration with other related projects. Group presented a paper at the annual plan outlines requirements for: The draft plan is now available for review meeting of the Joint Scientific Committee • developing a globally integrated and comment on the ACSYS CLIC web (JSC) for the WCRP: cryospheric component in the WCRP; site (http://www.npolar.no/acsys/CLIC/ • identifying gaps in knowledge of some • including cryospheric elements of clic_draft.PDF). cryospheric processes in the climate present global climate change programs; For more information, see the ACSYS system, and • enhancing links among global and CLIC web site, or contact Howard Cattle • summarizing the various options for regional cryospheric studies; in Bracknell, UK (+44/344-856-209; fax the organization of cryospheric studies • ensuring appropriate treatments of +44/344-854-898; [email protected]). provided the basis for the endorsement. cryospheric processes in climate models; On the basis of this summary, the JSC • assembling global and regional endorsed the idea of a broader program cryospheric data sets; 20 International News

Native Knowledge of Polar Bears Informs Three International Surveys

he first U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service year study in an area near Anadyr and management of polar bear populations and T(USFWS) survey that officially incor- Pevek on the Chukotka Peninsula. Hunt- representation at international meetings. porated traditional ecological knowledge ers will map habitat areas based on obser- For more information, contact Charlie into a management decision document is vations collected over their lifetimes. Johnson at the Nanuuq Commission in now serving as the basis for a comparable The Alaska Nanuuq Commission was Nome, AK (907/443-5044; fax 907/443- survey on the Chukotka Peninsula founded in 1994 to ensure polar bear 5060; [email protected]) or Susanne in Russia. conservation and subsistence opportunities Kalxdorff at the USFWS in Anchorage Polar bears are difficult to study, for Native residents of coastal villages, as (907/786-3828; fax 907/786-3816; because their ranges are large (e.g., in the well as Alaska Native involvement in the [email protected]). Chukchi Sea up to 5,500 miles/year, or approximately 15 miles/day) and their habitat use in Alaska is not well docu- mented. Native people who share habitat Webber is U.S. Delegate to IASC with polar bears, however, have specialized knowledge of the large arctic mammals atrick J. Webber of Michigan State University has been appointed as the new that is useful for management purposes. PU.S. delegate to the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC). He suc- In 1994, hunters from 12 Alaskan ceeds Oran Young of Dartmouth College, who served two three-year terms and villages along the coastline of the Bering, made significant contributions to IASC in its formative years. Professor Young made Chukchi, and Beaufort seas participated major contributions to the planning and implementation of the IASC-sponsored in a USFWS polar bear habitat-use survey. First International Conference for Arctic Research Planning in 1995. He continues The hunters identified on maps areas used to advocate for integrating social dimensions into IASC-sponsored projects and will by the bears for denning, feeding, and sea- remain active in IASC affairs as a member of several science project committees. sonal movements. Agency representatives IASC was founded in 1990 as a nongovernmental, international organization compiled the data, entered the informa- with the mission of encouraging, facilitating, and promoting the full range of tion into a geographic information system basic and applied research in the Arctic, including “encouraging cooperation and (GIS), and met again with the villagers integration of human, social, and natural sciences concerned with the Arctic at a to confirm the data and report to the circumarctic or international level and providing scientific advice on arctic issues.” communities. The results of this work Webber is a plant ecologist who is active in the International Tundra Experiment are documented in Collection of Local (ITEX; see page 10) and concerned with the synergism between climate change and Knowledge Regarding Polar Bear Habitat surface disturbance from human activities. He was Director of the Institute of Arctic Use in Alaska (see Publications page 23). and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado from 1979 to 1986 and ARCSS As a result of this study, a similar study Program Director at NSF from 1993 to 1995. is being initiated in Russia. Identifying The U.S. Polar Research Board (PRB; see page 17) serves as the U.S. National polar bear habitat is part of a larger joint Committee to IASC. Webber will be working closely with the PRB to improve and agreement between the United States and increase U.S. participation in and understanding of IASC activities. He is particu- Russia for conservation of the shared larly keen to represent the broadest possible spectrum of U.S. scholarship to IASC Bering/Chukchi seas stock of polar bears. and in the coming months will be attending as many national meetings as is possible This agreement, commonly referred to as in order to increase his effectiveness as a delegate. He is interested in hearing from the Bilateral Agreement, is awaiting U.S. arctic scholars. confirmation by the State Committee on The next meeting of IASC is scheduled for 2-7 April 2000 in Cambridge, United Environment and the Duma in Russia, Kingdom (see Calendar page 23). This meeting will feature Arctic Science Summit and ultimately by the U.S. Senate. Week 2000 (ASSW 2000) and back-to-back meetings of several organizations (e.g., The National Park Service, under its Arctic Ocean Sciences Board, European Polar Board, and Forum of Arctic Research Beringia Program, has joined efforts to Operators). The first ASSW was held in Tromsø, Norway in promote polar bear conservation by 1999. A number of international arctic science organizations providing funding to the Alaska Nanuuq took part and many held their annual meetings during this week. Commission for conducting the polar bear For more information on IASC and ASSW 2000, see the IASC habitat-use survey in Russia. The USFWS web site (http://www.iasc.no) or the PRB web site (http:/ will provide technical assistance to the www4.nationalacademies.org/cger/prb.nsf) or contact Patrick Alaska Nanuuq Commission and the Webber in East Lansing, MI (517/355-1284; fax 517/432-2150; Union of Marine Mammal Hunters in [email protected]). Chukotka, Russia as they conduct a three- 21 Education News

UNIS is “the Arctic Alternative” for University Students

niversity Courses on Svalbard Expedition [CEAREX] in 1988–89). Applications for one-year studies in U(UNIS) is a private foundation Svalbard also offers opportunities for arctic geology, geophysics, and technology established in 1994 by the Norwegian smaller, focused studies that would be are due in mid-April of each year. (Studies government in cooperation with Norway’s difficult elsewhere. The logistics base and begin in August.) Applications for one- four universities to offer research-based research facilities are stable, convenient, year studies in arctic biology are due in education in the high Arctic (see Witness and relatively inexpensive. Furthermore, mid-October. (Studies begin in January.) Autumn 1998). Because high-caliber UNIS and the Norwegian Polar Institute In addition to semester studies, UNIS fieldwork and cruises are the core of provide an exceptional concentration of hosts academic conferences and seminars, instruction, UNIS refers to itself as talented scientific personnel, in both and is considering offering individual “the arctic alternative for [undergraduate, permanent staff and transient lecturers. courses in the social sciences and humani- masters, and doctoral] students of biology, The foundation is funded by the ties. Ultimately, the foundation will form geology, geophysics, and technology.” Norwegian government and Norwegian the core of the Svalbard Science Centre, UNIS offers semester- and year-long and international students pay no course an international arctic center of expertise programs of study to students from Nor- fee. UNIS first offered courses in Autumn in research and education on Svalbard, way and abroad. Courses are designed to 1993; in 1999, it offered 33 different which also will incorporate many other complement the teaching available at courses—16 at the graduate and doctoral professional and scientific institutions on mainland universities. Students typically levels—to approximately 220 students. the archipelago. have at least three years of experience in UNIS aims to recruit up to half of its stu- For more information, see the UNIS undergraduate science and/or engineering. dents from abroad. Faculty come to UNIS web site (http://www.unis.no) or contact They are expected to help plan and par- from all over the world. Instruction is in UNIS (+47/7902-3300; fax +47/7902- ticipate in real research projects under English. 3301; [email protected]). demanding polar conditions. As one researcher recently observed, “they tend to be a highly self-selected group.” UNIS is located in Longyearbyen (78o University of the Arctic N), in the Svalbard archipelago. Mean Moves into Implementation temperatures are relatively mild for this latitude, ranging from -14oC to +6oC in he Interim Council of the University of the Arctic (UArctic) (see Witness the summer; annual extremes reach -49oC TAutumn 1998) met in Akureyri, Iceland in April 1999, hosted by the Stefansson and +21oC in town. Approximately 66% Arctic Institute and the University of Akureyri, Iceland. Discussions related to of Svalbard is glacier-covered, and perma- UArctic implementation included: frost is present elsewhere to depths of as • plans for a Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies interdisciplinary degree program; much as 500 m. Even so, Svalbard hosts • the proposed Governance System; and approximately 165 plant species. • funding options and strategies. Reindeer and foxes frequent town, polar The Interim Council also discussed UArctic participation in: bears number 2,000 in the archipelago • a joint workshop with AMAP in Rovaniemi in January 2000; as a whole, and the largest bird colony • field schools operating in the North; in the North Atlantic is found in • a Northern Research Forum; and the archipelago. • a Circumpolar Mobility Forum. Longyearbyen itself (pop. 1,500) is With support from the Government of Finland, a circumpolar Coordination a modern town whose economy is based Office has been established at the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, to support on tourism as well as coal mining. Eight the Interim Council during the implementation period. The Coordination Office weekly flights to Tromsø provide conve- has developed a web site, electronic mailing list, and newsletter. nient access to and from the rest of the The UArctic co-sponsored a Workshop on Sustainable Development in the Arctic world. The established infrastructure in immediately prior to the Akureyri meeting, and gave a presentation to the Senior the context of arctic wilderness provides Arctic Officials at the Arctic Council meeting in Anchorage, Alaska in May 1999 an exceptional setting for both field and (see page 18). A workshop on the UArctic also convened in June 1999 during the laboratory work, both the collection and Sixth Circumpolar Universities Cooperation Conference in Aberdeen, Scotland. The analysis of data. Interim Council met on Svalbard in October 1999 and will meet next in May 2000 Longyearbyen has been the staging at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George, Canada. point for many large multinational pro- For more information, see the UArctic web site (http://www.urova.fi/home/ jects in the past (e.g., the Marginal Ice uarctic) or contact the Circumpolar Coordination Office in Rovaniemi, Finland Zone Experiment [MIZEX] in 1983–84, (+358/16-341-2716; fax +358/16-341-2777; [email protected]). the Cooperative East Arctic Research 22 Publications Calendar

March 16-18 The 30th International Arctic Workshop. University of Colorado, Boulder, CO. Contact ([email protected]; http://instaar.colorado.edu/AW2000/). ARCUS April 2-7 Arctic Science Summit Week 2000. Cambridge, United Kingdom. Initial 600 University Avenue, Suite 1 contact is the IASC Secretariat ([email protected]; http://www.iasc.no/default.htm). Fairbanks, Alaska 99709 USA April 26 Arctic Council Sustainable Development WG Meeting. Fairbanks, AK. Phone: 907/474-1600 Contact the Arctic Council Secretariat in Washington, DC (202/647-0241; fax 202/ Fax: 907/474-1604 647-4353; [email protected]; http://arctic-council.usgs.gov/). [email protected] May 6-7 Sixth National Student Conference on Northern Studies. Université Laval, http://www.arcus.org Québec, Canada. Contact the GÉTIC Office in Ste-Foy, Quebec, Canada (418/656- Executive Director 2131 ext 8365; [email protected]; http://www.uottawa.ca/associations/aucen- Wendy K. Warnick acuns/en/n_s_conf.html). ARCUS is a nonprofit organization May 16-19 ARCUS 12th Annual Meeting and Arctic Forum. Arlington, VA. Contact consisting of institutions organized ARCUS (907/474-1600; fax 907/474-1604; [email protected]; http://www.arcus.org). and operated for educational, May 30-June 3 American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2000 Spring Meeting. Washing- professional, or scientific purposes. ton, DC. Contact AGU in Washington, DC (800/966-2481; fax: 202/328-0566; ARCUS was established by its [email protected] [Subject: Spring 2000 Meeting]; http://www.agu.org). member institutions in 1988 with June 2-6 CAPE 2000–Sea Ice in the Climate System–The Record of the North Atlantic the primary mission of strengthening Arctic. Kirkjubaejarklaustur, Iceland. Contact Organizing Committee Chair, Aslaug Arctic research to meet national Geirsdottir ([email protected]; http://instaar.colorado.edu/~duvall/cape/cape2000.html). needs. ARCUS activities are funded through a cooperative agreement June 12-17 18th Polar Libraries Colloquy. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Contact the with NSF; by DOE, AFN; and by Conference Organizer Barbara Kelcey ([email protected]) or the Program membership dues. Chair Anne Morton ([email protected]; http://www.gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/ hbca/about/plc/polarpg.html). Witness the Arctic is published biannually by ARCUS. Any opinions, June 19-23 International Glaciological Society Symposium on Sea Ice and its Interac- findings, conclusions, or recommen- tions with the Ocean, Atmosphere, and Biosphere. Fairbanks, AK. Contact Secretary dations expressed in this publication General, International Glaciological Society in Cambridge, UK (+44/1223-355-974; fax do not necessarily reflect the views +44/1223-336-543; [email protected]) or Martin Jeffries in Fairbanks, of NSF. Submit ideas for the Spring AK (Chairman, Local Organizing Committee; [email protected]; http:// 2000 newsletter by 15 March 2000. www.gi.alaska.edu/seaicesymposium/). Check the ARCUS Web site Calendar (http://www.arcus.org) for more... Managing Editor: Wendy Warnick Editor/Designer: Marty Peale Publications Editors: Alison York, Sue Mitchell Copy Editor: Diane Wallace Contributors: P.A. Anderson, J. Berkson, G. Brass, J. Brigham-Grette, W. Bristow, The Arctic Paleosciences in the Context of Global Change Research. PARCS. 1999. Earth H. Cattle, F.S. Chapin III, L. Codispoti, Systems History Secretariat, American Geophysical Union. Washington, DC. Available D. Corbett, J. Deming, J. Dionne, L. Duguay, G. Dupree, M. Edwards, C. Elfring, on the ARCUS web site (http://www.arcus.org/parcs/fr_parcs.html). S. Forman, J. Grebmeier, T. Hall, O. Heal, R. Hollister, H. Huntington, G. Jacoby, Collection of Local Knowledge Regarding Polar Bear Habitat Use in Alaska. S. Kalxdorff. C. Johnson, P. Johnson, S. Kalxdorff, L. King, 1997. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Technical Report MMM 97-2, Anchorage, AK. F. Korsmo, J. Kruse, R. Langlais, M. Ledbetter, G. LeMoine, L. Lønnum, 72 pp. L. Marincovich, P. Minnett, J. Morison, Impacts of Global Climate Change in the Arctic Regions. Gunter Weller and Manfred R. Moritz, T. Pyle, V. Romanovsky, D. Rothrock, T.S. Rupp, R. Sambrotto, Lange, editors. 1999. Report from a workshop on the Impacts of Global Change, April B. Smethie, A. Starfield, S. Stephenson, 25-26, 1999. International Arctic Science Committee. Center for Global Change and W. Tucker, M. Walker, P. Webber, D. West. Arctic System Research, University of Alaska Fairbanks. wit.ness (wit nis) n. 1.a. One who has heard or seen something. b. One who furnishes Inuit, Whaling and Sustainability. M. Milton, R. Freeman, L. Bogoslovskaya, evidence. 2. Anything that serves as R.A. Caulfield, I. Egede, I.I. Krupnik, and M.G. Stevenson. 1998. Contemporary evidence; a sign. 3. An attestation to a fact, Native American Series, Vol. 1. AltaMira Press, Walnut Creek, CA. Pb/hard $25/$52. statement, or event. —v. tr. 1. To be present at or have personal knowledge of. (805/499-9774; fax 805/499-0871; [email protected]; http://www.altamirapress. 2. To provide or serve as evidence of. 3. To com). testify to; bear witness. —intr. To furnish or serve as evidence; testify. [Middle English Ocean Drilling Research: An Arctic Perspective. 1999. National Research Council, Polar witnes(se), Old English witnes, witness, Research Board, Commission on Geosciences, Environment and Resources. National knowledge, from wit, knowledge, wit.] Academy Press, Washington, DC. 9 pp. (http://www.nap.edu/books/NI000766/html). 23 An Invitation to the ARCUS 12th Annual Meeting and Arctic Forum—2000

e are pleased to bring to you, and cultural change. In such an endeavor, opportunities, and impediments to Wthrough Witness the Arctic, infor- a steady exchange of ideas is essential and the arctic research enterprise; and mation about notable arctic research the fellowship of colleagues vital. • information about international arctic efforts and scientific findings, improved The scientific tradition of printed lit- research programs and initiatives. logistical capability, and significant erature and the nearly instantaneous elec- Meetings of the Council (representa- advances in our understanding of the tronic communications now possible are tives of the 35 ARCUS member institu- Arctic as a region—these comprise impor- important to such exchanges. ARCUS tions) and the 13-member ARCUS Board tant milestones of our progress in arctic emphasizes the value of going beyond of Directors will focus on the direction research at the dawn of a new century. these methods, however, by bringing and business of the organization. Some significant scientific questions together the disciplinarily diverse and geo- We encourage community participa- that we face include: graphically dispersed community of arctic tion in these activities, and the involve- • What is the expected magnitude of researchers. While being in each others’ ment of agency personnel and legislators climate change in the Arctic, and what presence does not guarantee interaction, and their staffs. If you are interested in threat does it pose? opportunities for collaboration and inte- attending, please contact us. For more • What is happening to the fisheries of gration are created that otherwise do not information about the meeting, see the the North Atlantic and North Pacific? occur. One important gathering is the ARCUS web site (http://www.arcus.org). • How should governments deal with the ARCUS Annual Meeting and Arctic Forum. Please join us. aspirations and rights of First Nations The ARCUS 12th Annual Meeting people? will take place 16–19 May 2000 in Arling- • What is the nature and magnitude of ton, Virginia. The annual meeting serves the threat of contaminants to arctic as an information clearinghouse at which ecosystems and food webs? participants discuss issues important to Inside Whether you think of the year 2000 as arctic research, develop recommendations the end of the 20th century or the begin- on key questions, and plan strategies and Arctic Logistics 4 ning of the 21st, and the beginning or end activities to advance arctic research efforts. NSF News 6 of a millennium, the first decades of the The Arctic Forum, a science symposium ARCSS Program News 7 21st century are likely to bring to arctic that includes oral and poster presentations, Arctic Natural Sciences Program News 11 research more compelling questions, will focus this year on change in the Arctic Social Sciences Program News 14 unexpected problems and tensions—and Arctic, looking at significant aspects of Capitol Updates 16 provocative and exciting findings. Such is observed and predicted environmental, U.S. Arctic Research Commission 17 the nature of the international, multi- social, economic, and cultural changes. Polar Research Board 17 disciplinary enterprise in which we are Other meeting activities will include: Arctic Policy 18 engaged, seeking to understand a part of • briefings from agency personnel; International News 20 the world about which relatively little is • a panel discussion examining scientific Education News 22 known, in a time of major environmental priorities in arctic research, new Calendar and Publications 23

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