NSF 05-39, Arctic Research in the United States, Volume 19, Spring
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This document has been archived. VOLUME 19 SPRING/SUMMER 2005 A R C T I C R E S E A R C H O F T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S I N T E R A G E N C Y A R C T I C R E S E A R C H P O L I C Y C O M M I T T E E The journal Arctic Research of the United refereed for scientific content or merit since the About States is for people and organizations interested journal is not intended as a means of reporting the in learning about U.S. Government-financed scientific research. Articles are generally invited Arctic research activities. It is published semi- and are reviewed by agency staffs and others as Journal annually (spring and fall) by the National Science appropriate. Foundation on behalf of the Interagency Arctic As indicated in the U.S. Arctic Research Plan, Research Policy Committee (IARPC). The research is defined differently by different agen- Interagency Committee was authorized under the cies. It may include basic and applied research, Arctic Research and Policy Act (ARPA) of 1984 monitoring efforts, and other information-gathering (PL 98-373) and established by Executive Order activities. The definition of Arctic according to the 12501 (January 28, 1985). Publication of the jour- ARPA is “all United States and foreign territory nal has been approved by the Office of Manage- north of the Arctic Circle and all United States ment and Budget. territory north and west of the boundary formed Arctic Research contains by the Porcupine, Yukon, and Kuskokwim Rivers; • Reports on current and planned U.S. Govern- all contiguous seas, including the Arctic Ocean ment-sponsored research in the Arctic; and the Beaufort, Bering, and Chukchi Seas; and • Reports of IARPC meetings; and the Aleutian chain.” Areas outside of the bound- • Summaries of other current and planned ary are discussed in the journal when considered Arctic research, including that of the State of relevant to the broader scope of Arctic research. Alaska, local governments, the private sec- Issues of the journal will report on Arctic tor, and other nations. topics and activities. Included will be reports of Arctic Research is aimed at national and inter- conferences and workshops, university-based national audiences of government officials, scien- research and activities of state and local govern- tists, engineers, educators, private and public ments and public, private and resident organiza- groups, and residents of the Arctic. The emphasis tions. Unsolicited nontechnical reports on is on summary and survey articles covering U.S. research and related activities are welcome. Government-sponsored or -funded research rath- Address correspondence to Editor, Arctic er than on technical reports, and the articles are Research, Arctic Research and Policy Staff, intended to be comprehensible to a nontechnical Office of Polar Programs, National Science audience. Although the articles go through the Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, normal editorial process, manuscripts are not VA 22230. Cover The medusa Sminthia arctica, the most common species identified by video in the transition between the Pacific and Atlantic water layers of the Canada Basin, measured during an expedition to the Arctic Ocean in 2002. This gelati- nous species is less than a millimeter in width. VOLUME 19 SPRING/SUMMER 2005 A R C T I C R E S E A R C H O F T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S INTERAGENCY ARCTIC RESEARCH POLICY COMMITTEE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SPECIAL ISSUE ON THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE ADMINISTRATION’S RESEARCH IN THE ARCTIC DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE The Role of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Administration in the Arctic Region ........................... 2 DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES NOAA’s Arctic Ocean Exploration Program................. 3 DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Arctic Sea Ice and Ocean Observations ..................... 11 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Correlated Declines in Pacific Arctic Snow and Sea Ice Cover ................................................... 18 DEPARTMENT OF STATE Acidifying Pollutants, Arctic Haze, and DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Acidification in the Arctic......................................... 26 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION A GENCY The Barrow Atmospheric Baseline Observatory ......... 34 NATIONAL A ERONAUTICS AND SPACE A DMINISTRATION NOAA and the Alaska Ocean Observing System ....... 41 NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Marine Mammals in the Bering/Chukchi Sea .............. 50 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION Ocean Climate Changes and the Steller Sea Lion Decline ........................................... 54 OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET Status of Alaska Groundfish Stocks ............................. 64 OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY Status of Alaska’s Salmon Fisheries............................. 66 Managing Editorial Committee Russian–American Long-term Census of the Arctic ... 73 Charles E. Myers, National Science Foundation—Editor On the Creation of Environmental Data Sets John Haugh, Bureau of Land Management—Associate Editor for the Arctic Region ................................................ 77 David W. Cate, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory—Consulting Editor Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee Staff ....................................................... 93 Editing and production: Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, New Hampshire 1 The Role of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the Arctic Region This issue of the Arctic Research of the United This issue of Arctic Research of the United States profiles Arctic research carried out by the States presents to the Arctic community slices of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA’s Arctic research life. Articles cover Arctic (NOAA). NOAA, an agency of the Department of atmospheric, ocean, ice, and marine life research, Commerce, has four mission goals: in particular, the topics of Arctic Haze, the Barrow • To protect, restore, and manage resources in Atmospheric Baseline Observatory, declines in the oceans and the atmosphere; Pacific Arctic snow and sea ice cover, Arctic sea • To understand climate change and variability; ice and ocean observations, the Alaska Ocean • To fulfill weather and water information Observing System, the Arctic Ocean exploration needs; and program, the Russian–American Long-term Cen- • To support the commerce and transportation sus of the Arctic, ocean climate changes and needs of the United States. the Steller sea lion decline, the status of Alaska The breadth of science carried out at NOAA is groundfish stocks and salmon fisheries assess- spread between the NOAA National Weather Ser- ments, and the status of marine mammals in the vice (NWS), the primary source of weather data, Bering/Chukchi Seas. In addition, there are articles forecasts, and warnings for the U.S.; the NOAA from individuals who receive external research Ocean Service (NOS), responsible for the observa- funding from NOAA. tion, measurement, assessment, and management To wrap up these timely Arctic research topics, of the nation’s vast coastal and ocean areas; the the National Snow and Ice Data Center presents an National Environmental Satellite and Data Informa- article on the creation of environmental data sets tion Services (NESDIS), which provides timely for the Arctic. Calling on the history of former access to global environmental data from satellites International Polar Years, this article raises critical This article was and other sources to promote, protect, and questions about the future role of data centers prepared by Kathleen enhance the nation’s economy, security, environ- during the upcoming International Polar Year (IPY). Crane, of NOAA’s ment, and quality of life; NOAA’s National Marine As the United States rapidly approaches the Arctic Research Office. Fisheries Service (NMFS), which is dedicated to IPY of 2007–2008, NOAA is poised to make impor- the stewardship of living marine resources through tant, innovative, and far-reaching inroads into the science-based ecosystem management; and further exploration and understanding of the Arc- NOAA’s Oceanic and Atmospheric Research tic region and to help create a legacy of polar (OAR), which provides unbiased information to research and observational platforms vitally better manage the complex systems of the atmo- important for the present-day and future under- sphere, the climate, and ocean and coastal standing of the Arctic’s influence on the climate resources. of the earth. 2 NOAA’s Arctic Ocean Exploration Program The Arctic Ocean is largely unexplored, espe- Exploration Approach cially those aspects not visible to the human eye from a surface ship or to a satellite sensor. Some NOAA and its domestic and international part- data collected for national defense purposes are ners decided in 2001 to undertake expeditions of now available, and they provide a better picture exploration and discovery in the Arctic Ocean, of the bathymetry and circulation of the Arctic with initial emphasis on missions of discovery Ocean. In addition, the International Arctic Buoy near the Pacific Gateway to the Arctic, the Canada This article was prepared by Kathleen Crane, of Programme contributes data on ice drift trajecto- Basin, and the Mendeleev Basin. Additional NOAA’s Arctic Research ries and surface meteorology. While there have emphasis has grown to include a census of marine Office; Jeremy Potter, of been intensive research campaigns, such as the life plus the mapping and imaging of previously NOAA’s