Arctic in Rapid Transition (ART) Initiative, www.iarc.uaf.edu/ART
Funding Agency: NSF Office of Polar Programs, Arctic Research Support and Logistics Program
Collaborators: J. Mathis (University of Alaska, Fairbanks)
Funding Period: 2009-2012
Recent and ongoing climate warming in the Arctic, which is simplifying access to oil and gas resources, enabling trans-Arctic shipping, and shifting the distribution of harvestable resources, has brought the Arctic Ocean to the top of national and international political agendas. Scientific knowledge on the present status of the Arctic Ocean and the process-based understanding needed to make predictions throughout the Arctic region are thus urgently required. The Arctic in Rapid Transition (ART) Initiative is an integrative, multi-disciplinary, long-term pan-Arctic program to study changes and feedbacks among the physical characteristics and biogeochemical cycles of the Arctic Ocean and its resulting capacity for biological productivity. We have organized a workshop-based effort to support the goals of the ART Initiative, which has resulted in the development of a science and implementation plan that integrates, updates, and develops priorities for Arctic marine science over the next decade. Our focus within the ART Initiative will be to bridge gaps in knowledge not only across disciplinary boundaries (e.g., geology, biology, physical oceanography, geochemistry, and climatology), but also across spatial (e.g., shelves, margins, and the central Arctic Ocean) and temporal (e.g., paleo/geologic records, current process studies/observations, and future modeling) boundaries as well.
Resulting Publications:
Wegner, C., K. E. Frey & C. Michel (2011a), Arctic Sea Ice in Rapid Transition – A pan-Arctic network integrating past, present and future. Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union 92, 112, doi:10.1029/2011EO130006.
Wegner, C., A. Forest, M. Forwick, K. E. Frey, J. T. Mathis, C. Michel, A. Nikolopoulos, M. O’Regan, I. Peeken & M. Reigstad (2011b), Arctic in Rapid Transition (ART) Implementation Plan, Arctic Ocean Sciences Board/International Arctic Science Committee (AOSB/IASC), 13 pp.
Frey, K. E., J. T. Mathis & C. Wegner (2010), Establishing Priorities for Interdisciplinary Arctic Ocean Science. Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union 91, 144, doi:10.1029/2010EO160007.
Wegner, C., K. E. Frey, A. Forest, M. Forwick, J. Mathis, C. Michel, A. Nikolopoulos, M. O’Regan, I. Peeken & M. Reigstad, (2010), Arctic in Rapid Transition (ART) Science Plan, Arctic Ocean Sciences Board/International Arctic Science Committee (AOSB/IASC), 34 pp.
Coakley, B., H. N. Edmonds, K. E. Frey, J. C. Gascard, J. M. Grebmeier, H. Kassens, J. Thiede, C. Wegner (2007), Past, Present, and Future: A Science Program for the Arctic Ocean Linking Ancient and Contemporary Observations of Change Through Modeling. Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union 88, 287.