Witness the Arctic - Autumn 1997, Volume 5 Number 2

1 continued on next page ARCTIC Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 600 University Avenue • Suite 1 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 Chronicles of the Arctic System Science Research Program Autumn 1997, Volume 5 Number 2 Researchers and Residents Celebrate Long Collaboration by Glenn Sheehan The men of the first scientific expedition to Point Barrow spent two years trying to dig a hole to the bottom of the permafrost in 1881-1883. Sergeant Murdoch, who was tasked at that time with learning about Eskimo material culture, began by buying everything the Utqiagvikmiut brought to him. He observed, however, that people were selling him trash, beach debris, and fantastic conglomerations of bits and pieces sewn together. Thereafter, aware that he did not yet have the expertise to tell when people were misunderstanding or trying to fool him, Murdoch bought only one of any given type of artifact. Since then, North Slope Natives and scientists have learned a great deal more about the permafrost—and about cooperating. Much of this has come about thanks to the presence of the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory (NARL). Founded by the Navy in 1947, NARL has been formally owned and operated since 1989 by the Barrow village corporation, Ukpeagvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC). In August 1997, the 50th Anniversary Celebration of NARL brought together old NARL hands from around the United States and the North Slope for scientific papers, reunions, and documentation of accomplishments. The celebration was sponsored by the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium (BASC), a local not-for-profit organization founded in 1996 to bring scientists and the community together (see box page 2). The celebration’s theme, “Science in the Community,” highlighted the fact that much of the research staged out of NARL has been successful specifically because of collaboration between Native residents and scientists. Former NARL Science Director Max Brewer told of a resupply plane that ran off the runway on an ice island research station supported out of NARL. Barrow Elder and former NARL Outside and Equipment Foreman Kenneth Toovak had little time to get the plane back on the runway, and help was not available. He commented that he had never done anything like this before. “Treat the plane as if it were a whale,” he was told. With that in mind, he hitched up the plane and got it back on the runway and ready to go. Toovak, honorary co-chair of the NARL celebration, affirmed that mutual respect and benefits have been present throughout the years. Barrow residents looked to NARL for cash incomes; they got scientific and technical educations at the same time, along with friendships that continue today. Scientists were looking for help and found that they, too, gained friends, colleagues, and educations. Sometimes their lives were saved, thanks to the traditional skills and knowledge of their Native cohorts. John Kelley once tried to convince Toovak to take a boat from NARL to the tip of Point Barrow. Although the weather seemed favorable, Toovak told Kelley to NSF Director Neal Lane (left) speaks with former NARL Science Director Max Brewer (center) and Barrow resident and former ice station mechanic Frankie Akpik (right) during the NARL 50th Anniversary celebration. Brewer was honorary co-chair of the celebration (photo by Duncan Adams @ The Arctic Sounder 1997). 2 Barrow’s Iñupiat Eskimos are the only Natives that have ever dedicated land specifically for scientific research. In 1992, the Barrow village corporation, Ukpeagvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC), established the 7,466-acre Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO). UIC has asked the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium (BASC) to manage the site. The BEO has been attractive to researchers in part because the immediate region has been the subject of research for 50 years. For instance, permafrost studies based out of NARL (see feature) in the 1970s gave the first inkling that global warming might be taking place. Arthur Lachenbruch and associates lowered thermistors down abandoned test bore holes in the Naval Petroleum Reserve—Alaska (NPR-A); the resulting data stimulated much of the current climate research throughout the world. Current projects on or adjacent to the BEO include: • the Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory (CMDL) of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, • the Atmospheric and Radiation Measurement (ARM) project of the U.S. Department of Energy (see Witness Spring 1997), • the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX, see page 5), • the annual BEO Snow Survey, and • the Spectroradiometer Network (Ultraviolet Spectrophotometer Ground Station). Local, state, and federal wildlife-management entities are conducting research on lands and waters adjacent to the BEO, and singleseason scientific projects that take place throughout the year have included activities from the United States, Japan, and China. BASC was founded in 1996 to bring scientists and the community together. Accordingly, BASC President Richard Glenn chaired the NARL 50th anniversary celebration, “Science in the Community.” In addition to supplying technicians, students, and volunteers for research projects, BASC takes scientists into the community. BASC is also working with the local public radio station KBRW to develop a science series for statewide and national syndication. To facilitate BEO research, BASC is recapturing and making available scientific data generated by previous investigations. With assistance and a grant from the North Slope Borough, the Consortium is providing Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping and overlay data for the BEO and vicinity. BASC provides logistics support (e.g., laboratory space, cold and warm storage, computer hookups, all-terrain vehicles and snow mobiles, experienced guides, and technical assistants). BASC also provides background information to researchers who are in the proposal-writing stage. For more information, contact Glenn Sheehan (888/NARL-SCI or 907/852-4881; fax 907/852-4882; [email protected]). Feature Article wait. When Kelley persisted, Toovak said, “If you go, you go alone, and don’t think anyone can come to look for you.” That dampened Kelley’s fires just long enough for a major storm to arrive. NARL air force, ground vehicles, and boats, often under Toovak’s direction, have carried out many rescue missions. The spirit of working together has persisted over time. Almost all elders and middle-aged residents throughout the North Slope have worked with science projects and expeditions. Almost to a person, they state that they value and learned from the experience of working with researchers, and they want today’s young people to have that experience as well. The NARL celebration affirmed that UIC-NARL is an excellent platform from which to stage and support today’s Arctic research projects. To emphasize the point, NSF Director Neal Lane announced the signing of a three-year Cooperative Agreement with the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium (see page 12). The agreement Barrow’s Environmental Observatory and Arctic Science Consortium is designed to help BASC better facilitate Arctic science, specifically by supporting the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO), the only long-term ecological The 7,466-acre Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) east of Barrow, Alaska has been identified by the Ukpeagvik Iñupiat Corporation as a permanently protected area in order to provide long-term access for terrestrial research purposes and monitoring (see box). The preliminary BEO area is rendered in blue (image courtesy of the North Slope Borough/GIS 1994). research station ever established by Native villagers for scientific research (see box). A former Navy commander of NARL, Brian Shoemaker, addressed UIC saying, “You are maintaining a first-rate scientific facility and doing a better job [than when the Navy ran NARL].” Proceedings of the NARL 50th are tentatively scheduled for publication. BASC plans to make broadcast-quality videotapes of each talk, many interviews, and an overview available to the public. Audio tapes of the proceedings will form the basis for a syndicated science show of brief spots to be produced by KBRW, the North Slope’s public (and only) radio station, in collaboration with BASC. For more information, contact Glenn Sheehan at UIC-NARL in Barrow (888/NARL-SCI or 907/852-4881; fax 907/852-4882; [email protected]). Glenn Sheehan is Executive Director of the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium. He recently completed field work at Pingusugruk, Point Franklin on a three-year, NSF-funded archaeological project. 3 A rctic researchers in the United States and Russia reviewed and submitted comments on the draft prospectus for the Russian-American Initiative on Shelf-Land Environments in the Arctic (RAISE) in April-June 1997. To promote bi-national evaluation of the initiative, colleagues at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, in St. Petersburg translated the draft into Russian. The document will serve as a guide for American and Russian scientists to propose collaborative research to NSF and the Russia Foundation for Basic Research, respectively. RAISE has been established to facilitate collaborative research between Russian and American scientists in order to understand processes and events in terrestrial, shelf, and ocean environments in northern Eurasia. The program focuses on the dynamics of the coupled Arctic land-shelf system in response to external forcing and internal variability on a variety of temporal and spatial scales. Researchers aim to obtain new insights into the past and future role and response of the Eurasian Arctic to global change. They will be funded to collect data, analyze environmental responses across the land-shelf system, and develop models for predicting future change. The revised RAISE prospectus is now available through ARCUS (Internet and hard copy). For more information, contact Steve Forman in Chicago, IL (312/413-9404; fax 312/413-2279; [email protected]) or visit the University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Web site (http://www.uic.edu/ depts/geos/). The NSF Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Program supports mostly large, long-term projects; it is especially important for this program to plan for the future. The ARCSS Committee (AC) has as part of its charge to advise the ARCSS Program about continuation of old and development of new projects in order to ensure long-term relevance and viability of the program. The AC will meet 3-4 October 1997 in Seattle, Washington to create an agenda for action over the next several years and to review science priorities. The AC will focus on science issues that span programs and projects and that support synthesis and integration. The committee will identify science priorities and funding strategies, share these recommendations with the broader community, and take community ideas into account in recommendations made to NSF. Four themes stated in the ARCSS science plan (now in draft) will guide the identification of priorities: • Arctic climate system and its variability, • the role of the Arctic in global biogeochemical cycling, • structure and stability of Arctic ecosystems, and • links between environmental change and human activity. At the October 1997 meeting, each major program of ARCSS will present information about predicted budget requirements (including logistics needs), relevance of proposed research to understanding the Arctic system, and the proposed start and duration of each project. AC members will recommend the phasing of new efforts within current budget realities and assess the overall priorities in the context of ARCSS Program goals. The following key issues will provide an additional framework for discussions: • Planning research on contemporary processes of relevance to both OAII and LAII (e.g., regional climate changes, large river runoff). • Planning additional research to gain a comprehensive understanding of past environmental variability, including regional variability, in the Arctic. • Extrapolating global environmental changes (e.g., combined land-ocean feedbacks to global climate, including integration of Arctic processes in global climate models). • Coupling paleoclimate and modern observational records to improve quantitative reconstructions of past conditions. Calibration of models with observations of past climate changes and with studies of processes that have large effects on climate feedbacks. • Developing shared frameworks for integrated assessments of effects of environmental changes on Arctic peoples (e.g., combined effects of marine and terrestrial changes on local food supplies). • Reflecting global changes other than climate in predictions of Arctic environmental changes (e.g., resource development, bioaccumulation of persistent organic compounds, fishing). • Linking policy alternatives to Arctic environmental changes (e.g., common scenarios for CO2 change, energy costs). • Including Native peoples in science planning, implementation, and interpretation (e.g., Alaska Native Science Commission [see page 19], regional Native populations). • Disseminating research results to policy and funding communities. • Assessing implications of research results for ARCSS priorities. • Coordinating timing of program initiatives to minimize competing budget demands. The new plan, Toward Prediction of the Arctic System, will be posted for review after the meeting and will be published shortly thereafter. For more information, contact ARCSS Program Director Mike Ledbetter (703/ 306-1029; fax 703/306-0648; mledbett@ nsf.gov) or AC Chair Jack Kruse (413/ 367-2240; fax 413/367-0092; jkruse@geo. umass.edu), or see the ARCSS Web site (http://arcss.colorado.edu) or the ARCUS Web site (http://arcus.polarnet.com). ARCSS Program Updates ARCSS Research Opens New Areas for Inquiry Russian and American Researchers Draft Guide for Arctic Shelf-Land Studies 4 • Hydrologic Cycle of the Arctic, • Productivity and Biogeochemical Cycles, • Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Ice Modeling, and • Paleoceanography of the Arctic. Each working group was charged with: • identifying past accomplishments, • determining the top two or three important issues in their field, and • outlining a strategy for addressing these issues. The groups were also encouraged to come up with possible collaborative efforts with other OAII, ARCSS, and international research programs. The meeting report is near completion; its availability will be announced at the OAII Web site (http://www.ccpo.odu. edu~arcss/). For more information, contact Lou Codispoti at the OAII Science Management Office (757/683-5770; fax 757/683-5550; [email protected]) or OAII Science Steering Committee Chair Jackie Grebmeier (423/974-2592; fax 423/974-3067; [email protected]). ARCSS Program Updates Major activities for the Ocean/Atmosphere/Ice Interactions (OAII) program during the last several months include initiation of Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) Phase II field work and collaborative projects, and the first OAII All Hands Meeting and Planning Workshop. Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) Phase II In September 1997, OAII will launch the SHEBA field experiment by mooring the Canadian heavy icebreaker Des Groseilliers into the pack ice of the Beaufort Sea (see Witness Spring 1997). The ship will drift with the ice through October 1998, collecting a series of key measurements. Automatic data buoys, satellites, and observations from the U.S. Navy Submarine Arctic Science Cruise (SCICEX) program (see Witness Spring 1996) and research aircraft will provide additional data. The Canadian icebreaker Louis St. Laurent will escort Des Groseilliers and will provide helicopter support during establishment of the ice station. The ongoing SHEBA program is designed to enhance understanding of the thermodynamic coupling between the atmosphere, sea ice, and ocean. The program is focusing on key processes that determine ice albedo and cloud radiation feedback, and applying this knowledge to improve climate modeling. The planned array of measurements represents the largest coordinated field experiment concerning the sea ice, the underlying ocean, and the atmosphere. The resulting data will be analyzed initially by individual principal investigators and teams of investigators, and will be organized into a coordinated SHEBA data set. SHEBA has created important partnerships with other organizations including: • the Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (see Witness Autumn 1994), • the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s First ISCCP Regional Experiment Phase III (FIRE-III) Program (see Witness Autumn 1994), • the Office of Naval Research SCICEX Program (see Witness Spring 1996), • the NASA RADARSAT Geophysical Processor System (RGPS), • the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC), and • the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans. For more information, including updates from the field experiment, visit the SHEBA Project Office Web site (http://sheba.apl.washington.edu). All Hands Meeting Approximately 100 researchers from as far away as Japan participated in the OAII All Hands Meeting in Virginia Beach in May 1997. OAII progress was summarized in 12 plenary talks, and research results from OAII and other Arctic programs were presented in more than 50 poster presentations. Working groups that planned for future research under the OAII aegis include: • Surface Heat Budget, Atmospheric Radiation and Clouds, • Circulation of the Arctic Ocean, Projected ice drift from October 1997-1998. This figure shows the projected drift of the SHEBA camp (75 ° N, 143 ° W) using data from the Arctic Buoy Program from 1979-1996. The black dots show the mean drift of the camp from 1 October 1997 to 31 October 1998. Trajectories show the interannual variability of ice motion. If the camp had been deployed in any year from 1979 through 1995, the camp would have followed one of these trajectories (figure by Kay Runciman). 400 nm Operations area of SCICEX Sub Prudhoe Barrow 300 nm ♦♦ OAII Launches the Year-Long SHEBA Field Experiment 5 plant resources of the Alaskan Coastal Plain, to climate warming. For more information, contact Patrick Webber in E. Lansing, MI (517/355-1284; fax 517/432-2150; [email protected]). ARCSS Program Updates Access to the ITEX chambers in the Barrow Environmental Observatory (see page 2) is designed to minimize any possible disturbance by the presence of researchers. The substantial boardwalk, built in August 1997, is necessitated by the heavy daily traffic of scientists, the very long-term nature of the experiment, and the sensitivity of the tundra to trampling (photo by Bob Hollister). In June 1997, NSF awarded LAII funding to researchers participating in the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) to continue monitoring the response of tundra vegetation on the Alaska Coastal Plain to climate warming. The project continues and expands a tundra-warming experiment in the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO), located on the Arctic coastline just east of Barrow (see page 2), and at Atqasuk, 60 miles southwest of Barrow. This experiment has been in place in the BEO for three years and at Atqasuk for one year. The new grant funds the research at Barrow and Atqasuk for an additional five years, capitalizing on permanent plots established there 25 and 27 years ago. The long data record available from these Alaskan sites makes ongoing monitoring a highly valuable contribution to the international effort to detect long-term climate change. ITEX sites are located at 26 sites in 11 countries including all the Arctic nations (see Witness Spring 1997). ITEX seeks to quantify and improve the understanding of short-term and long-term responses of tundra vegetation to annual variation of and increase in temperature. The data generated will be used to improve prediction of the response of Arctic flora and vegetation, including some important ITEX Extends Long-Term Research in the BEO • Past and future changes within the Arctic system. • Sustainability of the Arctic system under global change. Proposals were due 15 September 1997. One subprogram, the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX), is currently supported (see article this page) and was not a part of this competition. A new documentary highlighting LAII research, The Changing Arctic, has just been completed by the Public Broadcasting Service affiliate KUAC-TV in Fairbanks. NSF funded filming during the 1995 field season. For more information, contact Patricia Anderson in Fairbanks, AK (907/4745698; fax 907/474-6722; patricia@ gi.alaska.edu) or visit the LAII Web site (http://www-cgc.uafadm.alaska.edu/laii/). A t the Land/Atmosphere/Ice Interactions (LAII) Synthesis Workshop held in June 1997 on Orcas Island in Washington, 25 LAII investigators worked to integrate and consolidate LAII results to date. Writing sessions, discussions, and debates filled in details of draft papers, prepared in advance by key authors, on topics that had been determined at the March 1997 LAII Science Workshop held in Seattle. Papers based on the revised drafts will be submitted for publication before the end of the year. The LAII synthesis papers are listed on theLAII Web site (see address below). A second, later phase of the synthesis effort will further consolidate the papers. The new LAII Plan for Action, published in March 1997, is available on LAII Researchers Synthesizing Insights and Results the LAII Website. The plan sets out the significant research priorities and overall LAII goal—to enhance our understanding of the land, atmosphere, and ice interactions in the Arctic system, the role that these processes play in the whole earth system, and the effect that global change may have on the Arctic. The new plan aims to advance LAII as a more integrated research program in the future (see Witness Autumn 1996). Toward that end, NSF disseminated a new LAII Announcement of Opportunity in June 1997 addressing the four interdisciplinary themes of LAII: • Detection and analysis of global change. • Circumpolar extrapolation of climate feedbacks from Arctic terrestrial systems. 6 the glaciological community is now considering other sites for ice-core records. GISP2 representatives to the ARCSS Committee (see page 3) will submit a proposal at the October 1997 meeting to change the name “GISP2” to “Arctic Ice Cores,” to better represent the future interest of the glaciological community. For more information, see the GISP2 Web site (http://www.gisp2.sr.umh.edu/ GISP2) or contact Mark Twickler, Associate Director of the GISP2 Science Management Office in Durham, NH (603/862-1991; fax 603/862-2124; [email protected]). States, Canada, and Russia. The purpose of the workshop is to examine and synthesize the current state of knowledge of late-Cenozoic paleoenvironments of Beringia. These findings will be used to suggest an agenda for future Beringian research, focusing on the suitability of new techniques to answer ongoing research questions, and pinpointing potentially important aspects of research that have been lacking or under-represented in Beringia. Proceedings will be published in a special issue of Quaternary Science Reviews. For more information about the workshop, contact Scott Elias in Boulder, CO (303/492-5158; fax 303/492-6388; [email protected]) or Julie Brigham-Grette in Amherst, MA (413/545-4840; fax 413/545-1200; [email protected]). The annual PALE principal investigators meeting will be held in early February 1998 in Boulder, Colorado. For more information, visit the PALE Web site (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/ paleo/pale/index.html), or contact Randy Mrugala at the PALE Science Management Office (303/492-0246; fax 303/4926388; [email protected]). ARCSS Program Updates PALE Contributes to Circumpolar Data Sets GISP2 Community Sets Sights on New Arctic Cores In December 1996, the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) held its final formal GISP2 workshop in Napa, California. This meeting brought together investigators who have been working on the GISP2 project since the first drilling season in 1989 (see Witness Spring 1997). More than 130 scientific papers have been published as a result of GISP2. Although the GISP2 field project is winding down, investigators are continuing to sample the ice core at the National Ice Core Laboratory in Denver. More than 5,000 samples have been analyzed in the past year and several projects have been funded to further investigation of the GISP2 core to enhance our understanding of the climate system. In November 1997, the Joint Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR)-Atmosphere/ Oceans Special Issue on the Greenland Ice Cores will be published. This issue will contain 47 articles on GISP2 and the European Greenland Ice Core Project (GRIP). At the release of the JGR Special Issue, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), along with GISP2 and GRIP, will be releasing a CD-ROM containing data and information about the two drilling projects. With GISP2 nearing completion, For the past several years, Paleoclimates from Arctic Lakes and Estuaries (PALE) has focused its field programs in two primary regions: Beringia and the northwest Atlantic Ocean. PALE has targeted the land, continental shelves, and marginal seas in these two regions in order to develop a density of sites adequate to enable meaningful data-model comparisons. At the same time, database and modeling efforts have advanced to capitalize on the new site-specific data being produced. To evaluate the role of the entire Arctic in the global climate system, PALE joined forces with the international Arctic paleoscience community to create CircumArctic PaleoEnvironments (CAPE) in 1995 (see Witness Autumn 1996). CAPE’s pilot project, the interactive Paleoenvironmental Atlas of Beringia, became available for use on the Internet in Spring 1997 (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/pale/ atlas.html) (see Witness Spring 1997). An updated and more complete version is due in Winter 1998. CAPE is currently examining the spatial and temporal patterns of environmental change in the Arctic during the Holocene. This work began in Lammi, Finland in April 1997 at the first meeting of the CAPE Holocene Project. Nearly 40 Arctic researchers from Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States attended the meeting. The group evaluated the spatial patterns of vegetation reconstructions and inferred summer temperatures in 1,000year time slices, concentrating on 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. Comparable marine reconstructions were hampered by the limited distribution of well dated cores, the diversity of the proxies used, and the difficulty in differentiating polar water masses outside the area of Atlantic water influence. Color maps indicating relative magnitude and directions of change in summer temperatures at 6,000 and 10,000 years ago were compiled from approximately 400 sites. Strong spatial patterns emerged that are largely concordant with trends described by the AGCM simulations. For more information, visit the CAPE Web site (http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/ paleo/cape/TOC.htm). PALE and the NSF Office of Polar Programs are sponsoring a workshop on Paleoenvironments of Beringia, 20-23 September 1997 in Florissant, Colorado. The interdisciplinary meeting involves geologists, biologists, climatologists, paleontologists, archaeologists, paleoecologists, and paleoceanographers from the United 7 by acquiring from the U.S. Navy equipment sufficient to support four or five remote camps of up to 20 people (e.g., Weatherport buildings, heaters, generators, snow machines, sleds). The equipment was used by the Navy to support ice camps; it will now be used to support NSF-funded terrestrial/icecap field programs. Part of the equipment is being used by the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA, see page 4) program. PICO administers the equipment pool with guidance from NSF. NSF has also collaborated with the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to lease a storage, maintenance, and staging facility at TAB. NSF has requested additional buildings there for office and laboratory space. These recent developments at Thule, together with NSF’s long-standing cooperation with the Air National Guard for heavy airlift and the PICO base at the KISS facility, are designed to provide a solid base of support for Arctic research in Greenland. For more information, contact Simona Gilbert at NSF (703/306-1029; fax 703/ 306-0648; [email protected]). National Science Foundation News NSF Acquisitions Support Year-Round Access in Greenland In July 1997, NSF acquired equipment and building space at Thule Air Base in northwest Greenland. The move upgrades the site so that it can serve as a solid logistic center for year-round, high-Arctic studies in northern Greenland and on the Arctic Ocean ice cap. NSF will maintain the new capability at Thule only if the Arctic research community can make good use of the investment. Thule Air Base Thule Air Base (TAB) is a relatively large military installation on the northwest coast of Greenland (77°N) with extensive year-round housing and storage facilities. A large road network supports the old missile launch sites left over from the Cold War. Logistical and technical support is available from contractors, a helicopter, the Polar Ice Coring Office (PICO), and Greenland Air. TAB is located on a peninsula between Baffin Bay and the Greenland Ice Sheet. Large tracts of the surrounding landscape are undisturbed polar desert, semi-desert, species-rich polar oases, and wet sedge ecosystems adjacent to freshwater lakes. NSF would like to hear about potential applications of the Thule logistics hub, so that a decision can be made whether to maintain support at this northern site, or to transfer equipment to the PICO logistics facility in southern Greenland. PICO provides administrative, engineering, and logistics support for ice-coring projects worldwide. Its U.S. offices are located in Lincoln, Nebraska; its logistics facility is based at the Kangerlussuaq International Science Support facility (KISS, see Witness Spring 1997), formerly the Sondestrom Air Base, in southern Greenland. Greenland as an Arctic Research Base The perennially frozen and seasonally ice-free regions of Greenland and its neighboring seas have attracted growing attention as a prime base for study of the earth’s biological, geophysical, chemical, and sociocultural processes and the interactions of ocean, land, atmospheric, biological, and human systems. Greenland and its seas are characteristically either permanently frozen or significantly chilled by the currents that link the Arctic to the North Atlantic Oceans. The ice-covered inland area, where the ice reaches thicknesses of up to two miles, stretches 1500 miles north-tosouth and 600 miles east-to-west. The icefree coastal region, which is at times as wide as 120 miles, spans 131,900 square miles. This region is intersected by deep fjords that connect the inland ice area with the sea. Enhancing Logistical Support Since its establishment in 1979, the Greenland Home Rule Government has worked with the Commission for Scientific Research in Greenland, granting U.S. scientists permission to conduct research in many areas in Greenland (see Witness Spring 1997). In early June 1997, representatives of the Greenland Home Rule Government, Danish Polar Center, and NSF met to discuss current projects and future scientific collaboration in Greenland. Encouraged by these discussions, NSF moved to improve logistical support for scientific research in northern Greenland and on the drifting ice of the Arctic Ocean NSF Arctic System Science Program Director Mike Ledbetter and Imants Virsnieks of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command during the transfer of equipment and building space at Thule Air Base in Greenland (photo by Tom Pyle). 8 Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as well as NSF. Data collected through GLOBE are available to the public. GLOBE also offers training to teachers and teacher-trainers in implementing this program, taking its measurements, and using the learning activities that complement the hands-on process of collecting the measurements. Information resources available on-line include graphic displays of some data and GLOBEMail, a web-based mail system that allows program participants around the world to communicate with one another. For more information, contact GLOBE ([email protected]; http://www.globe.gov) or visit NSF’s online information service (http://www. nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf97129). National Science Foundation News In early September 1997, John B. Hunt became Acting Director of the Office of Polar Programs (OPP). He comes to this interim position from the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) at NSF, where he has held positions of increasing responsibility as Program Director, Executive Officer of MPS, Executive Officer of the Division of Chemistry (1990-1995), Acting Division Director (1993-1994), and Acting Assistant Director for MPS (1996-1997). Prior to joining the NSF Chemistry Division as a visiting scientist in 1983, Hunt was Professor of Chemistry at the Catholic University of America, where he had served as a faculty member since 1962. His research at Catholic University dealt largely with mechanisms of reactions of transition metal complexes. Following a sabbatical at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1971-72, Hunt also collaborated with NIH researchers on metal ion-protein interactions. The most recent paper from this collaboration, published in 1990, dealt with zinc ion binding to the regulatory subunit of aspartate transcarbamoylase. Hunt served as a consultant to the Electrochemistry Division of the Naval Ordinance Laboratory from 1966-1972 in the area of fused salt batteries. He was a consultant to the Red Cross Blood Services Laboratory from 1973-1983 on research related to blood platelets. For seven years, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Marine Science Consortium at Wallops Island, Virginia, where he also taught courses in chemical oceanography. Hunt has also served as a member of the Strategic Advisory Committee of the Council for Chemical Research. Hunt received his undergraduate education at Tulane University (B.S. in Chemistry, 1955), an M.S. degree in inorganic chemistry from Georgetown University (1960), and a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from the University of Chicago (1962). His four years as a naval officer included two years on the USS Iowa andtwo years teaching chemistry at the U.S. Naval Academy. Hunt can be reached at NSF/OPP in Arlington, VA (703/306-1030; fax 703/306-0645; [email protected]). NSF Seeks GLOBE Proposals Engaging Students in Science NSF is seeking proposals from scientist-educator teams to participate in the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program. Proposals are due by 15 October 1997. The GLOBE program supports projects designed to increase: • scientific understanding of the earth, • student achievement in science and mathematics, and • environmental awareness. The program currently involves K-12 students at over 1,500 schools who make environmental observations following established research protocols and then report their data via the Internet to the GLOBE Student Data Archive. As its name suggests, GLOBE is designed to fund collaboration around the world. U.S. institutions, researchers, educators, and students are encouraged to form teams with their counterparts in John Hunt Becomes Acting Director of NSF Office of Polar Programs other countries. NSF will fund the participating U.S. institutions for up to four years beginning in May 1998. For scientific involvement in GLOBE, teams must propose to: • conduct environmental research using GLOBE student data, and • assume responsibility for one or more existing or new GLOBE measurement protocols. Teams will be expected to help maintain and improve the science, education, and evaluation activities of the program. Proposals should include objectives to: • develop learning activities in support of GLOBE measurements, • develop U.S. student-assessment tools for optional use by teachers, • develop and integrate educational materials, and • evaluate the program. GLOBE is an interagency program involving the National Oceanic and John B. Hunt 9 • To what extent will it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks, and partnerships? • Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding? • What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society? Reviewers will now be asked to: • address a given proposal’s strengths and weaknesses as they relate to any or all of the considerations listed under each criterion, • provide an overall rating, and • provide a brief summary statement that includes comments on the relative importance of the two criteria to their rating. Additional background information about this change, including the NSB’s resolution and the report on which it is based, can be found at (http://www.nsf.gov/ home/nsb/document.htm). Proposals received by the NSF Proposal Processing Unit are assigned to the appropriate NSF program for acknowledgment. All proposals that meet NSF requirements are carefully reviewed by a scientist, engineer, or educator serving as an NSF Program Officer, and usually by three to ten other persons outside NSF who are experts in the particular field represented by the proposal. Proposers are invited to suggest names of persons they believe are especially well qualified to review the proposal or persons whom they would prefer not review the proposal. These suggestions may serve as one source in the reviewer-selection process at the Program Officer’s discretion. Program Officers may obtain comments from assembled review panels or from site visits before recommending final action on proposals. Recommendations for awards are further reviewed by senior NSF staff. For more information, consult the NSF Web site (http://www.nsf.gov/) or contact the appropriate Arctic Section program manager in Arlington, VA (703/306-1029; fax 703/306-0648; [email protected]). In August 1997, NSF announced publication of an updated Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) and Proposal Forms Kit that incorporate changes in the proposal-review criteria (see article this page, and Publications page 23). The new version of the GPG becomes effective 1 October 1997. The complete text, including all forms, is available at the NSF web site (http://www.nsf.gov). For more information, contact the NSF Policy Office, Division of Contracts, Policy and Oversight (703/306-1243; fax 703/306-0280; [email protected]). New Dates for Arctic Program Proposals The recently revised Guidelines for Submission of Proposals for the Arctic Science Program has not yet been officially approved for release. When it appears, it will contain new target dates for proposals: 1 February and 1 August. During the 1997-98 transition, general target dates will be 15 December 1997 and 1 February 1998; the Social Sciences Program, however, will not have a February 1998 target. The change is being made to accommodate improved Arctic logistics capabilities (see pages 7 and 14) and to better coordinate with other NSF programs. Proposers should meet the February target date for the year before the proposed field work, if they are requesting: • ship time on University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) ships, • ship time on the new research icebreaker USCGC Healy, or • access to Greenland sites needing heavy airlift capability of the Air National Guard. For more information, contact the appropriate Arctic Section program manager in Arlington, VA (703/306-1029; fax 703/306-0648; [email protected]). National Science Foundation News New NSF Proposal Guidelines Published NSF Adopts New Proposal-Review Criteria In March 1997, the National Science Board (NSB) approved new criteria for reviewing proposals to NSF, effective 1 October 1997. The NSB adopted the following two criteria in place of the four criteria that were used before: (1)What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity? • How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field and across different fields? • How well qualified is the proposer (individual or team) to conduct the project? (If appropriate, please comment on the quality of prior work.) • To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative and original concepts? • How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity? • Is there sufficient access to resources? (2)What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? • How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training, and learning? • How well does the proposed activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, geographic)? 16 • people are proud of the results and therefore own them; and • evaluation findings are being used in local health-service management and policy decisions. These evaluation techniques can be used by other researchers working to increase participation of service recipients in remote, culturally distinct communities. The orderly, qualitative process engages villagers as active participants in the evaluation. Their perceptions can then be used to assess the reliability and validity of quantitative evaluation techniques. For more information, contact Brian Saylor at the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies, University of Alaska Anchorage (907/786-4024; fax 907/7864019; [email protected]) or Joan Hamilton at Chemical Misuse Treatment and Recovery Services in Bethel, AK (907/543-6760 or 800/450-2822; fax 907/543-6712). the Arctic Ocean basin, including the tectonic development of the region. The data-release plan, recently approved by the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), is the product of a cooperative effort by the U.S. Department of State, the Director of the Submarine Warfare Division, the Oceanographer of the Navy on the CNO’s staff, and the USARC. For more information, contact Garry Brass at the USARC in Arlington, VA (703/525-0111; fax 703/525-0114; [email protected]) or Lieutenant Joe Walker at the U.S. Navy Office of Information at the Pentagon in Arlington, VA (703/697-5342; fax 703/695-5318). Recipients as Researchers: Villagers Evaluate Services Science News 25 Years of Arctic Sub Bathymetric Data Declassified In August 1997, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC, see page 11) announced an agreement to declassify the largest quantity of Arctic Ocean bathymetric data in history. The new information will increase by ten-fold the data available to civilian researchers and the public worldwide regarding the topography of the icecovered Arctic Basin. The data sets for over 120,000 nautical miles of track in the 5.5 million-squaremile Arctic Ocean were collected by U.S. Navy nuclear submarines from 1957-1982 during routine operations in the Arctic. Submarines, underway continuously, constitute an ideal platform for collecting this valuable record. The data include: • water depth, • latitude and longitude, • general time frame, • type of bottom sounder, and • navigation system used. Configuring the first batch of declassified data into a format that can be used by the scientific community will take approximately six months. When released, the data will help answer a number of significant questions. It will be useful for: • improving the accuracy of hydrographic charts, • refining models of Arctic Ocean circulation, • enhancing the understanding of global climate, and • predicting the transport of contaminants. The data will assist scientists in understanding the geological structure of the Arctic and the geologic history of Residents in the southwest Alaskan communities of Hooper Bay, Scammon Bay, and Chevak have been engaged in a new process for evaluating services available in their villages. They have participated in a qualitative evaluation of the accessibility, acceptability, and quality of substance-abuse treatment using a process developed by researchers at the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies. Residents were asked to help evaluate a pilot program that selected and trained six villagers in 1994 to provide substanceabuse treatment services in the three rural communities. The villagers were trained to provide services based on traditional Yup’ik and Cup’ik Eskimo customs and practices rather than those based exclusively on Western substance-abuse treatment approaches. Each local program relies heavily on the advice of local policy steering committees. That pilot program has been supported by grant funds from the federal Center for Substance Abuse Treatment in Rockville, Maryland and sponsored by the regional Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation headquartered in the southwest Alaska hub community of Bethel. Residents of the three villages have now supported a rigorous evaluation of the services received under this demonstration grant. The procedure developed for this evaluation includes: • focus groups designed to answer questions of major interest to both the villagers and federal funding agencies; • videotaped interviews requested on the basis of insights from focusgroups; • production of a 50-minute videotape describing in the service recipients’ own words how the program is being received. Feedback from program participants suggests that: • qualitative evaluation methods developed for this project conform to Yup’ik and Cup’ik cultural expectations and customs; • participating communities do not feel invaded by researchers; • villagers feel that their voice is being heard in their assessment of the accessibility, acceptability, and quality of the programs provided; 17 Great Britain, made a five-year, halfbillion-dollar challenge grant for American public schools (the Annenberg Challenge). He subsequently established another $50,000,000 fund, known as the Annenberg Rural Challenge, in light of compelling evidence that a national school reform effort, to be effective, must include rural schools. One third of the nation’s schools are rural, and a quarter of the nation’s students and teachers meet in rural schools. The Rural Challenge funded AKRSI as part of a national network committed to transforming rural education. The AKRSI is dedicated to systemic reform through the integration of Alaska Native and Western scientific knowledge into educational systems throughout Alaska. AKRSI has developed the Alaska Native Knowledge Network (ANKN) to help compile and exchange information related to knowledge systems and ways of knowing that Alaska Natives have acquired through cumulative experience over Science News In Spring 1997, the Arctic scientific community represented by ARCUS, and the Alaska Native community represented by the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) and its Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI), launched a partnership to coordinate science-education initiatives. ARCUS and AFN are collaborating through a Memorandum of Agreement in a project to improve access to locally produced curriculum resources for rural schools in Alaska. Sean Topkok assumed the position of Indigenous Curriculum Specialist with ARCUS in April 1997 and began to compile, catalog, and disseminate the volume of material that has been produced over time. The AKRSI is a five-year project funded in 1994 (see Witness Spring 1995), in part by the NSF Educational System Reform Programs, and in part by the Annenberg Rural Challenge. In 1993, the Honorable Walter A. Annenberg, former U.S. ambassador to millennia. ANKN intends to make such information available to Native people, government agencies, educators, and the general public. A database of curriculum resources compiled by the Indigenous Curriculum project since April 1997 is now available at the ANKN Web site listed below. The curriculum resources included in the database illustrate ways in which indigenous and Western knowledge systems can be applied in schools through a balanced, comprehensive, and culturally aligned curriculum framework adaptable to local circumstances. The resources will help teachers and students connect the knowledge, skills, and ways of knowing necessary for a village livelihood with those reflected in the school curriculum. The database resources are cataloged by aspects of life in rural Alaska around which school curricula can be organized. The twelve themes are: • Family, • Language/Communication, • Cultural Expression, • Tribe/Community, • Health/Wellness, • Living in Place, • Outdoor Survival, • Subsistence, • Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, • Applied Technology, • Energy/Ecology, and • Exploring Horizons. AKRSI also is developing cultural standards—guidelines for relating classroom learning to students’ experiences in the cultural and physical environment outside of school. Draft cultural standards pertain to: • learning experiences of the student, • composition of the curriculum, • practices of the teacher, and • context of the school itself. The standards are being distributed for review and will be proposed for adoption at a conference of Native educators in February 1998. The draft cultural standards are available on the ANKN Web site (http://www.uaf.edu/ankn) and from Sean Topkok at ANKN (907/474-5897; fax 907/474-5615; [email protected]). Barrow Hosts Science Education Assembly Over 30 scientists, educators, parents, and North Slope community members gathered in Barrow, Alaska in August 1997 to reflect on the importance of science education in the Arctic. The Arctic Science Education Conference, sponsored by Ilisagvik College and the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (see article this page), was held in conjunction with “Science in the Community,” the 50th anniversary of the Naval Arctic Research Laboratory (NARL, see feature). The goal of the Conference—˝to develop specific recommendations, guidelines, and techniques for educating North Slope students in the sciences into the 21st century while maintaining a sensitivity to the cultural heritage of the Iñupiat lifestyle˝— was emphasized by Alaska North Slope Borough (NSB) Mayor Ben Nageak in his opening address on the value of science education to the Borough. Presentations, representing many voices, included information on: • science education from a Native American perspective; • standards-based education and Alaska state education initiatives; • new developments in Arctic science education from a scientific perspective; and • curriculum resources for Arctic science education. Participants discussed the kinds of science education currently available and what they would like to see in their respective communities. The day closed with a distillation of salient points from three participants—a Barrow resident and business leader, the head of the NSB Department of Wildlife Management, and a leading scientist. A planned report will provide guidelines for future Arctic science education endeavors. For more information, contact Frank Willingham, Ilisagvik College, (907/8529176; fax 907/852-1146; [email protected]). Partnership Formed to Develop Indigenous Curricula 18 for the science plan, they will review: • priorities of the existing program, • goals and objectives set forth in Arctic Social Science: An Agenda for Action, • recommendations from the workshop on Traditional Knowledge Systems in the Arctic convened by ANSC in March 1997 (see Witness Spring 1997), and • other recommendations for the conduct of Arctic social science. The new plan is envisioned to be a set of dynamic recommendations subject to continuing evolution as research is conducted, new questions emerge, and priorities shift to address changing needs. ARCUS has been tasked by NSF to convene the October 1997 workshop and coordinate publication of the science plan. The draft plan will be posted on the ARCUS Web site for community review and comment prior to publication. For more information, contact Arctic Social Sciences Program Manager Fae Korsmo (see box this page) or ARCUS (907/474-1600; fax 907/474-1604; [email protected]; http:// arcus.polarnet.com). Fae L. Korsmo will become the new Arctic Social Sciences Program Manager at NSF beginning 1 October 1997. Korsmo comes to her new position from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), where she has been Associate Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department. Korsmo’s research interests have involved comparative indigenous rights in the circumpolar North, focusing on constitutional issues and land claims. Ongoing research includes the influence of the International Geophysical Year (1957-58) on international relations and domestic politics in the Arctic. Another topic of continuing research encompasses the human dimensions of global change. For the past year, Korsmo has organized and directed the Social Science Research Group at UAF, with the purpose of encouraging interdisciplinary research and curriculum development. She plans to foster interdisciplinary approaches at NSF, integrating social science and educational elements with the natural and physical sciences. Her goals also include strengthening relationships between research communities and local populations. Korsmo can be reached in Washington, DC (703/306-1029; fax 703/306-0648; [email protected]; after 1 October 1997, [email protected]). Arctic Social Sciences Workshop to Develop Science Plan Korsmo Becomes New Arctic Social Sciences Program Manager at NSF Science News A pproximately 25 invited participants will meet in late October 1997 at an NSF-funded workshop in Seattle, Washington to prepare a comprehensive science plan for the Office of Polar Programs Arctic Social Sciences Program. The Arctic Social Sciences Program was initiated by NSF in 1990 in response to Arctic Social Science: An Agenda for Action, published by the National Research Council in 1989 and relating to all federal agencies. That report suggested that research was necessary in three major areas: • rapid social change, • community viability, and • human/environment interactions. The multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary program that developed according to the report’s recommendations encompasses all social sciences supported by NSF, including anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, linguistics, political science, psychology, sociology, and related subjects. The program has been successful in many areas, supporting projects that have produced significant and much needed knowledge about the prehistory of the Arctic and the cultural life of indigenous peoples. Many of these studies are important in understanding environmental and climate change, and help make predictions about future global change (see Witness Autumn 1994 and Autumn 1995). The Arctic Social Sciences Program has also supported important collaborations and partnerships, including cooperation between U.S. and international scientists, researchers and indigenous peoples, social and natural scientists, and social scientists and schools. In addition, the program has funded non-research activities that greatly impact the conduct of social science in the Arctic. For example, support provided for the establishment of the Alaska Native Science Commission (ANSC, see page 19) has helped to strengthen connections and communications between scientists and Native communities and groups. An International Directory of Arctic Social Scientists published in Spring 1997 (see Publications page 23) has already proven invaluable in helping researchers from various social science disciplines, and natural and social scientists, form collaborative relationships. A growing awareness of needs that are, as yet, inadequately addressed is prompting a call for additional research. Attention to current political, social, economic, and environmental issues could contribute insights highly relevant to the immediate future of those living in the Arctic. Accordingly, the priorities of the 1989 Agenda for Action will be revisited by workshop participants in October 1997. The workshop planning process will address the diversity of social science disciplines and researchers supported by the program. Invited participants represent a broad array of perspectives and a variety of disciplines, including those that typify the program’s significant accomplishments and important gaps in understanding. Participants have been asked to draft a comprehensive science plan that will provide a framework for ongoing development of the social science research program. In order to develop recommendations 19 executive director of many non-profit organizations; President of Calista Corporation, a Native regional corporation; and President of ESCA Corporation, an earth-science and remote sensing consulting company. Michael Pederson, an Iñupiat Eskimo from Barrow, holds the Natural Resources seat. He works as the Natural Resources Specialist for the Arctic Slope Native Association. He is a member of Eugene Brower’s whaling crew, has worked with the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission, and has participated in meetings of the International Whaling Commission. Pederson is also involved in cultural resource issues, including repatriation of human remains and artifacts. Anne M. Walker fills the Health seat on the Commission. Born in Kotzebue, Walker earned her M.A. in Public Health Science in 1981 and became Executive Director of the Alaska Native Health Board in 1990. ANSC is currently administering the following projects: • Social Transition in the North, • Contamination of Subsistence Foods Harvest, and • workshops on Traditional Knowledge Systems in the Arctic. For more information, contact Patricia Longley Cochran (907/786-7704; fax 907/786-7739; [email protected]). Science News Alaska Native Science Commission Installs Seven In June 1997, the Alaska Native Science Commission (ANSC) officially installed seven commissioners at a public reception in Anchorage, Alaska. ANSC was created in 1994 to bring research and science into partnership with Alaska’s Native community. The community mobilized after Senator Murkowski’s May 1993 keynote address at the Arctic Contamination Conference reviewed decades of Cold War research including Project Chariot (see Witness Winter 1993) and iodine experiments on Native residents (see Witness Spring 1996). In light of Murkowski’s talk, Alaskan Natives resolved to become actively involved in scientific research, to become aware and informed of science investigating Native lives and environment, and to ensure that science conducted in Alaska occurs with the knowledge, cooperation, and understanding of the Native community. In 1994, NSF provided a portion of the funding that established ANSC. The organization’s mission is “to endorse and support research that enhances and perpetuates Alaska Native cultures, and ensures the protection of indigenous cultures and intellectual property.” Following is a brief introduction to the individuals who fill the seven ANSC seats. Elaine Abraham holds the Teacher seat on the Commission. She is a resident of Yakutat, where she was born and raised in the traditional Tlingit manner. Abraham has a nursing degree; an M.A. in Teaching; and additional degrees in human resources development, Native linguistics, and anthropology. She organized the southeast Alaska program that became the model for the statewide Alaska Native Health Aide Program, and has played a key role in many other initiatives. Between 1976 and 1996, Abraham served as VicePresident for Rural Education Affairs, Coordinator of Native Student Services, and Associate Professor at the University of Alaska (UA). Dolores “Dolly” Garza holds the Scientist seat. She is Associate Professor for the UA Marine Advisory Program. She has applied her knowledge of subsistence practices, her cultural skills and values, and her academic training (including a Ph.D. in Marine Policy) to subsistence management, marine mammal management, and marine safety work in western and southeast Alaska. Richard Glenn fills the Arctic Science seat. Glenn is President of the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium (see page 2); an ARCUS board member; and a member of the Ilisagvik College Board of Trustees, the Native American Science Education Commission, and the U.S. Arctic Research Commission (see page 11). Glenn holds an M.A. in Geology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and has extensive professional field experience. Paul John holds the Elder’s seat on the Commission. A Native of Toksook Bay, he is distinguished by his first-hand knowledge of natural science from a Yup’ik world view and his effective educational work with both the young and old. John has worked with regional leaders to incorporate local perspective and worldview into management plans that affect the resources upon which he and his community depend. Oscar Kawagley fills the Education seat. A Native of Bethel whose first language is Yup’ik, Kawagley earned a Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia and is now an Associate Professor of Education at UAF. His long history of leadership includes service as ANSC installed its first Commissioners in June 1997. They are (second from left to right) Michael Pederson, Dolly Garza, Anne Walker, and Oscar Kawagley; (seated) Paul John and Elaine Abraham; (missing) Richard Glenn. They are joined in this photo by (far left) University of Alaska Chancellor Lee Gorsuch; and (farright) Alaska Federation of Natives Vice-President Dorothy Larson, former NSF Arctic Social Sciences Program Director Carole Seyfrit, and ANSC Executive Director Patricia Longley Cochran (photo courtesy of ANSC). 20 • effects of climate change on ecosystems. IARC research priorities have just been made available for review (see page 22). For more information, contact Patricia Anderson (907/474-5698; fax 907/4746722; [email protected]) or Gunter Weller (907/474-7371; fax 907/474-7290; [email protected]). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expects to continue funding its Arctic Research Initiative (ARI) in 1998 at the level of $1-1.5 million. The Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research (CIFAR) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks will continue to administer the program for NOAA (see Witness Spring 1997). CIFAR plans to release the new announcement of opportunity in October 1997. Details of research conducted since the Initiative was launched in 1997, and future plans will be discussed at a meeting in Seattle on 9-10 October 1997 (see Calendar page 23). Proposals will be due in December 1997; funds will be allocated in March 1998. The overall goal of the ARI is to address the following national Arctic policy objectives: • protect the Arctic environment and conserve its biological resources, • assure that natural resource management and economic development are environmentally sustainable, • strengthen institutions for international cooperation, and • involve the region’s indigenous people in decisions that affect them. In fiscal year 1997, the ARI program focused on the health of the Bering Sea/ Western Arctic ecosystem, in particular: (1)Natural variability of the Bering Sea/ Western Arctic ecosystem • processes and ecosystem production in the Bering Sea green belt; • atmosphere-ice processes that influence ecosystem variability; and • atmospheric, cloud, and boundarylayer processes. (2)Anthropogenic influences on the Bering Sea/Western Arctic ecosystem • Arctic haze, ozone, and UV flux; • contaminant sources, fate, and effects on the ecosystem. The 1998 program is expected to be somewhat more ambitious in objective and scope. In addition to addressing the scientific areas identified in 1997, the Initiative will strive to embrace research needs identified in science planning for the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP, see page 9) and for the International Arctic Research Center (see page 22). AMAP research needs fall into three areas: • monitoring, data collection, exchange of data on the impacts and assessment of contaminants and their pathways; • increased UV-B radiation due to stratospheric ozone depletion; and NOAA Arctic Research Initiative Extends into 1998 Science News The second of 18 regional workshops designed to collate information and concerns regarding climate change and its consequences for the United States took place in Alaska in June 1997. The workshop on Impacts of Global Change on the Western Arctic/Bering Sea Region (Mackenzie River to Lena River) brought together approximately 100 researchers and stakeholders from Canada, Japan, Russia, and the United States. The resulting assessment will contribute to three larger assessments: • a national scientific assessment called for in the Global Change Research Act of 1990 and sponsored by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), • a circum-Arctic assessment sponsored by the International Arctic Science Committee (see Witness Autumn 1996), and • a global assessment conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The national assessment, due to be completed in 1999, will contribute a summary of anticipated consequences for the United States to the global assessment. The USGCRP was established in 1989 “to increase understanding of the Earth system and, thus, provide a sound scientific basis for national and international decisionmaking on global change issues.” The program is currently focused on: • climate variability (seasonal-interannual); • climate change (decades-centuries); • changes in ozone, UV radiation, and atmospheric chemistry; and • changes in land cover and terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The regional workshops are designed to examine the vulnerability of various regions of the United States to long-term change, particularly climate variability and climate change. The workshops are: • reviewing and updating coarse impact assessments compiled from previous workshops; • educating stakeholders; • soliciting stakeholders’ concerns about the possible impacts of global change in the region; • defining a research agenda to further improve the impact assessments; and • developing support for strategies to cope with any adverse impacts. A national forum on Climate Change Impacts 12-13 November 1997 in Washington, DC will consider input from the seven regional assessments conducted in 1997 and focus on identifying crosscutting questions. The Western Arctic/Bering Sea workshop was funded by NSF and the U.S. Department of the Interior as part of the circum-Arctic study (see Witness Autumn 1996). For more information, see the Bering Sea Impact Study (BESIS) Web site (http://www-cgc.uafadm.alaska.edu/ besis) or contact Gunter Weller, Director of the Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research in Fairbanks, AK (907/474-7371; fax 907/474-6722; [email protected]). For more information about the national science assessment, contact the USGCRP Coordination Office in Washington, DC (202/488-8650; fax 202/488-8681; regional.workshops@ usgcrp.gov; http://www.usgcrp.gov). Regional Surveys Assess Change 21 Change and Carrying Capacity Program (CCCC), Bering Sea Impacts Study (see Witness Autumn 1996), •national studies—Bering Sea FisheriesOceanography Coordinated Investigations (FOCI), Southeast Bering Sea Carrying Capacity, Bering Sea Ecosystem Study (see Witness Autumn 1996), •international studies—PICES/GLOBEC, Japanese and Russian programs. All of these programs have field-data collection components and are in a position to contribute to, and benefit from, the metadatabase. For more information or to contribute data, register at the Metadatabase Web site (http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/bering/mdb/), or contact Bern Megrey at NOAA/Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, WA (206/526-4147; fax 206/526-6723; [email protected]) or Allen Macklin at NOAA/PMEL in Seattle (206/5266798; fax 206/526-6485; macklin@pmel. noaa.gov). Circumpolar peoples have urged the science community to conduct research adhering to the highest standards of (1) professional responsibility and (2) accountability to those affected by this research. Research conducted in this manner becomes a part of community development and community action. This is in accordance with IASSA’s Guiding Principles of Ethics for the Conduct of Research, guidelines for developing research partnerships based on the principles of informed consent, accountability, and mutual respect. The International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA) has, thus, stressed the significance of including representatives of user communities in the conference. Suggestions for sessions are welcome before 1 October 1997, and abstracts before 15 February 1998. For more information, contact Frank Sejersen at the IASSA Secretariat in Copenhagen (+45 32 88 01 67; fax +45 32 88 01 61; [email protected]). International Activities Conference to Focus on Culture, Ethics, Self-Determination For millennia, circumpolar societies have adapted and responded to environmental and social changes and shown great resiliency. The pace and intensity of this change has increased dramatically during the 20th century. Circumpolar peoples have responded in complicated and varied ways. They have also initiated cultural, social, and economic changes to improve livelihoods and create new possibilities for present and future generations. Such self-initiated changes pervade the local, national, and international communities. Changes in the Circumpolar North— Culture, Ethics, and Self-Determination will be the subject of the Third International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS III). The Conference convenes 21-23 May 1998 in Copenhagen, Denmark (see Calendar page 23). Three major sessions are planned: • Indigenous and Local Knowledge, • Social Viability and Cultural Continuity, and • Political Dynamics, Governance, and Self-Determination. In 1996, the National Research Council’s Report on the Bering Sea Ecosystem flagged the lack of a comprehensive database as the major impediment to studying the Bering Sea (see Witness Autumn 1996). To address this deficiency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Environmental Services Data Information Management has funded Bernard Megrey (NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center) and Allen Macklin (NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory) to compile a Bering Sea Ecosystem Metadatabase. The inventory will include physical and biological data that will help researchers, managers, students, fishermen, and the general public investigate and understand the complex ecosystem of the Bering Sea. Data will be available through various mechanisms, including the Internet. Physical and biological data that already have been collected include: NOAA Funds Comprehensive Bering Sea Database • single-point and gridded time series, • repetitive observations from earthorbiting satellites, • ocean surveys of physical and biological oceanographic significance, • specimen collections, and • historical records of animal population changes. While some data reach back through the last century, the Bering Sea has been the subject of much closer scrutiny during the last two decades by such major research programs as the Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP) and Processes and Resources of the Bering Sea Shelf (PROBES). Even more recently, the region’s economic and biological significance has provided impetus for the proliferation of a number of active research efforts including: •regional studies—North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES)/Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics Research (GLOBEC) International Climate In May 1997, the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) elected David J. Drewry as its new President. Drewry, a glaciologist, is Director of Research and Technology at the Natural Environment Research Council, United Kingdom. He has previously been Director of the Scott Polar Research Institute and the British Antarctic Survey, both in the United Kingdom. For more information, contact Odd Rogne at the IASC Secretariat in Oslo, Norway (+47-22959600; fax +47-22959601; [email protected]). New IASC Director 22 International Program in Global Change Prediction Opens A t the beginning of 1997, Japan created the Frontier Program, for the study of global change prediction. Under the Frontier Program, the Japanese Government will construct five research centers—three in Japan and two in the United States. One of the U.S. centers, the International Pacific Research Center in Hawaii, will concentrate on climate issues in the western Pacific region, especially on the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and the Asia-Pacific monsoon. The other center, the International Arctic Research Center (IARC), is housed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). These U.S.-based centers will be jointly planned and implemented by the Japanese and U.S. governments. Development of the Frontier Program marks the beginning of scientific planning for IARC activities that will combine U.S. and Japanese Arctic research resources and interests. International Arctic Research Center IARC is designed to serve as headquarters in which experts can share knowledge about a variety of natural phenomena that occur in the Arctic, particularly within the context of climate change. Creation of the 100,000 square-foot building at UAF began in 1994 with a proposal from the University of Alaska (UA) to the Japanese Government to participate in the construction and use of Arctic research facilities in Alaska (see Witness Spring 1996). This proposal led to the construction of Building I (“I” for International) at UAF. The first phase of the construction project took place during the summer of 1995; the scheduled completion date is December 1998. The $30 million project is funded by the Government of Japan, the State of Alaska, the City of North Pole, UAF bond sales, and private donations. Scientists plan to occupy the building in early 1999. Among the first to move into the building will be the Fairbanks Forecast Office of the National Weather Service; and the Geophysical Institute’s Keith B. Mather Library, Atmospheric International Activities Science Group, GeoData Center, and Map Office. Japanese agencies scheduled to occupy the building include the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention. Initiatives to be addressed at the IARC will include: • Arctic Climate, • Arctic Hydrologic Cycle, • Global Warming, • Atmospheric Compounds, • Arctic Ecosystems, • Tectonic Hazards in the Arctic Region, • Socio-Economic Impacts of Global Change in the Arctic, and • Middle and Upper Atmosphere. The draft IARC Science Plan is available at the Web site listed below. International Administration IARC is an organization within UAF with its own director and internal UAF advisory committee. Interagency oversight will be carried out by the IARC Implementation Committee (IARC-IC) which consists of representatives from the U.S. and Japanese government agencies sponsoring research at the Center. The IC is chaired by Garry Brass of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC, see page 11) and Eiichi Muto of the Japanese Science and Technology Agency (STA). A Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) of Japanese, U.S., and other international expert scientists will serve as scientific advisors to the IARC and the IC; this committee will also review the annual science plan submitted to the IC by the Center. The IARC-IC in turn reports to the Joint Council on Global Change (JC) chaired by Bob Corell, Assistant Director of NSF’s Geosciences Directorate, and Tsuyoshi Maruyama, Director of Ocean and Earth Division of STA. For more information, see the Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research Web site (http://www~cgc. uafadm.alaska.edu/iarc) or contact Garry Brass at the USARC in Arlington, VA (800/287-6722 or 703/525-0111; fax 703/525-0114; [email protected]). The flags of Japan and the United States mounted high on the building’s structural framework signify the collaboration taking place, as construction proceeds on the new International Arctic Research Center (IARC) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in July 1997. IARC will be physically attached to the Geophysical Institute building on the right (photo by Syun Akasofu). 23 Arctic Pollution Issues: A State of the Arctic Environment Report. June 1997. AMAP. Oslo, Norway. 188 p. (+47 22 57 36 36; fax +47 22 67 67 06; http://www.grida.no/amap). International Directory of Arctic Social Scientists. March 1997. NSF. Washington, DC. 221 p. (703/306-1029; fax 703/306-0648; http://www.nsf.gov). Logistics Recommendations for an Improved U.S. Arctic Research Capability. July 1997. ARCUS. Fairbanks, AK. 88 p. (907/474-1600; fax 907/474-1604; [email protected]; http://arcus.polarnet.com). NSF Grant Proposal Guidelines and Proposal Forms Kit. August 1997. NSF. Washington, DC. (703/306-1243; fax 703/306-0280; [email protected]; http://www.nsf.gov). People and the Arctic—A Prospectus for Research on the Human Dimensions of the Arctic System. May 1997. ARCUS. Fairbanks, AK. 75 p. Publications ARCUS 600 University Avenue, Suite 1 Fairbanks, Alaska 99709 USA Phone: 907/474-1600 Fax: 907/474-1604 [email protected] http://arcus.polarnet.com Executive Officer Wendy K. Warnick ARCUS is a nonprofit organization consisting of institutions organized and operated for educational, professional, or scientific purposes. ARCUS was established by its member institutions in 1988 with the primary mission of strengthening Arctic research to meet national needs. ARCUS activities are funded through a cooperative agreement with NSF; by DOE, USARC, AFN; and by membership dues. Witness the Arctic is published biannually by ARCUS. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF. Submit ideas for the Spring 1998 newsletter by 1 February 1998. Contributors: D. Adams, K. Ahgeak, S. Akasofu, P.A. Anderson, P.M. Anderson, L. Ayres, R. Barnhardt, R.Bourke, G. Brass, L. Brigham, J. Brigham-Grette, A. Carter, P. Longley Cochran, L. Codispoti, T. DeLaca, C. Elfring, N. Flanders, S. Forman, S. Gilbert, R. Glenn, J. Grebmeier, R.Hollister, J. Hunt, F. Korsmo, M. MacCracken, A.Macklin, G. Miller, J.Morison, R. Mrugala, N. Lane, T. Pyle, O. Rogne, K. Runciman, B. Saylor, F. Sejersen, C. Seyfrit, G.Sheehan, A. and S. Topkok, W. Tucker, M. Twickler, I. Virsnieks, P. Webber, G.Weller. Managing Editor: Wendy Warnick Editor/Designer: Marty Peale Technical Support: Michael Sharp Copy Editor: Diane Wallace wit.ness (wit nis) n. 1.a. One who has heard or seen something. b. One who furnishes evidence. 2. Anything that serves as evidence; a sign. 3. An attestation to a fact, statement, or event. —-v. tr. 1. To be present at or have personal knowledge of. 2. To provide or serve as evidence of. 3. To testify to; bear witness. —-intr. To furnish or serve as evidence; testify. [Middle English witnes(se), Old English witnes, witness, knowledge, from wit, knowledge, wit.] September 24-27, 1997 48th Annual AAAS Arctic Science Conference. Valdez, Alaska. Contact Linda Barker at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (907/474-7531; fax 907/ 474-5863; [email protected]). October 9-10, 1997 Arctic Research Initiative (ARI) Meeting. Seattle, Washington. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Contact Patricia A. Anderson at the Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research (CIFAR) in Fairbanks, Alaska (907/474-5698; fax 907/474-6722; [email protected]). October 27-31, 1997 First International Conference on Re-Analyses. Silver Spring, Maryland. Contact the International GEWEX Project Office in Silver Spring, Maryland (301/427-2089 ext. 33; fax 301/427-2222; [email protected]). November 3-6, 1997 Conference on Polar Processes and Global Climate. Orcas Island, Washington. Arctic Climate System Study (ACSYS) of the WCRP. Contact Tordis Villinger in Oslo, Norway (+47 22 95 73; fax +47 22 95 96 01; [email protected]). November 7-8, 1997 Community Development From the Inside Out. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Contact Heidi Hoernig at Northern Planning and Development Studies, The Arctic Institute of North America, University of Calgary (403/220-4051; fax 403/2824609; [email protected]). November 10-12, 1997 Study of Arctic Change. Seattle, Washington. Arctic Systems Science (ARCSS) section of the NSF Office of Polar Programs. Contact Peggy Hartman at the Polar Science Center in Seattle (206/543-6613; fax 206/543-3521; [email protected]) and copy Jamie Morison (206/543-1394; fax 206/5433521; [email protected]). November 15-16, 1997 OAII Science Steering Committee Fall Meeting (open to the community, outside of the executive session periods). Knoxville, Tennessee. See the OAII Web site (http://www.arcss-oaii.ccpo.odu.edu) or contact Jackie Grebmeier (423/974-2592; fax 423/974-3067; [email protected]). December 8-12, 1997 The American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting. San Francisco, California. Contact AGU Meetings Department (202/462-6910, ext. 291 or 800/966-2481; fax 202/328-0566; [email protected]; http://www.agu.org). April 19-23, 1998 Past Global Changes and Their Significance for the Future. London, England. Contact Frank Oldfield, Executive Director, at the IGBP PAGES International Project Office in Bern, Switzerland (+41 31 312 3133; fax +41 31 312 3168; [email protected]; http://www.pages.unibe.ch/pages.html). May 21-23, 1998 Changes in the Circumpolar North: Culture, Ethics and SelfDetermination. Copenhagen, Denmark. Third International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS III). Contact Frank Sejersen at the IASSA Secretariat in Copenhagen (+45 32 88 01 67; fax +45 32 88 01 61; [email protected]). Check the ARCUS Web site Calendar (http://arcus.polarnet.com) for more... Publications Calendar 24 A Note from the President Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 99 Fairbanks, AK Printed on Recycled Paper Arctic Research Consortium of the United States 600 University Avenue, Suite 1 Fairbanks, AK 99709 USA Inside Feature 1 ARCSS Program Updates 3 NSF News 7 U.S. Arctic Research Commission11 Polar Research Board 11 Capitol Updates 12 Arctic Policy News 13 Science News 14 International Activities 21 Calendar & Publications 23 Some years ago, I was doing research at the National Archives in Washington, DC. As I was waiting for my material, I struck up a conversation with the person standing in front of me. He asked about my topic. I told him that it was federal policy toward pre-World War II Arctic Alaska. “My,” he said, “what an obscure topic.” Within ARCUS, we frequently discuss how to raise the national policy profile of Arctic research. All too often, we hear that it is an obscure topic. Public funding for science cannot be built entirely on the logic of scientific discovery. Publicly funded science must—at least occasionally —show results that the public can understand. Examples come through the news of existing discoveries that capture public attention. One is tempted to seek such attention for Arctic research. One can spend considerable time trying to figure out what stories will capture the media’s imagination. The danger is, however, in creating sensational stories built on shaky science. Examples have arisen where the probabilities associated with each link in a chain of argument make the conclusions—and the newsworthy story—thin. The weakest link can be between media interest and actual importance to people’s lives. Do we really need to know that life might—might— have existed on Mars rather than such things as whether our planet will be able to support life in the future? Publicity can direct investigations toward further thin results rather than strengthening less interesting links. Most robust results require yeoman service to scientific work. Science is an accumulation of knowledge built-up over generations. GISP2 has been an excellent example of polar research that can draw public attention, but do so on a frame of solid science. In truth, the Arctic science community will not find many opportunities like the Greenland Ice Sheet. Interesting results take far greater work. Each link in the chain needs to be supported. Most in the scientific community, and many in the press, understand the need for both exciting results and obscure but essential work. We can never know beforehand what we need to know. Concern arises when government officials, from senators to program managers, talk about the need for exciting results. Arctic research needs to follow the logic of scientific discovery. Decisionmakers need to see the importance of normal science— even when it seems expensive but obscure. The continuing trend is toward interdisciplinary research within the Arctic, research that can at least draw immediate connections to larger systems and, possibly, human affairs. We can show the extraordinary in the normal. ARCSS Addresses Autumn 1997 Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 600 University Avenue • Suite 1 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 ARCSS Committee Jack Kruse, Chair Institute of Social and Economic Research University of Alaska Anchorage 117 N. Leverett Road Leverett, MA 01054 Phone: 413/367-2240 • Fax: 413/367-0092 [email protected] OAII Representatives Knut Aagaard, ARCSS PI Polar Science Center-APL University of Washington 1013 NE 40th Street Seattle, WA 98105-6698 Phone: 206/543-8942 • Fax: 206/543-3521 [email protected] John Weatherly, Non-ARCSS Researcher Climate and Global Dynamics Division National Corporation for Atmospheric Research PO Box 3000 Boulder, CO 80307-3000 Phone: 303/497-1706 • Fax: 303/497-1348 [email protected] James P. Barry, Alternate Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute PO Box 628 7700 Sandholdt Road Moss Landing, CA 95039 Phone: 408/775-1726 • Fax: 408/775-1620 [email protected] LAII Representatives John E. Hobbie, ARCSS PI The Ecosystems Center Marine Biological Laboratory 167 Water Street Woods Hole, MA 02543 Phone: 508/548-6704 • Fax: 508/457-1548 [email protected] David R. Klein, Non-ARCSS Researcher Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit University of Alaska Fairbanks 209 Irving I Building PO Box 757020 Fairbanks, AK 99775-7020 Phone: 907/474-6674 • Fax: 907/474-6967 [email protected] Patrick J. Webber, Alternate Department of Botany and Plant Pathology Michigan State University 100 N. Kedzie Hall East Lansing, MI 48824-1031 Phone: 517/355-1284 • Fax: 517/432-2150 [email protected] GISP2 Representatives Debra Meese, ARCSS PI Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory 72 Lyme Road Hanover, NH 03755-1290 Phone: 603/646-4594 • Fax: 603/646-4644 [email protected] Lloyd D. Keigwin, Non-ARCSS Researcher Department of Geology and Geophysics Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution McLean Laboratory, M/S 8 360 Woods Hole Road Woods Hole, MA 02543 Phone: 508/289-2784 • Fax: 508/457-2183 [email protected] PALE Representatives Patricia M. Anderson, ARCSS PI Quaternary Research Center University of Washington PO Box 351360 19 Johnson Hall Seattle, WA 98195-1360 Phone: 206/543-0569 • Fax: 206/543-3836 [email protected] Darrell S. Kaufman, Non-ARCSS Researcher Department of Geology Utah State University Logan, UT 84322-4505 Phone: 801/797-2813 • Fax: 801/797-1588 [email protected] HARC Representatives Susan A. Kaplan, ARCSS PI Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Bowdoin College 5800 College Station Brunswick, ME 04011-8449 Phone: 207/725-3290 • Fax: 207/725-3499 [email protected] Leslie A. King Environmental Studies University of Vermont 150 S. Prospect Street Burlington, VT 05401 Phone: 802/656-8167 • Fax: 802/656-8015 [email protected] Thomas McGovern, Alternate Department of Anthropology Bioarchaeological Laboratory Hunter College, CUNY 695 Park Avenue New York, NY 10021 Phone: 212/772-5410 • Fax: 212/772-5423 [email protected] Synthesis, Integration, and Modeling Representatives F. Stuart (Terry) Chapin, Co-chair Department of Integrative Biology University of California Valley Life Sciences Building, Room 3060 Berkeley, CA 94720-3140 Phone: 510/642-1003 • Fax: 510/643-6264 [email protected] Amanda Lynch, Co-chair Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences/PAOS University of Colorado Campus Box 216 Boulder, CO 80309-0216 Phone: 303/492-5847 • Fax: 303/492-1149 [email protected] Data Management Representative Matthew Cross Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences National Snow and Ice Data Center University of Colorado Campus Box 449 Boulder, CO 80309-0449 Phone: 303/492-5532 • Fax: 303/492-2468 [email protected] ARCUS Board Liaison Nicholas E. Flanders Institute of Arctic Studies Dartmouth College 6214 Steele Hall, Room 407B Hanover, NH 03755-3577 Phone: 603/646-1278 • Fax: 603/646-1279 [email protected] ARCUS Addresses Autumn 1997 ARCUS • 907/474-1600 • Fax 907/474-1604 • [email protected] • http://arcus.polarnet.com International Affiliates Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies (ACUNS) http://www.geog.mcgill.ca:80/northern/ acunhome.html Jill Oakes Department of Native Studies University of Manitoba Fletcher Argue Building, Room 532 Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V5 Canada Phone: 204/474-7352 • Fax: 204/261-0333 [email protected] Gilles Gauthier Departement de biologie Universite Laval Cite Universitaire Quebec, QC G1K 7P4 Canada Phone: 418/656-5507 • Fax: 418/656-2043 [email protected] ARCUS Member Institutions, Representatives, and Alternates ( continued ) GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences http://www.geomar.de Joern Thiede Research Center for Marine Geosciences GEOMAR Wischhofstrasse 1-3 Kiel, D-24148 Germany Phone: +49/431-600-2215 Fax: +49/431-600-2925 [email protected] Heidi Kassens Research Center for Marine Geosciences GEOMAR address same as above Phone: +49/431-600-2850 Fax: +49/431-600-2941 [email protected] McGill University http://www.mcgill.ca Marianne Stenbaek Center for Northern Studies and Research McGill University 805 Sherbrooke Street W. Montreal, PQ H3A 2K6 Canada Phone: 514/398-6052 • Fax: 514/398-8364 [email protected] University of Northern British Columbia http://www.unbc.ca Gail A. Fondahl NRES/Geography University of Northern British Columbia 3333 University Way Prince George, BC V2N 4Z9 Canada Phone: 250/960-5856 • Fax: 250/960-5539 [email protected] ARCUS Logistics Working Group Peter Schlosser, Co-chair Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University Box 1000 Route 9 W. Palisades, NY 10964-8000 Phone: 914/365-8707 • Fax: 914/365-8155 [email protected] Walter Tucker III, Co-chair Snow and Ice Division Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory 72 Lyme Road Hanover, NH 03755-1290 Phone: 603/646-4268 • Fax: 603/646-4644 [email protected] Richard B. Alley Earth System Science Center Pennsylvania State University 306 Deike Building University Park, PA 16802 Phone: 814/863-1700 • Fax: 814/865-3191 [email protected] Randy Borys Atmospheric Sciences Center Desert Research Institute PO Box 60220 Reno, NV 89506 Phone: 702/677-3122 • Fax: 702/677-3157 [email protected] Julie Brigham-Grette Department of Geosciences University of Massachusetts Campus Box 35820 Amherst, MA 01003-5820 Phone: 413/545-4840 • Fax: 413/545-1200 [email protected] Ted DeLaca Office of Arctic Research University of Alaska Fairbanks Box 757560 Fairbanks, AK 99775-7560 Phone: 907/474-7314 • Fax: 907/474-7225 [email protected] Nicholas E. Flanders Institute of Arctic Studies Dartmouth College 6214 Steele Hall, Room 407B Hanover, NH 03755-3577 Phone: 603/646-1278 • Fax: 603/646-1279 [email protected] Richard K. Glenn Department of Energy Management North Slope Borough PO Box 1120 Barrow, AK 99723 Phone: 907/852-0395 • Fax: 907/852-8971 [email protected] John E. Hobbie The Ecosystems Center Marine Biological Laboratory 167 Water Street Woods Hole, MA 02543 Phone: 508/548-6704 • Fax: 508/457-1548 [email protected] Karl C. Kuivinen Snow and Ice Research Group University of Nebraska-Lincoln 2255 W. Street, Suite 101 Lincoln, NE 68583-0850 Phone: 402/472-9833 • Fax: 402/472-9832 [email protected] Jamie Morison Polar Science Center-APL University of Washington Seattle, WA 98105-6698 Phone: 206/543-1394 • Fax: 206/543-3521 [email protected] Glenn W. Sheehan Barrow Arctic Science Consortium PO Box 577 Barrow, AK 99723 Phone: 907/852-4881 • Fax: 907/852-4882 [email protected] Imants J. Virsnieks Office of Polar Programs National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Room 755 Arlington, VA 22230 Phone: 703/306-1029 • Fax: 703/306-0139 [email protected] Ex-officio: Garrett Brass U.S. Arctic Research Commission 4350 N. Fairfax Drive Suite 630 The Ellipse Building Arlington, VA 22203 Phone: 800/aurorab • Fax: 703/525-0114 [email protected] Tom Pyle Office of Polar Programs National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Room 740 Arlington, VA 22230 Phone: 703/306-1030 • Fax: 703/306-0648 [email protected]