1. United States Report to the SAON Board Martin Jeffries
Washington, DC - Sunday , 7 February 2010
United States
Report to the SAON Board
Martin Jeffries
AON Sub-committee of the
Inter-agency Arctic Research Policy Committee
SAON Board Meeting :: January 2012 :: Tromsø, Norway

2. Arctic Observing and US National Policy - I
National Ocean Council and National Ocean Policy
Established by Executive Order (President Obama), July 2010
Nine national priority objectives, each to be implemented according to
a strategic action plan
Strategic Action Plan 8: Changing Conditions in the Arctic
Seven themes
Theme 3: An Integrated Arctic Observing Network
Six action items
Action Item 2: Observe and Forecast Arctic Sea Ice
Action Item 3: Establish a Distributed Biological Observatory

3. Arctic Observing and US National Policy - II
IARPC (Inter-agency Arctic Research Policy Committee)
Since July 2010 a sub-committee of the National Science and
Technology Council (NSTC)
Six priority research themes identified in April 2011
Research Theme 4: Continue to deploy and integrate a national
Arctic observing system and promote international cooperation to
create a circumpolar Arctic observing system
IARPC Research Theme 4: An Arctic Observing System
Nine priority topics
State of the sea ice cover
Glacier/ice sheet mass balance and global sea level
Terrestrial and marine permafrost and carbon cycle
Atmospheric constituents and surface radiation balance
A Distributed Biological Observatory
Observing system design
Community-based observing
Assess local resident priorities
Improve access to data

4. Arctic Observing Coordination Workshop
20-22 March 2012, Anchorage, Alaska
Goals
Summarize agency contributions to Arctic observing efforts.
Recommendations for improving collaboration and coordination among projects and agencies.
Identify two or more pilot projects for observing activity coordination among several agencies and entities, with recommendations for short-term (5 years or less) implementation.
Themes
Understand and predict sea ice changes and the consequences for ecosystems, people and climate.
Understand and predict glacier/ice sheet mass loss and global sea level.
Understand the consequences of the loss of shallow permafrost on Arctic and global systems.
Societal and policy implications of Arctic environmental change, e.g., an Arctic observing system for a broad spectrum of users, including communities and individuals, decision- and policy-makers, business/industry and scientists.

5. US-led SAON Tasks Arctic Observing Summit
SEARCH/AON, ArcticNet, ISAC
Arctic Collaborative Environment (ACE)
Von Braun Center for Science & Innovation
Arctic Ocean Structure During IPY
University of Alaska Fairbanks & Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
Historical Climate Analysis – Pacific Sector of the Arctic
NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
Community-based Monitoring Classification to Improve
Standardization of Vocabularies
Aleut International Association