Date

Multiple AGU Town Hall Announcements

  1. International Study of Arctic Change & Arctic Observing Summit
    Arctic Community Meeting Room
    Monday, 3 December 2012

  2. Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions
    Moscone West, Room 2008
    Monday, 3 December 2012

  3. The International Polar Initiative
    Moscone West, Room 2005
    Tuesday, 4 December 2012

  4. Southern Ocean Observing System
    Moscone West, Room 2011
    Friday, 7 December 2012


  1. International Study of Arctic Change & Arctic Observing Summit
    Arctic Community Meeting Room
    Monday, 3 December 2012

The International Study of Arctic Change (ISAC) Program Office will hold
the 5th Annual Town Hall at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall
Meeting. It will be convened on Monday, 3 December 2012 at 7:30-9:00
p.m. PST in the ARCUS Arctic Community Meeting Room at the San Francisco
Marriott Marquis.

The main focus this year is the Arctic Observing Summit (AOS) 2013, but
the town hall will also include information on other ISAC activities.
This town hall is one in a series of AOS planning and information
meetings held through 2011 and 2012. The purpose is to update the arctic
research community and others who are interested on plans for the AOS
and to solicit community input on AOS structure, products, and focus for
future Summits.

The AOS will provide a recurring (biennial) forum for assessing the
science basis for arctic observing activities and improving coordination
and optimizing resource allocation for international arctic observing.
The AOS will actively seek participation from all entities that collect
and/or use arctic observations, and it will engage both basic research
and mission-oriented communities. Participants will include academia,
government agencies, and arctic stakeholders such as local communities,
the private sector, and non-governmental organizations. The AOS is a
Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks (SAON) task and will function to
identify and pursue specific activities designed to improve arctic
observing for a full spectrum of applications, from climate research to
the delivery of useful products to arctic stakeholders. The first AOS is
scheduled for 30 April-2 May 2013, in Vancouver, Canada.

For more information on the AOS, to view the call for AOS Community
Input, or to learn more about ISAC, please to go:
http://www.arcticchange.org.

The Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS) Arctic Community
Meeting Room at the AGU Fall Meeting will be located at the San
Francisco Marriott, 4th Floor, Pacific Room J. The Marriott is one block
from the AGU sessions at the Moscone Center West.

For further information, please contact:
Maribeth S. Murray
murray [at] arcticchange.org


  1. Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions
    Moscone West, Room 2008
    Monday, 3 December 2012

Date: 3 December 2012
Time: 6:15 pm - 7:15 pm
Place: Moscone Center; Moscone West, Room 2008

The U.S. Ice Drilling Program Office (IDPO) is organizing a Town Hall
meeting at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, entitled
"Scientific Drilling in the Polar Regions." It will be convened on
Monday, 3 December 2012 at 6:15-7:15 p.m. PST in Moscone West, Room
2008.

Ice sheets and ocean sediments hold important climate evidence from the
past. International collaboration for drilling in the polar regions
requires coordination between science, technology, and logistics. The
research community is invited to hear updates on recent planning by the
IDPO/IDDO, IPICS, ANDRILL, IODP, SCAR-ACE, and WAIS initiatives.
Opportunities for community involvement in interdisciplinary planning
will be highlighted and input solicited.

For further information, please go to:
http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2012/calendar/town-halls/.


  1. The International Polar Initiative
    Moscone West, Room 2005
    Tuesday, 4 December 2012

The International Polar Initiative will hold a Town Hall meeting at the
American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting. It will be convened on
Tuesday, 4 December 2012 at 12:30-1:30 p.m. PST in Moscone West, Room
2008.

The polar regions of the world are undergoing fast and dramatic
transformations that impact their environment, economy, and the life of
local residents. These changes are anticipated to increase in the
decades to come and result in significant global implications. To
effectively address the related challenges, a cooperation framework
provisionally entitled the "International Polar Initiative" (IPI) is
proposed. The Framework envisages preparation of a common IPI
Implementation Plan for the development of observing systems, research,
services, related education and outreach, and practical applications of
scientific knowledge in the polar regions. One of the motivations for
IPI is to optimize the use of existing resources and, at the same time,
identify areas where new investments in polar activities are necessary
for environmental protection, sustainable development of the regions,
and addressing existing and emerging societal needs. Existing polar
programs and infrastructure, including the legacy of the recently
concluded International Polar Year 2007-2008, will provide initial
building blocks for IPI. Given the many commonalities between the polar
and alpine regions, involvement of the alpine research community in IPI
is considered. If properly planned and successfully implemented, the IPI
has the potential to turn polar activities into a series of coordinated
and resourceful interagency initiatives aimed at addressing the major
challenges of polar regions.

Views of the science community on the advantages of having an initiative
like IPI and any other input to its concept are being sought. If there
is sufficient interest in and support to the IPI idea from the polar
research communities, the IPI Concept will be submitted for
consideration by leading international organizations involved in polar
activities. All individuals and groups with interest in polar regions
are invited to attend this event.

The draft Concept of IPI is available at the following URL:
http://www.iasc.info/index.php/home/initiatives/22.


  1. Southern Ocean Observing System
    Moscone West, Room 2011
    Friday, 7 December 2012

The Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) will hold a Town Hall at the
American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting. It will be convened on
Friday, 7 December 2012 at 12:30-1:30 p.m. PST in Moscone West, Room
2011.

SOOS, cosponsored by the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR)
and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), has the goal
of coordinating international data gathering to develop a sustained set
of observations in the circumpolar Southern Ocean to address key
scientific and societal challenges. SOOS Scientific Steering Committee
members will discuss current activities and international coordination,
and wish to receive ideas from the Southern Ocean community about how to
advance SOOS both internationally and in the United States.

Anyone interested is welcome to attend.

For further information on the SOOS, please go to:
http://www.soos.aq.

For information on the meeting, please see:
http://tinyurl.com/2012SOOS-TownHall.


ArcticInfo is administered by the Arctic Research Consortium of the
United States (ARCUS). Please visit us on the World Wide Web at:
http://www.arcus.org/

At any time you may:

Subscribe or unsubscribe by using the web form located at:
http://www.arcus.org/arcticinfo/subscription.html

To be removed from the list at any time send an email to:
arcticinfo-unsub [at] arcus.org

To resubscribe send an email to:
arcticinfo-sub [at] arcus.org

Subscribers to ArcticInfo will automatically receive the newsletter,
Witness the Arctic.If you would prefer not to receive Witness the Arctic,
specify on the web form.

Subscribe and unsubscribe actions are automatic. Barring mail system
failure you should receive responses from our system as confirmation to
your requests.

If you have information you would like to post to the mailing list send
the message to: list [at] arcus.org

You can search back issues of ArcticInfo by content or date at:
http://www.arcus.org/arcticinfo/arcticinfo_search.html

If you have any questions please contact the list administrator at:

list [at] arcus.org

ARCUS
3535 College Road, Suite 101
Fairbanks, AK 99709-3710
907-474-1600
907-474-1604 (fax)

ArcticInfo is funded by the National Science Foundation as a service to
the research community through Cooperative Agreement ARC-0618885 with
ARCUS. Any information, opinions, findings, and conclusions or
recommendations expressed in this material are those of the information
sources and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science
Foundation or ARCUS.