ARCUS | Survey Answers

7. What do you think are the most important arctic science priorities for the next decade?

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55 Enviromental Change, Including:
  • 21 detecting and documenting change/resolving variability
  • 9 climate-atmosphere-hydrosphere-cryosphere-biosphere interactions
  • 9 sea ice and biological effects
  • 8 human populations and impacts
  • 7 role and response of the Arctic to global climate systems
  • 6 responses of terrestrial vegetation
  • 6 predicting and mitigating impacts
  • 6 contaminants
  • 5 changes in carbon flux
  • 4 paleorecords/high resolution marine sediment records
  • 4 entire Arctic ecosystem
  • 3 biodiversity
  • 3 coordinating field experiments and modeling
  • 3 ozone depletion and UV
  • 3 ocean circulation
  • 3 responses of Native cultures
  • 3 permafrost and glaciology
  • 2 downscaling and regional feedbacks
  • 2 international collaboration for long-term data on permafrost and ice cover
  • 2 land-cover changes
  • 2 integrated terrestrial models including atmosphere, hydrology, vegetation, animals
  • 2 economic development
  • 2 military and industrial impacts
  • 2 ecosystem and wildlife health assessment
  • 2 coastal erosion
  • 1 sea ice variability and history
  • 1 increasing focus on seasonal changes
20 Observation / Automated Monitoring
  • 9 time series observations are key to understanding variability
  • 4 automatic monitoring to collect baseline data for modeling and verification
  • 1 long-term monitoring sites around the arctic basin
  • 1 benthic observatories coupled with AUV for long-term data in a land-free sea
  • 1 development of AUVs
  • 1 ground truthing still critical
  • 1 near real time access to data
  • 1 long-term atmospheric observations over Arctic Ocean
  • 1 long-term monitoring of vertebrate populations
17 Other--Science
  • 3 understanding the Arctic as a regional system/integrative, cross-disciplinary approaches
  • 3 dynamics of arctic ecosystems including animals
  • 2 unique adaptations of organisms to arctic environment
  • 2 traditional knowledge/science and community
  • 2 environmental protection
  • 2 effects of social change on indigenous populations
  • 1 sea ice as a geological agent
  • 1 quantitative understanding of the Arctic and North Atlantic Oscillations
  • 1 humans as part of the arctic system
  • 1 geological evolution, including origin of western Arctic basin and Siberian Shelf
  • 1 northern community health
  • 1 see PARCS document
  • 1 biopopulation, bioenergy, finer studies are being performed and complexity of likely models is increasing
  • 1 space weather
  • 1 basic description of water masses, circulation, variability of Arctic Ocean
  • 1 constructing accurate time series for Pleistocene sediments
  • 1 those suggested by inhabitants of the North
14 Other--Logistics / Support
  • 3 more support for Barrow as a year round base
  • 2 larger scale questions and comparative research in diverse climates, geology, land and seascapes and biota--
  • 2 synthesis/interaction among researchers
  • 2 interactions among science and community/use of traditional knowledge
  • 2 international collaboration
  • 1 helicopter support from Alaska National Guard
  • 1 interdisciplinary collaboration needs to be reemphasized by funding agencies
  • 1 education and mentoring of undergraduates
  • 1 research publication and dissemination
  • 1 Alpha Helix replacement
  • 1 non-implemented priorities in 1997 Logistics Report
  • 1 developing the elements of the system for the Arctic-scale acoustic monitoring
  • 1 graduate student support
  • 1 portable permafrost drill will require mobile field stations
2 I Agree
14 N/A

How have they change in the last 3-5 years?

3 research priorities haven't changed
3 coordinated long-term environmental monitoring becoming higher priority

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