Date

Announcing Webcast:
ARCSS Synthesis Workshops
Tuesday, 2 October 2007, at 2:00 p.m. EDT

Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Synthesis Workshop
Dates: 2-4 October 2007 (Tuesday-Thursday)

Human Dimensions of the Arctic System (HARC) Synthesis Workshop
Dates: 5 October 2007 (Friday)
Location: Alexandria, VA

Webcast begins Tuesday, 2 October at 2:00 p.m. EDT (10:00 a.m. ADT,
11:00 a.m. PDT, 12:00 p.m. MDT, 1:00 p.m. CDT)

For further information about the workshops, please go to:
http://www.arcus.org/ARCSS/2007_oct_arcss/calendar.html

For access to the video-stream, go to:
http://www.arcus.org/ARCSS/arcss_webcast.html


ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS:
The National Science Foundation's Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Program
has become a major focal point for synthesis studies of the Arctic.
ARCSS research focuses on understanding the fundamental characteristics,
dynamics, and controlling principles of the arctic system through
integration and synthesis of knowledge from past and ongoing studies.

As part of this synthesis focus, the ARCSS Synthesis Workshop (2-4
October 2007) and the Human Dimensions of the Arctic System (HARC)
Synthesis Workshop (5 October 2007) in Alexandria, VA, will bring
together approximately 90 ARCSS researchers to formulate approaches and
plan activities to achieve coordination, integration, and synthesis
between existing ARCSS synthesis projects and efforts.

Synthesis-focused projects represented at the workshops will include the
Synthesis of Arctic System Science (SASS) projects; Synthesis of the
Last 2000 Years of Climatic Variability from Arctic Lakes (ARCSS 2 kyr),
Freshwater Integration Study (FWI), Study of Northern Alaska
Coastal System, Human Dimensions in the Arctic System (HARC), and
Shelf-Basin Interactions (SBI), with additional experts in areas of
system modeling and data management. Representatives from Surface
Transformations of the ArcTic Environment (STATE), Ocean-Atmosphere-Sea
Ice-Snowpack (OASIS), Tracking Routes of Atmospheric Components in the
Environment (Arctic TRACE) and other developing ARCSS Communities of
Practice also will participate in the workshops.

All plenary sessions will be video-streamed with an online bulletin
board so that those unable to attend in person can participate
virtually. In order to view the live webcast, you will need:
-A high speed Internet connection with a minimum speed of 256 kbps
-A browser with Quicktime support
(http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download).
In order to view and post to the message board, your browser must have
javascript enabled.


WEBCAST SCHEDULE

ARCSS Synthesis Workshop:
Plenary sessions from the ARCSS Synthesis Workshop will be webcast on
Tuesday, 2 October from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT with presentations
from several ARCSS-funded groups that have been working on aspects of
arctic system synthesis. On Wednesday, 3 October, presentations from the
first set of projects funded through the NSF Synthesis of Arctic System
Science (SASS) announcement of opportunity (AO) will be webcast from
8:30 to 10:25 a.m. EDT, followed by presentations from the projects
funded in the second year of the SASS AO from 10:45 a.m. to 12:05 p.m.
EDT. A discussion on cross-product synthesis and coordination will be
streamed from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. EDT. On Thursday, 4 October, plenary
discussions will be streamed starting at 8:30 a.m. EDT. In the
afternoon, the break-out group reports and plenary discussion will be
broadcast from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. EDT. The workshop adjourns on Thursday,
4 October, at approximately 5:00 p.m. EDT.

For a detailed list of these presentations and times, see the agenda at:
http://www.arcus.org/ARCSS/2007_oct_sass/agenda.html

HARC Synthesis Workshop:
The HARC Synthesis Workshop is being held on 5 October 2007, to foster
synthesis-focused communication and interaction among Human Dimensions
(HD) researchers working on arctic system science. The HARC workshop
will result in a report summarizing key issues, common challenges, and
gaps in knowledge that emerge during the workshop including
recommendations for moving towards formal synthesis or new synthesis
efforts.

A welcome and overview of the workshop goals will be webcast starting at
8:30 a.m. EDT Friday, 5 October, followed by short project presentations
until 12:00 p.m. EDT. A historical overview of arctic human dimensions
research will be streamed beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT. Following
break-out group discussions, a focused roundtable discussion on key
issues for arctic human dimensions research will be webcast starting at
3:00 p.m. EDT.

For a detailed list of these presentations and times, see the agenda at:
http://www.arcus.org/harc/2007_oct_harc/agenda.html

A link to the live video-stream with detailed instructions is available
through the workshop website at:
http://www.arcus.org/ARCSS/2007_oct_arcss/calendar.html

The workshop agendas and participant lists for these workshops and
related meetings also are available through the link above.