Date

Reminder and Extension of Abstract Submission Deadline
First Workshop on Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks
12-14 November 2007
Stockholm, Sweden

Abstract Submission and Registration Deadline: Monday, 1 October 2007

For further information, please go to:
http://www.arcticobserving.org/


The First Workshop on Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks will be held
on 12-14 November 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden. The deadline for submitting
abstracts and registration is Monday, 1 October 2007.

The need for a well-coordinated and sustained Arctic Observing Network
that meets scientific and societal needs has been identified in numerous
high profile reports and at a variety of workshops and conferences. In
November 2006 the Arctic Council (AC) urged all member nations to
maintain and extend long-term monitoring of change in the Arctic, with a
view to building a lasting legacy of the International Polar Year (IPY).

Further, the AC requested that a working group, the Arctic Monitoring
and Assessment Programme (AMAP), work with other AC working groups, the
International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), and other partners in
efforts to create a coordinated Arctic Observing Network that meets
identified societal needs. The goal of developing an Arctic Observing
Network as a legacy of IPY (WMO/ICSU) was endorsed by the WMO XV
Congress in May 2007.

In January 2007 the Sustained Arctic Observing Networks Initiating Group
(SAON IG), composed of representatives of international organizations,
agencies, and northern residents involved in research and operational
and local observing, was formed to develop a set of recommendations on
how to achieve long-term Arctic-wide observing activities that provide
free, open, and timely access to high quality data that will realize
pan-Arctic and global value-added services and provide societal
benefits.

The Swedish and Canadian IPY Committees have agreed to take the lead in
the launch of the SAON initiative by running a succession of workshops
together with the SAON IG. The first workshop will be held in Stockholm,
Sweden, on 12-14 November 2007 and will address the question: Are
current Arctic observing and data and information management activities
sufficient to meet users' needs? The second workshop, to be held in
Alberta, Canada in spring 2008, will be hosted by the Canadian IPY
Secretariat. This workshop will address the question: How will Arctic
observing and data and information management activities be coordinated
and sustained over the long-term? A third workshop in Finland is planned
for autumn 2008, to be hosted by the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
The format and scope of this workshop remains to be determined, but an
important element will be a synthesis of the advice and information
gathered at the previous workshops into the final set of recommendations
for the coordination and promotion of sustained, integrated arctic
observing activities.

The members of the Workshop Organizing Committee invite you to the First
Workshop on Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks:
Kjell Danell (co-chair), IPY Joint Committee
Sverker Sorlin (co-chair), Swedish IPY Committee
John Calder, AMAP
David Carlson, IPY IPO
David Hik, Canadian IPY Committee
Volker Rachold, IASC
Odd Rogne, AMAP and IPY IPO

For further information, please go to:
http://www.arcticobserving.org

or contact:
Anders Clarhall
Swedish Research Council
E-mail: Anders.Clarhall [at] vr.se
Phone: +46-8-546-44-149