Date

The report can be read online or downloaded in PDF format at no cost from: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11607.html


The Polar Research Board of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences
announces the availability (in prepublication form) of a new report
called "Toward an Integrated Arctic Observing Network."

The report can be read online or downloaded in PDF format at no cost
from: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11607.html

The report, commissioned by the National Science Foundation (NSF),
presents a vision and implementation ideas for an integrated arctic
observing network (AON) built from existing and planned observation
programs and efforts. Its recommendations reflect the consensus of an
18-member committee with international membership and broad-ranging
experience. Over the course of the last 18 months, the committee
benefited from a wide variety of inputs from the community, in
particular through workshops in Denmark and Alaska. The report is aimed
at both scientists and decision makers and should have relevance both in
the United States and abroad. With the report now available, the
momentum shifts to the community to consider the AON concept, the extent
to which existing and planned activities complement this vision, and the
partnerships that could be enhanced or developed to bring the vision to
reality. With all that already exists, and the international dialog and
planning for the International Polar Year, there is an opportunity for
immediate and significant progress toward an integrated arctic observing
network.