Dear Colleague:
The Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS) is inviting
submissions of interest to participate in a workshop to discuss
potential uses and requirements for an integrated web-based Geographic
Information System (GIS) to support arctic research activities. This
workshop is sponsored by the National Science Foundation's Arctic
Research Support and Logistics program. The NSF has asked ARCUS to help
gather community input and prepare recommendations to guide a
development plan.
The workshop is planned for fall 2000, possibly in mid-to-late November.
The venue for the workshop has not been determined.
The purpose of the workshop will be to assess what arctic science issues
would benefit from an improved GIS capability, what path might be taken
to develop a GIS to address those issues, and an assessment of the
pay-off in terms of research, and the broader societal benefits, e.g.,
outreach and informing the public of current issues and knowledge.
Questions to be addressed in the workshop discussions include:
What key issues in arctic science could be enhanced by using GIS,
particularly one operating over the web; data-sharing, logistics
planning, model control, outreach?What basic geographic data is available that would be key to many
applications, e.g., digital elevation models, coastline data, regional
vegetation data, bathymetry, regional satellite imagery, meteorology?What other GIS activities related to arctic science are underway, and
could assist the implementation of this activity?How much training is needed for people using the system, and how can
this be best delivered?
One expected product will be a "white-paper report" with recommendations
for the National Science Foundation. The report will suggest a series of
activities that would lead to one or several linked pilot projects that
are likely to provide tangible demonstrations, or test the value, of
web-based GIS to arctic research. The white paper report will be
available for broad community review and comment prior to its submission
to NSF.
Please send the following to ARCUS (arcus [at] arcus.org; fax 907/474-1604)
no later than 8/31/00 in a brief email or one-page letter describing:
- your interest in and availability for the fall 2000 meeting,
- your scientific specialties and current research areas and how you use
GIS in your work, and - how you envision benefiting from an arctic-wide, web-based GIS system.
ARCUS will work with the National Science Foundation Arctic Science
Section staff to select 25-30 participants for the workshop. You will be
notified in September of the status of workshop invitations. All
individuals who submit an expression of interest, as described above,
will be invited to review the draft white paper before its submission.
Please pass this message on to any colleagues that might be interested
in this opportunity. A more detailed invitation was sent via ArcticInfo
on August 11 and can be viewed at our web site, http://www.arcus.org.
Thanks for your interest and we look forward to hearing from you.
Wendy Warnick, warnick [at] arcus.org
ARCUS Executive Director
and the Workshop Organizing Committee:
Brian M. Barnes, ffbmb [at] uaf.edu
Institute of Arctic Biology
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Christopher N. Kroot, ckroot [at] treesystem.com
Enterprise Information Systems, TREESystems
William Manley, william.manley [at] colorado.edu
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)
University of Colorado
James Moore, jmoore [at] ucar.edu
Joint Office for Science Support (JOSS)
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
Glenn W. Sheehan, basc [at] barrow.com
Barrow Arctic Science Consortium (BASC)
Donald (Skip) A. Walker, ffdaw [at] uaf.edu
Northern Ecosystem Analysis and Mapping Laboratory
University of Alaska Fairbanks