State of the Arctic Conference Set for March 2010

Planning is underway for a large State of the Arctic Conference, which will be held 16–19 March 2010 in Miami, Florida. This open international forum will provide an opportunity to present, exchange, and discuss the latest knowledge on the state of the Arctic and future directions of arctic science and policy. Specifically, the conference will:

            <ul>

            <li> review the scientific understanding of the basic functioning of the arctic system, including human subsystems;</li>

            <li> assess our capacity to observe and understand the system, especially in light of rapid system-scale changes in all subsystems;</li>
            <li> examine our capability to project future states of the arctic system under various scenarios; and</li>
            <li> explore options for solutions to the problems caused by human-induced environmental change. </li>

            </ul>

            <p>The conference is being organized by ARCUS, with major funding provided by the NSF Division of Arctic Sciences, including the interagency Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) and the Arctic System Science Program (ARCSS). </p>

            <p>Other sponsors include the International Study of Arctic Change (ISAC), the Canadian ArcticNet Network of Centres of Excellence, and the European Developing Arctic Modeling and Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies (DAMOCLES) program. </p>
            <p>Additional sponsorships are invited, and interested parties are encouraged to contact Helen Wiggins at ARCUS (<a href="mailto:helen [at] arcus.org">helen [at] arcus.org</a>).</p>
            <p>Additional information, including registration, abstract submission, and other materials, will be available soon through a State of the Arctic Conference website, which will be announced via the ArcticInfo mailing list and linked through the ARCUS website: www.arcus.org.</p>