17th annual aosb meeting
30 March - 1 April, 1998
Norsk Polarinstitutt
Oslo, Norway
Agenda
MONDAY, 30 March
0900-1200 AOSB Steering Committee Meeting (including chair, vice-chair, past-chair, and secretary)
1200-1300 Lunch (NP Canteen)
1300- 1315 Opening of Meeting by AOSB chair, D. Futterer
1315-1345 Welcome to Norsk Polarinstitutt, O. Orheim
1345-1530 AOSB Programmes
| * International Arctic Polynya Programme (IAPP), L. Legendre | |
| * Freshwater Balance of the Arctic Symposium, G. Holland |
1530-1550 Coffee Break
1550-1730 Related Arctic Programs/30 min each/
| * Canadian Coast Guard Vessels, R. Pierce | |
| * Polar Climate Research, J. Boissonnas | |
| * European Union (EU), J. Boissonnas | |
| * Warming in the Arctic Ocean, R. Dickson | |
| * Variability and Exchange in the Northern Seas (VEINS), R. Dickson |
1900 AOSB Dinner (Petit Bistro, Majorstuveien 34; Tel: 22 69 57 40)
*********************************************
TUESDAY, 31 March
0900-1000 AOSB Programmes (continued)
| * Arctic Paleo-River Discharge (APARD), R. Stein |
1000-1230 Related Arctic Programmes (continued) /30 min each/
| * Shelf-Basin Interactions, L. Clarke | |
| * ESOP, L. Andersson | |
| * SHEBA, L. Clarke |
1030-1050 Coffee Break
| * Joint Ice Ocean Studies (JOIS), M. Bergman | |
| * NODC Russia, E. Vyazilov |
1230-1330 Lunch
1330-1600 Related Arctic Programmes (continued) /30 min each/
| * Land Ocean Interaction in the Russian Arctic (LOIRA), O. Rogne | |
| * Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP), L. O. Reiersen | |
| * ACSYS presentation /1 hr/R. Colony, C. Oelke, T. Vinje |
1600-1620 Coffee Break
1620-1800 Reports from other meetings /30 MIN EACH/
| * Climate Variability (CLIVAR) Activities, R. Dickson | |
| * Atmospheric Circulation in Relation to oscillations of Sea-Ice and Salinity (ACROSS), R. Dickson |
*********************************************
WEDNESDAY, 1 April
0900-1040 Relations to IASC and other Arctic Science /30 min each/
| * International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), O. Rogne | |
| * Arctic Climate System Study (ACSYS/WCRP), R. Colony |
1040-1100 Coffee Break
1100 - Future Program and Schedule of the AOSB
| Other Business |
1300- Close of Meeting
(top)
Action Items
The following is a draft of actions taken and agreed at the Seventeenth Meeting, together with background material on key items, especially potential new areas of scientific focus.
Polynya Research
The improved understanding of polynyas that has resulted from the IAPP to date should assist scientists to identify future polynya research for study and determine what such studies should involve. The SCG/IAPP will be asked to consider whether the program should be broadened and, if so, how new components should be initiated and which other organizations might best be involved.
Scientists involved in polynya research should be invited participate, perhaps through a conference to bring together the results of NEW and NOW and develop lessons for the future. The scientists should be asked to formulate the scientific questions; consider the extent to which the NEW and NOW answered these questions; and then assist the Board to determine where it needs to go next.
The SCG should be asked to consider specifically whether Arctic basin polynyas, especially those on the Russian side, for example, the large Laptev Sea polynya, should be included in the program. It was also suggested that the SCG be asked to explore the role of the sedimentary component in carbon cycling in polynyas. It was suggested that the SCG should meet initially through a teleconference and then at a later date in a regular meeting.
AOSB Members will be invited to nominate scientists for the SCG in the areas of mammals and physical oceanography.
Arctic Paleo-River Discharge (APARD)
The Chair concluded that the scientists had addressed all of the key questions that the Board had asked at its last meeting. It was agreed to establish a Steering Group to provide coordination for APARD and an umbrella for its various sub-projects. This Steering Group should be drawn from the "core group" of scientists who are and will be involved in this research.
The Group might identify the various rivers by priority and identifies gaps in planned research. A key role for the Group should be to lead in the synthesis of results of the research. It is expected that the first results of the research will be available for an APARD Conference, possibly in 2000. The Group could play a key role in planning for the Conference and in identifying the scientific meetings and other activities that might be needed between now and then.
Freshwater Balance in the Arctic
(to be filled in from report of the meeting)
VEINS
It was reported that the VEINS project has reached the point at which equipment is being acquired and deployed and that the results of initial efforts are already available. It is trying to understand the high-latitude oceans' steering role in decadal climate variability.
There are changes in the NAO that clearly have global significance, e.g., the NAO has amplified and has developed a decadal aspect. The Denmark Straits overflow is a major contributor to North Atlantic Deep Water, but requires substantial additional study. VEINS is going to be able to test a lot of hypotheses as to the origin of such changes and on ocean circulation, at least into the Atlantic.
However, a substantive post-VEINS effort appears to be both scientifically important and technologically feasible. It was also proposed that strengthening the linkage between VEINS and ACSYS would assist materially to establish monitoring and observations in key regions on a long-term basis.
It was decided, therefore, to ask the VEINS scientists to put together a paper on extending the VEINS program to look at the interactions between the Arctic and the outside oceans (a deep-water connection).
Shelf-Basin Interactions
It was suggested that shelf-basin interactions is the main oceanic question for the Arctic Ocean. There are initiatives underway or being planned in both Europe and the U.S. and it is important to increase communications between the American efforts in the Chukchi Sea and the efforts in the Atlantic side. German scientists are interested and involved in shelf-basin interactions. Canadian scientists are looking at the interaction between the Arctic Basin and both the Atlantic and Pacific. A group of scientists from many countries is looking at fjords and their contribution to the oceans across the shelves.
It appears that a scientific program in this area which endorses a broad range of cooperation in shelf-basin interactions could assist in opening up a number of opportunities. It was agreed that key questions for studies of shelf-basin interaction are: what is feeding the shelves? which biological, chemical and physical processes are occurring there? what are driving the shelf-basin interactions? what are the associated fluxes? what is the sensitivity of these processes to climate change? contributors to these issues include runoff, inflow, biology.
It was suggested that the AOSB could bring together the full range of expertise for shelf-basin interactions and could, among other things, serve as a forum for exchange of information; planning for workshops and other interactions; etc.
Arctic Ocean Data Management
The Board asked the Steering Group to review the overall issue of Arctic data management and to explore ways in which the AOSB might assist in this area. The Steering Group noted that the Board had earlier suggested that the potential value of use of the Internet be considered and that the Board had agreed at this Meeting that the AOSB website should include national reports based on the reports prepared and submitted annually for Board Meetings.
The Steering Group agreed that AOSB Members should be invited, in preparing such national reports, to include information on their national centers which hold Arctic ocean data, including general descriptions of the ocean data holdings of these centers and information as to how scientists interested in obtaining and/or exchanging data with these centers can arrange to do so.
Future Programs
The Board was originally established to encourage and promote access to facilities; bring together scientists through combined programs; promote access to waters otherwise difficult to study, etc. It was agreed that the AOSB should identify and address scientific needs that are important enough to bring together scientists from Europe, North America and Asia. In looking at these suggestions, the Board will should focus on the value-added that it brings to the programs it adopts.
The AOSB umbrella should assist to address problems of access and funding. The AOSB should be the group identifying the scientific umbrella and overview and encourage the various groups of scientists to develop proposals for specific projects.
It was agreed to develop papers on potential areas for future study; send them out to AOSB Members; and then get together to review them. The areas to be addressed (and some suggested lead authors) are: IAPP; post-VEINS (Dickson); shelf-basin interactions (Clark and Anderson); BIODAFF (Weslawski); freshwater balance (Holland and Lewis); and fjord studies.
Rationalization of Meetings Related to Arctic Research
The Board should encourage rationalization of meetings and operating schedules of international organizations interested in Arctic research. It was suggested that at a minimum meeting schedules could be coordinated to. The Board will communicate to IASC its willingness to work with them in this area.
Other Conclusions/Actions
Cooperation with Russia
It was suggested that an important question for the future might be to identify opportunities for multilateral cooperation with Russia. Increased Western presence in knowledge gathering and formulating knowledge in the Russian Arctic might, among other things, better enable the Russians to make better policy decisions. The Board will be querying its members for suggestions on how it might address this issue.
Other Issues
It was agreed to invite ACSYS to be represented regularly in AOSB meetings and to keep in communication with them.
The SG has recommended that the Board meet in 1999 in Japan; in 2000 in the United Kingdom; and in 2001 in Canada.
The AOSB has formatted a website. The new staff person -- Ms. Cara Sucher at the USGCRP Office in Washington -- will be developing information to include. We will include information on key national Arctic ocean data centers/repositories in the webpage.
Dr. Holland has developed a draft brochure for publication and Ms. Sucher will be working on this as well.
It was agreed to encourage AOSB Members to consider presenting lectures at universities that would include information on AOSB programs and activities.
-Lou Brown, Secretary
26 September 1998
(top)
Meeting Participants
Members:
Leif Anderson, Sweden
Martin Bergmann (alternate), Canada
Larry Clark (alternate), USA
John Cooley, Canada
Robert Dickson, United Kingdom
Mitsuo Fukuchi, Japan
Dieter Fütterer, Germany
Preben Gudmandsen, Denmark
Geoffrey Holland, Canada
Pentti Mälkki, Finland
Staff:
Louis B. Brown
Michael Devin
Observers:
Jean Boissonnas, European Commission
Roger Colony, ACSYS
Slawomir Kwasniewski, Poland
Louis Legendre, Canada
Christoph Oelke, Norway
Ray Pierce, Canada
Lars-Otto Reiersen, AMAP
Odd Rogne, IASC
Ruediger Stein, Germany
Evgeny Vyazilov, Russia
Carol A. Williams, European Polar Board
(top)