26 March 2025 | 8:30 - 10:00 (MDT)
Open Session - HYBRID
Room: UMC Second Floor - 247
Organiser: Jon Børre Ørbæk (Research Council of Norway)
Zoom link to the Session (password-protected)
The password needed to connect to the session will be distributed the day prior to the start of the sessions to all registered conference participants. Further guidelines on how to participate virtually in the ASSW 2025 can be found on the ASSW 2025 website.
Session Description:
The High North is experiencing rapid changes in ocean and coastal areas and on land, with the Arctic ocean changing from a winter white to a blue state during the next few decades. The changes are followed by migrating fish stocks, marine heatwaves, extreme events and increased human pressures related to transport, new industrial activities and geopolitical and economic interests. The management of environmental protection and economic development shall be balanced and knowledge based, in accordance with sustainability criteria and goals. However, a sustainable economic development cannot be managed without a well-developed baseline observing system that enables the monitoring of state and changes in the socio-ecological environment. An integrated observing system of systems is needed in the Arctic and the High North to support high quality research, environmental policy, resilient societies and industrial activities.
The session will discuss the state of play with regards to FAIR and CARE observations systems and data in the Arctic, essential indicators of change, how an integrated Arctic observing system of system can be made operational and be sustainably funded, as well as giving examples of use cases and future needs towards establishing an operational system supporting the 2030 agenda and preparing for the next International Polar Year (IPY2032-3033). Talks can come from representatives of research funding organisations (RFOs), industry actors, environmental agencies, earth observation programmes and research communities involved in Arctic monitoring and assessments, earth system modelling and the development of digital twins.
Instructions for Speakers: Oral presentations in this session should be at most 10-minutes in length, with an additional 2-3 minutes for questions (unless more detailed instructions are provided by session conveners). See more detailed presenter instructions here.
Oral Presentations:
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unfold_moreArtificial light at night reveals hotspots and rapid development of industrial activity in the Arctic — Cengiz Akandil
Cengiz Akandil 1; Elena Plekhanova 2; Nils Rietze 3; Jacqueline Oehri 4; Miguel O. Román 5; Zhuosen Wang 6; Volker Radeloff 7; Gabriela Schaepman-Strub 8
1 University of Zurich; 2 Swiss Federal Research Institute, WSL; 3 University of Zurich; 4 University of Zurich; 5 Earth Sciences Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; 6 Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland College Park, Terrestrial Information Systems Laboratory, NASA; 7 University of Wisconsin-Madison; 8 University of Zurich; 9Format: Oral in-person
Abstract:
Climate warming enables easier access and operation in the Arctic, fostering industrial and urban development. Dividing human activity to its components of urbanization and industrialization enhances our understanding of the mechanisms, heterogeneity and concentration of the economic activity of different regions. However, there is no comprehensive pan-Arctic overview of industrial and urban development, which is crucial for the planning of sustainable development of the region. In this study, we utilize satellite derived artificial light at night (ALAN) data to quantify the hotspots and the development of light-emitting human activity across the Arctic from 1992 – 2013. We find that out of 16.4 million km2 analyzed a total area of 839,710 km2 (5.14%) is lit by human activity with an annual increase of 4.8%. The European Arctic and the oil and gas extraction regions in Russia and Alaska are hotspots of ALAN with up to a third of the land area lit, while the Canadian Arctic remains dark to a large extent. On average, only 15% of lit area in the Arctic contains human settlement, indicating that artificial light is largely attributable to industrial human activity. With this study, we provide a new, standardized approach to spatially assess and monitor human industrial activity across the Arctic, independent from economic data. Our study provides the basis for investigating further economic and ecological questions in relation to industrial human activity in the Arctic and draws a crucial baseline for sustainable development and conservation planning across the highly vulnerable Arctic region.
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unfold_moreEnabling Discovery: A New Registry of Polar Observing Networks (RoPON) — William Manley
William Manley 1; Halldór Jóhannsson 2; Arundeep Singh 2; Anseok Joo 2; Jan Rene Larsen 3; Shannon McAllister 4
1 University of Colorado Boulder; 2 Arctic Portal; 3 Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP); 4 Arctic Institute of North AmericaFormat: Oral in-person
Abstract:
A fundamental challenge exists for optimizing the study of climate and environmental change in the polar regions. Observing-related infrastructures and activities – such as monitoring sites, mobile platforms, research projects, field campaigns, and observing programs – are deployed in a diverse and distributed fashion across numerous efforts. At this time, it is difficult to strategically assess status, overlap, and gaps because most inventories of such “observing assets” are limited in scope, making it difficult to obtain a comprehensive perspective. To help address this challenge, a new Registry of Polar Observing Networks (RoPON) has been released (https://polarobservingregistry.org/). This is a catalog of systems or organizations that conduct or coordinate observation and monitoring at high latitudes, typically with data management, research stations, platforms, and instrumentation. RoPON also displays portals or initiatives that are not observing networks per se, but which compile and share structured information about observing activities and infrastructures. This resource was created by the Arctic Portal in collaboration with the SAON Polar Observing Assets Working Group (POAwg), which has a goal of making asset-level metadata more findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. Released as a phase 1 version for demonstration purposes, the registry will be improved over the next two years, and feedback is appreciated. RoPON is designed to help: Co-locate and optimize limited resources; avoid duplicated effort; better inform local communities of activities nearby; guide network assessment & planning; clarify best practices for asset-level metadata sharing; and establish a basis for information exchange through harvesting, aggregation, & federated search.
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unfold_moreEnhancing Arctic ocean observing with ships of opportunity: collaborative efforts with research and ship companies — Andrew King
Andrew King 1
1 Norwegian Institute for Water ResearchFormat: Oral in-person
Abstract:
The Arctic Ocean is rapidly changing with respect to environmental aspects (e.g., warming, ocean acidification, reduced ice cover, increased freshwater inputs) and socioeconomic activities (e.g., transportation, tourism, energy, aquaculture). At the intersection of these two topics, collaborations between scientists and ship companies have been formed to implement research and monitoring on ships of opportunity – the use of commercial vessels like cruise ships, container ships, and ferries for autonomous sensor-based observations and sample collection. Several ongoing research and monitoring projects have been implemented in the Arctic related to coastal ecosystem monitoring, ocean acidification, and land-ocean interactions. These efforts provide a framework upon which future ship-based activities that carry out key socioeconomic activities in the Arctic can also deliver ocean observations for research, environmental management, and in support of Sustainable Development Goals.
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unfold_moreEarly career visions for the future of polar observing systems — Axel Schlindwein
Axel Schlindwein 1; Sarah Strand 1; Lisa Marie Grosfeld 3
1 Association of Polar Early Career Scientists International Directorate, UiT The Arctic University of Norway; 2 Association of Polar Early Career Scientists International Directorate, Alfred Wegener Institute - Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine ResearchFormat: Oral in-person
Abstract:
What will the future of polar research look like? While this question is often explored by organizational leaders and senior scientists, it directly impacts today's early career researchers (ECRs), who will form the core of the future polar research community. This contribution highlights the vision of ECRs to build open, diverse and integrated observing systems based on equitable cooperation.
As new observing systems are developed and existing ones are connected, the data landscape becomes increasingly complex. Although interoperability is an aim, it is often not achieved in practice. In addition, funding cycles limit the longevity of any single observing system. Resources should be dedicated to long-term monitoring services and enhanced data stewardship training that will encourage broader engagement and uplift the CARE principles in equal standing to the FAIR principles.
Large international cooperation projects present exciting scientific opportunities but also pose challenges for effective engagement of ECRs, Indigenous Peoples, local communities and groups that lack the infrastructural requirements to be partners in these projects. It is therefore crucial to maintain diverse funding mechanisms that support bottom-up initiatives, small-scale collaborations that foster inclusivity and accessibility, and sustained support for equitable co-creation of knowledge.
By uplifting the experiences and priorities of the next generation of polar researchers, we can ensure a forward-looking IPY, fostering a research community that values diverse and equitable participation. Meaningful engagement of ECRs today is critical to empower tomorrow’s stewards of the polar regions who will play key roles in sustaining the Arctic observing systems of the future.
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unfold_moreModels for funding sustainable an integrated observing systems - a European funders perspective — Jon Børre Ørbæk
Jon Børre Ørbæk 1
1 Research Council of NorwayFormat: Oral in-person
Abstract:
A baseline observation system is fundamental to detect the present state, nature and speed of change. This holds for any system, be it the natural environment, socio-ecological systems, or in political, economic, cultural or demographic developments. For the Arctic, an integrated observing system is needed to detect and document the speed of change, the multitude of external pressures, complex feedback mechanisms and potential tipping points that will have widespread impact on the rest of the globe. New economic and commercial activities are expected as the Arctic opens up, and this development cannot be sustainably managed without baseline data.
A lot of work has been done internationally over the past decades in developing concepts for an integrated Arctic Observing System. Unlike the previous IPY in 2007-2008, an observing system of systems for the next IPY needs to be better integrated with more developed FAIR and CARE principles that can integrate the variable national contributions in space-based and in-situ observations. All relevant stakeholders from research, industry, local communities and other stake- and rigtsholders need to be mobilised in setting up the observing system.
The presentation will, from a European funders perspective, present developments of setting up distributed observing systems building on successful models used in Europe to assure sustainability in operation and funding, FAIR principles etc. The examples can also be of relevance for etablishing an Arctic observing system of systems towards the next IPY, a system that must be well integrated and involve not only the research domain, but also contibutions from industry, public agencies and other stake- and rightholders.