26 March 2026 | 13:30 - 18:00 (CET)
Open Session - HYBRID
Room: Mødelokale 2.2
Organisers: Maribeth Murray (University of Calgary, Canada)
Session Description:
The Arctic hosts numerous local, regional, national and international ocean observing efforts, spanning coastal areas, continental shelves, and the central Arctic Ocean. These efforts often operate in isolation, limiting their ability to address rights-holder and stakeholder needs effectively. Key challenges include coordinating, planning and implementation across borders and sectors, meaningfully engaging Indigenous and coastal communities, delivering usable and relevant data products that are needed by end users, and aligning with global ocean observing programmes.
A pan-Arctic ocean observing entity, modelled on the GOOS Regional Alliances (GRAs), is an inclusive framework that aims to co-develop solutions that will address these challenges.
Since February 2023, a Task Team has been leading a co-development process to establish this pan-Arctic ocean observing entity, known as the Arctic Ocean Regional Alliance (ArORA). A formal implementation strategy for ArORA is developing in collaboration with diverse rights-holders and stakeholders including Arctic Indigenous and local representatives. The initiative is formally recognised by SAON, GOOS, and the UN Decade of Ocean Science’s Arctic Action Plan.
In this ASSW 2026 session, the ArORA Task Team will present updates on progress in proposing the founding governance structure and role of ArORA and invite the community to further advance the long-term objectives and functions of this emerging pan-Arctic entity.