Arctic in Rapid Transition (ART): an initiative to integrate priorities for Arctic Marine Science over the next decade

The Arctic is undergoing rapid environmental and economic transformations. Recent climate warming, which is simplifying access to oil and gas resources, enabling trans-Arctic shipping, and shifting the distribution of harvestable resources, has brought the Arctic Ocean to the top of national and international political agendas. Scientific knowledge of the present status of the Arctic Ocean and the process-based understanding of the mechanics of change are urgently needed to make useful predictions of future conditions throughout the Arctic region. A step towards improving our capacity to predict future Arctic change was undertaken with the Second International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP II) meetings in 2005 and 2006, which brought together scientists, policymakers, research managers, and Arctic residents. The Arctic in Rapid Transition (ART) Initiative developed out of the synthesis of the several resulting ICARP II science plans specific to the marine environment. This process has been driven by the early career scientists of the ICARP II Marine Roundtable. The ART Initiative is an integrative, international, multi-disciplinary, long-term pan-Arctic program to study changes and feedbacks among the physical characteristics and biogeochemical cycles of the Arctic Ocean. The first ART workshop was held in Fairbanks, Alaska in November 2009 with 58 participants. Workshop discussions and reports will be used to develop a science and implementation plan that integrates, updates, and develops priorities for Arctic Marine Science over the next decade. Our focus within the ART Initiative will be to bridge gaps in knowledge not only across disciplinary boundaries (e.g., biology, geochemistry, geology, meteorology, physical oceanography), but also across geographic (e.g., shelves, margins, and the central Arctic Ocean) and temporal boundaries (e.g., paleo/geologic records, current process observations, and future modeling studies. More information about the ART Initiative can be found at http://www.aosb.org/art.html.