ARCSS Program | Message from the ARCSS Committee
Dear ARCSS Community:
This website and the survey currently online is one of several steps being taken by ARCUS on behalf of the NSF Arctic System Science (ARCSS Program) and the ARCSS Committee to support communications and community involvement ARCSS Program planning.
Since its inception in 1989, the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Program has strived to gain an understanding of how the Arctic works as a system and how the Arctic is connected with global processes.
Building on nearly fifteen years of observation, modeling, and process studies, the ARCSS Program is now entering a synthesis-driven phase aimed at achieving system level understanding of the Arctic. A successful synthesis effort will require community involvement in all phases of developing priorities, planning, and conducting research that will contribute to the synthesis. The research community will lead the development of approaches to scientific synthesis and, in response to announcements of opportunity from the ARCSS Program, the implementation of projects that will contribute to synthesis.
The current survey, one of several ways in which the research community will guide the synthesis effort, includes questions on key components and processes of the arctic system, methodological approaches to system synthesis, community needs, and related arctic system themes. We hope you will contribute to the survey, as it is an excellent method by which to strengthen community dialog on the nature and implementation of arctic system synthesis.
More information on program and synthesis activities will be published on this website as it is available. We look forward to working with you as we transition to a new structural and scientific program focus. Please contact Helen Wiggins or any ARCSS Committee member with questions or suggestions.