Heroic Efforts - The Changing Arctic Environment: The Arctic Messenger - page 83

volving marine surveys led to totally new levels of understanding of ocean and cli-
mate interaction in Greenlandic and Nordic seas.

· The International Arctic Polynya Programme. Recurrent polynyas (ice-free areas

surrounded by ice) play unique roles in Arctic oceanography. This programme was
initiated in 1989 and ran for more than 15 years before it finally evolved into a
self-sustaining project called Polynyas in a Changing Arctic Environment (PACE).

The Arctic Ocean Science Board merged with the International Arctic Science Committee
(IASC) in 2009. The IASC has convened International Conferences on Arctic Research
and Planning (ICARP) in 1995 and 2005. ICARP III is planned for 2015 in Japan. Its ob-
jectives will include identifying key Arctic science needs and discussing how these may
be addressed using national programmes and resources. The IASC annual bulletin (avail-
able online at www.iasc.info/files/PRINT/Bulletin2013.pdf ) provides an overview of some
of the collaborative Arctic science mechanisms. The IASC has often been the forum where
an idea first germinated before being brought to fruition through extensive international
collaboration in other organisations (particularly those controlling infrastructure and other
resources).
Distinctions between the two strategies described at the start of this chapter on or-
ganising Arctic studies (“monitoring” and “process-related research”) are often blurred. Of
course, science is science. Knowledge derived from long-term monitoring to address ques-
tions on environmental changes over time and space and knowledge on the processes in-
volved in those changes are intimately linked. This is one reason why AMAP carefully
avoids using this categorization. At the end of the day, we must ensure the long-term sus-
tainability of circumpolar monitoring (such as that provided by AMAP) and of heroic ef-
forts focused on overriding environmental process issues in the Arctic.