On October 18-20, 2010 the Arctic in Rapid Transition (ART) Implementation Workshop was held at the Freshwater Institute, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, in Winnipeg, Canada, with 20 participants from 7 countries. Half of these participants were early career scientists. As with all ART activities, a key component of the workshop was career development. Senior scientists shared their experiences in the science planning and implementation process and played a critical role in the development of the implementation plan. The ART Initiative is an integrative, international, interdisciplinary, pan-Arctic network to study the spatial and temporal changes in sea ice cover and ocean circulation over all timescales to better understand and forecast the impact of these changes on the ecosystems and biogeochemistry of the Arctic Ocean. ART was initiated and is currently run by early career scientists. It is endorsed by APECS. The ART Initiative began in October 2008 and after an ART Initiation Workshop in November 2009 a science plan was developed, which has since been endorsed by the Arctic Ocean Sciences Board: the Marine Working Group of the International Arctic Science Committee.
To turn the approved ART science plan into reality, the ART Initiative will take a phased approach, with the first phase developing a formal scientific network to bring together scientists working in different geographic and disciplinary areas who share a common interest in improving our understanding of the implications of disappearing sea ice in the Arctic. Phase II will implement dedicated, coordinated, dispersed, international, and interdisciplinary field campaigns. The final Phase III will be a data synthesis and reporting stage. Modeling will be interspersed throughout all three phases. ART will keep its identity as a program driven by early-career scientists in which a program of mentoring and science planning educational programs should be sustained as an integral part of the process.
More information about the ART Initiative and the Science Plan can be found at http://aosb.arcticportal.org/art.html
