Full Proposals for IPY 2007-2008 Activities

Proposed IPY Activity Details

1.0 PROPOSER INFORMATION

(Activity ID No: 72)

1.1 Title of Activity
Network for ARCtic Climate and Biological DIVersity Studies

1.2 Short Form Title of Proposed Activity
ARCDIV NET

1.3 Activity Leader Details
Jon Børre Ørbæk
Norwegian Polar Institute
Norway

1.4 Lead International Organisation(s) (if applicable)
NULL
NULL
NULL
NULL

1.5 Other Countries involved in the activity
Norway
Poland
Denmark/Greenland
Czech Republic
USA
UK
Germany
France
Austria
Sweden
Russia
Finland
Belgium
The Netherlands
Canada
Iceland

1.6 Expression of Intent ID #'s brought together in this proposed activity
313,75,102,253,729,753,754, 746,766

1.7 Location of Field Activities
Arctic

1.8 Which IPY themes are addressed
1. Current state of the environment
2. Change in the polar regions
3. Polar-global linkages/tele-connections
4. Exploring new frontiers
5. The polar regions as vantage points

1.9 What is the main IPY target addressed by this activity
1. Natural or social science

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2.0 SUMMARY OF THE ACTIVITY

The Network for Arctic Climate and Biological Diversity Studies (ARCDIV) is a multidisciplinary research cluster under the International Polar Year (IPY 2007-2008), seeking to explore the diversity of climates and ecosystems at landscape scale within the Arctic region, by integrating historical, existing and new intense measurements of key physical and biological variables and processes at multiple Arctic observational sites.
Rationale: The recently published Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) presents detailed information of the significant contemporary changes in regional variability and trends of climate and ecosystems in the Arctic, with important coupling and feedback mechanisms to the global climate system. The ARCDIV cluster will establish several reference areas in the Arctic, equipped with permanent long-term and new intense campaign based measurements of physical and biological parameters on various temporal and spatial scales, with the aim to resolve the variability of climate and biological diversity on landscape and regional scales around the Arctic. These new observations will be held against data from long-term climate monitoring and experimentally manipulated plots. This is a new frontier for climate change and ecosystem interaction studies aiming at understanding small-scale physical and biological variability in time and space and their links to the large-scale regional climate variability and trend patterns with relation to global climate change.
Scientific Content: Multidisciplinary research groups will set up coordinated and intense atmospheric/terrestrial measurement systems and field observations at the different reference sites, integrating the following scientific themes and activities on the basis of variable geometry:
· Physical observations: Meteorological synoptic and automatic weather stations, micrometeorological measurements, radiosondes, UAV and sodar profiling of the ABL, atmospheric radiation including UV, surface radiation budget, regional spectral albedo on land and sea ice, surface energy balance, snow/ice distribution, hydrology, geochemistry, wetland methane fluxes, arrays of temperature loggers and freeze-thawing events.
· Biological observations: Vegetation monitoring and mapping, cryobiology, alpha/beta and genetic diversity, nutrient and carbon cycling/sequestration, microbial communities in soil and freshwater, trophic interactions and structure, predator-prey systems, herbivory, stress parameters, structure and function of ecosystems and colonization.
· Models/Integration: Physical, atmospheric circulation, landscape and radiation transfer models will be used together with the intense physical observations to describe the local abiotic environmental variability and its relation to the regional atmospheric circulation. GIS-systems will assist sampling and integrated analysis of the physical and biological parameters. Remote sensing will be used for extraction of physical and biological parameters at the reference sites. Multi-scale statistical methods will be used for integrated analysis, including the possible projection of future changes.
Cluster components: This multidisciplinary initiative cluster a coherent set of EOI’s for the purpose of coordinating the many complementary research groups of different disciplines and nationalities that are active at various sites/stations in the Arctic, studying different aspects of climate and biological diversity. The added value for all partners is to get access to data relevant for own studies and the total integration of physical and biological knowledge in order to address the complex interaction mechanisms between abiotic and biotic parameters involving small and regional scales.

2.1 What is the evidence of inter-disciplinarity in this activity?
The ARCDIV cluster brings together multiple disciplines:Evolutionary ecology, biogeography, genomics, population genetics, eco-toxicology, physiology, meteorology, hydrology, atmospheric chemistry and physics, bio-geochemistry, geomorphology, glaciology remote sensing and GIS
- Involves multiple physical, biological and abiotic parameters:Temperature, wind, radiation, surface turbulent fluxes, atmospheric aerosols, cloud parameters, methane and carbon dioxide fluxes, functional diversity of plants, invertebrates, fish, birds, mammals, soil fauna, bacteria, fungi, microbial communities, plant and soil pools, physiological processes.
- Integrates parameters across disciplines:A vital part of this endeavour is that all partners agree on harmonisation procedures, joint measurement protocols, key parameters, quality control standards and exchange policies, as well as collocating and coordinating measurements and field activities.

2.2 What will be the significant advances/developments from this activity? What will be the major deliverables? What are the outputs for your peers?
The ARCDIV cluster will give new insight into the important and direct relation between the observed variability and diversity in biological and physical parameters in the Arctic, at different temporal and spatial scales. Integrating physical and biological investigations on variability patterns brought down to a landscape level at several Arctic reference sites is a challenge, but also a new frontier in Arctic environmental research that will improve our projections of future change.
Objectives:
-Quantify climatic and biological variability and diversity patterns at characteristic reference sites covering the most important climate and ecological gradients in the Arctic
-Analyse the variability of physical parameters at local, landscape and regional scales and their links to large scale circulation patterns
-Quantify biodiversity at selected reference sites and correlate it to the variability of physical parameters to understand its function for the stability and resilience of arctic ecosystems
-Analyse the formation, the functioning and interaction of terrestrial arctic ecosystems in a changing environment and climate
-Analyse the physiological and molecular mechanisms of cold adaptation
-Use the boost of international coordinated Arctic research under the IPY to recruit and educate students in arctic biology and geophysics, in an international framework
Deliverables:
-Establish inter-comparable Arctic datasets and observations of physical and biological parameters at the selected reference sites
-Deliver harmonized and standardized protocols and measurements for long-term monitoring of physical/biological key parameters in reference/experimental plots
-Validate physical and biological parameters from spatial/temporal gradients against long-term observations and experimentally manipulated ecosystems
-Develop models of spatial and temporal variability in physical and biological parameters at landscape scales and their mutual sensitivity and significance
-Contribute to the validation of satellite sensor data in the Arctic and develop a database of multi-spectral landscape images at reference sites
-Provide biodiversity, vegetation, phonological, primary production, snow melt/properties, nutrient deposition and bioclimatic maps documenting the current state of the Arctic environment at landscape and regional scales and at different temporary scales
-Provide identification of candidate genes for cold adaptation in key species and provide clone libraries of microbial communities in selected wetland environments
-A new web-site (www.arcdiv.net) for communication and dissemination of all activities and results, with proper links to other important IPY activities
-Develop an updated meta database service of all projects, data and observations produced under the ARCDIV cluster
-Recruit and educate several students for degrees at master and doctorate level
-Produce a multitude of scientific disciplinary and multidisciplinary papers within international peer-review journals, in books and the IPY book series (Pole-to-Pole) as well as in newspapers and popular science literature
Networks: ARCDIV will contribute and add value to the following international networks and programs: ENVINET, SCANNET, CEON, AON, IASC, AMAP, GAW, EMEP, FUGE, GTOS, ACIA, ITEX, CALM, CAFF, FRAGILE, NorSEN, EPN, GBIF, ABBCS, BSRN, NDSC, MAGICS, WGMS.

2.3 Outline the geographical location(s) for the proposed field work (approximate coordinates will be helpful if possible)

2.4 Define the approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities?

2.5 What major logistic support/facilities will be required for this project?
Observatories
Existing field stations
Ice strengthened research ship
Snow terrain vehicles
Multi-instrumented platforms
Helicopters

Further details – The ARCDIV cluster with its subprojects will use existing research infrastructures, services and logistics available on Svalbard, Greenland, Canada, N. Sweden, Alaska and in the Russian Arctic. Observational reference sites and field stations are selected at locations that are realistic with respect to the logistics/services given locally, as well as on historical sites possessing previous relevant observations and time-series. Individual field based activities/observations will require transport and accommodation in the field at several times of the year during 2 full IPY seasons/years of observations as well as during equipment set up and take down phases.

2.6 How will the required logistics be supplied? Have operators been approached?

2.7 If working in the Arctic regions, has there been contact with local indigenous groups or relevant authorities regarding access?

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3.0 STRUCTURE OF THE ACTIVITY

3.1 Origin of the activity
This is a pulse of activity during 2007-2009 within an existing programme

If part of an existing programme please name the programme – Existing programmes mainly in Greenland and in Svalbard

3.2 How will the activity be organised and managed? Describe the proposed management structure and means for coordinating across the cluster
ARCDIV will establish a management structure across the cluster with several levels that maintain necessary strategic planning, the needs for assuring coherence and convergence, as well as taking care of the detailed management needs within each subproject originating and reorganised from the individual EOI projects. The ARCDIV cluster will use modern principles for scientific project organisation and management involving the following elements:
·Project Steering Committee (PSC): Consisting of members from each of the cluster EOI, being responsible for guiding all the work performed under the project, meeting regularly with the project coordinator, establish monitoring and control criteria, assist with logistical operational planning. ·Program Coordinator: Responsible for the overall science coordination, planning and monitoring of research activities and field work, assuring coherence, harmonisation and complementation of measurements, and will lead the program secretariat. ·Program Secretariat: Responsible for all data and information exchange, home-page and list-servers, organisation of workshops and meetings, reporting procedures, communication and outreach activities, data management plans. ·Principal Investigators: Responsible for the scientific accomplishment of their individual subprojects and working groups under ARCDIV, as well as timely reporting of progress and results.
·Workshops/Meetings: Organised regularly to assure sufficient coordination of working groups, accomplishment of work packages as well as proper exchange of preliminary results and the creation of new ideas.
·Science Plan: The ARCDIV Science Plan is the main tool for assuring progress, timely deliverables and coordination. The plan will give detailed description of the overall objectives, work package and subproject activities, exchange program, deliverables and field activity plans.
·Reporting and control procedures monitored by the program secretariat.
·Timeplan for project implementation:
· June 2005: Full cluster proposal submission to IPYIPO
· Autum 2005: PSC meeting, Science Plan and Time Plan
· 2005/2006: Individual and joint funding proposals
· 2006/2009: Field work and observations
· 2009-2010 Coordinated publication

3.3 Will the activity leave a legacy of infrastructure and if so in what form?
The ARCDIV cluster will build on existing measurements and infrastructure and assure that all new observations and additional field experiments and equipment are properly documented and maintained within an overall philosophy of environmental protection and sustainability, as well as conforming to the IPY Data Policy. We will have the following elements of legacy:
·The activity will contribute to the establishment of durable data in an Arctic Gene Bank
·A new meta database and infrastructure information service building on SSF, ENVINET and AMAP services.
·The project will leave a legacy of validated and harmonized procedures for the measurement and analysis of key environmental parameters.
·Experimental plots and transects will be geo-referenced and permanently marked for future assessments.
·It is foreseen that the project will contribute to the development of new technology and observation methods, a permanent baseline monitoring programme of surface parameters like snow cover and vegetation.
·Establishment of updated standard and special meteorological and radiation observations on several Russian meteorological stations as well as a permanent field station for biological research in the Russian Arctic.

3.4 Will the activity involve nations other than traditional polar nations? How will this be addressed?
The ARCDIV cluster will involve scientists from all major polar nations as well as some scientists from:The Czech Republic, which is in the process of establishing an Arctic research station on SvalbardAustria, with the asset to study complementary aspects of high altitude Alpine and high latitude Arctic ecosystems and processes.

3.5 Will this activity be linked with other IPY core activities? If yes please specify
ARCDIV is closely coordinated with or have links to the following other IPY activities: KINNVIKA – EOI 564: We have complementary and collocated measurements
SVALBASE – EOI 597: We would like to support and make use of their services
POLE TO POLE – EOI 303: We will publish results in this high profile book series OASIS cluster: We have mutual interests in sharing data ATMOPOL cluster: We have collocated observations IASOA – EOI 138: We will benefit from their observations and data ACEIP – EOI 286: Analysis of early meteorological, instrumental observations
Arctic WOLVES cluster: Close co-operation in the field and in planning
HATIA – EOI 758: We have complementary and collocated measurements
BIRDHEALTH – EOI 61: We have complementary and collocated measurements
Greening of the Arctic – EOI 569: Close co-operation in the field and in planning
SANTAS – EOI 309: We may benefit from their nutrient mapping and process studies
PROTDIV – EOI 881: We will have some common measurement sites on Greenland
ORACLE-O3 cluster: We will benefit from complementary and relevant data
POLAP – EOI 313: We have multidisciplinary and complementary measurements
EVA - EOI 744: We will benefit from complementary data
CarboArctic - EOI 774: We will benefit from complementary data and common sites
CARMA Net – EOI 505: We will benefit from the community monitoring aspects

3.6 How will the activity manage its data? Is there a viable plan and which data management organisations/structures will be involved?
Following the IPY Data Policy, the ARCDIV cluster will implement the following data management principles and procedures:
·Metadata: All work-packages and subprojects will register their projects in the Svalbard Project Database (SPD), which is under development by the Svalbard Science Forum and the Norwegian Polar Institute in due time before the IPY (funded by the Norwegian Research Council and Government). This project database builds on and will have automatic links to the AMAP/ENVINET Project Directory http://pusnes.grida.no/amap/amappd/index.asp?org=2, operated by GRID-A. The coordinator will assure that precise identification of all metadata under the ARCDIV cluster will be entered effectively and timely into the metadata module of the SPD, which will be an online and effective search-engine that will easily identify all ARCDIV metadata under the IPY. ·Data: Each individual subproject in this cluster will be responsible for their own secure data storage and data validation/quality procedures. This will be a variable geometry within this cluster of own database storage and submission to international database services. We believe that this is by far the most cost effective data management solution, building on own well established and long term data storage policies and quality assurance programs. However, an important asset of the ARCDIV cluster will be a well managed system of harmonisation and QA/QC protocols, building on the experience and developments from ENVINET. All partners will agree on harmonisation procedures, joint measurement protocols, key parameters, quality control standards and exchange policies.
·Exchange: Following the IPY Data Policy, all working groups will make their data available to the research team and the general IPY research community within a reasonable time. A preliminary dataset of scientific or public relevance will be made available for those data that will need significant and time-consuming post-processing, harmonisation or QA/QC quality control. The meta database with web-based applications will be used to accomplish integration and management of both physical and biological data, facilitating proper exchange of data between different groups of scientists and the adoption of secure and standard storage and query protocols.
·Services: The ARCDIV program secretariat will establish a web-based public information and dissemination tool that will be designed to communicate aggregated data and scientific information regularly to the general public. This activity will also contribute to and use the services provided by SVALBASE, GRID-A, NORUT, the IPY catalogue metadata, international data centres as well as registering all research infrastructures and sites in the ENVINET Environmental Research Infrastructures Database (ERID – http://www.amap.no/envinet).
·Data centres: The final processed data will be stored at the home institutions and will be included in the following national and world data centres: ISCU WDC, IPA, NOAA CDC, CEON-IMS, NSIDC, GAW, BSRN, NDSC, culture collections, natural history museums, “Artsdatabasen”, GBIF

3.7 Data Policy Agreement
Will this activity sign up to the IPY draft Data Policy (see website)
Yes

3.8 How will the activity contribute to developing the next generation of polar scientists, logisticians, etc.?
Education (Master and PhD) and training of young scientists will be an integrated part of the project for all participants. The intense field measurements carried out under ARCDIV are very well suited for significant student participation at all levels, with strong emphasis on multidisciplinary collaboration and studies. The data produced will also be used for education at the university level, and we will recruit students in close collaboration with the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) from/to the following courses: Spectroscopy and remote sensing, Polar meteorology and Climate, Snow and ice processes, Arctic biology, Polar atmosphere chemistry. An educational programme for foreign and grant students will also make use of the Russian-German magistratura “POMOR” (Saint-Petersburg University, department of geography and geoecology), the Russian-Norwegian Arctic laboratory “FRAM”, as well as summer schools on the reference stations on Svalbard and Franz Josef Land.

3.9 How will this activity address education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
The ARCDIV cluster will approach several audiences:
·Public: A central website for public information and dissemination of scientific results building on the existing tools for project documentation and observation site information developed under ENVINET. Professional expertise on synthesis, communication and assessments will be provided by GRID-A, aiming at producing printed and electronic information material for the general public, the government and our funding agencies. We will promote IPY and publish popular science newspaper articles in every country involved in this activity.
·Research community: Scientific publication will be partly directed to the new POLE-TO-POLE IPY publication series suggested for Springer Verlag, to peer refereed journals and popular science literature. Conferences and workshops will be organised for the purpose of communicating collected data and analysis, preliminary and final reports and papers.
·Research team: The ARCDIV website, email list servers, newsletters and the project meta database will be used for internal communication and dissemination of project related information, and possible semi-permanent exhibits for communication and outreach.
·Schools/Students: Younger students can be involved through online virtual experiments and education material. Summer schools on meteorological stations on Svalbard and Franz Josef Land are planned. The system of landscape monitoring cameras in combination with web-cameras at the reference sites will be suitable for access by primary school through university courses to the general public, and the combination of animated data-series of surface parameters like snow melt etc. will be illustrative and instructive for both science and general education.
·Decision Makers: ARCDIV will build on and support the ACIA process and contribute to environmental assessment efforts.

3.10 What are the proposed sources of funding for this activity?
·Core funding: The following core elements and essential services of the joint clustered project is fully or partially funded by internal resources by the coordinator/partners:
The program secretariat
The meta database and the establishment of Website
The existing and long term research programs
The logistics provided by own logistical service provider
The publication and dissemination of results ·Other existing funding:
A multitude of scientific and logistical activities by the different partners are already partially funded. Examples of such funding are:
Polish State Committee for Scientific Research (Ministry of Scientific Research and Information Technology), 2005-2006,
University of Tromsø: One PhD position and grants for field work and international collaboration in molecular biology (FUGE).
National Science Foundation (NSF, USA), Polar Found (PF, Russia) and AARI (Russia): The program of prior creation and upgrading of Russian polar stations network during 2003-2006”.
Governmental funding for AWI and NP: Regular measurements and monitoring programs of a number of physical and biological parameters at stations on Svalbard
National Environmental Research Institute, Denmark: Annual funding for all baseline monitoring work in Greenland related to Zackenberg Basic, provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, Denmark
AMAP and (partly) EMEP trans-Arctic monitoring programs provide time series that will support our field campaigns.
·New funding: New significant funding will be needed from national and international funding agencies, research councils, governmental institutions, EU, bilateral agreements, home institutions and potential special advertised IPY-opportunities. The ARCDIV cluster will need funding for a significant part of the field measurement as well as new permanent instrument programs, hardware, logistics, dissemination of results, PHD-programs. Funding proposals will be sought at many different levels, from each individual participant (home institution), to working groups and project coordinator/secretariat. Funding for project coordination/secretariat will be provided by the host institution, with additional applications to the national research council. Since most IPY clusters will have to follow the principle of variable geometry funding (individual funding proposals to each national research council), the ARCDIV cluster will design its work-packages and sub-projects in a robust and flexible way so that funded subprojects can be carried out in a meaningful way even if other complementary subprojects are turned down.

3.11 Additional Comments
This Cluster brings together complementary EOI’s that were initially clustered (by IPYIPO) into the following topic areas:1.Ecosystem response to change and variability in the physical environment
2.Terrestrial and limnic biodiversity and environments
3.Life under natural and anthropogenic changes: Stress, responses and adaptations
4.Terrestrial Cryosphere
5.Multi-disciplinary observing systems
We identify our new Cluster proposal as a genuine multidisciplinary endeavour combining geophysical and biological disciplines within the atmospheric, terrestrial and cryospheric environments, having a manageable size, unifying objectives, coherent measurements/activities and harmonized deliverables.

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4.0 CONSORTIUM INFORMATION

4.1 Contact Details

Lead Contact
Dr Jon Børre Ørbæk
Norwegian Polar Institute
Polar Environmental Center Tromsø
N-9296
Norway

Tel:          +47 77 75 05 58
Mobile:   +47 92 08 68 14
Fax:         +47 77 75 05 01
Email:       orbak@npolar.no

Second Contact
Dr Inger Greve Alsos
University of Oslo
Postbox 1172 Blindern Oslo
N-0318
Norway

Tel:          +47 22 85 18 08
Mobile:   +47 48 12 97 36
Fax:         +47 22 85 18 35
Email:      ingeral@nhm.uio.no

4.2 Other significant consortium members and their affiliation