Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Alaska Arctic and Bering Coastal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program  (AK Arctic Coastal EMAP)

Outline
The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) is a United States EPA program developed with the goal “to monitor the condition of the Nation’s ecological resources to evaluate the cumulative success of current policies and programs and to identify emerging problems before they become widespread or irreversible.” In the Arctic, where rapid climatic changes and increased resource development is occurring, the information gained from EMAP coastal assessments can contribute to a better understanding of environmental changes occurring in this regions. In Alaska, two upcoming projects, the Arctic and Bering Sea Coastal EMAP assessments, lead by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation in partnership with US EPA and University of Alaska, are planned for 2007 and 2008. These projects will undertake a multidisciplinary research effort to quantify spatial and temporal changes in Alaska’s Arctic Coastal Ecosystems by: 1). Conducting a probability based assessment of the biogeochemical status to obtain an unbiased, quantitative understanding of the health of Alaska arctic coastal ecosystems with know confidence. 2). Utilizing a consistent set of ecological indicators, observational, sampling and analytical methods. Alaska’s Arctic Coastal EMAP effort will provide a baseline for long-term assessment of the status and trends of significant estuarine and coastal resources. The EMAP approach easily integrates into proposed larger Arctic Ocean Observatory programs creating a truly comprehensive and collaborative program producing information for international, national, regional and local use. The AK Arctic Coastal EMAP effort supports the US National Research Council IPY vision by: 1) Provides a baseline to evaluate status and trends in arctic coastal ecosystems. 2) Can be linked to the larger global system context. 3) Provide a quantifiable evaluation of ecological conditions along Alaska’s northern coasts. 4) Demonstrates an ecological survey method system to serve long-term research. 5) Provides an example of a long-term data base management system. 6) Helps to train future environmental scientists. 7) Engages the public in providing a deeper understanding of the ecological health of Alaska’s arctic regions. While a regional Alaska focus will provide information important to ADEC and others, a broader understanding of the changes taking place in the Arctic can only be reached by implementing an international Arctic wide effort. Efforts are planned to expand the EMAP approach program into a Circumpolar Probability Survey of Coastal Marine Resources (CAPS), through cooperation with several international programs, such as the Arctic Monitoring Assessment Program and Census of Marine Life.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
Alaska Arctic Coastal EMAP program will create a uniform assessment of the current ecological conditions of the coastal regions and provide a dataset, which will be maintained as part of the EPA STORET database that can be used to assess future environmental change. These studies are linked, by the EMAP methodology, to comparisons to coastal sites in the continental United States. The results of the biological EMAP parameters will help with assessments of biodiversity in the arctic for coastal benthic species

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
Coordination with other international programs assessing the oceans conditions, NaGisa, Census of Marine Life, and Arctic Assessment Monitoring Program (AMAP) is an ongoing effort. Preliminary discussion are planned with these groups in February 2005.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Western coastal areas of Alaska from Cold Bay to Katkovik, Alaska. Principally, over latitude 55º to 156º and longitude 168º to 141º.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: 2007 -2008            
Antarctic: n/a

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Principal logistical need is a vessel for field sampling. Efforts are underway to find partners to share project expenses. Coordinate with the University of Alaska and other potential partners are planned. Sharing of resources between other ongoing or planned IPY projects in the US Arctic are being pursued.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
he project will leave a legacy written and digital reports and a database maintained by the US EPA for future assessment of the ecological condition of the Alaska coastline. A voucher collection of the macroinvetebrares will be stored for future reference and study at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
National agency
Own support
Other sources of support

Discussions are planned with the Barrow Environmental Observatory, University of Alaska, US NOAA, and others to secure the required logistical support. Any international effort would, of course require an expansion of this regional coordinating approach.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
This project proposed in this expression of interest is in the process of being considered by the US National Committee for IPY. The USNC for IPY will look at all the US submissions for the main ICSU-WMO database and provide feedback.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
Expansion

Alaska Coastal Arctic EMAP effort is part of an existing activity planned for 2007 and 2008. Expansion into an international collaborative arctic wide effort would be a new project and require an expansion in funding to cover coordination of such an international activity.

How will the project be organised and managed?
An EMAP team consisting of EPA, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and University of Alaska will self-manage this effort, as a freestanding project. Coastal communities, including Alaska Natives, will be invited to participate in the planning. In the event that an international effort is undertaken, a structured international steering committee would have to be established.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Out reach will be conducted through presentation at meetings, such as the Alaska Forum on the Environment, technical seminars, use of undergraduate and graduate students, utilizing trained NGO members, and holding meetings with communities to and exchange knowledge of arctic ecological conditions.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Data from the Alaska Arctic and Bering sea EMAP projects will be incorporated into the EPA database and will be available to everyone. In the event that the larger CAPS program is established, consideration will be given to placement of this data into the AMAP marine database.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Principal funding will be provided through EPA, though additional funding will be sought by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation from other sources.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
IPY provides the opportunity to work together to provide for the development of a comprehensive and collaborative Circumpolar Probability Survey of Coastal Marine Resources that will support a sustained effort to understand large-scale environmental change in the Arctic polar region.

PROPOSER DETAILS

Mr Douglas Dasher
610 University Avenue
Fairbanks, AK
99709
USA

Tel: 907-451-2172
Mobile: 907-347-7779
Fax: 907-451-2187
Email:

Other project members and their affiliation