The need for a well coordinated and sustained Arctic Observing Network that meets scientific and societal needs has been identified in numerous high profile reports and at a variety of workshops and conferences. In November 2006, the Arctic Council (AC) urged all member nations to maintain and extend long-term monitoring of change in the Arctic, with a view to building a lasting legacy of the International Polar Year (IPY). Further, the AC requested that its working group the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) work with other AC working groups, the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and other partners in efforts to create a coordinated Arctic Observing Network that meets identified societal needs. The goal of developing an Arctic Observing Network as a legacy of IPY (WMO/ICSU) was endorsed by the WMO XV Congress in May 2007.
In January 2007, the Sustained Arctic Observing Networks Initiating Group (SAON IG), composed of representatives of international organizations, agencies and northern residents involved in research, operational and local observing, has been formed to develop a set of recommendations on how to achieve long-term Arctic-wide observing activities that provide free, open and timely access to high quality data that will realize pan-Arctic and global value-added services and provide societal benefits.
The Swedish and Canadian IPY Committees have agreed to take the lead in the launch of the SAON initiative by running a succession of workshops together with the SAON IG. The first workshop was held in Sweden (Stockholm, 12-14 November 2007), followed by a second workshop in Canada (9-11 April 2008). A third workshop in Finland is planned for autumn 2008, hosted by the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
For more information, please go to www.arcticobserving.org/
