HR: 12:05h
AN: C11E-08 [PDF]
TI: CEON: A Circum-Arctic Environmental Observatories Network
AU: * Tweedie, C E
EM: tweedie@msu.edu
AF: Arctic Ecology Laboratory, Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, 100 North Kedzie
Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 United States
AU: Webber, P J
EM: webber@msu.edu
AF: Arctic Ecology Laboratory, Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, 100 North Kedzie
Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 United States
AB:
The concept of a terrestrial Circum-arctic Environmental Observatories Network (CEON) was introduced at Arctic Science Summit
Week (ASSW) in 2000 at a meeting of the Forum of Arctic Research Operators (FARO: www.faro-arctic.org). CEON is conditioned
by the need for increased international integration of research effort and the loss and/or danger of loss of continuous
northern high latitude environmental observations. FARO has endorsed the CEON concept advocating that CEON be developed to
promote environmental measurements and dissemination of these to Arctic researchers whilst encompassing and building on the
strengths of existing arctic stations and environmental observatory networks. Since 2000, the CEON concept has increasingly
received enthusiastic support from a variety of existing networks, disciplinary collaborations and research stations as well
as endorsement from the the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) (www.iasc.no).
At ASSW 2002, a working group was formed to scope and develop the concept of CEON. Since then, presentations of the CEON
concept have been made at meetings of various networks, research collaborations and polar research boards in Europe, Russia
and the United States in order to make contact and collect feedback from potential CEON stakeholder and user groups.
Presentations have focused on the necessity for the CEON initiative to meet and promote the needs of the participating
research community, science administrators, policy makers, industry, education and indigenous communities. In doing so, it
has been stressed that CEON should be seen as a network that facilitates and encourages environmental monitoring, which
provides linkages between disciplines and existing networks and connectivity spanning regional to circumarctic and global
scales. Following CEON presentations audiences have been asked to introduce their own bias in the development of CEON by
providing feedback to the following question: "What would you do if you had the opportunity to conduct standardized long
term, integrated measurements across all research stations and networks in the Arctic?" It is hoped that this approach will
facilitate the development and scope of CEON based on the experience, needs and future directions envisaged by a broad range
of potential CEON stakeholder and user groups.
The CEON initiative should not be seen as duplicating prior or ongoing research effort, but an international partnership that
aims at forming a logistic and research framework within which ongoing and future research can be oriented to cumulatively
form and facilitate long-term research endeavors in the Arctic. Based on recent scoping and development activities and the
convention of the first planning meeting in October 2003, this presentation recapitulates the enthusiastic support for the
initiation of CEON and outlines a conceptual roadmap for its inception. This road map will include the formation of an
interim multidisciplinary and international steering committee, an international workshop and a science implementation
strategy. We invite your thoughts and ideas to facilitate the development of the CEON initiative.
UR: http://www.cevl.msu.edu/ael/projects/ceon.html
DE: 0400 Biogeosciences
DE: 1600 GLOBAL CHANGE (New category)
DE: 1899 General or miscellaneous
DE: 3399 General or miscellaneous
DE: 9810 New fields (not classifiable under other headings)
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting