SAON News
The initiative on Arctic Data Coordination held a workshop in April 2012 after the IPY conference in Montreal. The minutes are now available.
The SAON Board held its first meeting in Tromsoe, Norway on 24-25 January 2012
A workshop to begin to design an Arctic Data Coordination Network will be held at IPY 2012, Montreal, Friday 27 April, 1:30-17:00, Room 512G
The purpose of this workshop is to develop a strategy and proposed structure for an Arctic Data Coordination Network (ADCN) under the auspices of SAON, IASC, and the Arctic Council. One outcome should be a plan for submitting a proposal to the US National Science Foundation for a Research Coordination Network to make this all possible. The idea is to use the conference to define and explore the problem and then use this workshop to define practical ways to move forward. A short report will be prepared and submitted to the SAON Board, IASC, and the AC.
The workshop is open to anyone, but we particularly invite:
- SAON Board members and representatives
- SAON Task Leaders
- IPY National Data Coordinators
- Permanent Participant representatives
- World Data System representatives
- Data coordinators/managers for Arctic data systems
- Agency sponsor representatives
RSVP to Jan René Larsen: jan(at)jrl.dk
Read more: Workshop on Arctic Data Coordination at IPY 2012, Montreal
There are a number of SAON related activities at IPY 2012, Montreal. This include
SAON Town Hall meeting
The SAON char (Tom Armstrong), the SAON vice-chair (David Hik), and members of the Board will be present
Time and venue: Tuesday 24 April, 17:00 - 18:00, room 511A
SAON Presentation: "Implementing the Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks (SAON) Initiative"
In this presentation, the SAON vice-chair (David Hik) et al will describe the process undertaken so far and next steps required to fully implement SAON.
Time and venue: Wednesday 25 April, 10:00-10:30, room 520 BC
Together with IASC, AC now takes the lead in a continuation of the SAON process.
The Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Tromsø April 2009 agreed on the Tromsø Declaration which expressed
- Support for continued coordination to maximize the legacy of IPY in a number of areas, including observations and data access and management … and
- Recognition of the valuable contribution of the Sustained Arctic Observing Networks (SAON) process as an IPY legacy to enhance coordination of multidisciplinary Arctic data acquisition, management, access and dissemination, encouraged the continuation of this work with emphasis on improved sustained long-term observation, and welcomed the participation of indigenous organizations in future work
- Decided to take the lead, in cooperation with IASC and other relevant partners, in the continuation of the SAON process, including considering ways to develop an institutional framework to support circum-Arctic observing, and the preparation and implementation of a work plan for the next two years to initiate work on priority issues including sustained funding and data management.
9-10th of November ministers, government representatives and politicians of the EU met for a conference in Monaco to discuss recent development in the Arctic area. The SAON process got strong support from the stage, but also in the final declaration.
