Th
Arctic Research Office (ARO)
a division of the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

(NOAA) run under the auspices of the

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) is a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). OAR is also referred to as NOAA Research. NOAA Research is the research and development arm of NOAA and is the driving force beh ...

(OAR). ARO is the focal point for NOAA's research in the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

Bering Sea The Bering Sea ( , ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre, p=ˈbʲerʲɪnɡəvə ˈmorʲe) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasse ...

North Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

and

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...

regions. In 1996, the

Congress of the United States The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

appropriated one million

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

to support an Arctic Research Initiative within NOAA. In cooperation with the Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research, NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research used those funds to support research projects in two principal areas: natural variability of the Western Arctic/Bering Sea ecosystem, and anthropogenic influences on the Western Arctic/Bering Sea ecosystem. Support for the Arctic Research Initiative is ongoing. The office administers the funds from the Arctic Research Initiative. It represents NOAA on the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee, leads U.S. involvement in the Arctic Monitoring & Assessment Programme, and provides a point of contact between NOAA and the Cooperative Institute and Assessment Program and the

International Arctic Research Center The International Arctic Research Center, or IARC, established in 1999, is a research institution focused on integrating and coordinating study of Climate change in the Arctic. The primary partners in IARC are Japan and the United States. Partic ...

Projects

Russian-American Long-term Census of the Arctic (RUSALCA)

The Russian-American Long-term Census of the Arctic is a joint-project between the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

and NOAA. This project supports the

Study of Environmental Arctic Change Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) is a collaborative program of Arctic researchers, funding agencies, and others that facilitates the synthesis of Arctic science and communicates the current understanding to help society respond to a rap ...

(SEARCH) program and the

Ocean Exploration Ocean exploration is a part of oceanography describing the exploration of ocean surfaces. Notable explorations were undertaken by the Greeks, the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Polynesians, Phytheas, the Vikings, Arabs and the Portuguese. Scientif ...

Program.
RUSALCA Initial Expedition to the Bering And Chukchi Seas (Arctic Ocean), July 23 - September 6, 2004.

Arctic Change Website

The Near-realtime Arctic Change Indicator Website provides information on the present state of the Arctic

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

and climate in historical context.
Arctic Change website

Arctic Theme Page
- a comprehensive resource for teachers, students, decision makers, scientists and the public.

Arctic Climate Observing System (ACOS)

The ACOS project collects data from observing networks and uses that data to detect climate change activity. The observing networks are: * International Arctic Buoy Program * Arctic Sea Ice Thickness Network - consists of two types of sensors. ** Standard sea-floor

mooring A mooring is any permanent structure to which a seaborne vessel (such as a boat, ship, or amphibious aircraft) may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to ...

technology is used to deploy upward looking sonar (ULS) to provide a view of ice thickness as ice drifts through the field of view of the ULS. ** Ice-mounted

buoys A buoy (; ) is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. History The ultimate origin of buoys is unknown, but by 1295 a seaman's manual referred to navigation buo ...

are used to provide direct measurements of ice thickness as it evolves over the seasons at a given point in the ice. The buoys also directly measure thickness of snow cover on the ice, temperature profiles from above the ice, through the ice and in the water column. The buoys also measure air temperature and sea level pressure. * Arctic Ocean Observations Network - A component of a larger international effort. NOAA supports oceanographic moorings in the northern Bering Sea and the

Bering Strait The Bering Strait ( , ; ) is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. The present Russia–United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' ...

External links

NOAA's Arctic Research Office
(ARO)
Arctic Change website
- near realtime information on the present state of Arctic ecosystems and climate in historical context.
Arctic Theme Page
- a comprehensive resource for teachers, students, decision makers, scientists and the public. {{authority control Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Climate change organizations based in the United States Oceanographic organizations Arctic research

Projects

Russian-American Long-term Census of the Arctic (RUSALCA)

Arctic Change Website

Arctic Climate Observing System (ACOS)

See also

External links