Project Description
A unique opportunity for coordinated action will emerge in 2027, as major international research efforts simultaneously conduct extensive observations in the Beaufort Sea and adjacent coastal regions. NASA FORTE, Arctic PISCES, Arctic Pulse, and REVISIT will simultaneously carry out extensive, multi-platform (surface, airborne and satellite) observations across the western Canadian and Alaskan Arctic Land-Ocean system. Collectively, these major field expeditions spanthe full scope of all five IASC Working Groups and target the most urgent dimensions of Arctic change, including sea-ice dynamics and permafrost thaw, land-atmosphere and land-ocean fluxes, aquatic biogeochemistry, and community-environment interactions. The synergistic potential of this overlap is immense, unprecedented in recent decades, and directly aligned with the transformative, system-level coordination expected of the next International Polar Year.
Over the past months, principal investigators (PIs) from these initiatives have formed an active coordination group. Through a series of online meetings, this group identified major opportunities for scientific synergy, as well as the clearneed for harmonized planning and shared engagement with Indigenous and local communities. However, existing project-specific funding does not extend to the cross-campaign coordination and community workshops necessary tofully realize these opportunities. This proposal seeks IASC support to strengthen the emerging Coastal Beaufort Sea 2027 Coordination Hub, enabling in-person planning meetings and community-engagement workshops in Inuvik (Canada) and Utqiaġvik (Alaska), where a substantial share of logistical coordination and community engagement activities for the planned research campaigns is already based. Activities will focus on aligning sampling strategies,coordinating logistics, engagement and co-design with community representatives, and supporting early career researcher (ECR) involvement across campaigns. The expected outcomes include a coordinated 2027 field campaign plan, a shared community engagement protocol, enhanced interdisciplinary collaboration, and improved integration of community perspectives. This proposal directly advances IASC’s mission by fostering cross-cutting cooperation across scientific disciplines, nations, and knowledge systems.
Date and Location
Several activities and locations including community engagement workshops in Inuvik (Canada) and Utqiaġvik (Alaska) in 2027
IASC Working Groups funding the project
- Atmosphere WG
- Cryosphere WG
- Marine WG
- Social & Human WG
Project Lead
Bennet Juhls (Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany)
Year funded by IASC
2026