Research Priority Teams
The ICARP IV International Steering Committee convenes seven Research Priority Teams (RPTs) between 2024 and 2025 that will work with with the input provided through the ICARP IV Community Engagement process to:
- define the knowledge gaps and research priorities for the next decade for their topic area based on the input collected, and
- Identify and suggest opportunities to enhance synergies that might exist across existing research plans, or where there is potential for formalising new alliances and collaborative partnerships.
The preliminary results of the Research Priority Teams work will be presented at the ICARP IV Summit / ASSW 2025 in Boulder, Colorado, USA (21 – 28 March 2025), followed by a community-wide public consultation phase, with the aim to finalise the outcomes of the Research Priority Teams work by the end of 2025. The results will then contribute to the final report of the ICARP IV process published in 2026.
The following seven ICARP IV Research Priority Teams have been set up by the ICARP IV International Steering Committee Meeting. To ground the process in the outcomes of the last ICARP III, the topic areas include the ICARP III themes (from the final ICARP III report) plus additional relevant themes. Each RPT will also consider several cross-cutting themes in their work, including but not limited to co-production of knowledge.
The team will address research priorities and their implementation regarding topics such as: the needs for further scientific understanding of the role of the Arctic in the global climate system (past, present, and future); extreme events; permafrost thaw and SLCF; temporal and spatial distribution of precipitation (spatio-temporal aggregation); teleconnection patterns; impacts of rapid changing Arctic on extreme events locally and remotely; and global consequences (including concerning human / social aspects).
Chairs:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (The University Centre in Svalbard, UNIS, Norway);This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (North Carolina State University, USA)This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Stantec, Canada)
The team will address research priorities and their implementation regarding topics such as: Arctic observing needs (including prioritisation and planning tools for selecting observables and the engagement of indigenous peoples and stakeholders in these processes); climate system and transformations; predicting future climate dynamics; and the need for, and nature of, sustained observations and monitoring systems including spatio-temporal comparable monitoring of abiotic and biotic factors (e.g. atmosphere - vegetation - soil). In addition, the potential of paleobiology and paleoclimatology as a basis for conservation practices and evidence-based modelling will be assessed.
Chairs:
- Margaret Rudolf (University of Alaska Fairbanks, USA)
- Jeff Welker (University of Alaska Anchorage, USA / University of Oulu, Finland)
The team will address research priorities and their implementation regarding topics such as: sustainable and equitable Arctic economy; adaptive management and nature-based solutions (actions/adaptations/measures); healthy Arctic and healthy peoples (multi-stressor effects, contaminants and climate interactions, One Health); energy systems; sustainable energy production; green transition and green energy; reliability; resilience; food systems; sustainable production; resilience; water systems and drinking water; sanitary health; infrastructure and migration.
Chairs:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (ArcticNet and University of Ottawa, Canada)This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Sauyaq Solutions, LLC, USA)
The team will address research priorities and their implementation regarding topics such as: effective international pan-Arctic cooperation in joint-funding and delivery of Arctic research outcomes; connecting and coordinating national and international funding agencies; utilising the role, contribution and value of Arctic science at times of high geopolitical tension; pathways to effective research cooperation; research exchange programs; and collaborative observing amid geopolitical constraints.
Chairs:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (UIT The Arctic University of Norway, Norway)This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School, USA)This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (University of Akureyri, Iceland)
The team will address research priorities and their implementation regarding topics such as: co-production of knowledge; empowerment; capacity sharing; creating space and opportunities for Indigenous institutions / scholars to lead research and develop collaborations; Indigenous leadership; bringing education, science, and Indigenous knowledge together; producers and users of knowledge; and Indigenising Arctic research.
Chairs:
- Harmony Wayner (University of Alaska Fairbanks, USA)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (University of Alberta, Canada)This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Arctic Athabaskan Council)
The team will address how Arctic research planning and traditional knowledge are preparing present and future generations living in the Arctic and beyond to build community resilience and sustainability. Topics include: connecting Arctic issues, research priorities and their implementation; effective outreach, science communication and capacity building between research teams, local communities, decision-makers and the wider public; engaging young people, local communities, decision-makers and others in research planning; training a new generation of Arctic researchers, equipped to lead and be engaged in Arctic research at all levels; the role of EOC working at the interface of academic science and Indigenous traditional and local knowledge helping to combine and harmoniously integrate these different knowledge systems; measuring impact - effective planning and evaluation; equality, diversity, access and inclusion in EOC.
Chairs:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (University of Alaska Anchorage, USA)This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), Germany)
The team will address research priorities and their implementation regarding topics such as: Arctic infrastructure needs; engineering; new and emerging technologies (e.g. AI and machine learning), the potential for further automation and remote operation in research; the requirements and opportunities presented by new large-scale research equipment and monitoring systems; the potential for step-changes in the sharing of national infrastructure and the creation of new international platforms.
Chairs:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (University of Silesia in Katowice/Polish Polar Consortium, Poland)This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (University of Alaska, Toolik Field Station, USA)