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Arctic Spring

Observing, Understanding and Responding to Arctic Change

The International Study of Arctic Change is an Arctic an open-ended, international, interdisciplinary Arctic environmental change program initiated in 2003 by the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and the Arctic Ocean Sciences Board. ISAC encompasses pan-Arctic, system-scale, multidisciplinary observations, synthesis and modelling to provide an integrated understanding of Arctic change and projections of future change. The ISAC Science Plan provides a vision for integrating research and applications among diverse fields and varied users and stakeholders. ISAC is motivated by environmental changes that are already large enough to affect life for Northern communities, biodiversity, ecosystems, and regions within and outside the Arctic. Future system states are uncertain and the lack of predictability hinders efforts to develop strategies for adapting to and managing a changing Arctic. The ISAC program office currently co-ordinates the biennial Arctic Observing Summit in collaboration with SAON and IASC.