ArcticNet is a Network of Centres of Excellence of Canada with a mandate to “bring together scientists and managers in the natural, human health, and social sciences with their partners from Inuit organizations, northern communities, federal and provincial agencies, and the private sector to study the impacts of climate change and modernization in the coastal Canadian Arctic.” It recently hosted its 12th Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) from December 5th to 9th in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The ASM is the largest annual Arctic research gathering held in Canada and welcomes a variety of stakeholders to address the numerous environmental, social, economic, and political challenges and opportunities that are emerging from climate change and modernization in the Arctic.
Dana Church and Gabrielle Alix from the Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN) and the Polar Data Catalogue (PDC) were in attendance this year. The CCIN and PDC provide the data and information management infrastructure for the Canadian cryospheric community, and the PDC is the data repository for all the metadata and most of the data for ArcticNet.
On what the key benefits of the conference are to them, Dana, the Project and Outreach Coordinator for the CCIN and PDC, says, “ArcticNet allows us the opportunity to meet directly with our partners, researchers, and students, and to reach out to those unfamiliar with the PDC to showcase the services we provide.”
Gabrielle, the Data Manager for the CCIN and PDC, adds, “The best part is always seeing presentations from researchers who contributed to the PDC and hearing about their work. These sessions are always informative; they help me better understand researchers’ needs and plan for the coming months.”
Opportunities to connect with others and start important conversations are essential when it comes to learning about climate change, helping inform others about it, and taking action against it. If you would like to learn more about the conference, check out the ASM2016 website. Any specific questions regarding the conference can be directed to the ArcticNet secretariat.
