NOAA/WDS Paleoclimatology - Paleoenvironmental Arctic Sciences (PARCS) Database

Effective global-scale research requires a clearly defined organizational framework through which a community of scientists may focus their energies. This intellectual and managerial structure frames the overarching questions and objectives, identifies the essential and most promising avenues of research and, if well conceived, preserves the community's flexibility to address the unexpected result. It is the purpose of this document to delineate an effective management structure and research directions that will enlarge our understanding of past changes in the Arctic environment, to understand better how those changes in the Arctic are related to the global environment, and to contribute to our ability to predict and respond to future changes. This document, a "science and implementation plan", has been prepared by the scientists engaged in paleoenvironmental research of the Arctic. It is a community effort designed to recognize the enhanced role of the paleosciences within the Arctic System Science (ARCSS) Program, and to firmly place the Arctic paleoscience research agenda within the global framework of the Earth System History (ESH) Program. The document briefly summarizes the background and research highlights accomplished over the last decade. In the light of these accomplishments, and with a new appreciation of the urgency and complexity of the global change problem, it is appropriate for the community to review the current status of knowledge, consider alterations in course, and explore new avenues of research. The product of two community meetings, and with the consideration of a broad representation of Arctic researchers, this document provides guidance from the community to the community. It reformulates essential research questions concerning Arctic paleoscience within the context of global environmental change, points out the most promising research directions and strategies for the near future, and provides a flexible management structure for the implementation of these strategies.