Synthesis Report from WP6

This is a synthesis of a number of application studies of Arctic Observing Systems towards Stakeholders, gives an overview of the activities, results and impacts of INTAROS Work Package 6 (WP6). The aim of WP6 is to demonstrate how an integrated observation system can be of specific benefit for society at local, regional or pan-Arctic scale. Through WP6 we show the capability of an enhanced Arctic Observation System towards advancing the economic role of the Arctic by providing support for better-documented processes and better-informed decisions within key sectors such as shipping, petroleum, fishing, and tourism. Further, WP6 demonstrates how the Arctic Observation system may be applied to further develop the accuracy of climate models, improve the understanding of biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem functioning, enhance fisheries and environmental management, increase the level of preparedness towards natural hazards, and develop better management and decision making concepts for selected local communities. Through WP6 INTAROS demonstrates enhanced data search and retrieval, assimilation into models, validation of estimated and projected climate parameters, scientific analysis, decision-support and policy-making.
Following a general introduction to INTAROS WP6, eight chapters summarise, for each topic covered, the main activities and results, data and models used, stakeholder/user benefits, and further development and exploitation of results. The topics span broadly and target very different end-user groups but they all share the same overall challenge: how to synthesize data across time and space from different sources, formats and scientific disciplines into aggregated synoptic data products that are relevant for end-users. The following topics are addressed: Improving skill of model predictions in the Arctic, Applying observations and models for environmental and fisheries management, Ice-ocean statistics, Remote sensing applications, Natural hazards in the Arctic, Greenhouse gas exchange in the Arctic, Case studies of community-based observing systems and Benefits of ocean observing for blue growth in the Arctic. The report then describes concrete showcases, software applications. Selected main results across WP6 are then presented, before the report ends with Conclusions and perspectives.