Proceedings of a Workshop

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This activity was supported by the National Science Foundation awards 2301869 and 2232737, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 80HQTR23FA009, and the National Academy of Sciences Maurice Ewing and Planetary Sciences Fund. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. Exploring Key Research and Monitoring Topics for U.S. Engagement in the Fifth International Polar Year: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/29327.

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WORKSHOP PLANNING COMMITEE FOR EXPLORING KEY RESEARCH AND MONITORING TOPICS FOR U.S. ENGAGEMENT IN THE FIFTH INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR¹

CRAIG LEE (Chair), University of Washington

LILIAN ALESSA, University of Idaho

JENNY L. BAESEMAN, International Polar Consultant

SCOTT GOETZ, Northern Arizona University

JAMIN GREENBAUM, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California—San Diego

MICHAEL HARTINGER, Space Science Institute, University of California—Los Angeles

CANA ULUAK ITCHUAQIYAQ, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (as of January 28, 2025)

ANDREW J. LLOYD, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University

BRITNEY E. SCHMIDT, Cornell University

Staff

APRIL MELVIN, Associate Director

MORGAN DISBROW-MONZ, Program Officer

CAROLINE BELL, Program Officer

LINDSAY MOLLER, Research Associate

ANNIE MANVILLE, Senior Program Assistant

___________________

¹The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s planning committees are solely responsible for organizing the workshop, identifying topics, and choosing speakers. The responsibility for the published Proceedings of a Workshop rests with the workshop rapporteur.

Reviewers

This Proceedings of a Workshop on Exploring Key Research and Monitoring Topics for U.S. Engagement in the Fifth International Polar Year was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.

We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings:

Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings, nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by Melinda Webster from the University of Washington. She was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteur and the National Academies.

Contents

1 FRAMING THE FIFTH INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR

2 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: OVERVIEW OF THE POLAR REGIONS

Sea-Level Rise and Ice Sheet Processes

Ocean–Ice Interactions, Circulation, and Sea Ice

Biodiversity, Permafrost, and the Carbon Cycle

Economics and Value of Information

Communication and Workforce

Discussion

3 POLAR SCIENCE FOR SOCIETY

Operational Capabilities and Opportunities from Alaska

A One Health Lens on Northern Communities

Linking Polar Research to Societal Challenges

Discussion

4 KEY SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS AND SCIENCE TO MEET MULTIDOMAIN OPERATIONS

Ice Sheets, Sea Level, and Grounding Zones

Geospace and Space Weather: Why the Poles Matter

Permafrost Carbon

Marine Ecosystems and Distributed Biological Observatories

Emperor Penguins and Satellite Technology

Discussion

5 APPROACHES AND CAPABILITIES TO SUPPORT IPY5

Remote Sensing, Access, and Power

Permafrost, Fire, and Carbon

Autonomous Ocean Observing Systems

Modeling and Machine Learning

Polar Earth Observing Network (POLENET) and Lessons from IPY4

Discussion

Interactive Activities: Approaches and Capabilities to Support IPY5

6 RECAP OF DAY ONE

Linking Science to Societal Outcomes

7 HUMAN CAPACITY AND COLLABORATION

Sustaining Human Capacity: Workforce, Logistics, and Training Pathways

Protecting People and Partnerships

Centering Indigenous Capacity: Relational Science, Data Sovereignty, and Local Monitoring

Discussion

Strengthening Research Capacity—Building on Lessons Learned

Leadership, Infrastructure, and Cross-Disciplinary Practice from Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC)

Sub-Ice Drilling as Capacity-Building Science

Science-Ready, Findable, and Reusable Data

Community-Based Observing Networks (CBONs) and Trust

Discussion

Interactive Activities: Human Capacity and Collaboration

8 MOVING THE SCIENCE FORWARD FOR IPY5

Building Collaboration Models from IPY4 to Today

Leveraging Tourism for Science and Ambassadorship

Ships of Opportunity, Real-Time Data, and National Structures

From Shared Questions to Shared Tools

International Collaborative Exploration of the Cryosphere through Airborne Profiling (ICECAP) Lessons: Funding Flexibility, Field Roles, and Data Legacy

Discussion

9 FORMING THE VISION FOR THE FUTURE—TAKEAWAYS AND EXAMPLES OF POTENTIAL NEXT STEPS

REFERENCES

APPENDIXES

A Workshop Agenda

B Planning Committee Biographies

Box and Figures

BOX

1-1 Statement of Task

FIGURES

3-1 Seismic (gray) and infrasound (red) stations sending data in real time across Alaska

3-2 Venn diagram of the Center for One Health Research demonstrating the intersections of human, animal, and environmental health and the relevant departments at the University of Alaska—Fairbanks

4-1 Range of observing systems that can be used to study the ice sheet, ocean, and bed

4-2 Arctic Carbon Dioxide and Methane Network

5-1 Broadscale observations of the Southern Ocean compared between 2008 and 2025

5-2 Incorporating Fine-Scale Permafrost Thaw Processes into Land Models

8-1 The Land-Ice/Ocean Network Exploration Using Semiautonomous Systems (LIONESS) collaborative model

Acronyms and Abbreviations