The State of the Arctic Conference, to be held 16-19 March 2010 in Miami, Florida, will be an international meeting to present, exchange, and discuss the latest knowledge on the state of the Arctic and future directions of arctic science and policy.

CONFERENCE OBJECTIVES
The State of the Arctic Conference will review our understanding of the arctic system in a time of human-induced, rapid environmental change. It will provide an open international forum to discuss future research directions towards a better understanding of the arctic system and its trajectory. It will address topics ranging from basic understanding of the Arctic and system-wide change, to developing response strategies for better adaptation to, and mitigation of, the impacts of change.

Specifically, the conference will address the following topics:
1. Scientific understanding of the basic functioning of the arctic system, including human subsystems;
2. Capacity to observe and understand the system, especially in light of rapid system-scale changes in all subsystems;
3. Capability to project future states of the arctic system under various scenarios; and
4. Options for solutions to the problems caused by human-induced environmental change.

This science meeting will provide ample opportunities to present and discuss research results, and a conference report will summarize the meeting's major findings.

VENUE
The conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Miami at the Miami Convention Center in Miami, Florida.

ORGANIZERS & SPONSORS
The State of the Arctic Conference is being organized by the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS), with major funding provided by the National Science Foundation Division of Arctic Sciences, including the interagency Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) and the Arctic System Science Program (ARCSS). Other sponsors include: the International Study of Arctic Change (ISAC), the Canadian ArcticNet Network of Centres of Excellence, and the European Developing Arctic
Modelling and Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies (DAMOCLES) program. Additional sponsorship is invited and interested parties are encouraged to contact Helen Wiggins, ARCUS, at helen@arcus.org.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Additional information, including registration, abstract submission, and other materials, will be available soon through a State of the Arctic Conference website, which will be announced via the ArcticInfo mailing list and linked through the ARCUS website.

CONTACT INFORMATION
For further information, please contact:
Helen Wiggins, ARCUS
Email: helen@arcus.org