International Arctic Science Committee

is a non-governmental, international scientific organization. IASC was founded in 1990 by representatives of national scientific organizations of the eight Arctic countries - Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States of America. The Founding Articles of IASC were signed in Resolute Bay, Canada.
Over the years, IASC has evolved into the leading international science organisation of the North and its membership today includes 24 countries involved in all aspects of Arctic research, including 15 non-Arctic countries.

Mission

The committed IASC to pursue a mission of encouraging and facilitating cooperation in all aspects of Arctic research, in all countries engaged in Arctic research and in all areas of the Arctic region. Overall, IASC promotes and supports leading-edge interdisciplinary research in order to foster a greater scientific understanding of the Arctic region and its role in the Earth system.
Rather than defining human and environmental boundaries, IASC tries to bridge those boundaries. IASC is also committed to recognizing that Traditional Knowledge, Indigenous Knowledge, and “Western” scientific knowledge are coequal and complementary knowledge systems, all of which can and should inform the work of IASC.
To achieve this mission IASC:

Initiates, coordinates and promotes scientific activities at a circumarctic or international level;
Provides mechanisms and instruments to support science development;
Provides objective and independent scientific advice on issues of science in the Arctic and communicates scientific information to the public;
Seeks to ensure that scientific data and information from the Arctic are safeguarded, freely exchangeable and accessible;
Promotes international access to all geographic areas and the sharing of knowledge, logistics and other resources;
Provides for the freedom and ethical conduct of science;
Promotes and involves the next generation of scientists working in the Arctic; and
Promotes polar cooperation through interaction with relevant science organizations.
Organization

IASC is governed by a , composed of one representative of each of its member countries, which meets annually at the . The Council sets priorities and guides the work of the organisation. An Executive Committee, consisting of an elected President, four elected Vice-Presidents and a permanent Executive Secretary operates as a Board of Directors and manages IASC activities between Council meetings. The Secretariat is currently hosted by Rannis, and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the organisation. The Secretariat was previously hosted by Germany, Norway and Sweden.
IASC is engaged in all fields of Arctic research and its main scientific working bodies are five Working Groups: Atmosphere, Cryosphere, Marine, Social & Human and Terrestrial. Each Working Group is composed of up to two scientists from each IASC member country, appointed by the national adhering bodies. Though the Working Groups are disciplinary, they also address cross-cutting science questions by initiating activities which involve at least two WGs.
Action Groups are short-term expert groups that provide strategic advice to the IASC Council concerning both long-term activities and urgent needs.
IASC's instruments to support science development include workshops, long-term programs, assessments and science planning activities.

IASC Council

Representatives of national scientific organizations from all IASC member countries form the IASC Council that meets once a year during the Arctic Science Summit Week.
The Council is the policy and decision-making body for IASC. The members ensure an input of a wide range of scientific and technical knowledge and provide access to a large number of scientists and administrators through their national committees.

Country

Organization

Representative

Austria

IASC Working Groups (WGs)

The scientific core elements of IASC are its five Working Groups. The main function of the WGs is to encourage and support science-led international programs by offering opportunities for planning and coordination, and by facilitating communication and access to facilities. Each WG is composed of up to two scientists from each IASC member country, appointed by the national adhering bodies. The members are experts in their field, with an international reputation, and from different scientific disciplines so that the full range of Arctic research is represented in the WGs.

The Atmosphere Working Group (AWG)

The scientific scope of the Atmosphere Working Group includes scientific research towards understanding and prediction of Arctic change, and considering the fate of perennial sea ice and the global atmospheric consequences of its disappearance. This includes past climate states, investigation of Arctic processes across data sets and approaches, and climate model projections. The scope includes local and regional impacts of Arctic change. The geographic scope of the AWG shall be the Arctic but will also include the Arctic's responses to global change processes and impacts of Arctic changes on the northern hemisphere atmospheric circulation.

The Cryosphere Working Group (CWG)

The Cryosphere Working Group supports and promotes all scientific or engineering research related to the Arctic and subarctic cryosphere, including glaciers, sea ice, snow, permafrost, seasonally frozen ground, and lake and river ice. It encompasses cryospheric interactions with the atmosphere, ocean, biosphere, and terrestrial systems in the past, present and future, and the cryosphere's role in climate and human society.

The Marine Working Group (MWG)

The IASC Marine Working Group facilitates international coordination of research in the Arctic marine environment and supports cross-cutting objectives. Annual face-to-face meetings and online communication are used throughout the year, including interaction and collaboration with terrestrial, cryospheric, atmospheric, and social scientists as appropriate. An important goal is to support early career scientists and involve them in international research coordinated by IASC member countries, including an expanded role for IASC Fellows in MWG tasks. Starting in 2023, a network of IASC Alumni Fellows will support IASC and Working Group activities and their current Fellows, and maintain an active network of early to mid-career researchers and collaborators.

The Social and Human Working Group (SHWG)

The scientific scope of the Social and Human Sciences Working Group shall include all aspects of social sciences and humanities research in the Arctic, as well as their connections with other IASC Working Groups. The actual work of the Social & Human Sciences WG is determined by a dynamic list of scientific focus areas.
The geographic scope of the Social and Human Sciences Working Group shall be the Arctic as defined in the map accompanying the Arctic Human Development Report. The geographic scope can be extended south where it is appropriate for an understanding of Arctic social and human processes..

The Terrestrial Working Group (TWG)

The scientific scope of the Terrestrial Working Group shall include any scientific research on Arctic terrestrial and freshwater environments, landscapes and biota, and their responses to, and interactions with, other components of the Earth system. The remit encompasses the dynamics of the Arctic system; past, present and future.
Geographically, the main area of interest of the IASC Terrestrial Working Group encompasses lands and fresh water within the area north of the latitudinal treeline with Arctic climate and Arctic vegetation. Several adjacent areas are included where highly relevant for certain disciplines and projects boreal oceanic tundra, alpine tundra that is continuous with the Arctic tundra, the forest-tundra, and drainage basins to the south that connect with freshwater and marine areas of the Arctic..

IASC Action Groups

Actions Groups are established by the IASC Council to provide strategic advice concerning both long-term activities and urgent needs. They are expert groups typically with a one or two year mandate and conclude their task with a report to the Council.
Latest IASC Action Groups :

Strategic Plan Action Group (2022 - 2023)

The current IASC Strategic Plan was developed as directed by the IASC Council based upon the key priorities and overarching messages of the 3rd International Conference on Arctic Research Planning. This, IASC's first Strategic Plan, was approved by the IASC Council in June 2018 in Davos Switzerland and is valid from 2018 until 2023. It is based on three scientific ‘pillars’ that provide direction for a necessary progression from knowledge production to exchange, to action.
IASC must develop a new Strategic plan for 2024 onwards. However, in 2025, the 4th International Conference on Arctic Research Planning will be held, and its outcomes will influence IASC strategic planning in the future. The IASC Council therefore decided to extend the existing Strategic Plan through 2025 with only an internal update of the existing text during 2022 / 2023. An Action Group has been formed to lead the internal update of the existing IASC Strategic Plan during 2022 / 2023

Action Group on Carbon Footprint (2020 - 2022)

Acknowledging the link between anthropogenic carbon emissions and rapid changes in the Arctic, including the Arctic amplification of climate change, IASC has recently convened an Action Group on Carbon Footprint. The remit of the AGCF is to facilitate a full organisational response to the climate crisis and to explore ways to minimise the carbon footprint of IASC-related activities themselves. As an organisation promoting research and transnational access in the Arctic, we have a duty to mitigate the impacts of our activities, as well as to lead the way. The group started its work in early 2021.