Summit Station Science Summit; Arlington, Virginia, 28–29 March 2017
Summit Station, in the center of the Greenland ice sheet, is a vibrant interdisciplinary research hub that has served as a crucial component of the Arctic observing system for nearly 3 decades. This station has yielded numerous scientific insights, but operating Summit and similar remote stations is resource intensive. Keeping these stations at the cutting edge of scientific research requires strategic planning and scientific vision.
Earlier this year, the National Science Foundation supported and hosted a planning session to update the scientific vision and direction for Summit Station. A multidisciplinary group of about 30 scientists, including remote participants, reviewed science activities at Summit, defined future scientific research questions and goals, and made community-based recommendations on science-enabling future scenarios and governance. A full report can be found on the GeoSummit website.
Participants emphasized that Summit’s high-latitude, high-altitude site, which is largely free of environmental pollutants and other local human influences, serves as a flagship for process-based scientific discovery. Scientific inquiries address questions ranging from the outer reaches of space to the bedrock below the Greenland ice sheet and all points in between.