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1. Observing a wormhole

   https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.100.083513  

   Dai, De-Chang; Stojkovic, Dejan (October 2019, Physical Review D)

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2. Observing Arctic Sea Ice

   Webster, Melinda A.; Rigor, Ignatius; Wright, Nicholas C. (March 2022, Oceanography)

   Our understanding of Arctic sea ice and its wide-ranging influence is deeply rooted in observation. Advancing technologies have profoundly improved our ability to observe Arctic sea ice, document its processes and properties, and describe atmosphere-ice-ocean interactions with unprecedented detail. Yet, our progress toward better understanding the Arctic sea ice system is mired by the stark disparities between observations that tend to be siloed by method, scientific discipline, and application. This article presents a review and philosophical design for observing sea ice and accelerating our understanding of the Arctic sea ice system. We give a brief history of Arctic sea ice observations and showcase the 2018 melt season within the context of five observational themes: spatial heterogeneity, temporal variability, cross-disciplinary science, scalability, and retrieval uncertainty. We synthesize buoy data, optical imagery, satellite retrievals, and airborne measurements to demonstrate how disparate data sets can be woven together to transcend issues of observational scale. The results show that there are limitations to interpreting any single data set alone. However, many of these limitations can be surmounted by combining observations that cross spatial and temporal scales. We conclude the article with pathways toward enhanced coordination across observational platforms in order to: (1) optimize the scientific, operational, and community return on observational investments, and (2) facilitate a richer understanding of Arctic sea ice and its role in the climate system. 

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3. Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks’ (SAON) Roadmap for Arctic Observing and Data Systems (ROADS)

   https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic74330  

   Starkweather, Sandy; Larsen, Jan R.; Kruemmel, Eva; Eicken, Hajo; Arthurs, David; Bradley, Alice C.; Carlo, Nikoosh; Christensen, Tom; Daniel, Raychelle; Danielsen, Finn; et al (October 2021, ARCTIC)

   Arctic observing and data systems have been widely recognized as critical infrastructures to support decision making and understanding across sectors in the Arctic and globally. Yet due to broad and persistent issues related to coordination, deployment infrastructure and technology gaps, the Arctic remains among the most poorly observed regions on the planet from the standpoint of conventional observing systems. Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks (SAON) was initiated in 2011 to address the persistent shortcomings in the coordination of Arctic observations that are maintained by its many national and organizational partners. SAON set forth a bold vision in its 2018 – 28 strategic plan to develop a roadmap for Arctic observing and data systems (ROADS) to specifically address a key gap in coordination efforts—the current lack of a systematic planning mechanism to develop and link observing and data system requirements and implementation strategies in the Arctic region. This coordination gap has hampered partnership development and investments toward improved observing and data systems. ROADS seeks to address this shortcoming through generating a systems-level view of observing requirements and implementation strategies across SAON’s many partners through its roadmap. A critical success factor for ROADS is equitable participation of Arctic Indigenous Peoples in the design and development process, starting at the process design stage to build needed equity. ROADS is both a comprehensive concept, building from a societal benefit assessment approach, and one that can proceed step-wise so that the most imperative Arctic observations—here described as shared Arctic variables (SAVs)—can be rapidly improved. SAVs will be identified through rigorous assessment at the beginning of the ROADS process, with an emphasis in that assessment on increasing shared benefit of proposed system improvements across a range of partnerships from local to global scales. The success of the ROADS process will ultimately be measured by the realization of concrete investments in and well-structured partnerships for the improved sustainment of Arctic observing and data systems in support of societal benefit. 

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4. Observing the mid-latitude aurora

   https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2531275  

   Shaw, Joseph A.; Shaw, Joseph A.; Creath, Katherine; Lakshminarayanan, Vasudevan (August 2019, Proc. SPIE 11099)

   The aurora is a beautiful night sky optical phenomenon that is readily seen at high-latitude locations, but with more effort can also be seen and enjoyed at mid-latitude locations. Guidelines for when and where to look are presented, along with a rich array of photographic examples of mid-latitude auroras exhibiting all the usual range of green, red, and purple colors. 

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5. Observing a Seismic Cycle at Sea

   https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EO230076  

   Boettcher, Margaret; Roland, Emily; Warren, Jessica; Evans, Robert; Collins, John (March 2023, Eos)

   Scientists organized a trio of expeditions to document the buildup of stress leading to a large earthquake on a seafloor fault, developing innovations for successful seagoing research in the process. 

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