Discovering the research needs of current and potential partners and collaborators for NASA's Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE)

Abstract

The Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) is a NASA Terrestrial Ecology field campaign comprised of researchers from many disciplines and institutions who use field-based, remote sensing, and modeling approaches to understand the vulnerability and resilience of Arctic ecosystems and people in western North America. One goal of ABoVE is to provide the scientific basis for informed decision-making to guide societal responses at local to international levels, which requires knowledge of the identities and data needs of ABoVE's partners and collaborators. The research presented here sought to identify relevant existing and new communities, organizations and institutions for ABoVE products while simultaneously assessing their research needs that future ABoVE activities can meet. We report on the results of an online survey sent to all ABoVE participants, defined broadly as an individual who engages with ABoVE, to identify their most relevant research themes and activities while simultaneously asking participants to identify potential new partners and collaborators for ABoVE engagement. These results are compared with data about who has downloaded ABoVE data products from the ORNL DAAC (the designated data archive for most ABoVE data products). The analysis reveals the current relevancy of ABoVE research themes and activities to participants, identification of additional organizations for ABoVE engagement, and potential gaps between data product access, usage, and engagement with ABoVE. Results indicate opportunities to tailor to the needs of current participants and focused outreach for newly identified groups.