The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)proposes to continue the on-line publication of Icelights--a sub-site of the NSIDC Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis website--which offers scientifically accurate articles, created to be accessible to the general reader, that help NSIDC interact more directly with the public on issues related to Arctic sea-ice extent and trends and to respond directly to the public inquiries on timely scientific topics.
The proposal aims to achieve several specific, and measurable, goals:
? To continue the on-line publication of Icelights. ? To increase the frequency of Icelights posts per month to an average of 2 to 4 from the current 1 to 2 per month. ? To launch a series of special posts on the site, including blogging from scientific conferences where sea-ice topics are discussed, such as the American Geophysical Union?s annual meeting. And to launch a series of ?guest posts? open to scientists or science bloggers. ? To increase the amount of two-way communications with readers of the site, including the general public, but also members of the traditional news media and the ?blogosphere.?
Icelights (http://nsidc.org/icelights) is a blog-like Web site developed by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) that responds to questions from the public about specific current topics related to ice, polar science, and climate science. The Icelights team posts short, researched science articles for a very broad and mixed audience. Topics are presented in a very focused and accessible style. The site supplements NSIDC’s highly popular Arctic Sea Ice News & Analysis, which presents near-real-time daily and monthly data visualizations of sea ice extent, along with scientific analysis of ice conditions and the broader implications of sea ice as an indicator of climate change and its role in climate feedback. The posts explain evolving Arctic sea ice conditions and their importance with plain and accurate language, and offer helpful high-resolution graphics that readers can download. Arctic sea ice is an indicator, as well as a driver, of climate variability and change. Arctic sea ice is highly reflective and insulates the cold atmosphere from the relatively warmer Arctic Ocean. As the sea ice cover shrinks, so do the characteristics of the Arctic "refrigerator." While the observed loss of sea ice is already leading to warming in the Arctic outpacing that seen elsewhere on the planet, continued loss of sea ice is expected to have influences on temperature and atmospheric circulation extending well beyond the Arctic (Serreze et al., 2007). As the sea ice cover continues to dwindle and the impacts of this loss emerge, so does the need to provide the public with accurate scientific information. Lawrence Hamilton (2008), author of a recent article on polar survey responses, states, "People who feel better informed about polar issues…also tend to express greater concern regarding climate change consequences." An important part of NSIDC’s mission is to reach out to the public, and share knowledge of the polar regions beyond the academic hallways of science. Icelights was conceived to help fill the gaps in background science and related science topics seen in NSIDC’s emails with readers, or heard buzzing on the Internet. Icelights started a conversation with its readers based on questions they had asked, as well as on topics being discussed in the media and new related science findings being published on key questions. Icelights is different from many other outreach efforts in that its approach borrows from old-fashioned investigative journalism. It is very responsive to its audience and to what is happening and being talked about right now. The tag line of the site is "Your burning questions about ice and climate." A blog-like format with fresh, timely content keeps people engaged. Compared to a "Frequently Asked Questions" format, an Icelights post is more timely, often related to a topic in the news or a question that has come up repeatedly. It is also thoroughly researched, starting with interviews with scientists, and often based on published research. In Icelights there is also time and space to address misconceptions, and most posts include references. Icelights posts still remain short and digestible—staying focused on the information the public is seeking, and refocusing readers to the important science questions or real significance, when appropriate. For example, NSIDC often gets questions about whether sea ice extent will hit a new record low, or bloggers will call the third-lowest year in the satellite record a "recovery." Icelights answers the question directly about hitting a new record, and at the same time refocuses readers on the more important long-term trend (Figure 2). The Icelights team researched and wrote 34 posts from May 2012 through May 2013, adding to the 19 posts completed from January 2011 through April 2012 during the first phase of the Icelights project. These posts may be viewed on the Web site, http://nsidc.org/icelights. Web metrics: Icelights had more than 75,000 visitors in 2012 and 70,000 in 2013, as of December 17, compared to more than 56,000 visitors in 2011, its first year. Social media: The team promotes Icelights articles via NSIDC’s social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter. A recent post on sea ice and the atmosphere had an unprecedented 496 likes and shares directly from the page. Citations and uses: A search of citations for Icelights turns up very diverse re-uses by the news media, nonspecialist scientists, policymakers, teachers, and the public. Other scientific organizations and agencies have found Icelights to be a useful resource, and cite it as a trusted source of scientific background information on sea ice. Icelights is often cited as an authoritative source in an online discussion, as seen in in blog comments. This indicates that the material is finding its way into public discourse.
