Project Grant 2630022

CONFERENCE: GREENLAND ICE SHEET TIPPING POINTS (GREENTIP) -THE GREENLAND ICE SHEET IS MELTING RAPIDLY, MAKING IT A MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR TO GLOBAL SEA-LEVEL RISE. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT UNANSWERED QUESTIONS IS WHETHER CONTINUED WARMING COULD PUSH THE ICE SHEET BEYOND CRITICAL TIPPING POINTS THAT WOULD ACCELERATE ICE LOSS FOR CENTURIES TO COME. THIS WORKSHOP WILL CONVENE APPROXIMATELY 60 SCIENTISTS TO IDENTIFY THE HIGHEST-PRIORITY RESEARCH NEEDED TO IMPROVE PREDICTIONS OF GREENLAND'S FUTURE AND THE RESULTING IMPACTS ON COASTAL COMMUNITIES WORLDWIDE. THE WORKSHOP WILL UNITE EXPERTS STUDYING PRESENT-DAY ICE-SHEET CHANGE, GEOLOGICAL RECORDS OF PAST CLIMATE CHANGE, AND ADVANCED COMPUTER MODELING TO DEVELOP A COORDINATED RESEARCH STRATEGY FOR THE COMING DECADE. IT WILL ALSO HELP PREPARE THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY FOR THE NEXT INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR BY IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES FOR LARGE COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH EFFORTS. THE WORKSHOP WILL HELP ENSURE THAT THE US REMAINS A GLOBAL LEADER IN POLAR RESEARCH BY COORDINATING SCIENTIFIC PRIORITIES FOR ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST PRESSING CLIMATE CHALLENGES. GRADUATE STUDENTS, POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARS, AND EARLY-CAREER SCIENTISTS WILL PARTICIPATE ALONGSIDE ESTABLISHED RESEARCHERS, STRENGTHENING THE FUTURE U.S. POLAR SCIENCE WORKFORCE WHILE RECEIVING INTERDISCIPLINARY TRAINING IN OBSERVATION-INFORMED MODELING, MODEL?DATA INTEGRATION, AND RESPONSIBLE APPLICATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. THE WORKSHOP WILL EVALUATE THE PHYSICAL PROCESSES THAT CONTROL GREENLAND ICE SHEET STABILITY AND THE EVIDENCE FOR CLIMATE-DRIVEN TIPPING-POINT BEHAVIOR. PARTICIPANTS WILL INTEGRATE OBSERVATIONS OF ONGOING ICE LOSS, GEOLOGICAL RECORDS OF PAST ICE-SHEET CHANGE, AND NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS TO IDENTIFY THE GREATEST UNCERTAINTIES LIMITING FUTURE SEA-LEVEL PROJECTIONS WITH US NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS IN MIND. PARTICULAR EMPHASIS WILL BE PLACED ON SELF-REINFORCING FEEDBACKS WITHIN THE EARTH SYSTEM THAT CAN EITHER ACCELERATE OR MODERATE FUTURE ICE LOSS, INCLUDING INTERACTIONS AMONG THE ATMOSPHERE, OCEAN, ICE SHEET, AND SOLID EARTH. DISCUSSIONS WILL ALSO EXAMINE HOW ADVANCES IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND OBSERVATION-INFORMED MODELING CAN BETTER INTEGRATE DIVERSE DATASETS WITH NEXT-GENERATION ICE-SHEET MODELS. A CENTRAL THEME WILL BE THE GENERATION AND SYNTHESIS OF HIGH-QUALITY OBSERVATIONAL AND GEOLOGICAL DATASETS TO CONSTRAIN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, REDUCE ERRONEOUS OR NONPHYSICAL MODEL OUTCOMES, AND IMPROVE CONFIDENCE IN FUTURE PROJECTIONS. THE WORKSHOP WILL PRODUCE A COMMUNITY WHITE PAPER THAT ESTABLISHES RESEARCH PRIORITIES, IDENTIFIES OPPORTUNITIES FOR COORDINATED NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS, AND PROVIDES A ROADMAP FOR ADVANCING GREENLAND ICE SHEET SCIENCE OVER THE NEXT DECADE. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.