Enhancing the Value of MOSAiC through Coordination and Outreach

北极气候研究多学科漂流观测站（MOSAiC）是一个大型的国际合作研究探险队，其动机是北极系统的变化对全球气候系统有重大影响。MOSAiC将利用来自北极中部一个长达一年的漂流站的密集科学观测，以提高对大气-冰-海洋过程的理解，并使北极系统及其海冰的模型变得更好。 来自美国和超过15个国家的MOSAiC参与者将合作实现一系列相关的科学目标。 如此大规模的科学奋进需要一个MOSAiC协调办公室（MCO），协调美国国家科学基金会和其他美国机构对MOSAiC的重大贡献（集体为第二大国家贡献），并与德国合作伙伴共同努力，为整体努力提供国际领导。该办公室建立在阿尔弗雷德·韦格纳研究所和科罗拉多大学之间的联合领导团队的基础上，并正式成立，该团队在过去九年中共同致力于构思MOSAiC，发展国际支持和参与，确保大量资源，并监督MOSAiC科学和实施计划的编写。由于MOSAiC的总体规模、范围和复杂性，这种专门的协调对于实现两个具体目标至关重要：最大限度地发挥MOSAiC的1）科学和2）社会影响。MCO为所有MOSAiC活动提供了一个有效的科学协调、领导和沟通框架，使用基于网络的工具、科学研讨会、现代多媒体内容以及专门的外联和教育活动。MOSAiC是一个备受瞩目的国际探险队，与建模界合作开发，直接针对许多仍然不确定的北极系统过程，最需要改进，在耦合模型中。这个千载难逢的项目提供耦合系统观测，在连续的年度周期和模型网格箱规模，这是独特的定位，以建立一个基础的过程级的理解，开发模型，代表和预测不断变化的北极系统。MCO在协调和利用明确资助和重点狭窄的科学贡献方面发挥着至关重要的作用，以实现MOSAiC复杂，跨学科，耦合的系统科学目标。协调可确保最有效地利用资源，并有助于在资源有限的情况下尽可能扩大研究工作量。为了推动科学发展，气象协调办公室监督MOSAiC数据的联合文件编制，并促进开发将对研究界和其他国家和国际利益攸关方产生持久影响的耦合和综合数据产品。MCO还提供了一个框架和产品，以确保通过外联和教育工作以及定期有效的媒体传播产生重大的社会影响，而不仅仅是个人资助的科学项目。现代多媒体内容的制作是为了支持开发和传播引人入胜的教育产品，如课程材料，沉浸式多媒体体验，天文馆展示和引人入胜的网络界面。研究生参与获取和制作外展内容和通信产品。MCO还通过吸引许多MOSAiC科学家的参与以及托管和传播外联产品和内容，促进更广泛的MOSAiC社区的外联活动。产品，如天文馆展示沿着其配套的教育课程材料，旨在分发给当地社区使用的众多合作伙伴在美国和国际。MCO的所有活动都受到严格的评价，以评估和最大限度地发挥其整体影响。最后，MCO在MOSAiC科学、外展和通信的总体项目共同领导中的作用使美国在这一国际奋进中保持了突出的作用，并确保美国的目标得到优先考虑。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) is a large, international collaborative research expedition motivated by changes in the Arctic system that have significant implications for the global climate system. MOSAiC will use intensive scientific observations from a year-long drifting station in the central Arctic to improve understanding of atmosphere-ice-ocean processes and enable significantly better models of the Arctic system and its sea ice. MOSAiC participants from the US and more than 15 nations will work collaboratively to achieve a collection of related science objectives. Such a large-scale scientific endeavor requires a MOSAiC Coordination Office (MCO) that coordinates the significant US contribution to MOSAiC from the National Science Foundation and other US agencies (collectively the second largest national contribution) and works jointly with German partners to provide international leadership for the overall effort. This office builds on, and formalizes, a co-leadership team between the Alfred Wegener Institute and University of Colorado that over the past nine years has jointly worked to conceive MOSAiC, develop international support and participation, secure substantial resources, and oversee the writing of MOSAiC Science and Implementation plans. Due to the overall size, scope, and complexity of MOSAiC, this dedicated coordination is essential to achieve two specific goals: to maximize the 1) scientific and 2) societal impacts of MOSAiC. The MCO provides a framework for effective scientific coordination, leadership, and communication across all MOSAiC activities using web-based tools, scientific workshops, modern multimedia content, and dedicated outreach and education activities.MOSAiC is a high profile international expedition developed in collaboration with the modeling community to directly target many Arctic system processes that are still uncertain, and in most need of improvement, in coupled models. This once-in-a-generation project provides coupled-system observations, over a continuous annual cycle and over a model grid-box scale, that are uniquely positioned to build a foundation of process-level understanding for developing models that represent and predict the changing Arctic system. The MCO plays a vital role in coordinating and leveraging distinctly funded and narrowly focused science contributions towards achieving the complex, interdisciplinary, coupled system science objectives of MOSAiC. Coordination ensures the most effective use of resources and helps maximize the amount of research that is possible given limited resources. Towards advancing science, the MCO oversees the joint documentation of MOSAiC data and facilitates the development of coupled and synthesis data products that will have a lasting impact on the research community and other national and international stakeholders. The MCO also provides a framework and products to ensure significant societal impact through outreach and education efforts, and regular, effective media communication, beyond what is possible from individually funded science projects. Modern multimedia content is produced to support the development and dissemination of engaging educational products such as curriculum materials, immersive multimedia experiences, a planetarium show, and an engaging web interface. Graduate students are involved in obtaining and producing outreach content and communications products. The MCO also facilitates outreach activities across the broader MOSAiC community by engaging the participation of many MOSAiC scientists and hosting and disseminating outreach products and content. Products, such as the planetarium show along with its supporting educational curriculum materials, are intended to be distributed for use in local communities by numerous partners across the US and internationally. All activities of the MCO are subject to a rigorous evaluation to assess and maximize their overall impact. Lastly, the MCO's role in overall project co-leadership for MOSAiC science, outreach, and communications maintains a prominent role for the US in this international endeavor and ensures that US objectives are prioritized.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.