THE ARCTIC IS CRITICAL TO UNDERSTANDING THE EARTH SYSTEM. IT IS INTIMATELY CONNECTED TO THE OCEANS AND GLOBAL AIR MASSES WHICH AFFECTS CONTINENTS AND TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENTS NEAR AND FAR. THE ARCTIC IS HOME TO ABOUT FOUR MILLION PEOPLE YET HAS INCREASING RELEVANCE TO GOVERNMENTS CORPORATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS AROUND THE WORLD. ENVIRONMENTALLY AND SOCIETALLY THE ARCTIC IS CHANGING MORE RAPIDLY THAN ALMOST ANY PLACE ON EARTH. THIS IS AN UNPRECEDENTED TIME TO STUDY THE CHANGES OCCURRING IN THE ARCTIC AND OUR ABILITIES TO UNDERSTAND PREDICT AND RESPOND TO THESE CHANGES ARE OF STRATEGIC INTEREST TO THE UNITED STATES WITH THE RECENT RELEASE OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S NATIONAL ARCTIC STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND AS THE US TRANSITIONS THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE ARCTIC COUNCIL TO FINLAND. THE IMPACTS OF MELTING SEA ICE THAWING PERMAFROST ECOSYSTEM REORGANIZATION AND ASSOCIATED HUMAN INTERACTIONS REPRESENT ISSUES SO COMPLEX THAT THEY CANNOT ADEQUATELY BE ADDRESSED IN ISOLATION. NO ONE COUNTRY IS ABLE TO SUPPORT THE BREADTH AND DEPTH OF RESEARCH NECESSARY TO KEEP PACE WITH THE CHANGING ARCTIC AND THEREFORE IT IS NECESSARY AND PRUDENT TO GATHER RESEARCHERS AND KEY STAKEHOLDERS FROM AROUND THE ARCTIC AND THE WORLD TO SHARE THEIR OBSERVATIONS AND INTENTIONS THEIR UNDERSTANDINGS AND THEIR CHALLENGES SO THAT WE MAY MAKE GREATER SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES MORE INFORMED DECISIONS AND BETTER USE LIMITED RESEARCH AND PLANNING RESOURCES. TO THIS END THIS PROPOSAL SEEKS NATIONAL SUPPORT TO CONVENE THE 2017 WEEK OF THE ARCTIC IN FAIRBANKS ALASKA USA. THIS EVENT WILL PRESENT A SIGNIFICANT AND TIMELY OPPORTUNITY TO DEMONSTRATE THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE US SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY WHILE PLANNING AND ENGAGING IN THE COORDINATION OF FUTURE RESEARCH EFFORTS IN THIS DYNAMIC REGION OF THE PLANET. THIS EVENT WILL BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PLANNING PARTICULARLY WITH RESPECT TO INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS IN SUSTAINING ARCTIC OBSERVATIONS. MANY OF THE ACTIVITIES OF NASA WERE FEATURED IN THE IMPLEMENTATION REPORT OF THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR THE ARCTIC REGION. THOSE ACTIVITIES PARTICULARLY CARVE ICEBRIDGE AND ABOVE WERE VERY PROMINENT IN THE MARCH ASSW AND WE WILL AGAIN ENGAGE THOSE AND OTHER NASA PROGRAMS IN THE WEEK OF THE ARCTIC. WE MADE GREAT ADVANCES IN PROMOTING INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS DURING OUR MARCH 2016 ASSW AND WE WILL ADVANCE THOSE PARTNERSHIPS IN MAY 2017 DURING THE WEEK OF THE ARCTIC. SHARING PRIORITIES AND ENGAGING PARTNERS WILL MAKE THE SCIENCE AND ENSUING POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS SO MUCH BETTER FOR ALL CONCERNED. MANY COMPONENTS OF THIS GATHERING WILL BE DIRECTLY RELEVANT TO THE US NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR THE ARCTIC REGION AND WILL PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DIRECT ENGAGEMENT AROUND THOSE DEFINED PRIORITIES. WE WILL CONVENE SEVERAL SESSIONS OF DIRECT RELEVANCE TO NASA S ARCTIC RESEARCH PROGRAMS. CLIMATE SCIENCE AND PLANNING: A MARINE FOCUSED ROUNDTABLE WILL ADDRESS RECENT CLIMATE MODELING AND OBSERVATION STUDIES IN THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT. MUCH OF THIS IS DRIVEN AND/OR VALIDATED WITH SATELLITE IMAGERY. THIS SESSION WILL ADDRESS ISSUES OF MODEL PERFORMANCE AND REQUIREMENTS FOR VALIDATION DATA. THE INTERNATIONAL ARCTIC ASSEMBLY (IAA) WILL BE OF PARTICULAR RELEVANCE IN IDENTIFYING RECENT RESEARCH ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND PROMOTING THE INCORPORATION OF PERTINENT INFORMATION INTO DECISION MAKING AND POLICY FORMULATION. PREVIOUSLY THE IAA IDENTIFIED SUCCESSFUL RESEARCH ENDEAVORS THAT LINKED SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING WITH DECISION MAKING AND DEVELOPMENT OF POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS. IT IS EXPECTED THAT THIS INTERNATIONAL ARCTIC ASSEMBLY WILL AGAIN RESULT IN SUCH ADVANCEMENTS. THE WORKSHOP ENTITLED WHAT IS THE ARCTIC WE NEED TO SUSTAIN THE GLOBAL CLIMATE SYSTEM? IS PARTICULARLY RELEVANT TO THE NASA ABOVE PROGRAM. RESEARCHERS FROM ABOVE HAVE BEEN INVITED TO PARTICIPATE.