The Arctic Research Office (ARO) a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) run under the auspices of the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR).
ARO is the focal point for NOAA's research in the Arctic, Bering Sea, North Pacific and North Atlantic regions.
In 1996, the Congress of the United States appropriated one million USD to support an Arctic Research Initiative within NOAA. In cooperation with the Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research, NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research used those funds to support research projects in two principal areas: natural variability of the Western Arctic/Bering Sea ecosystem, and anthropogenic influences on the Western Arctic/Bering Sea ecosystem. Support for the Arctic Research Initiative is ongoing.
The office administers the funds from the Arctic Research Initiative. It represents NOAA on the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee, leads U.S. involvement in the Arctic Monitoring & Assessment Programme, and provides a point of contact between NOAA and the Cooperative Institute and Assessment Program and the International Arctic Research Center.
The Russian-American Long-term Census of the Arctic is a joint-project between the Russian Academy of Sciences and NOAA. This project supports the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) program and the Ocean Exploration Program.
The Near-realtime Arctic Change Indicator Website provides information on the present state of the Arctic ecosystem and climate in historical context.
The ACOS project collects data from observing networks and uses that data to detect climate change activity. The observing networks are: