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The Working Group on the Integrated Assessment of the Central Arctic Ocean (WGICA) aims to provide a holistic analysis of the present and future status of the Central Arctic Ocean (CAO) ecosystem and human activities therein.Climate change reduces sea ice, increases light penetration, causes regionally variable trends in stratification and mixing of the water column, increases inflow in both the Atlantic and Pacific sectors, and heating of waters at the surface and extending deeper. These changes in turn affect primary production and cascade through the foodweb to ice-associated fauna, zooplankton, fish, benthos, seabirds, and marine mammals.These changes may be exacerbated by increasing human activities in and around the CAO, including increasing pollution from ship traffic and from the transport of contaminants to the ecoregion by rivers and ocean currents. The number of ships and distances travelled are increasing and it is anticipated that both commercial and tourist traffic by sea and air will continue to rise. The CAO is a sink for many pollutants such as microplastics, which have been found in sea ice and wildlife. Current and future threats to the ecoregion from human activities and pressures also include increased risk of oil spills and biodiversity loss if ocean mining expands into the Arctic.While the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated Fishing in the High Seas Portion of the Central Arctic Ocean entered into force in June 2021 bans commercial fishing in the high seas of the CAO, fish populations continue to be impacted by the effects of a warming ocean, retreating ice cover, and acidification. These threats have important ecological and policy implications for the entire foodweb and the Arctic community.During this past year, WGICA has further studied and described human activities and resulting pressures. In the next three years, WGICA will identify ecological, economic, social and institutional research questions, further stakeholder involvement, and identify integrated assessment methods that can help evaluate ecosystem conditions and changes.

Open Science for a Global Transformation: CODATA coordinated submission to the UNESCO Open Science Consultation UNESCO is preparing aRecommendation on Open Scienceto be adopted by Member States in 2021. To contribute to this process, UNESCO launched aglobal consultation gathering inputs from all regions and all interested stakeholders, through online consultations, regional and thematic meetings and numerous debates on implications, benefits and challenges of Open Science across the globe. Input via an online consultation was requested by 15 June andCODATAwas invited by the UNESCO Open Science team to present a detailed submission. Following exchanges on theCODATA International Discussion list CODATA agreed to coordinate a joint response from a number of data and information organisations. That document—Open Science for a Global Transformation—was submitted to UNESCO on 15 June and, following minor editorial adjustments, is now published here. Open Science is best characterised as the necessary transformation of scientific practice to adapt to the changes, challenges and opportunities of the 21st century digital era to advance knowledge and to improve our world. This requires changes in scientific culture, methodologies, institutions and infrastructures. These changes are already present in many research domains and institutions, where their transformative effects can be witnessed, but they are unevenly distributed. One of the purposes of Open Science viewed as a call for transformation, is to ensure that ‘no-one is left behind’. Open Science for a Global Transformation was prepared by an expert group, coordinated byCODATA and including representatives from theISC World Data System (WDS),GO FAIRand theInternational Council for Scientific and Technical Information (ICSTI) These global data and information organisations have responsibilities for policy advice and promoting collaborations in relation to data and information; they are advocates of Open Science and are convinced of its necessity and benefits. The organisations believe—fundamentally—that it is important to win hearts and minds, to significantly transform science policy and practice, in order to facilitate the application of the technologies and methodologies associated with Open Science to improve our world and address global challenges. Open Science requires policy interventions and investments to ensure equitable participation and access to its benefits and to mitigate some negative consequences. The perspective brought by these organisations lays particular emphasis on maximising appropriate access to (re-)usable data. The Expert Group comprised: Paul Arthur Berkman, Founding Director, Science Diplomacy Center, Professor of Practice in Science Diplomacy, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; Associated Fellow, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR); Member of the CODATA Data Policy Committee. Jan Brase, head of the Research and Development at the State and University Library, Göttingen; President of ICSTI. Richard Hartshorn, Professor, School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of Canterbury; Secretary General of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; member of the CODATA Executive Committee. Simon Hodson, Executive Director, CODATA. Wim Hugo, Director of Strategy, ISC World Data System. Sabina Leonelli, Turing Fellow and Professor in Philosophy and History of Science, University of Exeter. Barend Mons, Professor in Biosemantics, Leiden University Medical Center; President of CODATA; Director GO FAIR International Support and Coordination Office. Hana Pergl, Operations Manager, CODATA. Hans Pfeiffenberger, Consultant, scientific data infrastructures and policies, Member of the CODATA Data Policy Committee, founder and member of the advisory board of Earth Systems Science Data.