The Seabird Information Network (SIN) developed by the Circumpolar Seabird expert group (<a href="http://caff.is/seabirds-cbird" target="_blank">CBird</a>) of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (<a href="http://caff.is" target="_blank">CAFF</a>) working group of the Arctic Council focuses on the development of a data entry and analysis portal system allowing for circumpolar seabird colony information to be contributed, mapped, and shared by scientists and monitoring programs around the Arctic. - <a href="http://axiom.seabirds.net/maps/js/seabirds.php?app=circumpolar#z=2&ll=NaN,0.00000" target="_blank"> Circumpolar Seabird portal</a>

Subdivision of the Arctic into 28 sectors follows mainly the division used in the Pan Arctic Flora (PAF) project. In a few cases some islands are separated from their mainland in the beginning, thus representing very small sectors. Some of them have now been united like in the PAF project, for example Jan Mayen with Arctic Iceland and Bear Island with Svalbard. Others, like the Beringian Islands are still kept separate from the mainland on both sides. - <a href="http://www.caff.is/assessment-series/32-pan-arctic-checklist-of-lichens-and-lichenicolous-fungi" target="_blank"> Pan-Arctic Checklist of Lichens and Lichenicolous Fungi (2011)</a>

We present the first digital seafloor geomorphic features map (GSFM) of the global ocean. The GSFM includes 131,192 separate polygons in 29 geomorphic feature categories, used here to assess differences between passive and active continental margins as well as between 8 major ocean regions (the Arctic, Indian, North Atlantic, North Pacific, South Atlantic, South Pacific and the Southern Oceans and the Mediterranean and Black Seas). The GSFM provides quantitative assessments of differences between passive and active margins: continental shelf width of passive margins (88 km) is nearly three times that of active margins (31 km); the average width of active slopes (36 km) is less than the average width of passive margin slopes (46 km); active margin slopes contain an area of 3.4 million km2 where the gradient exceeds 5°, compared with 1.3 million km2 on passive margin slopes; the continental rise covers 27 million km2 adjacent to passive margins and less than 2.3 million km2 adjacent to active margins. Examples of specific applications of the GSFM are presented to show that: 1) larger rift valley segments are generally associated with slow-spreading rates and smaller rift valley segments are associated with fast spreading; 2) polar submarine canyons are twice the average size of non-polar canyons and abyssal polar regions exhibit lower seafloor roughness than non-polar regions, expressed as spatially extensive fan, rise and abyssal plain sediment deposits – all of which are attributed here to the effects of continental glaciations; and 3) recognition of seamounts as a separate category of feature from ridges results in a lower estimate of seamount number compared with estimates of previous workers. Reference: Harris PT, Macmillan-Lawler M, Rupp J, Baker EK Geomorphology of the oceans. Marine Geology.

Defines the area covered by the the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) working group of the Arctic Council. Each Arctic Council country was responsible for defining their Arctic boundary.