Following a decision by the Arctic Ocean Sciences Board (AOSB) in July 1996 the then chainnan, Geoffrey Holland, wrote a letter of invitation to a meeting to plan a "Symposium on the Freshwater Balance of the Arctic". The meeting was held in Ottawa on November 12-13 1996 and was attended by representatives of various organisations, including the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), as well as individual scientists. Results of this meeting included: ¿ Co-sponsorship with AOSB by the Scientific Committee on Ocean Research (SCOR), the Arctic Climate System Study (ACSYS) and the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX). ¿ A decision to apply for funding as a Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Scientific Affairs Division. ¿ That expenses would be covered in part by funds available through an existing NSF grant to the SCOR Executive offices in Baltimore, MD. ¿ The appointment of myself to be Chairman/Manager for the Symposium. ¿ Provision of a recommended list of Scientific Advisors to assist the Chainnan in selecting key speakers.

1. Oceanic freshwater fluxes in the climate system.- 2. Global atmospheric circulation patterns and relationships to Arctic freshwater fluxes.- 3. Atmospheric components of the Arctic Ocean freshwater balance and their interannual variability.- 4. Hydroclimatology of the Arctic drainage basin.- 5. The Arctic Ocean's freshwater budget: sources, storage and export.- 6. The Arctic ocean freshwater budget of a climate General Circulation Model.- 7. Atmospheric components of the Arctic Ocean hydrologic budget assessed from Rawinsonde data.- 8. Reanalyses depictions of the Arctic atmospheric moisture budget.- 9. Moisture transport to Arctic drainage basins relating to significant precipitation events and cyclogenesis.- 10. Atmospheric climate models: simulation of the Arctic Ocean fresh water budget components.- 11. Discharge observation networks in Arctic regions: computation of the river runoff into the Arctic Ocean, its seasonality and variability.- 12. Arctic river flow: a review of contributing areas.- 13. The dynamics of river water inflow to the Arctic Ocean.- 14. River input of water, sediment, major ions, nutrients and trace metals from Russian territory to the Arctic Ocean.- 15. The dispersion of Siberian river flows into coastal waters: meteorological, hydrological and hydrochemical aspects.- 16. The variable climate of the Mackenzie River basin: its water cycle and fresh water discharge.- 17. Arctic estuaries and ice: a positive-negative estuarine couple.- 18. Satellite views of the Arctic Ocean freshwater balance.- 19. Tracer studies of the Arctic freshwater budget.- 20. Exchanges of freshwater through the shallow straits of the North American Arctic.- 21. The transformations of Atlantic water in the Arctic Ocean and their significance for the freshwaterbudget.- 22. Modelling the variability of exchanges between the Arctic Ocean and the Nordic seas.- 23. Sea ice growth, melt and modeling: a survey.- 24. Fresh water freezing/melting cycle in the Arctic Ocean.- Colour Plates.