Acknowledgements 

ALISON is currently supported by [1] National Science Foundation Grant OPP 0326631 (Office of Polar Programs, Arctic Research and Education Program), [2] the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks under the auspices of NSF Cooperative Agreement OPP 0002239, and [3] the University of Alaska Natural Resources Fund. Previous support that aided the development of ALISON was provided by [1] the University of Alaska President’s Special Projects Fund, and [2] NSF Grant ESI 0109082 (Division of Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education, Directorate of Education and Human Resources).

At the core of ALISON are lake ice and snow observatories at the UAF Poker Flat Research Range, which is operated by the Geophysical Institute, UAF. The Poker Flat observatories are part of a field and modelling study of lake ice growth and decay supported by NSF Grant OPP 0117645 (Office of Polar Programs, Arctic Natural Sciences Program).

The development of ALISON has benefitted greatly from the encouragement and support of numerous individuals: Dr. Syun-Ichi Akasofu, Kathy Berry-Bertram, Doug Crevenston, Dr. Ted DeLaca, Dr. Leslie Gordon, Shannon Graham, Martha Kopplin, Marge Porter, Dr. Roger Smith, Dr. Elena Sparrow, Dr. Wayne Sukow and Dr. Emma Walton. Thank you.

The snowflake displayed in the ALISON logo was photographed by Patricia Rasmussen and obtained from a California Institute of Technology website on Snow Crystals. It is used with the permission of Kenneth G. Libbrecht (Professor of Physics) at CalTech. For other impressive photographs of snow crystals, including their growth and structure, visit the Snow Crystals website.