PolarTREC Alumna in Space Education
PolarTREC alumna Dr. Sian Proctor has been seeking educational adventures even before her 2014 expedition in Utqiaġvik, Alaska (Historical Ecology for Risk Management 2014), and now she is in space! Sian is one of four civilians aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule for the Inspiration4 mission that lifted off to space to orbit the earth for the next three days. While aboard the Crew Dragon, she is making history as one of the first-ever Black female spacecraft pilots. Read about what Sian did on her earthly expedition!
Witness Community Highlights Publication
The August 2021 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available online. This issue features two articles, "Accelerated Sea Ice Loss in the Wandel Sea Points to a Change in the Arctic’s Last Ice Area" and "Ethnography of and during the Pandemic Era in Alaska."
For questions, or future article suggestions, please contact Betsy Turner-Bogren (betsy [at] arcus.org).
PolarTREC Teacher Heads to the Arctic Education
PolarTREC has a teacher heading to the Arctic! Jon Pazol, from West Leyden High School in Illinois is participating in an international ship-based research expedition, Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observational System (NABOS). Jon will be at sea until late October. You can read about his experience through his journals, view photos, and ask questions.
2021 August Sea Ice Outlook Report is Now Available Online Report
The 2021 August Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) report is now available online. The Sea Ice Outlook, managed by the Sea Ice Prediction Network–Phase 2 (SIPN2), provides an open process for those interested in Arctic sea ice to share predictions and ideas. The monthly reports contain a variety of perspectives—from advanced numerical models to qualitative perspectives from citizen scientists. The Outlook is not an operational forecast.
For the 2021 August report, 45 contributions were received that included pan-Arctic predictions. Of those contributions, nine also included predictions for pan-Antarctic, nine included predictions for the Alaska Region, and 15 submitted September mean sea-ice extent anomalies. This report includes discussions on current conditions in the Arctic; ocean heat conditions; predictions of Arctic sea-ice probability, ice-free dates, ice-advance dates, and initial conditions for those forecasts; Arctic regional sea-ice extent; Arctic sea-ice extent anomalies; and Antarctic contributions.
For the pan-Arctic, the median August Outlook value for September 2021 sea-ice extent is 4.39 million square kilometers, with quartiles of 4.1 and 4.5 million square kilometers. The forecasts continue to support a September 2021 mean sea-ice extent that is well above the September 2020 value of 4.00 million square kilometers.
Registration Open for Arctic CCS: Community and Citizen Science in the Far North Meeting
Registration is now open for Arctic CCS: Community and Citizen Science in the Far North. This is a free, virtual conference scheduled for 5–7 Oct. 2021. The conference, integrated with social media, will focus on sharing, networking, and discussing the various aspects of conducting community and citizen science research in the Arctic. Abstracts are due on Monday, 23 August 2021 at 5:00 PM Alaska Daylight Time. Share your experiences with community and citizen science research in the Arctic. There are no registration or abstract fees.
Arctic Research Seminar with Jens Terhaar Webinar
ARCUS invites registration for the next Arctic Research Seminar featuring Dr. Jens Terhaar, a postdoctoral fellow in the division of Climate and Environmental Physics at the Physics Institute of the University of Bern. Dr. Jens Terhaar’s presentation, titled “Stressors of Arctic Ocean Ecosystems: Improved Understanding of Primary Production and Ocean Acidification,” will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, 17 August 2021 at 9:00 a.m. AKDT (1:00 p.m. EDT). Registration is required for this event.
Join PolarTREC for an Upcoming PolarConnect Live Event from Svalbard Webinar
Register today for the PolarConnect event with PolarTREC teacher Mark Goldner! The live event takes place on Monday, 26 July 2021 at 11:30AM AKDT [12:30PM PDT, 1:30PM MDT, 2:30PM CDT, 3:30PM EDT]. Learn all about what is happening with a retreating glacier in Svalbard, Norway! This event will focus on the National Geographic supported expedition with the team working with Dr. Julie Brigham-Grette. Teacher Mark Goldner will share what they are learning about the changing glacier and fjord. Learn more about the science at their expedition page.
ARCUS Goals & Objectives Announcement
ARCUS envisions strong and productive connections among U.S. and international Arctic researchers, educators, Indigenous and traditional knowledge holders, Arctic residents and local experts, and other stakeholders to improve understanding of the changing Arctic. We achieve this vision by implementing a set of interconnected goals and objectives, and we invite you to collaborate with us in our efforts! See the the webpage and flyer for all the details!
Summer 2021 Issue of Witness the Arctic Publication
This issue includes highlights of a recent NSF Dear Colleague Letter on efforts to improve the inclusion of local and Indigenous voices in Arctic research; news of a new Department of Defense Regional Center, the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies; Arctic social science news about US student knowledge of polar regions; news of the Arctic Data Center’s new award and related services; a perspective on best practices between Arctic researchers and Indigenous communities; a research update on investigating freshwater pathways between the Arctic and the subpolar North Atlantic; highlights from a USARC conference on Arctic Sustainable Energy Research; updates from the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC); a summary of the recently published “Pan-Arctic Report: Gender Equality in the Arctic”; news from PolarTREC, the Sea Ice Outlook for Walrus (SIWO), and the Sea Ice Prediction Network; and a highlight of ARCUS member institution, The University of the Arctic (UArctic).
PolarTREC Alumnus Returns to the Field After 10 Years Education
Teacher Mark Goldner is returning to the field with researcher Dr. Julie Brigham-Grette 10 years after his first PolarTREC expedition in 2011. The research, funded through National Geographic, will return to the Svalbard Archipelago and continue to look at ice-ocean interactions and processes at the faces of tidewater glaciers. The team will be mapping bathymetry of the ice margin area to compare with earlier surveys, and recording oceanographic data (including temperature, salinity, and turbidity of the water column) to track the inflow of North Atlantic water at the ice face.
Image Spotlight
The village of Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland from the helicopter.
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