Past Events

In a two part webinar, work on detecting and projecting changes in extreme temperature events over Alaska will be paired with a presentation on attributing the role of anthropogenic climate change in extreme events in Alaska.

Part 1: Detecting and Projecting Changes in Extreme Temperature Events over Alaska
Speaker: Sarah Weidman (NOAA Hollings Scholar)
This project investigates the likelihood of two recent extreme temperature events in Alaska: the persistent cold event in January 2012 and the record-breaking heat wave in July 2019.

Part 2: Attributing the role of anthropogenic climate change in extreme events in Alaska
Speakers: Rick Lader (International Arctic Research Center)
This presentation will examine three recent Alaska extreme events: 2015 wildfires, 2016 marine heatwave, 2018 Bering Sea low sea ice. The potential role of anthropogenic climate change will be assessed for all three cases.

COVID-19 UPDATE: Due to the international updates related to COVID-19, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the 15th Workshop on Antarctic Meteorology and Climate (WAMC) and the 5th Year of Polar Prediction in the Southern Hemisphere (YOPP-SH) meeting in Hobart, Tasmania from July 29-31, 2020. We would like to request those who planned on attending WAMC to send a status report, if they wish. These can be in the form of a short PowerPoint or as an extended abstract in the American Meteorological Society format. The reports can be sent to tnorton2 [at] wisc.edu and orendorf [at] wisc.edu so they can be displayed here on the WAMC 2020 page. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but we look forward to reconvening in 2021.

This workshop is organized annually by members of the WAMC Planning Committee across the globe. The WAMC brings together those with research and operational/logistical interests in Antarctic meteorology and forecasting and related disciplines. As in the past, the annual activities and status of the Antarctic Meteorological Research Center (AMRC), Automatic Weather Station (AWS), and Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS) efforts will be addressed, and feedback and results from their user communities will be solicited. More broadly, this workshop also is a forum for current results and ideas in Antarctic meteorology, numerical weather prediction, and weather forecasting, from contributors around the world. There will be discussions on the relationships among international efforts and Antarctic forecasting, logistical support, and science. We welcome presentations and workshop activities on these topics.

Deadlines:
- 20 May 2020: Short abstract submission deadline
- 30 May 2020: Registration deadline
- 07 June 2020: Extended abstract submission deadline

UPDATE (June 11, 2020):

We are excited to announce that AGU20 will be mostly virtual. “Mostly” because if science and health professionals tell us it is safe for groups to convene, AGU would like to host a regional gathering in San Francisco. If we decide that is feasible, we will let you know by August. In addition, depending on where you’re located (and if it’s safe), you can create your own mini-AGU20 watch party or hub. We’ll share guidance if you’re interested in being a convener of one of these mini-AGU20 regional events.

No matter if we are 100% virtual or if regional gatherings are possible, AGU20 will remain the global convening meeting for the Earth and space sciences community. And this year, we will be able to engage the wider global community.

AGU20 will offer real-time sessions, networking and poster hall time that work for multiple time zones around the world. We will also offer recorded content so you can enjoy “on demand” or binge watch what others are sharing at any time.

We know that meeting fellow scientists and researchers are a major reason you attended Fall Meeting in the past and we’re going to make sure that remains a key feature this year. In fact, you may be able to meet even more people than you would have ever before by using some new tools that we’re testing out now.

This year’s theme is “Shaping the Future of Science.” We selected this theme in January 2020, but we couldn’t have imagined the events that have transpired over the last six months.

We have seen how the world’s trust and respect in science remains high. But we also know we have more work to do to be more inclusive and diverse.

Fall Meeting will offer sessions on:

• COVID-19, from lessons learned in Earth and space sciences to ideas for what to do to advance research when one can’t be in the field or in the lab.
• Actions the Earth and space sciences should take to remove discrimination and eliminate racism to improve diversity and inclusion.
• How to better communicate your science to policymakers, reporters, voters and other key audiences.

Please read more here.

Fall Meeting is the largest gathering of Earth and space scientists in the world. Back in San Francisco after celebrating our Centennial, Fall Meeting 2020 aims to bring a diverse and relevant set of topics to help move Earth and space science forward.

It all starts with the innovative and dynamic session proposals from AGU’s community. Session submissions are open now. We encourage sessions with diverse groups of conveners who can work together to broaden participation. Visit our session submission guidelines to get started.

Important dates:

• 23 April 2020: Extended deadline for session, town hall, and workshop proposals
• June 2020: Abstract submissions open
• 29 July 2020: Abstract submission deadline 11:59 p.m., ET

The Sea Ice Prediction Network – Phase 2 (SIPN2) announces an open webinar entitled, Machine Learning—Challenges and Opportunities for Applications in Sea Ice Prediction.

This webinar will focus on the use of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, on how such approaches can be applied in cryospheric research, as well as related challenges and limitations. Discussion will include the use of advanced machine learning algorithms in climate science with attention on how to improve the prediction of future sea-ice. Time for participant questions will follow the presentations.

Webinar Presenters Include:

• Elizabeth A. Barnes, Associate Professor, Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University
• Morteza Karimzadeh, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Colorado University Boulder
• Tom R. Andersson, Data Scientist at the British Antarctic Survey Artificial Intelligence Lab

This webinar is designed for the sea-ice research community and others interested in information about applications of machine learning in sea-ice forecasting. While this is an open event, attendees should be aware that the discussions will largely be of a technical nature.

We request that all participants pre-register to join any SIPN2 webinars. Anyone with an e-mail address can register, and participation is free. The webinar will be archived and available online after the event.

For questions, please contact:
Betsy Turner-Bogren
Email: betsy [at] arcus.org

Brett Veerhusen, founder of Ocean Strategies, will share case studies and lessons learned during the Covid-19 pandemic as he helped lead a coalition of U.S. fisheries, seafood and disease experts to develop rigorous health and safety standards to protect vulnerable Alaskan communities and essential seafood workers. You will learn how to build coalitions that build connections around common policy goals like community wellbeing and climate change.

Christina Hulbe will present for the whole Aotearoa New Zealand RIS programme team.

Please register in advance for the seminars. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the seminar.

The seminar will also be available afterwards on the Friends of the International Glaciological Society Facebook page so that you can watch it there if technology fails or you can't make it.

The Juneau National Weather Service Forecast office remotely hosted two NOAA Hollings Scholars during the summer of 2020. This webinar will cover the work of those two scholars.

Speaker: Brennan Dettmann – Using R and python to analyze the relationship between sustained wind speed, wind direction, and wind gust data from 97 observation sites throughout Southeast Alaska to improve wind gust forecasts.

Speaker: Leanne Blind-Doskocil – Studying the strength of atmospheric river events in southeast Alaska based on integrated vapor transport values, duration of each event, optimal transport direction, and precipitation amounts.

Update from the organizers: The SCAR COMNAP 2020 Local Organising Committee, in consultation with the SCAR and COMNAP Executive Committees have decided to cancel SCAR COMNAP 2020 in light of the global Coronavirus situation. The Committee has given due consideration to local Tasmanian and Australian health advice as well as the global response to the pandemic.

The SCAR and COMNAP event hosts, the Australian Antarctic Division, the Tasmanian State Government and the Australian Academy of Science wish to express their gratitude and appreciation to SCAR and COMNAP for affording us the opportunity to host these premier Antarctic science and management events. We also wish to thank those members and sponsors who have been so generous in their support of this event.

We appreciate that this is a disappointing outcome for those that were planning to travel to Hobart in July 2020 and for those Hobart-based scientists and Antarctic industry representatives that were looking forward to showcasing our Antarctic gateway city, but the health and wellbeing of the people in the Antarctic sector and the Tasmanian community is paramount.

Further information will shortly be available regarding cancellation arrangements for registered attendees, sponsors and exhibitors and event-specific information will be sent separately from the SCAR and COMNAP Secretariats in regards to any alternative arrangements required. For any urgent enquiries please email scarcomnap2020 [at] antarctica.gov.au

We hope everyone in the global Antarctic community is able to stay safe and well in these challenging times.

The Australian Antarctic Division, the State Government of Tasmania, and the Australian Academy of Science welcomes SCAR and COMNAP participants and Delegates to SCAR COMNAP 2020.

SCAR COMNAP 2020 will include a full program of meetings, symposia, side events and social events including the COMNAP Symposium, public SCAR lecture, and exhibition and poster sessions all structured to encourage SCAR and COMNAP attendee participation. It promises to be a world class event, capitalising on Hobart’s unique status as the gateway to East Antarctica and the home of Australia’s premier Antarctic institutions.

The SCAR Open Science Conference theme “Antarctic Science – Global Connections” recognises the significance of the scientific connections between Antarctica and the global system. It also reflects the strongly connected Antarctic science community and, in the spirit of the Antarctic Treaty system, the importance of collaboration in Antarctic science.

Key dates:

• 31 October 2019: Abstract submission opens for the SCAR Open Science Conference (OSC)
• 1 January 2020: OSC Early Bird Registration opens
• 6 March 2020, 5pm AEST: OSC Abstract submission closes [extended deadline]
• 1 March 2020: COMNAP AGM Registration opens
• 16 April 2020: OSC General Registration
• 1 July 2020: OSC Late Registration
• 10 July 2020: COMNAP AGM Registration closes Onsite Registration for OSC will be available

The Caleb Lumen Pungowiyi Scholars Program announces a call for applications for the 2020 Fall semester. The Caleb Scholars Program is available to students from Norton Sound, Northwest Arctic, and Arctic Slope regions and applicants must be pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in disciplines related to marine conservation.

Scholars are awarded $5,000 per semester and eligible for extracurricular activities like internships and travel opportunities. Scholars are expected to pursue experience above and beyond their degree program, such as internships, research projects, presentations or conferences, and more. Scholars are eligible for additional resources to support these requirements.

Eligibility requirements include:

• Enrolled in a tribe located in Norton Sound, Northwest Arctic Borough, or Arctic Slope Borough;
• Enrolled in a preferred degree program at an accredited university or college;
• Undergraduate applicants must have already completed 36 credit hours and must be registered for at least 12 credit hours for the upcoming semester;
• Graduate applicants must be a full-time student in their registered degree program; and
• Minimum grade point average (GPA): Undergraduate students must have a minimum cumulative and current 2.5 GPA. Graduate students must have a minimum cumulative and current 3.0 GPA.

Applications should include:

• Signed scholarship application,
• Official documentation of applicant’s tribal status,
• Paper or electronic copies of unofficial university transcripts (email to cpp.spec [at] kawerak.org),
• Class registration for the upcoming semester (at least 12 credit hours),
• Two letters of recommendation, and
• Responses to all three essay questions listed in the application packet.

Application deadline: 31 July 2020

The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) invites comments on the next Arctic Research Plan.

IARPC is initiating development of the next Arctic Research Plan, as called for in the Arctic Research Policy Act (ARPA) of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4108). The Plan aims to strengthen interagency communication, coordination, and collaboration of the 14 Federal agencies, departments and offices that make up IARPC. The Plan will address critical needs in Arctic research and identify those areas where research in the Arctic can be improved through interagency collaboration.

IARPC will begin developing the next 5-year Arctic Research Plan and wants to know what should be included. Your thoughts and ideas are valued and welcome.

A scoping Federal Register Notice (FRN) for the next Arctic Research Plan was published on 3 April 2020 and will be open for comments until 2 July 2020. The full FRN is available online (see link above).

Comments can be made via the Federal Register or email to IARPCPlan [at] nsf.gov

Input deadline extended to: 2 August 2020.

For more information on Plan development, go here.

SCAR’s Open Science Conferences have been a focal point for the Antarctic research community for over fifteen years. Through SCAR 2020 Online we are excited to present many of the highlights of the science we had originally planned to bring to you at the Hobart OSC, which was sadly cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All the activities of SCAR 2020 Online will take place via the OnAIR event portal. To join you will need to register (follow the link above). Once you have registered you will receive a confirmation email. Your login details for the OnAIR portal will be sent to you on July 20. If you register after July 20, login details will be sent to you immediately upon registering.

Access to the portal is via your browser and there is no extra software to download.

Registration is free and open to everybody.

SCAR 2020 Online is more than a live event – it is a collection of opportunities for researchers to engage with each other, and for those outside of research to find out more about this exciting field.

• invited speakers will be delivering a range of plenary sessions, workshops and symposia
• authors of accepted abstracts for the cancelled Hobart OSC will be sharing material for view and comment before and after the meeting
• a number of text-based chat sessions and virtual poster sessions are planned

The Arctic Policy Study Group meets weekly on Wednesdays at 8 a.m. (AKDT) throughout the summer and early fall. Please join to explore the issues critical to the region and to the state of Alaska.

The program is free of charge but please register to receive login details.

The International Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) announces a National Science Foundation Arctic Program Manager Chat presenting an August update of their COVID-19 response. This webinar will take place on 5 August 2020 at 2:00 p.m. EDT (10:00 a.m. AKDT).

Join the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a program manager chat about COVID-19 impacts to NSF operations. The Arctic Sciences (ARC) Sections in the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) will be offering a virtual office hour to share information with the polar research community regarding NSF’s current operations. These office hours will also allow the community to ask questions, share concerns, and/or offer suggestions on how ARC can do more to address the impact of COVID-19 on researchers.

All are welcome to attend this webinar.

The United Nations declared 2019 to be the International Year of Indigenous Languages, focusing the attention on the risks confronting languages, especially those significant for development, reconciliation, good governance and peace building. It aims to improve quality of life, wider international cooperation and visibility and strengthen intercultural dialogue to reaffirm the continuity of indigenous languages and cultures.

Sharing experiences and knowledge about Indigenous Languages is fundamental in Indigenous society. A primary way to share knowledge is through storytelling and sharing the knowledge learnt from others and in the world around us.

In this two-part series our panelists will be speaking in-depth about the programs and resources used to help preserve and nurture the Indigenous Languages within their communities. The panelists are going to share with the audience the tools and practices they learned through activities that work for them in their journey to preserving languages and creating speakers.

Hosting a webinar in this sector and of this nature is important to spread the information that has been learnt from others to connect our audience with other regions to share valuable lessons and learn from their experiences of reclaiming or sustaining their languages, culture and traditions. We are creating a space to gather information that has worked for these panelists and are here taking the time to share with our viewers.

This Webinar is open to Northerners and members of EGA, CEGN, IFIP and BFG, however, there are limited seats available, so please make sure to register in advance.

Talks by the 2020 Graham Cogley Award winners. Carlo Licciulli "Full Stokes Ice-Flow Modeling of the High-Alpine Glacier Saddle Colle Gnifetti, Swiss/Italian Alps" and Paul Weber "Producing an ~1899 Glacier Inventory for Nordland, Northern Norway, From Historical Maps."

Please register in advance for the seminars. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the seminar.

The seminar will also be available afterwards on the Friends of the International Glaciological Society Facebook page so that you can watch it there if technology fails or you can't make it.

You are invited to take place in the virtual mini-symposium on "Advances in Permafrost Modeling", originally scheduled to take place at the SIAM Conference on Mathematics of Planet Earth (MPE20). You can join the talks via Zoom.

The synopsis:

Over the past decade, the Arctic has warmed at about twice the rate of the rest of the globe. As a result, the Arctic has shifted to a new normal. This new normal includes rapid thawing of permafrost. Permafrost ecosystems contain billions of tons of organic carbon trapped in frozen soil. Thawing permafrost is potentially releasing globally-relevant quantities of greenhouse gases in a process termed the permafrost climate feedback. Recent model estimates of net permafrost greenhouse gas release do not agree in magnitude or even sign, demonstrating that current modeling frameworks still cannot account for internal and external complexities in this system. Fundamentally, permafrost thaw is a phase transition phenomenon, such as a solid turning into a liquid, albeit on large regional scales and over a period of time which depends on environmental forcing and complex interactions among surface collapse, hydrology, and vegetation. It may, therefore, be fruitful to investigate permafrost degradation in ways that are mathematically analogous to related phenomena in phase transition theory. In this mini-symposium, we present the speakers from mathematics as well from geoscience to discuss how mathematics helps to advance permafrost and permafrost ecosystem models and how permafrost modeling may be urging newly discovers in phase transition theory.

The full information about this event, zoom link, and materials can be found on the web-page.

Scientific research into complex coastal systems and the interplay with coastal hazards is vital for predicting, responding to and mitigating threats in these regions. Understanding the risks associated with coastal hazards requires a holistic Earth Systems approach that integrates improved understanding of and, where possible, predictions about natural, social, and technological processes with efforts to increase the resilience of coastal systems. The Coastlines and People program supports diverse, innovative, multi-institution awards that are focused on critically important coastlines and people research that is integrated with broadening participation goals. The objective of this solicitation is to support Coastal Research Hubs, structured using a convergent science approach, at the nexus between coastal sustainability, human dimensions, and coastal processes to transform understanding of interactions among natural, human-built, and social systems in coastal, populated environments.

Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (required) (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time): August 10, 2020.

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time): September 09, 2020.

Please follow the link above for complete details.

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time): August 18, 2020.

The objective of the Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences (HEGS) Program is to support basic scientific research about the nature, causes, and/or consequences of the spatial distribution of human activity and/or environmental processes across a range of scales. Projects about a broad range of topics may be appropriate for support if they enhance fundamental geographical knowledge, concepts, theories, methods, and their application to societal problems and concerns. Recognizing the breadth of the field’s contributions to science, the HEGS Program welcomes proposals for empirically grounded, theoretically engaged, and methodologically sophisticated geographical research. National Science Foundation's mandate is to support basic scientific research. Support is provided for projects that are most effective in grounding research in relevant theoretical frameworks relevant to HEGS, that focus on questions that emanate from the theoretical discussions, and that use scientific methods to answer those questions. HEGS supported projects are expected to yield results that will enhance, expand, and transform fundamental geographical theory and methods, and that will have positive broader impacts that benefit society.

The HEGS Program recognizes that geography is a broad discipline that includes the natural sciences, the social sciences and the humanities. However, HEGS does not fund research that is solely humanistic, non-science. A proposal to the HEGS Program must explain how the research will contribute to geographic and spatial scientific theory and/or methods development, and how the results are generalizable beyond the case study. It should be noted that HEGS is situated in the Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences Division of the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate at NSF. Therefore, it is critical that research projects submitted to the Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program illustrate how the proposed research is relevant and important to people and societies. A proposal that fails to be responsive to these program expectations will be returned without review.

Please follow the link above for complete details.

The Migration in Harmony Research Coordination Network (MiH-RCN) announces a Whale Acoustics Webinar from the Gulf of Alaska. Presented by students from the Mt. Edgecumbe High School in Sitka, Alaska, this webinar will highlight their important contributions to marine mammal research through the internship and technology training program SeaTech. Researchers from NOAA Fisheries and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, as well as staff and alumni of Mt. Edgecumbe, will also be presenting. This webinar will focus on the Arctic, marine mammals, acoustics, and exploring collaborative approaches to science-based education and outreach.

There is no fee for this event, however, registration is required.

Woods Hole Research Center is now Woodwell Climate Research Center

Climate change is the single greatest challenge of our lifetime, affecting every aspect of life on our planet. For 35 years, the Woods Hole Research Center has brought together renowned scientists and a worldwide network of partners to study Earth's most consequential systems and translate that knowledge into meaningful policy impact. That work is more important than ever.

Today, we have changed our name to Woodwell Climate Research Center - not only to honor our founder, Dr. George Woodwell - but to clearly reflect who we are and what we stand for: dedicated researchers and policy experts united in finding science-based solutions to combat the climate crisis. This new name signifies a renewed commitment to the vision of a world in which everyone understands the urgency of the climate crisis and science drives the action we need. Visit our new website to learn more about our work and how you can support climate science for change: woodwellclimate.org

Please join us this Wednesday for a brief celebration with an inspiring keynote address by Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.