Past Events

Abstract:

This talk is about my first hand experience overwintering onboard RV Polarstern in the Central Arctic Ocean. In fall 2019 the largest Arctic research expedition set out to be trapped in the ice for an entire year to fill the data gaps. The MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) campaign onboard the German icebreaker POLARSTERN drifted across the Central Arctic Ocean so an international team from 20 countries could study atmospheric processes, ice and ocean physics, biogeochemical cycles and ecosystem changes. The winter leg from November to March was defined by low temperatures and constant darkness but also by lead openings and buildup of pressure ridges, demonstrating that the “New Arctic” is not just a concept anymore but that it is already a reality.

Bio:

Dr. Julia Grosse is a member of the Biological Oceanography Group in the Marine Biogeochemistry Division at GEOMAR and a postdoc in the Micro-ARC project. She is a phytoplankton ecologist/ biogeochemist interested in the drivers of phytoplankton productivity, the consequences on the cycling of organic matter (especially individual compounds such as amino acids and carbohydrates) and the repercussions for the microbial loop as well as food webs.

Sponsor:

This seminar is part of NOAA's EcoFOCI bi-annual seminar series focused on the ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea and U.S. Arctic to improve understanding of ecosystem dynamics and applications of that understanding to the management of living marine resources. Since Oct 21, 1986, the seminar has provided an opportunity for research scientists and practitioners to meet, present, develop their ideas and provoke conversations on subjects pertaining to fisheries-oceanography or regional issues in Alaska's marine ecosystems, including the US Arctic.Visit the EcoFOCI webpage for more information, http://www.ecofoci.noaa.gov

Seminar Contact:
Heather Tabisola (heather.tabisola [at] noaa.gov) and Jens Nielsen (jens.nielsen [at] noaa.gov)

Remote Access:

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/891851101

You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (872) 240-3311
Access Code: 891-851-101

UPDATE:

Despite our best wishes, we have to postpone the 3rd International Conference on 'Polar Climate and Environmental Change in the Last Millennium' once again.

The planned new dates are 30th August - 1st September 2021.

Our decision was made in response to the 2nd wave of COVID-19 crisis and guided by Nicolaus Copernicus University's internal safety policies.

Note: The 3rd International Conference on Polar Climate and Environmental Change in the Last Millennium was originally scheduled for 24-26 September 2020, and then 23-25 November 2020, but was moved again to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aim of the conference is to present scientific achievements and to identify gaps in the field of the historical climatology of the polar regions based on early meteorological observations, history, dendroclimatology, paleolimnology, geophysics, geomorphology, and other sources.

The conference is supported by the Polish Geophysical Society, the Committee on Polar Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the Polish Polar Consortium.

Important dates:

• 30 April 2021: Registration and abstract submission deadline for financial support
• 31 May 2021: Conference grantees notification
• 15 June 2021: Registration close
• 30 June 2021: Abstract submission deadline
• 30 June 2021: Conference fee deadline

The Alaska Sea Ice Program (ASIP) is a unique program within the National Weather Service. The program has seen many changes over the years, including evolving from hand drawn sea ice analyses using a light box to GIS-based digital analyses. We will take a look at where we started, where we are now and what we do, and where we hope to be in the future. We will also look at some times when sea ice in Alaska waters has caused problems for both Alaska residents and others operating within Alaskan waters.

Please follow the link above to register.

The National Academies' Polar Research Board will meet November 13 and November 24. Those who register will receive updates on the meeting agenda, and links to join the meeting (by zoom or phone) as we get closer to the meeting date.

Scotland’s Shetland Archipelago is a mere 400 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Due in part to this proximity, Scotland is seeking to establish itself as a European gateway to the High North. Similar rural and demographic features mean that Scottish and Arctic communities share many present-day priorities, from strengthening rural resilience to improving connectivity and promoting sustainable economic growth.

Scotland’s engagement with the Arctic region has intensified steadily over recent years. Published in September 2019, the Scottish Government’s first Arctic policy framework sets out “Scotland’s offer to the Arctic,” a prospectus for cooperation and knowledge exchange around the issues and ambitions that Scotland has in common with the Arctic.

On November 24th, join us for a conversation on the future of cooperation between Scotland, Europe, and the Arctic.

Moderator:

• Ambassador David Balton, Senior Fellow, Polar Institute

Panelists:

• Cabinet Secretary Michael Russell, Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, Europe and External Affairs, Scottish Government
• Ambassador Marie-Anne Coninsx, Former Ambassador for the European Union
• Anu Fredrikson, Executive Director, Arctic Frontiers

The second Arctic Resilience Forum will be held online as a series of ten weekly webinars launching on October 7, 2020. Each session touches on a specific aspect of Arctic resilience, ranging from food security and Indigenous youth leadership, to gender, energy and connectivity. The forum seeks to actively engage participants in conversations about how to build resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems. It offers the opportunity to discuss concrete best practices and experiences from the Council and the broader community of circumpolar experts and knowledge holders. The Arctic Resilience Forum aims to continue to strengthen cooperation on resilience work.

The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am – 1:00pm (EST) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020. The online series seeks to engage a broad audience in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas, including:

• October 7: Indigenous Youth Leadership
• October 14: Food Security
• October 21: Renewable Energy
• October 28: Human Health and Pandemics
• November 11: Broadband Connectivity
• November 18: Gender
• November 25: Socio-Ecological Resilience
• December 9: Infrastructure
• December 16: Respecting Traditional Indigenous Knowledge Systems

Follow the link above to learn more, register, and to get updates for the whole Arctic Resilience Forum series. Individual session pages will open up with registration for specific events approximately one week in advance. Russian language translation will be available for all session.

International Glaciological Society Global Seminar:

Speaking: Daniel Shapero, University of Washington, "A Live Demo of the Glacier Flow Modeling Package Icepack".

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 Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observation System (SIOS) announces the 6th webinar in their webinar series, An Anchor Point to a Drifting World.

The webinar will use the momentum of the SIOS Marine infrastructure Network Workshop and shed new light on the global and local perspective of marine science in Svalbard.

The program for the webinar will be as follows:

• 10:00-10:10: Welcome and introduction to the webinar (Shridhar Jawak, SIOS Remote Sensing Officer)
• 10:10-10:25: Ocean predictability, observations and links to UN Decade of Ocean (Mark Payne, Technical University of Denmark [DTU])
• 10:25-10:40: Observational networks in Europe (Alejandro Orfila, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies [IMEDEA])
• 10:40-10:55: Sea ice remote sensing (Anton Korosov, National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center [NERSC])
• 5 min break
• 11:00-11:10: Information talk about the icebreaker Laura Bassi (characteristics of the ship and tentative logistical plans for 2021)
• 11:10-11:30: Panel Discussion on the outcomes of the SIOS marine infrastructure network workshop and the next steps for the network

Moderator:
Inger Jennings, SIOS Logistics and Access Officer

Panel:
Manuel Bensi, Arild Sundfjord, Frank Nilsen, and Agnieszka Beszynska-Möller

A further note: SIOS play a very active role in encouraging Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to attend, participate, and contribute to SIOS activities. These webinars are an excellent chance to discover the exciting science that is going on in and around the Svalbard region. In the future, organizers would also like to encourage ECRs to present at these webinars. Those interested should get in touch with organizers to learn more.

Due to COVID-19, the 11th annual Arctic Futures Symposium will be held online. Between Monday 30 November and Wednesday 2 December from 2 pm until approximately 6 pm Central European Time (GMT+1), a series of symposium webinars will look at different topics. Below you may find the topics that will be discussed on each day:

Monday 30 November

• Arctic Challenges
• Arctic Policies of the EU, Arctic States, and Arctic Stakeholders

Tuesday 1 December
- Arctic Community Needs and Preparedness
- Pollution, Climate Change and Biodiversity: Challenges and Solutions
- Community Resilience through Empowerment

Wednesday 2 December
- A Uniquely Arctic Entrepreneurship and Investment Culture
- The EU's Engagement in the Arctic and Implementing the EU Green Deal

You can register via the registration link at the top of each page of the website. Those registered for the symposium will receive regular updates about the symposium webinars and how to connect to them in the coming weeks.

In recent years the Arctic has become the focus of increasing activity and attention due to a wide range of environmental, political, economic, social, and security factors. A U.S. administration under the leadership of President-Elect Joe Biden, as well as potential changes to the composition of Congress, may have profound consequences for U.S. Arctic policy and, as a result, for America’s relationships with both Arctic and non-Arctic nations. How might U.S. Arctic policy and posture change as a result of the U.S. election and how are these potential changes viewed from abroad?

Please join Wilson Center scholars and colleagues in a virtual roundtable discussion on the impacts and implications of the 2020 US election in the Arctic region.

Speakers:

Ambassador David Balton
Senior Fellow, Polar Institute; Former Ambassador for Oceans and Fisheries, U.S. Department of State

Ambassador Marie-Anne Coninsx
Former Ambassador for the European Union

Heather Exner-Pirot
Managing Editor, Arctic Yearbook

Ulf Sverdrup
Director, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI)

Andrey Todorov
Research Fellow, Department for Disarmament and Conflict Resolution Studies, Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), Russian Academy of Sciences

Moderator:

Michael Sfraga
Director, Polar Institute & Director, Global Risk and Resilience Program

The International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC) is delighted to bring you the Antarctica Week Festival 2020 where students and the public have a unique opportunity to listen to those working on the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration talk about what it's like to live and work in Antarctica. Two talks daily from Monday 30 November to Friday 4 December celebrate Antarctica Day – designated to when the Antarctic Treaty was ratified on 1 December 1959.

Please follow the link above to see the full list of webinars available. Please register and if you have a question you would like answered about a specific talk, submit it during registration. The talks are 30 minutes, followed by 30 minutes of questions and answers.

Don't worry if the times don't work for your location – the talks will be recorded and posted on the ITGC website.

Any questions about the webinars? Please email us at antarcticaweek [at] bas.ac.uk

Though most in modern Iceland assume seafaring was and is primarily male-dominated, Iceland’s rich written record reflects a very different reality – one where hundreds, even thousands, of women participated consistently in sea fishing from the earliest medieval times in the mid-900s to the near present. Their insights and experiences provide a deep understanding of shipboard dynamics in the Arctic, as well as the ways female crew members may influence a ship’s working environment. Based on extensive historical and field research, Seawomen of Iceland by Dr. Margaret Willson is the first large-scale study of this important—and as yet largely invisible—group of women, their lives, contributions to, and knowledge of Arctic fishing.

Please join us for the Stefansson Memorial Lecture to explore the importance of a gendered perspective toward fisheries policy and practices in Iceland and the wider Arctic. In partnership with Iceland’s Stefansson Arctic Institute and the Institute of Arctic Studies at Dartmouth College, the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute is pleased to host this keynote lecture with professor and author Dr. Margaret Willson to commemorate the life and work of Vilhjálmur Stefansson, famed 20th century Arctic explorer, anthropologist, author, and policy advisor, to be followed by an expert panel discussion.

This event is part of a Wilson Center series held in recognition of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (November 25 – December 10, 2020), an international campaign to build awareness and galvanize action in the fight against violence toward women and girls.

Honoree:

Margaret Willson
Affiliate Associate Professor, Departments of Anthropology and Scandinavian Studies, University of Washington; Senior Associate Scientist, Stefansson Arctic Institute, Akureyri, Iceland

Moderators:

Ross A. Virginia
Global Fellow, Polar Institute;
Myers Family Professor of Environmental Science and Director of the Institute of Arctic Studies within the Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire

Níels Einarsson
Director, Stefansson Arctic Institute, Akureyri, Iceland

Panelists:

Embla Eir Oddsdóttir
Director, Icelandic Arctic Cooperation Network (IACN)

Linda Behnken
Executive Director, Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA)

Many environmental changes that are occurring due to climate change have impacts on human health. In Alaska, disparities in water and road infrastructure and reliance on subsistence foods present a number of unique challenges for residents living in this dynamic environment. In this webinar, Dr. Micah Hahn will share an overview of the health impacts of climate change and describe how Alaskan communities are experiencing these impacts. She will dive into topics ranging from wildfires to ticks, and together we will learn about some of key questions that Alaskan communities are trying to answer as they adapt.

Dr. Micah Hahn is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Health within the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies at the University of Alaska-Anchorage. Her research focuses on the health impacts of climate change and climate adaptation and resilience planning in Alaska. Prior to her work in Alaska, Dr. Hahn worked as an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Climate and Health Program. Micah received her joint PhD in Epidemiology / Environment and Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her MPH in Global Environmental Health from Emory University. Outside of the research world, Micah can be found running around in the mountains or using her packraft to explore Alaska.

The international polar community celebrates Antarctica Day on the 1st of December to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty. During this year, the APECS Antarctica Day Project Group (PG) has planned a series of activities for all our members and national committees to raise awareness of the importance of Antarctica in a fast changing world.

We enthusiastically encourage our early career researchers (ECR) to both join our activities and to communicate with us if you are planning something special to celebrate Antarctica with your community. We want to promote your activities, too! Thanks to the wide collaborations between countries, we could expand and enrich our events and celebrate the spirit of international peace and scientific cooperation that signified the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959.

Follow the link above to learn about Antarctica Day activities, such as:

1. Art & photo contests
2. Call for short video clips
3. Online webinars

The 11th Symposium on Polar Science hosted by the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR), Tokyo, Japan, will be held with an Online Meeting System by file upload from 16 November to 18 December, and a real-time oral session from 1st to 3rd December 2020. The NIPR is organizing this annual symposium to present and promote a wide variety of polar scientific research and interdisciplinary studies.

We look forward to your active participation.

Presentation style is either real-time oral presentations or poster presentations by uploading files to the online meeting system. We ask you to indicate your preference at the timing of abstract submission. The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) will make a decision for style of each presentation.

Language for real-time oral presentations and uploading poster files are English as a rule.

Bio:

Kimberly Aiken is an an early career professional focusing on stakeholder engagement, polar political policy, and diversity and inclusion. Kimberly's interests include Arctic Indigenous traditional and local knowledge, incorporating these knowledge systems in all areas of Arctic research, with the aim of informing policy and improving communication and collaboration between various stakeholder groups. Kimberly advocates for the protection of the Antarctic Southern Ocean and the integration of Indigenous knowledge in science and policy. Kimberly aspires to be an inspirational leader and role model for young girls and people of color that are interested in the Polar Regions. https://womeninthearcticandantarctic.ca/women-in-the-arctic-profiles/an…

Sponsor:

This seminar is part of NOAA's EcoFOCI bi-annual seminar series focused on the ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea and U.S. Arctic to improve understanding of ecosystem dynamics and applications of that understanding to the management of living marine resources. Since Oct 21, 1986, the seminar has provided an opportunity for research scientists and practitioners to meet, present, develop their ideas and provoke conversations on subjects pertaining to fisheries-oceanography or regional issues in Alaska's marine ecosystems, including the US Arctic.Visit the EcoFOCI webpage for more information, http://www.ecofoci.noaa.gov

Seminar Contact:
Heather Tabisola (heather.tabisola [at] noaa.gov) and Jens Nielsen (jens.nielsen [at] noaa.gov)

Remote Access:

Please join my meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/891851101

You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (872) 240-3311
Access Code: 891-851-101

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Earth Sciences (EAR) in the Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) is hosting a “Navigating the NSF System” webinar. This session is normally presented as a workshop at AGU, and is a good opportunity for first time proposers and early career scientists to gain insight into the “ins and outs” of NSF’s grant proposal process. The webinar consists of a presentation followed by a live Q&A session with a panel of Program Officers. EAR has hosted this webinar a couple of times this year and would like to engage with the broader GEO community, as EAR is offering this webinar in lieu of the normal AGU workshop.

Follow the link above for more information. To register, click here.

International Glaciological Society Global Seminar:

Speaking: Shin Sugiyama, Hokkaido University, Japan, "Freshwater Calving Glaciers in Patagonia".

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.

Normally presented as a workshop at AGU, Navigating the NSF System is a good opportunity for first time proposers and early career scientists to gain insight to the ins and outs of the NSF grant proposal process. The webinar consists of a presentation and a live Q&A session with Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) Program Officers. Participants must register in advance using the link above.

Please join us for this informative webinar!

In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in attention placed on the Arctic, with focus on the economic development, telecommunications, military, and shipping dimensions of the region. These emerging interests have highlighted the absence of critical infrastructure, particularly in the United States Arctic. Without the necessary infrastructure, the United States—as well as other Arctic nations—is and will be ill-prepared address the realities of increased economic activity, national and civil security challenges, preventing and mitigating environmental disasters, and many other issues Arctic nations collectively face.

The Arctic Infrastructure Inventory aims to help address and inform many of these issues through a public inventory of current and planned infrastructure projects across the Arctic. With currently over 8,000 projects, the Inventory is a digital list of infrastructure projects in the Arctic. It can be a tool to inform policymaking, investment, science research, and civil security planning, and will provide all stakeholders with a resource detailing Arctic infrastructure at the local, national, and regional levels.

Please join the Wilson Center for the official launch of the Arctic Infrastructure Inventory, including an exhibition of the Inventory and a series of brief "TED Talks" about the genesis and utility of the Inventory and the overall need for infrastructure in the Arctic. Additional speakers will be announced shortly.

While the Inventory will be publicly available after this launch, please note that the overall initiative is still in its early stages. As such, the Wilson Center will continue to add infrastructure projects, develop and refine research methodologies, and otherwise continue to build the Inventory. Please contact the Polar Institute with any questions, comments, or potential projects/resources to include in the Inventory.

Speakers:

James P. DeHart
U.S. Coordinator for the Arctic Region, U.S. Department of State

Sherri Goodman
Senior Fellow, Polar Institute and Environmental Change & Security Program;
Former U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Environmental Security)

Heidar Gudjonsson
Chairman, Arctic Economic Council

Alice Rogoff
Co-Chair, Polar Institute;
Publisher, Alaska Today

Gail R. Schubert
President & CEO, Bering Straits Native Corporation

Mead Treadwell
Co-Chair, Polar Institute;
former Lieutenant Governor, State of Alaska; former Chair, U.S. Arctic Research Commission

Keynote Remarks:

Jack Durkee
Program Associate, Polar Institute & Manager, Arctic Infrastructure Inventory

Introduction:

Michael Sfraga
Director, Polar Institute & Director, Global Risk and Resilience Program