Past Events

The “Arctic Network for Climate Adaptation and Food Security” (ACAF) project organizes a series of international networking webinars on Arctic climate adaptation this Spring and early Summer. The ACAF project is run by the Natural Resources Institute Finland, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and monitored by the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The purpose of the ACAF project is to promote international cooperation on climate adaptation and good practices on climate adaptation in Arctic countries. With the networking workshops, our aim is to create and strengthen existing networks around Arctic climate change adaptation. In the networking webinars, researchers and representatives of organizations (NGOs, Arctic indigenous organizations, authorities,…) working on climate adaptation can present their recent and ongoing projects and other work on climate adaptation, learn about climate adaptation in other Arctic countries, exchange ideas, spread Arctic climate resilience expertise and create new contacts. In addition to presentations, time is allocated for group discussions.

Registration to the webinar is open until June 14th.

The program of the webinar is bilateral in the sense that there are presentations from Finland and from the USA (particularly Alaska), but the webinars are open to anyone interested from any Arctic or other country to participate as listener.

Please follow the link above for more information and to register.

The New Canada-Inuit Nunangat-United Kingdom Arctic Research Programme is a new multi-year programme that will bring together teams of researchers from across Canada, Inuit Nunangat and the United Kingdom in innovative ways to understand and address the environmental, social, economic, cultural and engineering/infrastructure impacts of climate change in the Canadian Arctic. Full details of the announcement of opportunity are available here.

The launch of the programme follows the recent signing of a new agreement between funding partners in the United Kingdom and Canada.

As part of the call, the partners have created a platform for potential applicants to reach out to new collaborators, with the intent of fostering exchanges that could lead to partnerships in research. Please register here.

Online Webinars:

There will be two online sessions to promote the new programme, share information and resources and assist with building networks. The first session ‘Introduction to the new Canada-Inuit Nunangat-United Kingdom Arctic Research Programme’ will be on Wednesday 16 June 1630-1800 UK/1130-1300 Ottawa & Montreal. The session will provide an overview of the programme, application process, timeline and key features, as well as information resources to support networking. There will be a question and answer session with representatives from all the programme partners. A recording of the session will be available.

The second online session will be on Wednesday 30 June 1630-1800 UK, 1130-1300 Ottawa/Montreal. This session ‘Building networks and partnerships – Canada-Inuit Nunangat-United Kingdom Arctic Research Programme’ will focus in more depth on networking resources, partnerships and linking to Northern priorities. It is anticipated that the contents of this session will be informed by the details of the online collaboration platform, which potential applicants are encouraged to use. A recording of the session will be available.

This seminar will present a report prepared in relation to the project “Overview of EU actions in the Arctic and their impact”. The study considers a broad range of ways in which EU policies affect the Arctic and influence the EU’s environmental footprint and economic presence in the region. During the study the EU’s environmental and economic Arctic impact has been considered, relevant policies have been identified and analysed as well as policy options for strengthening the EU Arctic approach have been proposed.

The report has been written by a team of experts led by Prof. Timo Koivurova.

The seminar will include the presentation of the study, commentaries from Arctic stakeholders as well as insights into the current stage of developing the new EU’s policy towards the Arctic, to which the report is to contribute.

For more information and to register, please follow the link above.

The tools and techniques for making monthly and season scale climate forecasts are rapidly changing, with the potential to provide useful forecasts at the month and longer range. We will review recent climate conditions around Alaska, review some forecast tools and finish up the Climate Prediction Center’s forecast for July and the remaining summer season. Join the gathering online to learn more about Alaska climate and weather.

Please follow the link above to register.

We are happy to announce the 16th Workshop on Antarctic Meteorology and Climate (WAMC) joint with the Year of Polar Prediction in the Southern Hemisphere (YOPP-SH) meeting to be held virtually. The entirely online WAMC meeting brings together those with research and operational/logistical interests in Antarctic meteorology and forecasting and related disciplines. More broadly, this workshop also is a forum for current results and ideas in Antarctic meteorology, observations, automatic weather stations, 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.

The international YOPP-SH meeting, also entirely online, will feature research resulting from the summer Special Observing Period (SOP) in 2018-2019 along with plans for participation in the upcoming winter SOP mid -April to mid-July 2022.

Further details regarding registration and abstract submission along with details on sessions for both meetings will be forthcoming in the near future!

Thank you on behalf of the WAMC organizing committee:

• David Bromwich, Ohio State University (2021 Organizer)
• Scott Carpentier, Australian Bureau of Meteorology
• Arthur Cayette, NIWC Systems Center
• Steve Colwell, British Antarctic Survey
• John Cassano, University of Colorado-Boulder
• Matthew Lazzara, Madison Area Technical College & University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Jordan Powers, National Center for Atmospheric Research

The U.S. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (US-SCAR) invites abstracts for the U.S. Antarctic Science Meeting. This meeting will take place online 12-15 July 2021.

US-SCAR is hosting a meeting for US scientists who are conducting research in, from or about Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Scientists interested in getting involved in Antarctic research through US programs are also welcome and encouraged to attend. This conference is open to all US scientists and anyone interested in US Antarctic research. There is no registration fee.

The meeting will provide opportunities for US Antarctic scientists to get together and present their work, and for early career researchers and others new to Antarctic science to learn about SCAR and the various resources available to US scientists for Antarctic-related research. There will be a mix of Lightning Talks, panels and social activities for the US Antarctic Community to meet and interact.

The meeting and associated events will be on Zoom. The schedule (see below) is set for two hours each day (one hour science and one hour panel) with additional time added for socializing. The panels will have brief presentations by panelists, and most of the time will be devoted to questions and discussion.

Abstract submission deadline: 21 June 2021.

Registration deadline: 9 July 2021.

ARCUS invites registration for the next Arctic Research Seminar featuring Donald Anderson of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Anderson’s presentation, titled “Origin and Fate of Harmful Algal Blooms in the Chukchi Sea,” will be held via Zoom.

Registration is required for this event.

Abstract

The Arctic Ocean is experiencing rapid and dramatic changes in response to climate-driven warming. Many organisms may spread northward as a result of rising temperatures and loss of sea ice, but few present such significant threats to human and ecosystem health as harmful algal bloom (HAB) species. Alexandrium catenella, a producer of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs), has a long history of causing toxicity in the Gulf of Alaska, yet there is little recognition of this organism as a human health concern north of Bering Strait. Here we describe an exceptionally large A. catenella benthic cyst bed and hydrographic conditions across the Chukchi Sea that support germination and development of recurrent, self-initiating, and self-seeding blooms. Two prominent cyst accumulation zones result from deposition promoted by weak circulation. Cyst concentrations are among the highest reported globally for this species and the cyst bed is 6X larger in area than any other recorded. These extraordinary accumulations are attributed to repeated inputs from advected southern blooms and to localized cyst formation and deposition. Over the last two decades, warming has likely increased the magnitude of the germination flux two-fold and advanced the inoculation of the euphotic zone, where conditions are now favorable for bloom development, by 20 days. The region is poised to support recurrent blooms that are unprecedented in scale, increasing exposure and health risks to Alaskan Arctic communities where economies are subsistence based. These observations also highlight how warming can facilitate HAB range expansions into waters where temperatures were formerly too cold.

Speaker Details

Don Anderson is a Senior Scientist in the Biology Department, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He presently serves as Director of the Cooperative Institute for North Atlantic Region (CINAR) and as Director of the U.S. National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms. His research focus is on harmful algal blooms (HABs), commonly called red tides, covering topics ranging from molecular and physiological studies of growth, sexuality, and toxin production to the large-scale oceanography and ecology of HABs, including numerical modeling, forecasting, and a range of monitoring and management strategies, many reliant on novel instrumentation and biosensors. A current research focus is on HABs in the Arctic. Anderson is author, co-author, or editor of over 330 scientific papers and 14 books.

The Bering Sea is experiencing many changes. Loss of sea ice and record high ocean and air temperatures continue to impact wildlife and all aspects of life for coastal communities. Through the Bering Region Ocean Update project, the Alaska Ocean Observing System works to increase regional data sharing among federal, state, community and private sector partners. Join us for an overview of the Winter 2020/2021 Bering Science report which is a resource to state, federal, community and university partners to share recent observations from in and around the Bering Sea with community members and other scientists and management agencies. This year’s report includes sections on storms, erosion, fish, crab, ocean acidification, plankton, HABs, marine mammals, marine debris and seabirds. The discussion will also provide updates on scientific research taking place during summer 2021 in the Bering Sea region.

Please follow the link above to register.

Speakers

• Rick Thoman, ACCAP at the University of Alaska Fairbanks
• Katie Howard, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
• Bob Foy or Maggie Mooney-Seus – NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center

This symposium has been cancelled. We are planning to hold a symposium with the same theme and topics in 2026. We are however investigating whether it is possible to bring that date forward.

Follow the link above to see the first circular.

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 3rd International Conference on 'Polar Climate and Environmental Change in the Last Millennium' will take place 30 August to 1 September 2021 in Toruń, Poland.

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

In its 13th iteration, this tri-annual, student-run conference is being hosted by York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the conference will be held exclusively online this year in an attempt to keep all participants and staff safe and healthy. While we’ll miss getting the opportunity to connect with northern researchers in person, we’re hoping that the transition to an online platform will increase the overall accessibility of the conference and give students from across the globe the opportunity to participate in it.

The conference will take place from Wednesday, November 3rd-Friday, November 5th 2021.

Abstract submission is now open! Submissions will be accepted until June 30th 2021. Please follow the link for more details.

The New Canada-Inuit Nunangat-United Kingdom Arctic Research Programme is a new multi-year programme that will bring together teams of researchers from across Canada, Inuit Nunangat and the United Kingdom in innovative ways to understand and address the environmental, social, economic, cultural and engineering/infrastructure impacts of climate change in the Canadian Arctic. Full details of the announcement of opportunity are available here.

The launch of the programme follows the recent signing of a new agreement between funding partners in the United Kingdom and Canada.

As part of the call, the partners have created a platform for potential applicants to reach out to new collaborators, with the intent of fostering exchanges that could lead to partnerships in research. Please register here.

Online Webinars:

There will be two online sessions to promote the new programme, share information and resources and assist with building networks. The first session ‘Introduction to the new Canada-Inuit Nunangat-United Kingdom Arctic Research Programme’ will be on Wednesday 16 June 1630-1800 UK/1130-1300 Ottawa & Montreal. The session will provide an overview of the programme, application process, timeline and key features, as well as information resources to support networking. There will be a question and answer session with representatives from all the programme partners. A recording of the session will be available.

The second online session will be on Wednesday 30 June 1630-1800 UK, 1130-1300 Ottawa/Montreal. This session ‘Building networks and partnerships – Canada-Inuit Nunangat-United Kingdom Arctic Research Programme’ will focus in more depth on networking resources, partnerships and linking to Northern priorities. It is anticipated that the contents of this session will be informed by the details of the online collaboration platform, which potential applicants are encouraged to use. A recording of the session will be available.

Join IARPC for a webinar with the Department of Energy's Arctic Energy Office. This new office leads cross-cutting operations in the Arctic with a mission to tackle 21st century energy, science, and national security challenges. The webinar will highlight the office's mission, leadership, and partnerships, as well as opportunities for the research community to collaborate with the office. Arctic Energy Office Director George Roe will give a brief presentation and will be available for questions.

EU-PolarNet 2 seeks support from the European Polar Community to develop ideas for concrete research activities. For this purpose, EU-PolarNet 2 will open a Call for Services on July 1st, 2021.

On July 7th 2021, we will hold a webinar to present the following aspects of the Call for Services:

• What are the requirements for the application (background: European Polar Research Programme)?
• What are EU-PolarNet 2 Service Contracts?
• How to prepare a valid application for the Service Contracts?

EU-PolarNet 2 will invite you to submit an offer related to one of these two research needs of the European Polar Research Programme:

1) Prospering communities in the Arctic
2) Inclusive creation, access and usage of knowledge

Full guidelines on how to prepare an offer for the Call for Service can be found on the EU-PolarNet 2 website.

In recent decades we have seen major changes in Arctic Ocean circulation, salinity, and temperature and associated declines in sea ice coverage and thickness. There is evidence of connections of these changes with climate indices, and the changes arguably affect climate by altering the radiative heat balance at high latitudes, impacting the strength of the global overturning circulation, and influencing the interaction between the ocean and Greenland ice sheet. There are also indications that Arctic sea ice and atmospheric circulation can play an important role in extended range predictability of extreme weather events in mid-latitudes. In spite of its importance, Arctic Ocean observations are limited. Several major in situ observing programs that existed in the 2000s have ended, and today sustained oceanographic observations outside the Canada Basin have almost ceased to exist. This workshop will aim to assess our understanding of the Arctic Ocean circulation and discuss observing system requirements needed to confirm and extend that understanding.

More specifically, the workshop will explore changes in Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas circulation related to global change and the observing system required to track those changes in the future. The observing system design effort will be cognizant of the practical, geopolitical, and operational constraints of Arctic Ocean observing, but will incorporate modern objective experimental design and data assimilation using numerical models as fundamental guiding principles. Its work will contribute to evaluations of model simulations and observational analyses to assess opportunities for model improvements.

The US CLIVAR Observing, Modeling, and Understanding the Circulation of the Arctic Ocean and Sub-Arctic Seas Workshop will include presentations addressing:

A. The state of knowledge of Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas circulation with an eye toward identifying critical gaps in observations of modes of variability
B. The observing system needs and data assimilation approach to track those modes of variability
C. The practical, institutional, technical, and geopolitical challenges of increasing the coverage of Arctic Ocean observations that are required by A) and B)

Please follow the link above for more information.

Postponed. New dates will be 27-30 June, 2022.

This workshop was originally scheduled for 20-23 October, 2020, and then 12-15 July, 2021.

In recent decades we have seen major changes in Arctic Ocean circulation, salinity, and temperature and associated declines in sea ice coverage and thickness. There is evidence of connections of these changes with climate indices, and the changes arguably affect climate by altering the radiative heat balance at high latitudes, impacting the strength of the global overturning circulation, and influencing the interaction between the ocean and Greenland ice sheet. There are also indications that Arctic sea ice and atmospheric circulation can play an important role in extended range predictability of extreme weather events in mid-latitudes. In spite of its importance, Arctic Ocean observations are limited. Several major in situ observing programs that existed in the 2000s have ended, and today sustained oceanographic observations outside the Canada Basin have almost ceased to exist. This workshop will aim to assess our understanding of the Arctic Ocean circulation and discuss observing system requirements needed to confirm and extend that understanding.

More specifically, the workshop will explore changes in Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas circulation related to global change and the observing system required to track those changes in the future. The observing system design effort will be cognizant of the practical, geopolitical, and operational constraints of Arctic Ocean observing, but will incorporate modern objective experimental design and data assimilation using numerical models as fundamental guiding principles. Its work will contribute to evaluations of model simulations and observational analyses to assess opportunities for model improvements.

The US CLIVAR Observing, Modeling, and Understanding the Circulation of the Arctic Ocean and Sub-Arctic Seas Workshop will include presentations addressing:

A. The state of knowledge of Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas circulation with an eye toward identifying critical gaps in observations of modes of variability
B. The observing system needs and data assimilation approach to track those modes of variability
C. The practical, institutional, technical, and geopolitical challenges of increasing the coverage of Arctic Ocean observations that are required by A) and B)

Please follow the link above for more information.

SnowEx Hackweek will be hosted virtually by the University of Washington's eScience Institute in partnership with the NASA SnowEx team. Visit our website for details on how to apply.

Join us for five days of tutorials, data exploration, software development and community building focused on open source tools to analyze and visualize SnowEx data.

We welcome applications from participants at any career stage and level of technical ability. All tutorials and projects will use the Python programming language, and we may provide optional educational opportunities in advance of the event for those new to Python based on demand.

Application deadline: April 9, 2021 @ 11:59 p.m. PST

For more information, contact snowex at uw.edu

US-SCAR is hosting a meeting for US scientists who are conducting research in, from or about Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Scientists interested in getting involved in Antarctic research through US programs are also welcome and encouraged to attend. This conference is open to all US scientists and anyone interested in US Antarctic research. There is no registration fee.

The meeting will provide opportunities for US Antarctic scientists to get together and present their work, and for early career researchers and others new to Antarctic science to learn about SCAR and the various resources available to US scientists for Antarctic-related research. There will be a mix of Lightning Talks, panels and social activities for the US Antarctic Community to meet and interact.

The meeting and associated events will be on Zoom. The schedule (see below) is set for two hours each day (one hour science and one hour panel) with additional time added for socializing. The panels will have brief presentations by panelists, and most of the time will be devoted to questions and discussion.

Abstract submission deadline: 21 June 2021.

Registration deadline: 9 July 2021.

This webinar will provide an overview of a newly developed dynamical seasonal prediction system and its performance in predicting regional Arctic sea-ice conditions.

Registration is required.

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 are advised that the discussions will largely be of a technical nature.

Webinar Abstract

The rapid decline of Arctic sea ice and the implications for a broad array of stakeholders have spurred a decade of research activity into sea ice predictability and prediction. In this talk, I will introduce a newly developed dynamical seasonal prediction system, GFDL-SPEAR, and assess the performance of this system for regional sea ice predictions. I will discuss the key physical sources of Arctic sea ice predictability, routes to improving sea ice predictions, and fundamental limits on prediction skill. Advancing dynamical Arctic sea ice prediction capabilities will require coordinated efforts between the modeling, observational, and data assimilation communities.

Presenter Bio

Mitch Bushuk is a research scientist at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, where he works on sea ice predictability and polar climate. He received his PhD in Atmosphere-Ocean Science and Mathematics from New York University in 2015, and his B.Sc. in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Toronto in 2009.

Registration is now open for the 2021 National Marine Educators Association Virtual Conference, which will be held online. The conference theme, “Your Connection to Water,” will focus on our personal connection to water, as well as the new virtual connections to which we have all become accustomed.

Registration is $75 and includes three days of plenary speakers, concurrent sessions, and networking, plus access to field trips sponsored by local chapters on July 17th.

A Student Conference will be held July 15 from 2:00-5:00 pm EDT / 11:00am -2:00pm PDT / 8:00am-11:00am HST.

Please follow the link above for more information and to register.