Past Events

Come to Colorado, where great ideas will drop out of thin air during the 125th Anniversary Meeting of the Geological Society of America! Denver is ready for you with a great convention center, conveniently located hotels, the fourth largest museum in the nation, and lots of friendly geologists to help you feel at home. And GSA staff and officers and the local committee are going all-out to make this a memorable experience for you.

The 125th Annual Meeting of the GSA will include:

• 27 field trips planned, including one on the Yellowstone hotspot;
• 33 short courses submitted;
• A record number of technical sessions (259!) and 13 Pardee sessions;
• An exciting Hall of Maps;
• A black-tie/Victorian gala that includes a new symphony (Formations) composed to celebrate GSA's 125 years.

Registration and abstract submission periods are open. Please visit the website for more information.

The meeting provides an informal venue for Nordic-based scientists and students in cryosphere research and related topics to present their latest results. The meeting is hosted by the Department of Physics, University of Helsinki.

Detailed information about the IGS Nordic Branch 2013 meeting can be found at the webpage.

Important dates:
Abstract deadline is 30th of August 2013
Registration deadline is 30th of August 2013

The registration fee includes accommodation (Thursday - Saturday) with full board (breakfast, lunch, dinner and two coffee breaks per day) including towels & bed linen and Thursday & Friday evening sauna with snack.

Registration fees:

• 1 Person in 2 person room with shared bathroom 160 Eur
• 1 Person in 1 person room with shared bathroom 185 Eur
• 1 Person in 1 person room with private bathroom 210 Eur

Due to the limited accommodation capacities of Lammi Biological Station, the maximum number of participants at the IGS Nordic Branch meeting is limited to 80 persons.

Abstract submission, registration and payments will be handled by IGS (abstract submission and registration websites will be announced in April).

The Sitka WhaleFest hosts a unique science symposium blending local knowledge and scientific inquiry concerning the rich marine environment of the North Pacific. The festival includes many community and cultural activities such as the science symposium lectures, interactive student sessions, marine wildlife cruises with scientists, a marine themed artisan market, music, local foods, a banquet, art and fun run/walk.

APECS is pleased to invite you to participate in the Antarctic glaciology webinar highlighting recent glaciological studies in Antarctica on 5 November 2013 at 16:00 GMT.

Presentations and speakers are:

• Holocene glacial history of the Weddell Sea: the record in the ice rise
  Neil Ross | Lecturer in Physical Geography, University of Newcastle, UK

• Weakening contract between ice shelves and ice rises caused by fracture
  Christopher Borstad | Post Doc, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA

• Pine Island Glacier Ice Shelf: Bathymetry and Ice Thickness
  Kiya Riverman | Penn State University, USA

• Geologic control of Whillans Ice Stream grounding lines and the Crary Ice Rise, inferred from ground-based gravity measurements
  Atsuhiro Muto | Penn State University, USA

This webinar is a follow-up of the first International Workshop on Antarctic Ice Rises held in Tromsø late August this year, with support from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), Climate and Cryosphere Project (CliC), Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS), British Antarctic Survey and Norwegian Polar Institute’s Center for Ice, Climate and Ecosystems. Presentation video, slides, posters and Frostbytes are available on the workshop web-site: http://www.climate-cryosphere.org/meetings/past-meetings/ice-rises-2013

PRACTICAL INFORMATION:

Date and Time: Tuesday, 5 November 2013 at 16:00 GMT

Check your time zones at: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

TO RESERVE A SPOT FOR THE WEBINAR

To reserve a spot in the webinar, please follow the link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/394912104

TO ATTEND THE WEBINAR

To attend a webinar a computer or smartphone and an internet connection are needed. A headset or headphones and a built-in microphone are recommended but not required. Webcams and telephones will not be used in the presentations and are not needed to participate.

GoToWebinar has been provided as an in-kind contribution from Bredbåndsfylket.

For questions, please email: info [at] apecs.is or pavlov.alexey.k [at] gmail.com

The Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP) will host the webinar. The webinar will be presented by Jeremy Mathis from the Ocean Acidification Research Center at UAF and the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory.

Commercial and subsistence fisheries in Alaska are located in seas projected to experience rapid transitions in pH caused by ocean acidification (OA). Many of the marine organisms that are affected by OA contribute substantially to the state’s commercial activities as well as the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States. Here, we describe the current patterns of dependence on marine resources within the state that could be negatively impacted by OA and current community characteristics to determine the risk to Alaska’s fishery sector. Our analysis showed that regions in southeast and southwest Alaska that are highly reliant on fishery harvests and have relatively lower income and employment alternatives face the highest risk.

To determine public awareness of this threat we conducted a statewide survey to examine the variables that influence the perceptions of the risk associated with OA. We then used this information to determine if and how individuals react to the current degree of OA in different regions. These results can be used to prepare individuals, communities, and the Alaska fishing industry for future changes in ocean chemistry.

Pre-registration for webinars is strongly encouraged.

Through the NORA REGION CONFERENCE 2013, NORA seeks to focus on the common challenges that many media outlets in the NORA Region face. Such as media economy, journalistic impartiality and critical journalism in small communities where direct confrontation is generally not the norm. NORA hopes that the conference will help enhance regional news coverage through a closer cooperation among representatives of the media in the NORA Region.

Questions that will be discussed include:

• What impact has this interest had on the global media picture of the countries in the NORA Region?
• How can small North Atlantic media companies survive in an increasingly competitive global media environment? * How can critical journalism be strengthened in small communities where resources are limited and where a journalist's sources often could be a close friend or relative?
• What challenges and opportunities does social media present for the NORA Region?

For more information, please visit the conference website.

A NSF-sponsored workshop will be held at the University of Houston on November 7th & 8th, 2013, for US-based scientists to discuss future drilling projects in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. Abstracts (<250 words) for talks or posters are invited in the broad themes of site selection, continental drilling, stratigraphic drilling, physical properties and logging, and data integration and modeling. All presentations should focus on potential future drilling projects and their scientific justification. The participation of early career scientists is encouraged. Limited travel funds are available for presenters. For more information, or to submit an abstract, please write to jwellner [at] uh.edu prior to July 1st; notifications of acceptance and funding level will be made by August 1st.

This workshop will bring together a diversity of stakeholders to learn more about and respond to community desires to be part of oil spill first-response efforts that help protect food security and other local resources; come to agreement on the multiple roles local community members can play in responding to oil spills; and create an action plan for moving forward on this topic. The workshop is sponsored by the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Goals for the workshop include:

• Establish what tools can be safely and effectively deployed by Alaskan and Chukotkan hunters and other community members to combat both small oil spills and to engage as part of a collective response to large spills in select areas around the Bering Strait region (encompassing Bering and Anadyr straits). This includes both efforts to constrain or divert oil away from wildlife and key habitats, as well as diverting marine mammals and other fauna away from a spill.
• Establish what training and local/regional capacity is required to sustain an ongoing safe and effective local spill response capacity.

The Arctic CORDEX Meeting will be held November 8, 2013 in Brussels, Belgium. This short (half day) meeting will be organized in concert with the CORDEX meeting (see more at: http://cordex2013.wcrp-climate.org/) to discuss plans for common analysis and simulations over the Arctic CORDEX domain.

The International Conference on Regional Climate - CORDEX 2013 brings together the international community of regional climate scientists to present and discuss results from WCRP regional climate studies, with a particular emphasis on the CORDEX initiative.

The Aerospace & Defence Industry Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (ADIANL) is pleased to announce plans for our annual Maritime and Arctic Security Conference (MAS13).

With a focus on Sovereignty, Security and Public Safety, MAS2013 will bring together organizations that play a key role in the execution of Maritime & Arctic Security: whether that role be Cultural, Research, Government Policy, Education, Surveillance, Enforcement, Technology Development or Technology Application.

The invited presenters are specifically targeted to address current & future challenges related to Domain Awareness, the complexity of executing Maritime & Arctic Sovereignty and Security - (Responsiveness), and the network of education, research capabilities and applied technologies that contribute to a safe and secure environment for our people, natural resources and culture.

The two day conference will take place at the Delta St. John's Tuesday and Wednesday, 12-13 November 2013. An optional 3rd day (14 Nov) is also being planned for organized visits to local educational institutions and research & development organizations.

Agenda and program items cover a wide cross-section of maritime and arctic related topics, including:

• Maritime Domain Awareness
• Northern Security & Sovereignty
• Technologies Applications for Harsh Environments
• Surveillance/Protection of Critical Maritime Approaches
• Maritime Law Enforcement
• Energy Security
• Maritime & Arctic Search & Rescue
• Environmental Protection (Detection)

Arctic Oil & Gas Conference: Delivering technology innovations and operational excellence for safe, sustainable and economical development of Arctic resources.

Regional Spotlight Session – Exploration opportunities and resource potential

• Iceland – a new energy frontier
• Review of oil & gas development opportunities offshore Greenland

Examples of presentations on key technology developments enabling Arctic development:

• Improving operational safety and efficiency of seismic surveys
• Developing technology to enable platform-free production
• Optimizing design and construction of Arctic wells
• Criteria for effective winterisation
• Numerical simulations of ice loads on Arctic drillships in managed ice
• Result of the ice-induced vibrations JIP
• Solutions for ice resistant wellhead platforms for Arctic conditions

The World Wildlife Foundation will host the Fuller Symposium on the Forces of Nature. Speakers from around the world will engage in active discussion around topics including local responses to forces like land grabbing and climate change, evaluation of community conservation impacts, new technologies for catalyzing social movements, private-sector initiatives, and global policy opportunities. The annual Fuller Symposium convenes thought leaders in science, policy, conservation, and development to discuss innovative approaches to complex issues facing our planet. USARC Commissioner Edward Itta will present.

This is the first in a series of informational webinars that will introduce 8 thematic areas related to the management and governance of long-term observing. This first webinar will address definitions and interpretations of common vocabulary used in observing. The webinar will be available through Webex (details available at www.arctichub.net).

Background: On October 31, 2013, a kick-off webinar was held by the National Science Foundation to introduce 35 questions grouped in 8 thematic areas which address best practices for long-term observing management and governance. Over the next 20 weeks, 9 webinars will be held to further delve into each of the 8 themes: (1) Definition, (2) Life cycle and horizons, (3) Review: frequency, criteria, and process, (4) Network relevance, (5) Funding models, (6) Award structure and management, (7) Information sharing and communication, and (8) National and global connectivity. The ninth webinar will be a wrap-up discussion and assessment of current exchanges on these 8 themes. For a list of the 35 questions within these 8 thematic areas, please visit www.arctichub.net and click on the "Long Term Observing Management Discussion Group" link on the home page and then click Discussion on the left-hand side of the group page.

The webinars will introduce the themes and questions in detail, but the discussion continues beyond the webinar timeframe. Interested persons who would like to lead discussions on one or more of the 35 questions are encouraged to apply for discussion funding support through an online application at: http://www.arcus.org/search/aon/discussion-funding-form. Funding details and eligibility are on the form webpage. The discussion content provided through this activity will inform best practices and lessons learned in long-term observing from the viewpoint of the wide range of actors involved in natural and social observing, its management, support, and development.

The "Life in the Cold" workshop is sponsored by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and the Astrobiology Society of Britain (ABS) and will take place in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds.

The workshop is free to Astrobiology Society of Britain (ABS) members and will cost 10 pounds (GBP) for non-members (payable on the day).

To register please send a short email to Liane G. Benning (L.G.Benning [at] leeds.ac.uk).

Through generous support from UKSA and ABS we are able to provide a number of travel bursaries for students who present posters.

If you would like to be considered for a travel bursary, please contact Karen Olsson-Francis (k.olsson-francis [at] open.ac.uk).

More information including the Program Details can be found on the website.

Organizers invite scholars and practitioners interested in presenting in the conference 'In the Spirit of Rovaniemi Process' to submit abstracts to one of the scientific sessions. The conference will be held 2-4 December 2013 in Rovaniemi, Finland.

The conference is organized jointly by the City of Rovaniemi and the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland, Finland. The goal of the conference is to present the latest research scientific knowledge about the global processes as they become local realities. Even if the Conference is scientific in orientation, it aims to bridge science and knowledge into action by bringing top scholars to share their research results, and to organize joint discussion with the leaders of the Arctic Cities.

The papers should address at least one of the three cross-cutting themes:

• Arctic Cities and global processes;
• Management and governance in the Arctic; and
• Arctic together with non-Arctic.

Specific scientific sessions are as follows:

• Rovaniemi Process: past, present, future (Plenary)
• Arctic responses to global environmental problems
• People and extractive industries
• Tourism in the Arctic
• The Arctic in global economy
• Climate change in the Arctic
• Indigenous peoples in cities
• Arctic global flows

PhD students are welcome to present a poster referring to one of the sessions and addressing cross-cutting themes. Abstracts (250 word max) should be emailed (rovaniemi.process [at] ulapland.fi) with the title "Rovaniemi Process Conference - Abstract Proposal" and include the author's affiliation and contact information, as well as to which session the paper is submitted.

Submission deadline: 5 May 2013

On December 2-3, 2013 the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) together with the Institute of the World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) RAS and in partnership with the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Center for Strategic and International Studies will hold in Moscow an International Conference on “The Arctic: Region of Development and Cooperation”. The event is endorsed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

The Conference is held in line with RIAC long-term project Roadmap for International Cooperation in the Arctic, aimed at promoting the development strategy of the Russian Arctic and preserving its unique environment on the basis of international cooperation.

The main objective of the Conference is to establish a permanent forum for representatives of the expert community, ministries and departments for systematizing the experience of international cooperation in the Arctic in order to develop proposals for effective development of the region and responsible use of its resources.

The event will be held in plenary and thematic sessions on key areas of international cooperation in the Arctic.

Analytic materials, summing up the results of the Conference, will be sent to the relevant ministries and departments.

This is the second webinar in a series on long-term observing management and governance. In this presentation, concepts about long-term observing lifecycle and horizons will be explored that include questions about the initiation, maintenance, (de-)scoping, and denouement of an observing activity. The webinar will be available through Webex (details available at www.arctichub.net).

Background: On October 31, 2013, a kick-off webinar was held by the National Science Foundation to introduce 35 questions grouped in 8 thematic areas which address best practices for long-term observing management and governance. Over the next 20 weeks, 9 webinars will be held to further delve into each of the 8 themes: (1) Definition, (2) Life cycle and horizons, (3) Review: frequency, criteria, and process, (4) Network relevance, (5) Funding models, (6) Award structure and management, (7) Information sharing and communication, and (8) National and global connectivity. The ninth webinar will be a wrap-up discussion and assessment of current exchanges on these 8 themes. For a list of the 35 questions within these 8 thematic areas, please visit www.arctichub.net and click on the "Long Term Observing Management Discussion Group" link on the home page and then click Discussion on the left-hand side of the group page.

The webinars will introduce the themes and questions in detail, but the discussion continues beyond the webinar timeframe. Interested persons who would like to lead discussions on one or more of the 35 questions are encouraged to apply for discussion funding support through an online application at: http://www.arcus.org/search/aon/discussion-funding-form. Funding details and eligibility are on the form webpage. The discussion content provided through this activity will inform best practices and lessons learned in long-term observing from the viewpoint of the wide range of actors involved in natural and social observing, its management, support, and development.

The National Research Council invites you to a public briefing for the release of Abrupt Impacts of Climate Change: Anticipating Surprises. The study examines the likelihood of various physical components of the Earth system undergoing major and rapid changes (e.g., a shutdown of ocean circulation, ice sheet disintegration, etc.), explores how to monitor climate change for warnings of abrupt changes and emerging impacts, and identifies high priority needs for future research directions and monitoring capabilities.

Speakers include Dr. James White from the University of Colorado at Boulder, who chaired the report's authoring committee, and committee member Anthony Barnosky from the University of California at Berkeley.

I want to bring your attention to the upcoming Permafrost Engineering Short Course at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, BC, Canada. The course will be held from December 5 to 10, 2013. This course is tailored towards an engineer who has never attended a permafrost engineering course, or wants to learn more about the latest information in permafrost engineering. It will teach working knowledge of logistic challenges of building in Northern Regions, including:

• Understand the origin and different types of ground ice;
• Know how to determine the existing thermal regime and impact of changing environmental conditions on this regime;
• Understand the unique behaviour of freezing, frozen and thawing soils and understand how to design for these conditions;
• Know how to evaluate and design foundations and slopes in permafrost;
• Be exposed to case histories related to hydrocarbon pipelines in permafrost, mine design, tailings impoundments under Arctic conditions and pile foundation support systems in regions of saline permafrost.

For more information please contact Sally Petaske (sally.petaske [at] ualberta.ca) or the Cold Regions Geotechnology Division of the Canadian Geotechnical Society (ColdRegions [at] cgs.ca).

Welcome to the American Geophysical Union’s 46th annual Fall Meeting! Join more than 24,000 Earth and space scientists, educators, students, and other leaders in San Francisco, California, 9-13 December, as they gather to present groundbreaking research and connect with colleagues. For 46 years, scientists from around the world gather at the AGU Fall Meeting to exchange information and broaden their knowledge base. In addition to the scientific programming, the meeting offers over 50 Town Halls and Workshops, including one on Monday, Dec. 9, titled, "Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) and Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH), organized by Helen Wiggins, Brendan Kelly, and Hajo Eicken, from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm in 2018 Moscone West.

Please visit the AGU website for more information about the 2013 Fall Meeting.