Past Events

ArcticNet's 9th Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM2013) will be held from 9 to 13 December 2013 at The World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

As the largest annual Arctic research gathering held in Canada, ArcticNet's ASM is the ideal venue to showcase results from all fields of Arctic research and stimulate networking and partnership activities. Over 500 participants are expected again this year.

Building on the success of previous ASMs, the ASM2013 welcomes the participation of researchers, students, policy and decision makers, representatives of government and non-government organizations, the private sector, northern stakeholders and media to address the global challenges and opportunities arising from climate change and modernization in the Arctic.

The ASM2013 will also be hosting the second annual Arctic Inspiration Prize Ceremony, where one to five Prizes and associated awards totalling $1 million will be presented.

The BSG runs a workshop for new research students in December each year and we encourage you to attend. The workshop has been running at the fantastic Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park for over 30 years – many notable researchers and academics have been and benefited from this course!

The content is non-technical, but provides training in project management, group work, dealing with large data sets, fieldwork, lab and numerical modelling. But one of the the most important aspects is meeting other new researchers, finding out how the PhD is working for others in different Universities and often making friends and contacts that can last a career. You’ll also meet a wide variety of academics and facilitators who are practicing researchers as well as the BSG postgrad representatives on the Executive. The BSG chair normally gives an entertaining evening talk.

More information can be found on the workshop website.

The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission will convene to continue working on their draft of Alaska's Arctic Policy. This Preliminary Report will be submitted to the State Legislature on January 30, 2014 and will help guide the Commission's work in 2014 as they prepare to submit a final Report in January 2015. At the Anchorage meeting Commissioners will review and discuss draft Arctic policy statements, specific preliminary recommendations, and the supporting background document. See www.akarctic.com for a draft agenda and additional information as it becomes available.

Public testimony will be accepted Monday, Dec 9 from 11:15a-12:30p, limited to 3min. Supplementary written testimony can be emailed to aapcgovernance [at] gmail.com. The meeting will be audio streamed live on akl.tv.

Are you interested in incorporating field work into your research projects but you're worried that you don't know how to properly plan & execute a successful field campaign? Have you participated in numerous field campaigns with varied success and would like to improve your field planning, leading, and execution skills?

If so, please join us at the Getting Out in the Field as a Skill Workshop held at the upcoming AGU Fall meeting (http://fallmeeting.agu.org/2013/events/getting-out-in-the-field-as-a-sk…). The workshop will be held on Wednesday, December 11th from 3-5pm in the Marriott Marquis Golden Gate A. The workshop will provide a panel discussion on the challenges, benefits, and strategies for being successful at planning, leading, and completing fieldwork in a variety of settings. All career stages are welcome to attend!

The workshop's panelists include Dr. Bob Hawley (Dartmouth College), Dr. Fiamma Straneo (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), Dr. Julie Brigham-Grette (U. Massachusetts-Amherst), and Allen O'Bannon (Field Risk Manager, CH2MHILL Polar Services). Each panelist will briefly provide his/her key tips for the successful planning and execution of field work, then the panel will open-up to questions from the audience.

The workshop is co-hosted by the Earth Science Women's Network (http://eswnonline.org/) and Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (http://www.apecs.is/). If you have any questions about the workshop, please email Ellyn Enderlin (ellyn.enderlin [at] gmail.com).

The objective of this multidisciplinary conference is to think about the idea of “cold” in all of its multiple disciplinary variations—geographical, cultural, medical, biological, climatological, engineered, physical, linguistic and sociological. Defined by Étienne Lalou as “both a relative and subjective sensation,” cold is invisible. Its manifestations can only be appreciated in the effect it has on bodies and objects as well as through human adaptation (architecture, transportation, clothing, social and cultural practices), representation (literary, filmic, pictorial) and its technical or technological production (refrigeration and cooling, air conditioning, freezing, etc.)

Organizers welcome contributions that bring together more than one discipline and that address both general and specific issues associated with the idea of cold. For example:

• The effects of cold on human activities, bodies and matter
• The idea of cold as a variable, universal experience
• The axiological and spiritual dimensions of cold representations
• The biological effects of cold temperatures
• Cold prevention
• Cold architecture and architectural adaptation to cold temperatures
• The use of, adaptation to and constraints associated with cold in terms of transportation
• New medical, industrial and technological uses of cold temperatures
• The idea of cold as cultural object built by discourse
• The effects of cold on cultural and social practices
• The idea of cold in mythology, art and philosophy
• Experiencing cold in terms of metaphysics and identity
• Physical properties of cold temperature
• Biological adaptation to the cold in flora, fauna and humans
• History of technical and industrial cold and cooling production
• The idea of cold as a sign of invisibility
• The effects of cold on food consumption (refrigerated/frozen food)
• Representations of cold as a sign of climate change

The event is co-organized by the "Cultures, environments, Arctic, representations, climate" research centre of the Observatoire de Versailles Saint-Quentin and the Laboratory for the Comparative Multidisciplinary Study of Representations of the North at the Université du Québec à Montréal, as part of a France-Québec cooperation project. Selected papers will be published.

This conference is organized by Daniel Arsenault (Université du Québec à Montréal), Jan Borm (Université de Versailles—Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines), Daniel Chartier (Université du Québec à Montréal), Odile Parsis-Barubé (Université de Lille 3—Charles-de-Gaulle) and Alain Sarkissian (Université de Versailles—Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines).

This webinar will introduce the third thematic area related to long-term observing management and governance -- the review process. Several aspects of review for long-term efforts will be discussed, including the frequency of review, observing-specific criteria, and best practices of the review process. 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.

We would like to announce the 2014 annual Danish Greenland ice sheet seminar to be held this year at the Danish meteorological Institute.

The purpose of the meeting is to encourage collaboration between Danish based researchers working on the Greenland ice sheet with a programme of research talks in the morning and an informal session in the afternoon, this year focusing on science and field activities in north-east Greenland.

As in previous years, we invite each group to coordinate a 25 min presentation to highlight current work and activities of interest to the Greenland ice sheet network in Denmark. We also welcome new participants who are also currently working on science activities related to the Greenland ice sheet in Denmark who have not previously joined us.

For practical reasons please let us know before 30th December, if you plan to attend the meeting and what your talk title will be.

Details

Date: 9th January 2014
Time: 9 am – 4 pm
Location: The auditorium, DMI, Lyngbyvej 100, Copenhagen
Registration: Please register your attendance by email before 30th December.
Talks: Please confirm your talk title to us before the 30th December so we can make the agenda.
Note that participants are required to sign in at reception.

The NASA Snow Working Group for Remote Sensing (SWGR) has been holding a series of meetings to create a blueprint for future U.S. and International snow remote sensing research, and to create a community and forum for the exchange of ideas related to snow and remote sensing. In August we held a three-day workshop in Boulder that was widely attended. We are continuing the work.

Between January 14-16th 2014 we will hold our 2nd Snow Remote Sensing Workshop at Granby, Colorado. The workshop has three goals:

• To continue community work on the blueprint for snow remote sensing that was begun at the 1st workshop in August.
• To exchange ideas and new results related to snow remote sensing, and
• To demonstrate new instruments and techniques for measuring snow in the field.

At the 1st workshop, it was decided that SWGR should work toward developing a community snow school for graduate students and practitioners. We are pleased to announce that we will be able the first such course on January 7-9th at Fraser Experimental Forest in Colorado. The winter course is aimed at teaching snow measurement skills to new practitioners and modelers in order to increase the quality of the results for all snow data users. The course will introduce students to standard and specialized methods of characterizing the snowpack. The winter course will be followed in the summer by a companion course computer for snow model, details of which will be forthcoming soon.

For energy companies exploring the Alaskan Tundra, ice roads are often the only way to travel. But, building these roads is complex, often dangerous, and could have long term impacts on the environment. Under a grant from the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the NSDSS was developed by the UAF, Texas A&M University, and Atkins Engineering to help the various stakeholders of the ice road planning process to collaboratively design ice roads. Incorporating optimal route finding methods and climate change-aware lake water quantity and quality modeling, the NSDSS provides critical information in support of the annual ice road planning process.

Pre-registration for webinars is strongly encouraged. The audio portion of the call is through a toll-free phone line and the slide presentation is streamed via computer. For instructions on participating through your home office or at a satellite viewing location with others in your community, please see our webinar information page.

Arctic Frontiers will hold its 8th annual conference in Tromsø, Norway, from 19-24 January 2014, with the title: Humans in the Arctic. The Arctic Frontiers conference is a central arena for discussions of Arctic issues. The conference brings together representatives from science, politics, and civil society to share perspectives on how upcoming challenges in the Arctic may be addressed to ensure sustainable development. Arctic Frontiers 2014 will address two main themes:

• Health, Environment and Society, and
• Offshore Maritime Challenges. Health, society and environment

The environment of the Arctic is changing, and this affects the conditions for humans living in the Arctic for better and for worse. Climate change will lead to less ice and permafrost and thus, increased tourism, fishing, petroleum activities and mining. These activities in the High North will give opportunities and impact socio-economy, demography and traditional lifestyle as well as increase contamination and disturb the natural environment. The cumulative impact may affect life, well-being, culture and ultimately the health of people living in the region. Healthy adaption to the changes must be planned. The latest advances in technology and innovative communication are potentially very effective tools with which to reduce risk related to living and working in the Arctic and also maximize the benefits, thus ensuring sustainable development. How can this be done? Arctic Frontiers 2014 will address the scientific challenges ahead.

Four parallel parts will be discussed:

Health, society and environment

• Live, work and stay healthy in the Arctic
• Health & Environment in the Arctic

Maritime operational challenges

• Shipping & Offshore in the Arctic
• Arctic Offshore Search and Rescue (SAR)

Interested scientists are invited to submit abstracts to one of these four sessions for both oral and poster presentations. Arctic Frontiers is composed of a policy section and a scientific section. This call for papers addresses only the scientific section from 22 January to 24 January 2014. The Call for Papers closes on 21 October 2013. For more information and online registration, download the complete "Call for Papers" on the Arctic Frontiers homepage www.arcticfrontiers.com.

The mission of the Alaska Marine Science Symposium is to bring together scientists, policymakers, students, educators, media and the public to share research findings focused on Alaska’s marine fisheries and ecosystems.Since 2002, scientists from Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, and beyond have come to the Symposium to communicate research activities in the marine regions off Alaska. Researchers and students in marine science re-connect with old colleagues and meet new ones.

Plenary and poster sessions feature a broad spectrum of ocean science. Hear the latest in the fields of climate, oceanography, lower trophic levels, the benthos, fishes and invertebrates, seabirds, marine mammals, local and traditional knowledge, and socioeconomic research. The Symposium also features compelling keynote speakers, workshops and special sessions.

Registration and further information can be found on the conference website.

The fourth thematic area of long-term observing management and governance to be addressed is one of network relevance. Questions in this webinar will target the relationship between different mission agencies and between agencies and communities when determining observing priorities. Additional discussion will revolve around the role of data, products, and integrated information in developing an argument for relevance. 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.

Part of the "2014 Science for Alaska Series". Lectures will be held on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at the Gold Room in the Westmark Fairbanks Hotel and Convention Center, with the exception of Feb. 18. That day the lecture will be the Westmark's Northern Latitudes room. Be sure to stay after the lecture and meet our presenters!

The Science Coordination Office (SCO) for Summit and the Greenland Inland Traverse (GrIT) invites you to take part in the 2014 GEOSummit Workshop to be held following the NASA IceBridge and PARCA Planning Meetings at the Goddard Space Flight Center.

The All-day Workshop is scheduled for 31 January, 2014 and will be focused on Scientific Results and Future Research Directions on the ice sheet; including traverse science, research at Summit, and activities at the new Isi Station.

Attendees will be expected to present brief summary of recent results (if applicable) but should focus on current hypotheses that guide planned future work. Funded, pending, and early stage ideas are all sought. If you are part of a large coordinated effort (NOAA, LTO, ICECAPS) understand that we may ask you to present a coordinated overview depending on the number of participants.

Please provide a brief abstract of your activities and confirm your participation (and whether you request travel support -- prioritized to young investigators) by email to:

Katrine Gorham
katrine [at] polarfield.com

The next Workshop on the Dynamics and Mass Budget of Arctic Glaciers & the IASC Network on Arctic Glaciology Annual Meeting will be held from 3 - 5 February 2014 in Ottawa, Canada.

Information, application, and the program for the workshop will become available on the website of the Network on Arctic Glaciology: http://www.iasc.info/nag/.

The purpose of the meeting is:

• to present and discuss new results on observations and modelling of the dynamics and mass budget of Arctic glaciers, including the Greenland ice sheet,
• to plan and coordinate field work on Arctic glaciers with the aim of using the available infrastructure and logistics in the most efficient way,
• to develop ideas for future projects and collaboration.

This Open Conference stands as the final event organized within the framework of the "CASE" EU-FP7 Initial Training Network (case.itn.epoc.u-bordeaux1.fr), a research and training network on marine biotic indicators of recent (Holocene) climate changes in the high latitudes of the North Atlantic. We aim, through this conference, at extending both the geographical and temporal domains investigated within CASE to the wide Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas and to past Interglacials of the Pleistocene era. This event will foster scientific discussions on various topics among which those related to the PAGES-endorsed WG "Arctic 2K" and "Sea Ice Proxies", as well as to ongoing plans for IODP drillings in the Arctic Ocean.

Four session themes have been defined as follows:

• Developing paleoceanographical proxies; qualitative versus quantitative reconstructions.
• Interglacial paleoceanography from the northern North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean.
• Ocean-continent linkages during interglacial periods.
• The past 2000 years.

In the fifth webinar of this series, we will cover the funding models available from a range of agencies, industry, and organizations that support long-term observing. Also included is discussion about different funding horizons, partnerships, and strategies that influence not only the capability, but the scientific content and longevity of observations. The webinar will be available through Webex (details available at www.arctichub.net).

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 goal of the Arctic Encounter Symposium is to engage participants in a focused discussion, through a balanced forum, highlighting shared interests and concerns of the United States and the global community as we look north to the last emerging frontier – the Arctic. The Symposium will incorporate a diverse group of leaders and experts to debate how a rapidly changing Arctic will impact international law, domestic policy, business and commerce, the environment, and the people of the Far North.

The program incorporates five plenary sessions, featuring 3-4 speakers and one moderator in each session, and two concurrent sessions featuring research presentations by leading academic experts from across the country. The Symposium is structured to challenge the status quo dialogue and to critically address the Arctic's potential, to consider what is at stake, and to collaborate on solutions.

Leading experts, CEO's, and thought leaders from the science technology, maritime, and energy industries top corporations and organizations are expected to attend. Congressional delegations from Alaska and Washington State have also been invited. The event is likely to draw between 250 and 350 attendees, including partners from the top environmental and maritime law firms in the Pacific Northwest and academics from across the country.

The two-day Symposium will take place at Seattle University with a dinner reception on Friday, February 7 at the Seattle Aquarium on Pier 59. Please see the website for a complete speakers list and program.

The burgeoning Arctic arena offers a host of opportunities for companies that can solve the complex environmental, physical and regulatory challenges it presents. OTC's Arctic Technology Conference will include a highly specialized technical program, networking events, and an exhibition — all designed to help ensure that oil and gas professionals throughout the world are prepared to succeed in the Arctic arenas.

Remote Sensing provides detailed spatio-temporal representation of geo- and biophysical parameters. Interdisciplinary platforms are needed to get an understanding of the discipline-specific terminology, data types, usage of data, accuracy of remote sensing products and their added value for permafrost monitoring and modelling.

ESA DUE Permafrost (2009 to 2012) has established a permafrost-related monitoring system based on a first set of circumpolar and regional products: Land Surface Temperature (LST), Surface Soil Moisture (SSM), ground frozen/ non frozen state, terrain parameters, Land Cover, and surface waters. The user community comprises institutions, organizations and scientists from a wide range of subjects and interests. The user requirements had been taken into consideration for the definition of the service cases and the observation strategy. The remote sensing products are disseminated through the web portal of the TU Vienna (ipf.tuwien.ac.at/permafrost/) and through the PANGAEA publication database (pangaea.de), which provides the DOI reference for the DUE Permafrost remote sensing products.

The following questions need to be further discussed:

• How valid are the operational remote sensing products for permafrost landscapes?
• What methods are available for upscaling from ground data?
• Can Remote Sensing become operational for permafrost monitoring?
• Can satellite-observable parameters provide the evaluation, constraining and forcing for models?

Further goals of the permafrost workshop:

• Will bring together a multidisciplinary community working on permafrost-related remote sensing, field monitoring and permafrost-related modelling and climate modeling.
• Will collect and discuss the up-to-date User requirements related to monitoring and modelling.
• Will contribute to the update of the IGOS Cryosphere Theme Report (2007) for permafrost.
• Will feed into current efforts of GTN-P to build a permafrost observing component into the Sustaining Arctic Observing Network (SAON).