Past Events

Join the UAF Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy for this year's Alaska Spring River Breakup webinar. There’s a deep snowpack across Alaska as spring melt approaches. Celine van Breukelen with the NWS Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center (APRFC) will review break-up basics and provide an overview of current conditions. ACCAP Alaska Climate Specialist Rick Thoman will discuss the latest subseasonal outlooks that help inform the APRFC’s official break-up outlook.

Register here for the online event: https://uaf-accap.org/event/2024-river-breakup/

The Permafrost Discovery Gateway (PDG) invites you to join the webinar of our monthly series on Thursday, 25 April 2024 at 9:00 am AKT. This spring, our webinar series addresses using big geospatial data and remote sensing for community planning applications across permafrost regions.

Protecting Foundations of Critical Infrastructure in Permafrost Regions
The Permfrost Discovery Gateway is a NSF and Google.org funded intelligent data management platform created to support knowledge-generation in the Arctic permafrost region. The project is aimed to enable community-preparedness by creating big geospatial data products of permafrost thaw features from remote sensing imagery, developing AI tools to identify and track information within the big geospatial data, and building user-friendly online tools to enable scientific discovery, policy, and to empower Arctic communities facing permafrost thaw.

For additional PDG information explore our website: https://arcticdata.io/catalog/portals/permafrost/Stay-Connected

Organizers seek nominations for individuals interested in serving on the UNOLS Arctic Marine Research Capabilities Committee. The committee will consist of:
Up to 12 people
Chair – an academic researcher
8-9 members from the research vessel user community including international membership and disciplinary balance.
3-4 Technical / Operational Experts (naval architects, R/V operators, and R/V Technical Support personnel).

Self-nominations are strongly encouraged. If you are interested in representing community perspectives on current and emerging needs for polar research, we urge you to apply for membership on the AMRCC. Applicants or nominees should submit a brief statement of interest in serving on AMRCC along with a CV to the UNOLS Office by email office [at] unols.org. Please include information about your sea-going and/or polar experience. Statements of Interest and CVs are requested by 28 April 2024. Appointments will be made in a manner to achieve a balance of expertise in the different scientific disciplines and technical areas. Committee members will be formally appointed by the UNOLS Chair.

Green-up, that time when leaves burst forth from Alaska’s deciduous trees, has important implications for the seasonal ecology, society and even meteorology in the state. The unique multi-decadal record of green-up dates in Fairbanks has been used to develop a technique for forecasting green-up and related events in the Interior and more broadly in the boreal forest regions in Alaska. This webinar will be the fifth annual review of the green-up forecasting tools and will provide a look-ahead for green-up for Spring 2024. One Tree will demonstrate citizen science-outreach tools for birch tappers and others.

Register here for the online event: https://uaf-accap.org/event/green-up-2024/

The U.S. Permafrost Association (USPA) is pleased to announce the USPA Technical Training Webinar Series. The webinars are offered on Zoom. Each webinar is 1 hour long, including a 50-min lecture and 10-min Q&A. Certificate of Professional Development Hours (PDH) will be provided to participants who request it after each webinar. The webinars are free for USPA members and all students. For non-USPA members who are not students, the registration fee is $20 for each webinar.

The USPA webinar series is sponsored by Arctic Foundations, Inc., Shannon & Wilson, PND Engineers, Inc., Geo-Watersheds Scientific, beadedstream, and Katherine Schexneider.

Registration and fees for each webinar
• USPA members: FREE
• Non-USPA students: FREE
• Employees of USPA corporate members: FREE
• Non-USPA members (non-student): $20
• Instructors to volunteer their time
• Recorded webinar freely available to all USPA members

Registration link: https://uspa.memberclicks.net/webinar5

Date and Time: Wednesday, May 1, 2024. 2:00 to 3:00pm ET (10:00 to 11:00am AKT)

Instructor: Dr. Marc Lebeau, Seequent Company

Content of Webinar: This webinar reviews the basics of conductive and convective heat transfer in soils with soil-water phase change, introduces the basic concepts of the finite element method, and provides insight into the use of the software using several benchmark problems. It also presents various use cases that illustrate the capabilities of the software.

Brief Introduction of Instructors: Dr. Marc Lebeau is a Research Scientist with the GeoStudio engineering team at Seequent. He received a M.Sc.A. in Geotechnical Engineering from Polytechnique Montreal and a Ph.D. in Geotechnical Engineering from Laval University. His research combines physical chemistry, hydrogeology and geotechnical engineering to study coupled transport phenomenon and mechanical response of engineered structures. Marc’s current research interests include the effect of thin films on unsaturated and frozen soil properties, thermal dispersion, non-Darcy flow and buoyancy-driven flows in coarse-grained soils as well as inverse modeling.

Format: The webinar is offered on Zoom. The webinar will be moderated. The seminar will be recorded and uploaded on the USPA website.

The 2024 Arctic Circle Berlin Forum will explore the role of Science, Climate, Policies and Europe in the future of the Arctic.

More than a 100 speakers in over 20 Sessions will participate in the Arctic Circle Berlin Forum, taking place at the Radialsystem in the heart of Berlin on May 7-8.

The Berlin Forum will be hosted by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and co-organized with the German Arctic Office at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research.

Join ARCUS for an open Arctic research community call on Wednesday, 8 May 2024 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. AKDT, focused on Bering Strait Regional Research Coordination. Learn more and register at: https://www.arcus.org/arctic-info/archive/34908

The 20th International Conference on Cold Regions Engineering (ICCRE) is being organized by Cold Regions Engineering Division (CRED) and supported by Aerospace Engineering Division (ASD), Forensic Engineering Division (FED) and Committee on Technical Advancement (CTA), of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and will be hosted by the University of Alaska Anchorage.

The conference aims at connecting engineers, academics, and cold regions experts from various disciplines to share their knowledge and experience. The conference theme is Sustainable and resilient engineering solutions for changing cold regions.

Organizers invite you to prepare and submit abstracts on cold regions engineering topics.

Draft Full Paper Due: 30 September 2023.

The EU Arctic Forum and Indigenous Peoples’ Dialogue will bring together key Arctic players and stakeholders to assess recent developments in the Arctic and discuss challenges and opportunities ahead, in particular those affecting local and indigenous communities as well as Arctic youth. The aim of the event is to illustrate the EU's engagement in and for the Arctic, and assess progress made since the adoption in October 2021 of the updated EU Joint Communication on the Arctic.

The events will delve into matters that are of relevance for those living in the Arctic and will include keynote addresses as well as inclusive and balanced high-level and stakeholder panel sessions. Ministers from EU/Arctic Council states and high-level representatives from Arctic Indigenous Peoples’ organizations will be invited to participate.

The events will be held physically, and webstreaming will be available. Attendance to the events is free of charge, and registration for in-person attendance and participation is mandatory.

The North Pacific Research Board (NPRB) anticipates issuing a solicitation for pre-proposals in October 2023 for an Integrated Ecosystem Research Program (IERP) that will support integrated research in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, centered in the Northern Bering Sea. Approximately $6.5 million dollars have been made available by NPRB for this research program. Funding partners may bring additional resources.

Human geographies of climate change adaptation - An international scientific conference

Dates
15-16 May 2024, with social activities on 17 May, after the Norway national day’s parade.

Location
Bergen, Norway.

Participants Targeted
Whether or not you have a degree in human geography, we want to hear from you if you are researching climate change adaptation through a human geography lens.

Conference Themes

Theme #1 — Adaptation in the Arctic: lessons that can be learned from the Arctic in terms of how rapid climate change is experienced and responded to, with insights on, for example, maladaptation, climate justice and adaptation processes.

Theme #2 — Adaptation limits: are we pursuing the pointless?

Theme #3 — Political economies of adaptation: insights on power and justice.

Theme #4 — Methodologies for just adaptation: approaches to (i) studying and understanding adaptation; (ii) combining multiples sources of knowledge, namely Indigenous, practitioners, scientific and local; and (iii) engaging communities and decision makers.

Theme #5 — Adaptation metrics and assessments: approaches to (i) shaping up the adaptation metrics dialogue, to avoid a reductionist quantitative exercise; and (ii) synthesising the rapidly expanding adaptation knowledge base and creating usable science, to inform decision making processes, the global stocktake, and IPCC and other assessments, for example through machine learning and artificial intelligence, systematic reviews, and meta-syntheses.

Theme #6 — Adaptation practice: insights on (i) social innovation; (ii) cross-scalar measures that transcend governance levels and North-South divides; and (iii) alternatives to the anthropocentrism inherent to current adaptation policy.

The ICESat-2 Applications Team invites registration for the 2024 ICESat-2 Applications workshop. The hybrid workshop will be held 3-4 June 2024 at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland and online.

Organizers aim to bring together all end-users including ICESat-2 applications developers, satellite operators, and decision makers to discuss the current state and future needs of the community. Through this gathering, organizers hope to foster synergies and collaborations between current and new applied users as well as data users.

Workshop objectives:

Provide an overview of the status of the mission and current data products and support services from the NSIDC;
Build partnerships between current and new applied users as well as data producers and end users;
Foster synergies with between all participants, including science team members, decision makers, applied users, data users, and satellite operators;
Identify new potential applications or products from ATLAS data not currently under investigation;
Review available tools for extracting ATLAS data for a diverse community;
Understand the challenges faced by applied users (e.g., data accessibility, formatting), data users, end users, and identify solutions; and
Highlight ICESat-2 science and applications through five-minute lightning talks (abstract may be submitted at registration).

Registration deadline: 15 May 2024

The Nordland Research Institute invites workshop registration for the Indigenous People with Disabilities in the Arctic: Workshop for Initiating Research Collaboration. This one-day, hybrid workshop will take place 31 May 2024 in Valnesfjord, Norway and online.

The workshop will bring together an international, interdisciplinary group of researchers and stakeholders interested in the lived experiences and inclusion of Indigenous people with disabilities in the Arctic regions of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Sápmi. The aim is to map existing knowledge and identify knowledge gaps and develop a shared research agenda, as a basis for a research proposal. Virtual participation is possible.

The workshop is organized by the Nordland Research Institute in collaboration with the Centre for Saami and Indigenous Studies at Nord University and hosted by the Valnesfjord Health Sports Centre. The workshop is supported by the Research Council of Norway (grant no. 352065).

Registration deadline: 15 May 2024

To register, go to: https://response.questback.com/isa/qbv.dll/bylink?p=oOW356zpjxXyPf7pZcg…

For questions, contact:
Birgit Pauksztat, Nordland Research Institute
Email: bpa [at] nforsk.no

An Alaska Tribal Resilience Learning Network information session on Coastal Napping and Decision Making will be held on May 15th at 11am online. In this session we will hear how the City of Unalakleet is engaging in climate adaptation initiatives and decision-making. We will also hear about how newly developed elevation and water depth data will be used to develop future flood hazard maps for communities.

Strait Science Series

BY SEA + BY AIR: FINDING WHALES IN THE BERING SEA

**Wednesday, 15 May, 6:30 pm ** ZOOM OR VIA PHONE
To understand ecological changes occurring in the northern waters, NOAA has two research efforts to find whales this summer. One is a ship-based survey for large whale species. Another is an aerial survey for belugas. Join Jessica and Kim as they detail both efforts. Come hear what NOAA hopes to learn, where / when the surveys will occur, and how results will be shared in the Bering Strait region.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://tinyurl.com/32b9xbr5
Meeting ID: 822 1709 0878, Passcode: 699733
Or call: 253-215-8782

Jessica Crance and Kim Shelden are Research Biologists with the Cetacean Assessment and Ecology Program at the NOAA Marine Mammal Laboratory (Seattle).

The United States Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (USAPECS) invites participation in their upcoming webinar, “Get to know Polar STEAM: collaborating with educators and artists in your polar research” on Thursday, 16 March 2024, from 18:00-19:00 UTC (10am-11am Alaska/2pm-3pm Eastern USA).

Polar STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) is an NSF-funded program that creates teams of polar researchers, educators, and artists to engage in virtual and field research in the Arctic and Antarctic. Join this USAPECS-hosted webinar to learn how you can collaborate with Polar STEAM, as well as best practices for working with K-12 students, educators, and artists in your research.

Meet the presenter:
Michelle Pratt is the Program Manager for Polar STEAM (https://polarsteam.info). Michelle worked as a K-12 teacher in Alaska for ten years, is a National Geographic Certified Educator, and worked at McMurdo station for two austral summer seasons in support of research efforts in the South Polar region.

Zoom registration link and event information: https://iarpc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpd--tqTMrGtJpF5enaTDFiuv1EdbA…

On May 16, University of Alaska Fairbanks is offering visitors the opportunity to meet scientists and learn about their research.

This year’s Arctic Research Open House will be rock-n-roll themed, titled “Tundra Struck” for the chance to learn about “rockin’ research.”

The event will take place from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, May 16, along the West Ridge of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Troth Yeddha’ Campus. Free public parking is available in lots along Koyukuk Drive.

Join the UAF Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy for this month's NWS Alaska Climate Outlook Briefing. Rick Thoman will review recent and current climate conditions around Alaska, discuss forecasting tools, and finish up with the Climate Prediction Center’s forecast for June 2024 and the summer season. Join the gathering online to learn what’s happened and what may be in store with Alaska’s seasonal climate.

Visit the website to learn more and register for the online event - https://uaf-accap.org/event/may-2024-climate-outlook/

Save-the-date:

The Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference will take place 20-23 May 2024 at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska.

The 2023 Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference was focused on Alaska’s role leading the energy transition from established renewable sources to innovative and emerging technologies. World-renowned speakers and experts highlighted the agenda, along with breakout tracks, panel discussions, and multiple networking opportunities.

Save the date:

The tenth ABoVE Science Team Meeting (ASTM10) will be held 21-24 May 2024 at the UCAR Center Green campus in Boulder Colorado.