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SIOS will offer a training course on how to effectively use remote sensing data acquired from satellites, from the air or from the ground, and their associated tools and software in the context of terrestrial research in Svalbard. The course is intended for field scientists, Ph.D. students and technicians with no or little experience with remote sensing techniques. The training will be delivered by remote sensing experts from SIOS member institutions, international teachers and potential virtual talks from ESA experts.

Please note that you need to register beforehand to be able to attend the lectures and the hands-on sessions. Please follow the link above.

Goal of the training

The goal of the course is to teach participants the basic skills needed to work independently to acquire, analyse and visualize terrestrial data sets derived from a variety of close to very long-range sources.

Objectives

Many field scientists, from SIOS member institutions, have been working on research projects which would greatly benefit from the addition of a richer set of remote sensing viewpoints. However, they may lack the necessary training required to make easy but effective use of freely available data sets, tools, and software, as well as to plan and execute research-grade field remote sensing acquisitions. Ph.D. students from SIOS member institutions who are about to begin careers using remote sensing as an integral part of their research projects can also benefit from this training course.

We are sorry to announce that the 50th Arctic Workshop that was rescheduled for 29 August – 1 September 2020 has been postponed until next year: 15 – 17 April 2021.

Our decision was made in response to concerns about international and domestic travel expressed by many of you, as well as the need to protect attendees in high-risk categories. Our decision was also guided by University of Colorado policies on COVID-19.

Read the full statement here.

Founder of the Arctic Workshop, John T. Andrews has been a pioneer in advancing our understanding of Pleistocene ice sheets, their interaction with adjacent oceans, and their profound influence on the Earth system.

The workshop grew out of a series of informal annual meetings started in 1970 by John. The purpose of the early meetings was to give graduate students an opportunity to present their ongoing research, gain experience in public speaking, and obtain feedback from more senior researchers. Subsequent meetings retained this emphasis while simultaneously expanding the contributions of professional researchers.

Please follow the link above for more information.

Hosted by Commonwealth North's Arctic Policy Study Group, the event will explore the future of Arctic Ocean governance, the Central Arctic Oceans Agreement, perspectives on international cooperation, Alaska's role in cooperative efforts, and international fisheries issues that impact Alaska. The discussion aims to answer what governance structures are in place to regulate activities in Arctic waters, and how stakeholders can establish efforts to dissipate tensions and ensure cooperation in the Arctic. Mike Sfraga, Director of the Wilson Center's Polar Institute will moderate the discussion.

The event will occur via Zoom. For registration, Zoom connection information, and other information about this event, please follow the link above.

Join the Migration in Harmony Research Coordination Network for a webinar with Dr. Andreas Østhagen on Svalbard hub for Arctic fisheries.

As warming oceans push the range of fisheries further north, new opportunities for Arctic fisheries are emerging. But this opportunity comes with a responsibility to establish ethical, sustainable, and equitable approaches to development.

Join the Migration in Harmony Research Coordination Network for a webinar with Dr. Andreas Østhagen as he shares the research behind his new project, "The Blue Potential on Svalbard: A Hub for Arctic fisheries?’ (SVALFISH). Learn about the ongoing transition on the Svalbard Archipelago, specifically Longyearbyen, now undergoing the transformation from a mining community towards a multi-functional 21st-century Arctic hub, and hear how you can engage with Dr. Østhagen in investigating the potentials and conditions for increased fishery and related activities based on Svalbard, and what this might entail, both for Longyearbyen and for polar fisheries more generally.

Migration In Harmony is an international, cross-disciplinary network of Arctic migration researchers funded by the National Science Foundation and co-led by The Arctic Institute. Learn more and sign up at https://migrationharmony.org/contact

Heather Purdie, Canterbury University, NZ, "Morphological Changes to the Terminus of a Maritime Glacier During Advance and Retreat Phases: Fox Glacier/Te Moeka o Tūawe, New Zealand"

Please register in advance for the seminars. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the seminar.

The seminar will also be available afterwards on the Friends of the International Glaciological Society Facebook page so that you can watch it there if technology fails or you can't make it.

Satellite records from the mid 1980s onward provide the opportunity to examine surface water distribution and change in permafrost regions. This is important because the nature of permafrost can create conditions where change is likely to occur but hydrology conditions can be highly variable. We will discuss how to account for these conditions and produce summaries which can be easily understood and updated.

Please follow the link above to register.

Spring and summer in Interior Alaska is now warmer, and in recent years wetter than in the past, and the impacts of these changes are affecting the lives and livelihoods of Alaskans. Persistent rains keep water levels high of rivers but potentially accelerate permafrost melt. Warmer springs and higher nighttime temperatures open up more garden and agricultural possibilities but also set the stage for increased wildfire activity. We’ll examine what’s happening and what the coming decades may bring for Interior summers. Precipitation variability and change has important impacts on fire weather and its management, and fire managers need skillful information regarding the upcoming fire season to inform decisions. We will also examine using multi-model seasonal forecasts as a potential tool for fire managers to develop fire weather outlooks in March when management information is needed.

Please follow the link above to register.

BEPSII is an open network for international knowledge exchange related to Biogeochemcial Exchanges Processe at Sea Ice Interface. BEPSII aims to quantify the role of sea ice in polar ecosystem services – from biodiversity impacts to climate change – and communicate these globally-relevant issues. BEPSII’s work highlights sea ice in polar regions as an important medium for biogeochemical processes that can have large impacts on local and regional scales.

The BEPSII Annual Meeting will include various discussions and poster sessions. The meeting will also include an event for Early Career Researchers on the 21st August.

In additions to task group updates for BEPSII and ECVice, we are planning on having discussion sessions around the topics of:

1. Developing a position analysis for the Antarctic
2. Developing a joined CATCH -BEPSII SCOR working group
3. Planning for a "new technologies" meeting in 2021

Details about the program can be expected soon on the BEPSII website.

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 September and the fall season. Join the gathering online to learn more about Alaska climate and weather.

Please follow the link above to register.

Woods Hole Research Center is now Woodwell Climate Research Center

Climate change is the single greatest challenge of our lifetime, affecting every aspect of life on our planet. For 35 years, the Woods Hole Research Center has brought together renowned scientists and a worldwide network of partners to study Earth's most consequential systems and translate that knowledge into meaningful policy impact. That work is more important than ever.

Today, we have changed our name to Woodwell Climate Research Center - not only to honor our founder, Dr. George Woodwell - but to clearly reflect who we are and what we stand for: dedicated researchers and policy experts united in finding science-based solutions to combat the climate crisis. This new name signifies a renewed commitment to the vision of a world in which everyone understands the urgency of the climate crisis and science drives the action we need. Visit our new website to learn more about our work and how you can support climate science for change: woodwellclimate.org

Please join us this Wednesday for a brief celebration with an inspiring keynote address by Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.