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The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces an open webinar entitled "Uncertainty in Satellite-Derived Sea Ice Extent Estimates."

This webinar is designed for the sea ice research community and others interested in information about the uncertainty in sea ice extent estimates from remotely-sensed data. While this is an open event, attendees should be aware that the discussions will largely be of a technical nature. The speaker will be Walt Meier, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Walt Meier is a research scientist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory. His research focuses on remote sensing of sea ice, development of new sea ice products and sea ice climate data records, and analyzing changes in the Arctic sea ice cover. He has been principal investigator on a project to create a sea ice climate data record.

Meier’s presentation will focus on uncertainty in sea ice extent estimates from remotely-sensed data. Arctic sea ice extent estimates from remote sensing data (e.g., passive microwave sensors like Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer-Earth Observing System [AMSR-E] and others) are widely used to project sea ice trends, initialize models, and evaluate model forecasts. As with all kinds of remote observations, this method of estimating sea ice extent has strengths and weaknesses that result in unique kinds of uncertainty. To date, however, little effort has been made to provide an uncertainty range of extent estimates from satellite data. Meier will discuss our current understanding of these issues and propose various methods of estimating extent uncertainty, with the aim of improving analyses of sea ice extent trends and variability. Time for participant questions will follow the presentation.

More details including registration instructions, will be announced closer to the event. The webinar will be archived and available online after the event.

For questions, please contact Betsy Turner-Bogren at ARCUS:
betsy [at] arcus.org

On behalf of the International Center for Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas (International EMECS Center) and "Sea Coasts" Working Group of the RAS Council on World Ocean, the Organizing Committee of the Russian State Hydrometeorological University (RSHU), P.P.Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IO RAS) and A.P.Karpinsky Russian Geological Research Institute (VSEGEI) would like to welcome you and your colleagues to EMECS 11 - SeaCoastsXXVI Joint Conference "Managing Risks to Coastal Regions and Communities in a Changing World".

Main topics of the Conference:

• Coastal systems and their dynamics (from coast to water and from water to coast)
• Coastal erosion and dynamical processes in the near shore zone
• GIS & marine spatial planning
• Climate change in the changing world. Coastal adaptation to climate change
• Construction and exploitation of hydraulic engineering structures and dredging in the coastal areas
• Study and monitoring of coastal and marine ecosystems
• Approaches to and issues of processes in the coastal areas modeling and monitoring
• Interactions between coastal zone and the open sea: impact on the ecosystems
• Ecological sensitivity of coastal areas: anthropogenic loads and natural disasters
• ICZM – case study and new experience
• Sustainable use and development of coastal resources: effective management and approaches
• Legal and political issues of enclosed coastal seas management
• Human resource and indigenous dimension of enclosed coastal seas management

Deadline for Abstracts submission is February 1, 2016

The official language of the Conference is English.

Conference Organization Committee does not provide reservation for the Conference participants. The information about the hotels in the vicinity of the Conference venue will be available on the Conference web-site starting from January 1, 2016.

APECS will be organizing a one-day career development workshop on 21 August 2016 at the SCAR Open Science Conference 2016 (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 20 - 30 August 2016).

Summary:

The Ecosystem Approach to Management (EA) is a widely adopted management principle requiring management of human activities to be integrated across sectors of enterprise. The ultimate purpose of EA is to achieve sustainable use of natural resources, while maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem. The EA approach has been acknowledged, defined and adopted by the Arctic states working under the Arctic Council. Working groups of the Arctic Council have been engaged for more than a decade in developing aspects of the scientific, policy and indigenous foundations of the knowledge that enable the implementation of the ecosystem approach.

The conference will bring together experts and practitioners to examine the scientific, policy and indigenous understandings and experience of the ecosystem approach to management in the eighteen Large Marine Ecosystems of the Arctic and corresponding terrestrial areas. Topics to be addressed include scientific elements such as Integrated Ecosystem Assessment, as well as national policies such as Integrated Arctic Management and the Inuvialuit Settlement Agreement that are designed to carry out integrated management in an adaptive fashion. Proceedings from the conference will be presented to the ministerial meeting of the Arctic Council in spring 2017.

Objectives:

• Benchmark the status of implementation of EA in the Arctic
• Present innovative examples of best practices in EA implementation
• Identify priorities for future collaboration on EA implementation in the Arctic Themes

Themes:

• Knowledge base – integration of knowledge (including traditional) and Integrated Ecosystem Assessment
• Governance – integration across sectors, institutional arrangements
• Scale integration – integration across small to large scale in ecosystems, and integration across management levels.

Outcomes and Products:

The conference will review progress in implementing the ecosystem approach to management in the various LMEs in the circumpolar Arctic. Presentations and papers will identify best practices for implementation and methods for dealing with impediments to implementation, such as limited information. Approaches to dealing with changes caused by changes in demand across development sectors, and by climate change will be identified. The conference will also examine arrangements for international cooperation in the management of shared LMEs that include waters under national jurisdiction of two or more countries.

Call for abstracts:
We invite contributions for oral or poster presentations. Please send abstracts of presentations (up to 500 words) to eaconference [at] pame.is by April 5.

For registration and other information, please visit the link above.

This event is part of the 2016 Aleutian Life Forum.

Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm AK
Venue: Grand Aleutian Hotel, 498 Salmon Way, Unalaska, AK 99692

Workshop Description:
The predominant ways that changing sea ice affects society are well acknowledged: less sea ice means more open water for shipping, fishing, and offshore oil and gas activities; less sea ice means more wave damage and erosion to shorelines; and changing sea ice often results in less favorable conditions for subsistence hunting. However, in nearly all examples, the societal issue at stake has to do with much more than just sea ice, and relies on a variety of variables linked to infrastructure, economic drivers, cultural values, policy and regulatory environments, etc. The complexity of the system must be acknowledged, if not understood, in order for scientists to more meaningfully engage and partner with Bering Sea communities. This workshop will focus on how sea ice conditions (past, present, and future) play a role in impacting Bering Sea communities, stakeholder decisions, and local to regional economies. The event will explore various perspectives on how changing sea ice connects to societal issues and the implications for societally relevant science.

We would like to announce the Call for Abstracts for the SCAR 2016 Open Science Conference to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 22-26 August 2016. This conference will focus on Antarctica in the Global Earth System: From the Poles to the Tropics and how the changes that we are currently seeing in Antarctica will affect the rest of the world. It is sponsored by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Malaysia together with the Sultan Mizan Antarctic Research Foundation and the National Antarctic Research Centre, together with SCAR.

The conference programme, including sessions and descriptions, is now available on the conference website.

The submission of abstracts is open until 14 February. We encourage those participating in Antarctic expeditions to submit abstracts early. Early bird registration ends on 5 May.

As the only international Antarctic research conference of its kind, this meeting brings together people and groups with various interests - and thus we are happy to provide the opportunity to hold side meetings together with this conference. If you would like to hold a side meeting, please fill out the form as soon as possible. Space is limited and allotted on a first come, first served basis.

For more information, please go to: https://accap.uaf.edu/NWS_Briefings

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. Rick Thoman (Climate Science and Services Manager, Environmental and Scientific Services Division, National Weather Service Alaska Region) will review recent climate conditions around Alaska, review forecast tools and finish up with the Climate Prediction Center's forecast for the upcoming season.

Rick will also present a "Feature-of-the-Month" special addition in which each month he will highlight a topic relevant to the particular month.

Feel free to bring your lunch and join the gathering in-person or join online to learn more about Alaska climate and weather.

This will be a monthly series generally taking place the third Friday of each month.

Organizers announce a call for abstracts and workshops for the Aleutian Life Forum 2016: Building Resilience in the Face of Change. This forum will take place from 16-20 August 2016 in Dutch Harbor, Alaska.

The Aleutian Life Forum (ALF) is a gathering of national, state, and regional scientists, industry stakeholders, community leaders, tribal leaders, and local knowledge holders to promote resilient coastal communities. At this conference, pressing conservation issues will be brought forward for discussion and action through information sessions and community workshops. Topics will include sustainable fisheries, coastal hazards, community monitoring, and others.

Abstracts are being accepted for oral presentations, posters, and workshops.

To submit an abstract for an oral presentation or poster, go to:
http://www.aleutianlifeforum.com/abstracts

To submit a workshop proposal, please provide a one-page description of the workshop and details on workshop leads, anticipated participants, proposed format, and expected outcomes.

Abstract submission deadline: 29 April 2016.

For questions, please contact:
Nikita Robinson
Email: info [at] aleutianlifeforum.com

USAPECS (Association of Polar Early Career Scientists) announces a call for submissions of films for the Polar Film Fest, which will be held in connection with Polar Week, 19-26 September 2016.

To celebrate Polar Week 2016, USAPECS is bring together the best footage that the internet has to offer and showing off the Polar Regions to the world! Whether it is your own footage, a video you found while surfing the web, or something a you've seen at the cinema, as long as it shares the Poles with the world, then it can be featured in the Polar Film Fest. From silly to serious, one minute to feature-length, and Arctic to Antarctic, USAPECS wants to see it all!

All submissions should fit into one of four themes:

• Frozen Worlds:the Cryosphere;
• Partly Frozen, Mostly Cute: Polar Biology & Ecology;
• People at the Poles: The Human Dimension; or
• Climate and Connections.

To submit a suggestion for Polar Film Fest, please go to the link above.

Submission Deadline: 15 August 2016.

Please note that you do not have to be an early career researcher to submit a film.

USAPECS will post curated film playlists with submission information under each theme prior to the start of Polar Week, 19-26 September 2016. During Polar Week, join others online at #PolarFilmFest or plan your own in-person watch party to enjoy some of the best films in polar science!

For questions, please email:
usapecs [at] gmail.com

As a central part of its educational and research mission, SCRiM hosts an annual summer school to foster opportunities for collaboration and to provide a solid foundation in the broad, multidisciplinary knowledge, tools, and methods of the diverse fields participating in the network.

A key focus of the workshop is developing a common vocabulary to help foster enhanced cross-disciplinary communication, enabling the possibility for future collaborative research. Participants will also gain hands-on experience with key methods and tools including robust decision-making, use of simple models, and analysis of relevant datasets.

This program is targeted at advanced graduate students and postdocs. In special circumstances, we may be willing to consider applications from other early-career professionals who have recently completed their master’s or doctoral degrees and are working in SCRiM-relevant fields. Lodging, meals, and tuition costs are covered for all participants. In most cases, we are also able to provide full travel support.

Proposed Sessions:

• Tribal Perspectives on Climate Change
• Earth System Modeling
• Uncertainty Quantification
• Risk Analysis
• Policy Analysis and Robust Decision-making
• Climate Data Analysis
• Geoengineering
• Integrated Assessment
• Coupled Epistemic-Ethical Analysis