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The 12th annual Polar Technology Conference (PTC) will be hosted by Polar Field Services and CH2MHILL Polar Services at the Polar Field Service (PFS) headquarters in Littleton, Colorado.

The primary purpose of this conference is to bring together Polar Scientists and Technology Developers in a forum to exchange information on research system operational needs and technology solutions that have been successful in polar environments. This exchange of knowledge helps to address issues of design, implementation, and deployment for systems that are to achieve their research goals in the Polar Regions.

Past participants have come from the private sector, state and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and academia. Presentations generally cover system requirements for proposed research along with descriptions of systems and approaches that have been proven in polar deployments. Typical hardware and software topics have included weather stations, robotics, power systems, telemetry, and remote communications. The scale of systems ranges from the autonomous data collection towers to large scale research stations. Polar venues represented include under, on, and above the ice, tundra, or sea.

Discussions on intra- and inter-national cooperation in site deployment and maintenance are encouraged. Informal breaks allow for opportunities for networking and information exchange. A poster session is also included. Workshops have been held offering tutorial exchanges on specific technologies (e.g., power systems, Iridium). We are pleased to have support from the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs as an endorsement of the concept of bringing together providers and consumers of these technologies in hopes of benefiting from that synergy.

For more information and to register, please see the above link.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Arctic Council, with the United States handing over its two-year, rotating chairmanship to Finland in the spring of 2017. The United States and Finland are working closely to ensure continuity of shared chairmanship priorities and a long-term approach to addressing challenges in the Arctic.

What will this transition mean for Arctic issues in the years ahead, and what priorities will shape the conversation around sustainable development? How can environmental and economic imperatives be balanced over the long-term?

Please join the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace for a conversation between two sitting ambassadors, the Honorable Charles Adams and the Honorable Kirsti Kauppi, for an exploration of what priorities and outlooks the United States and Finland share on Arctic issues.

Charles C. Adams, Jr. is the U.S. ambassador to Finland. Before his nomination, Ambassador Adams was the managing partner in the Geneva, Switzerland office of the law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.

Kirsti Kauppi is the Finnish ambassador to the United States. Her previous post was Vienna, where she served as ambassador of Finland to Austria and as Finland’s permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the UN agencies.

David Livingston is an associate in Carnegie’s Energy and Climate Program, where his research focuses on innovation, markets, and risk.

Melanie Nakagawa serves as the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of State for energy transformation in the Bureau of Energy Resources.

The public is invited to a briefing on Attribution of Extreme Weather Events in the Context of Climate Change, a new consensus report from the Academies’ Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate.

The report examines the current state of the science of attribution of extreme weather events to human-caused climate change and natural variability. Ralph Cicerone, President of the National Academy of Sciences, will make opening remarks. Dr. David Titley of the Pennsylvania State University, who served as Chair of the report’s authoring committee, will present the report’s findings. Dr. Titley will then open the session for Q&A along with committee members Marshall Shepherd of the University of Georgia, Theodore Shepherd of the University of Reading, UK, and John Walsh of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

Follow the link above and register today to attend in person or via webcast.

Organizers announces a call for applications for a field course entitled, "Advanced Climate Dynamics Course on the Role of High Latitudes in Centennial to Millennial Scale Climate Variability."

The goal of the course is to provide students with empirical, proxy, and dynamical training within climate science and an understanding the basic principles and dynamics behind centennial to millennial scale climate variability and their link to past, present and future changes to high latitude climate.

The course is taught by several invited guest lecturers coordinated by the Bjerknes Centre in Bergen, Norway; University of Washington; and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Application deadline: 10 March 2016.

The 2016 Western Alaska Interdisciplinary Science Conference will be in Dillingham March 9-12, focusing on the theme Adaptation: Tides of Change. The conference "highlights regional scientific efforts that provide a more interdisciplinary approach to scientific inquiry and resource management".

Submissions are welcome from all individuals and organizations collecting data in western Alaska. Abstracts can be submitted through January 31st via the conference website.

Session Topics:
(subject to change)

• Oil and Gas/Mining: Brian Rasley
• Fisheries: Gabriel Dunham
• Sustainable Energy: Tom Marsik
• Green Buildings: Jonathan Mears
• Rural Health Care: Rebecca Coupchiak
• Rural Science Education: Tara Borland
• How Can Alaskan Colleges Serve Rural Students Better?: Pete Pinney
• K-12 Session: Deanna Baier
• Ecosystem Health/Climate Change: Todd Radenbaugh; Sue Flensburg
• Citizen/Subsistence Science: Todd Radenbaugh
• Rural Solid Waste: Todd Radenbaugh

TIME: 11 a.m. MST
LIVE CHAT: http://www.fin.ucar.edu/it/mms/ml-live-chat1.htm
LIVE WEBCAST: http://www.fin.ucar.edu/it/mms/ml-live.htm

ABSTRACT:
Studies of linkages between summer atmospheric circulation patterns and the downward trend in annual Arctic sea ice minimum have suggested systematic relationships between low sea ice years and the Arctic Dipole pattern. While the first order downward trend in Arctic sea ice extent has been strong, particularly in the last few decades, departures in ice extent from year to year are typically the result of large and often partially compensating regional anomalies. In particular, the trend
in open water in the Pacific sector has been both larger and more variable than the trend in the Atlantic sector, due in part to the ubiquity of Fram Strait export maintaining some measure of ice cover.

Decadal predictive skill of sea ice by earth system models is increasing rapidly. However, the challenge of sea ice predictability is no more immediate than in the quest for time-sensitive decision support for technically feasible navigation routes with enough skill and detail to predict requirements for ship class. In this context, developing new approaches for seasonal ice prediction presents an important test for our understanding of the evolving system. This talk will present initial results that combine statistical modeling of ice and shipping costs with analysis of atmospheric circulation regimes using self organizing maps as part of an ongoing project to better understand the drivers of change on critical shipping routes in the Arctic.

For more information, contact Gaylynn Potemkin, email potemkin [at] ucar.edu, phone: 303.497.1618

International Partnerships in Ice Core Sciences (IPICS) is the principal planning group for international ice core science. Established in 2005, IPICS now includes scientists from 23 nations.

The IPICS 2016 Second Open Science Conference conference in Hobart, Australia, follows the vibrant First IPICS OSC in Giens, France, in 2012, which attracted 230 scientists.

The Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre and the Australian Antarctic Division are very pleased to host the Second IPICS OSC and look forward to the opportunities to share the latest science and build the IPICS community.

Abstract submissions are now open. Deadline is 15 September 2015. Abstracts are invited on all aspects of ice core research including major recent drilling projects.

For more information, please visit the conference website link above.

Ice Core Young Scientists (ICYS) is pleased to announce a workshop for Early Career Researchers in ice core science to be held immediately before the upcoming IPICS Open Science Conference, on Sunday 06 March 2016.

The workshop aims to foster collaboration among young scientists in the community, enhance specific skills relevant to ice core science, and provide a forum for discussion of important career-related topics. The workshop will include plenary sessions on the future of ice coring science, as well as supervised break-out discussions of “softer” skills that are vital to a scientific career but rarely are part of the formal academic training. The workshop will also feature a panel discussion with senior scientists on topics such as work/life balance, strategies for dual-career couples, challenges involved in being a chief scientist, leadership techniques as a PI etc.

Generous travel grants are available for students to attend both the workshop and IPICS Open Science Conference. Applications are now open and registration for the ICYS workshop must be made via the IPICS2015 Abstracts Submission Form (http://www.ipics2016.org/abstracts). The deadline for abstract submission 15 September 2015.

Key dates
15 July, 2015
• Call for abstracts opens
• Conference registrations open

15 September, 2015
• Deadline for abstracts
• Early career researcher travel support applications close

31 December, 2015
• Early bird period ends

06 March, 2016
• ICYS Workshop, Hobart

07-11 March, 2016
• IPICS 2016 Second Open Science Conference

Early career support packages
IPICS2016 organizers will award a limited number of support packages of up to $A2000 for early career researchers to attend the conference. Applications close at 23:59 UT September 15, 2015, and must be made at the same time as you submit your abstract using the IPICS2016 Abstracts Submission Form.

Additional nationally-tied support for early career researchers is also available. Applicants from eligible countries should apply as first preference for these via relevant national channels, in addition to the application via the IPICS2016 website, in the event that they are unsuccessful.

Europe: EPICA member institutions can submit applications for support to the Descartes Prize Committee via their national representative.

United States: At the time of opening, the prospect of ICYS-solicited support for US early career researchers is under consideration. Contact ICYS US reps for latest information.

Developing nations: Travel support is available for early career researchers from developing nations, with generous support from PAGES. Applications for travel support must be made simultaneously with the submission of your abstract on the IPICS2016 Abstracts Submission form.

IPICS2016, EPICA, PAGES and ICYS will coordinate the travel support applications with the intention to grant only one award to any individual. Applicants should be aware that the IPICS2016 awards here will be finalised after consultation with all other funding providers.

Additional information:

• Most, but not all, support awards offered here by the Hobart organizing committee are intended for attendance at the Ice Core Young Scientists (ICYS) Workshop on Sunday 6 March in Hobart.
• Any individual is entitled to only ONE award from IPICS2016, EPICA, PAGES or any other nationally coordinated program of awards. Applicants are welcome to apply here as well, but should be aware that organisers and funding providers will coordinate awards in consultation to ensure just one is granted.
• Awards will be negotiated on the basis of airfare and accommodation receipts to the maximum value of A$2000.

Organizers of Asia Oceania Geosciences Society session AS41, entitled "The linkages between the Arctic climate change and mid-latitude climate and weather,'" announce a call for abstracts. This session will be convened at the 2016 Annual Asia Oceania Geosciences Society Meeting, scheduled for 31 July thru 5 August 2016 in Beijing, China.

Session description: The Arctic temperature has increased faster than the rest of the world, and the sea ice has declined at the pace never seen before since the beginning of 21st century. These profound changes to the Arctic have coincided with a period of ostensibly more frequent extreme weather events across the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes. The possibility of a link between Arctic change and mid-latitude weather has spurred research activities that reveal potential linkages between the two parts of the world. The intent of the session is to further the understanding of the coupling between Arctic variability and mid-latitude climate and weather by synthesizing ongoing efforts and exploring our key gaps.

This session aims to highlight new and emerging efforts focused on linkage studies based on observations, reanalysis products, and model simulation results. Papers are welcome on all aspects, particularly those to assess and synthesize existing knowledge on the links between Arctic climate change and mid-latitude weather variability including weather extremes to identify key questions and knowledge gaps with a particular attention on physical processes and scale interactions considering the relatively short time period of record and multiple components included in the hypothesized linkages and to current modeling efforts on exploring the relationship between Arctic and mid-latitude weather and climate variability.

Abstract submission deadline: Friday, 4 March 2016.

The goals of the Science of Learning (SL) Program are to: advance fundamental knowledge about learning through integrative research; connect the research to specific scientific, technological, educational, and workforce challenges; and enable research communities to capitalize on new opportunities and discoveries. The program supports projects that emphasize consilience of knowledge, adopting diverse disciplinary approaches to shared research questions. The program seeks to develop robust and integrated accounts of contexts, mechanisms, and effective strategies of learning.

This solicitation invites proposals for the creation of new research networks to address important integrative questions in the science of learning. Each network must identify an integrative research goal involving convergence of evidence from the diverse disciplinary approaches represented by participants in the network. The proposed research must substantially advance understanding of learning in more than a single discipline. Networks may focus on advancing basic research through experiments and theory, as well as translating findings from basic research on learning to applications in order to benefit society and further inform fundamental theories of learning. This solicitation is for proposals that do not fit into existing NSF programs, by virtue of the emphasis on interdisciplinarity in service of knowledge consilience and integration.

Each network is expected to engage in both of the following activities:

• Partnership-building activities among the network participants to optimize scientific exchange for the co-design and execution of network goals; and
• Collaborative, integrative research to be conducted by the network participants. Integrative research must address questions of genuine significance across multiple disciplines, or multiples levels of analysis.