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The U.S. National/Naval Ice Center (NIC) and the U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC) co-host this follow-on symposium to address the changing state of Arctic sea ice and associated environmental conditions vis-a-vis emerging or expected naval, maritime, and associated activities and operations in the region. Invited speakers include nationally and internationally recognized experts on Arctic observations, climate change, and maritime operations.

This symposium links the functional importance of land and water ecosystems and their biocomplexity under an ecosystemic perspective in order to understand: the Antarctic trophic web; effects of human impacts such as the ozone hole, climate change, and the increase in tourism activities; the flexible boundaries and dynamic gradients in Antarctic ecosystem; and the Antarctic marine biodiversity through its patterns, processes, and trends. The symposium is organized around six themes:

• Terrestrial biocomplexity: Function and linkages in land and water ecosystems
• Integrated perspectives on Antarctic marine ecosystems: From krill to top predators
• Human impacts on Antarctic ecosystems: From global change to small scale impacts
• Physical and biogeochemical processes in the Antarctic ecosystem: Flexible boundaries and dynamic gradients
• Antarctic marine biodiversity: Patterns, processes and trends in an ancient ecosystem
• Outreach and Education

Abstracts are invited for poster and/or oral presentations relevant to one of these themes. Authors must be submitted online, and authors must indicate which theme's referees should evaluate the submission. Final session titles and paper allocation will be made by the Local Scientific Organizing Committee at the time of the final program composition.

Abstract submission deadline: 31 January 2013.

Canterbury Christ Church University is pleased to announce that it will be running a new short course in GIS. The intensive week-long course will run from 15th-19th July 2013 at its Canterbury campus, in Kent, UK.

The five-day course will introduce you to the basic concepts and principles of GIS and explains how this growing technology can bring real value to the work place. The course involves the practical use of ESRI software (ArcGIS, Spatial Analyst and 3D Analyst) showing how key techniques can be applied to a range of situations. The course will also demonstrate how associated technologies, such as remote sensing (e.g. aerial photography, satellite imagery, and LIDAR) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) can be successfully integrated with GIS to provide powerful tools. The course assumes no prior experience of GIS and will be particularly beneficial if you:

• Would like to integrate GIS techniques within your current job;
• Are looking for employment that requires hands-on experience of GIS;
• Are a research student or academic who would like to apply GIS techniques for data analysis; and
• Have a general interest in GIS and would like to learn new skills.

The course will run over five days (10am to 4pm) and will include a mixture of short lectures and longer practical sessions. Students will also be encouraged to undertake self-learning through completing the online ESRI certified 'Virtual Campus' course to receive industry recognized accreditation. Each student will also receive a University certificate on completion of the course.

The cost of the course will be £560 per student. To keep costs down, refreshments are not included. However, there are several excellent on-campus facilities nearby.

The Short Course in GIS is open to any individual with a keen interest in GIS. There are no particular academic requirements, although a good level of computer literacy is essential. Please visit our website for further information and to download an application form: http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/social-applied-sciences/geographical-and-li….

Applications must be received no later than Friday 21st June 2013, applications will be on a first-come, first-served basis so we advise an early booking to avoid disappointment.

If you have any questions or require any further information then please do not hesitate to contact either Dr Alex Kent or Dr Katie Wooldridge by email at geography [at] canterbury.ac.uk or call 01227 782331.

The 3rd Airship Workshop will follow up the achievements of last year's workshop by focusing on potential approaches and actions that would facilitate establishing strong cargo airship business commitments to serving customers in Alaska and other Northern areas. Workshops will consider specific actions that may be initiated.

Discussions will include:

• Establishment of one or more formal airship users groups to represent an aggregation of potential airship services users.
• Federal or State government contracting approaches that could provide cargo airship operators with formal commitments to use airship services.
• Public/private airship investment opportunities in airship infrastructure and airship developing companies to facilitate construction of necessary airships and their operational support facilities.

If you are interested in being a workshop sponsor, exhibitor, or speaker please contact:

Karen Felts
Project Assistant
AK Department of Transportation
907-266-2787 (Office)
Karen.felts [at] alaska.gov

Ron Hochstetler
Workshop Technical Chairman
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)
703-725-0848 (Work Mobile)
hochstetlerr [at] saic.com

The conference will bring together some 1200 scientists from both fields to present and discuss the latest research in separate or joint sessions. A large variety of topics will be covered, from ice-sheet modelling to extreme climate events, from solar UV radiation to avalanche formation and permafrost – be sure to contribute and benefit from the possibility to extend your network and meet excellent scientists from a wide range of fields.

DACA-13 offers a platform to discuss the latest developments in atmospheric and cryospheric research. The overall theme “Air, Ice & Process Interactions” implies that it has been recognized that many of the key challenges concerning global environmental change lie at the interface of traditional disciplines. The atmosphere and the cryosphere are particularly important and vulnerable in this context. Attention will therefore be given to atmospheric and cryospheric processes with the aim to also emphasize the many interactions that exist between the atmosphere and the cryosphere.

This year the BC3 Summer School (July 8th, 9th, 10th) entitled "Addressing Climate Change Challenges from a Multidisciplinary Perspective" will be structured similarly to IPCC (International Panel for Climate Change) assessment reports. For this purpose, we have invited researchers that can help us to better understand the biophysical part behind the economics of climate change. The course will have three main sessions/days, each of them focusing in one of the subjects of the IPCC Working Groups: climate science, adaptation and impact and mitigation of climate change. An IPCC-member scientist will be a keynote lecture for each session. After that, top leading invited speakers will cover in more detail the main key issues in the climate change research agenda.

The topics that will be covered this year are: arctic sea ice dynamics, ocean circulation models and its implications for state-shift events, see level rise projections and implications, impacts of climate change on water, food and health, mitigation options, technologies and cost, climate policies at global level and economic instruments.

The school is open to Master students, PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and other researchers as well as policy makers interested in acquiring a deep understanding of climate change and the policies designed to fight it.

PhD students and postdoctoral participants will have the opportunity to present their work in a specific poster session and get feedback from the faculty.

The growing focus on arctic oil/gas exploration and production has raised the need for new industry practices and standards for materials selection, qualification and design for structures. Challenges in arctic operations include low temperatures that are encountered (i.e. design temperatures down to -60°C) and large temperature variations between summer and winter. Yet another aspect is the potentially large deformations that may be imposed on pipelines and structures due to frost heave, thaw settlement, or iceberg scour. Due to the harsh weather and poor light conditions, transportation, installation and maintenance work can be very challenging. Emissions from the operation and large operational "foot-print" must be controlled to minimize environmental impact. In order to pursue exploration in arctic areas it is necessary to develop robust structures which are easy to deploy and maintain. Key factors in this picture are materials and welding technology. Thus, a special symposium is being organized to provide the scientific-industrial community an insight of new materials and technology development in the subject of "Arctic Materials".

Suggested Topics

• Materials development (steels, composites, etc.)
• Welding consumables
• Welding technology
• Low temperature properties
• Mechanisms of embrittlement
• Large deformations
• Testing and evaluation methods
• Modelling and simulation
• Design, safety and risks
• Codes and standards development

Developments in the Arctic have mostly been studied through defense studies, international relations, geopolitics, and to a lesser extent, economics. Public policies of arctic states in the High North have attracted far less attention, with the exception of Indigenous peoples' rights. This panel refers to the definition of the Arctic by the Arctic Human Development Report based largely on northern political units. Although the Arctic is not a homogenous region physically, economically, or politically, the arctic states face comparable challenges such as adapting to a warmer climate and the development of remote areas. Many parts of the Arctic are characterized by a harsh environment with little infrastructure, long distances, and ethnically diverse populations. While some regions are affected by out-migration, and others by in-migration, more transient workers are needed for mining and the hydrocarbon industries. The purpose of this panel is to analyze and discuss:

• To what extent climate change and the economic prospects in the Arctic have changed public policies;
• To what extent public policies are limiting or motivating economic development through legislation, infrastructure development, and direct or indirect subsidization, particularly in the mining and hydrocarbon sector and in transport (shipping);
• The capacity to act by the elected representatives at the local level, and to analyze to what extent citizens and communities are engaged in the development of public policies
• How conflicting interests between economic sectors are considered (e.g. tourism versus mining, petroleum activities versus fisheries and traditional subsistence);
• How social cohesion between various categories of the population (Indigenous/non indigenous, permanent/transient) appears as an issue in current public policies;
• If public policies are shaped by regional frameworks of cooperation and international agreements and norms;
• How arctic policy making can be seen as an imaginary and symbolic construction.

Comparative approaches of public policies in the Arctic are particularly welcome. In order to propose a paper, please send an abstract (300 words max.) directly to panel chair Cecile Pelaudeix (cecile.pelaudeix [at] sciencespo-lyon.fr).

Abstract submission deadline: Friday, 1 February 2013.

The ICPG 2013 is an excellent platform to communicate your research in population geographies to the rest of the academic world. From September 1st, 2012 onwards it is possible to upload your abstracts. Completed papers as well as works in progress are welcome. Plenary sessions on Healthy Ageing and Population Decline will be organized. Special sessions on Healthy Ageing, Population Decline, Global Population Growth, Environmental Change and Migration, Arctic Population Geography, Highly Skilled Migration between the Global North and South and Internal Migration of Graduates and Regional Labour Markets will be hosted, so researchers in these fields are especially encouraged to come over and present.

Two keynote speakers for the conference include:

Professor Sarah Harper speaking on “Rethinking Global Ageing.” Professor Harper is Director of the Oxford Institute of Population Aging.

Dr. Cristina Martinez-Fernandez speaking on “The impact of demographic change on local labour markets: lessons from the Netherlands and OECD countries.” Dr. Martinez is Senior Policy Analyst at the OECD, located in Paris.

The Melnikov Permafrost Institute announces that the Third Forum for Young Permafrost Scientists will be held 24 June - 13 July 2013 in Yakutsk, Russia.

The forum will include the Geocryological Conference held in Yakutsk from 24-27 June 2013 and the Field Workshop in the southern Verkhoyansk Mountains from 29 June to 13 July 2013. Young researchers--including undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows--are invited to attend. Forum themes include:

• Regional and historical geocryology
• Thermal regime of cryolythozone
• Periglacial processes and forms
• Landscape dynamics in permafrost regions
• Permafrost geochemistry
• Permafrost hydrology and hydrogeology
• Climate change and permafrost evolution
• Greenhouse gases and gas hydrates
• Permafrost microbiology
• Remote sensing of permafrost
• Stability of engineering structures on permafrost

The conference registration page is now available online (http://mpi.ysn.ru/index.php/en/registration.html), and abstracts are being accepted (http://mpi.ysn.ru/index.php/en/call-for-abstracts.html).