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There will be three Arctic Council workshops from 10th and 14th of June:

10-11 June (2 days) – 3rd Ecosystem Approach to Management workshop. The overall aim of this workshop is to discuss data management, availability, integration, and communications as essential to implement the ecosystem approach to management, taking into account outcomes of the Ministerial meeting and EA.

12-13 June (1 ½ day, ending at noon on the 13 June) – AMSA II(C)/AMSA II(D)-PSSA bridging workshop with the aim to assist in the scope of the AMSA II(D) project, The purpose of this workshop is to explore the sensitivity and ecological importance in more detail and with more resolution, in relation to potential threats and measures with regard to shipping.

13-14 June (1 ½ day starting at noon on the 13 June) – 1st Scoping workshop for the revision of the 2004 Arctic Marine Strategic Plan with the aim to get input from other Arctic Council working groups and stakeholders as relevant and based on the main outcomes and relevant documents deliverd to the 2013 Kiruna Ministerial meeting.

Umea University announces the availability of a residential PhD course entitled 'Community Adaptation to Climate Change in the North.' It will be held 10-14 June 2013, and located outside of Umea, Sweden.

The course focuses on the social science aspects of adaptation to climate change, based in a community context. The course discusses and problematizes social vulnerability and community adaptation literature, theoretical relevance and usability of an adaptation perspective, and relevant methodologies for community adaptation research. During the course, a specific focus will be placed on cases from the circumpolar north for reference, but students from all regions are invited to apply.

The residential stay may be supplemented by preparatory coursework and the submission of a final essay after the course. For students who are accepted, costs for lodging and board will be covered (students need to cover their own travel). There are no additional fees for international students.

Application deadline: Friday, 1 March 2013.

Organizers announce that the 22nd International Conference on Port and Ocean Engineering under Arctic Conditions (POAC '13) will be held 9-13 June 2013, at the Aalto University campus in Espoo, Finland.

POAC conferences began in 1971 and have been held every two years at different international venues. Over the years, POAC has been the mainstay of arctic engineering conferences and typically attracts over 150 participants to each conference.

The abstracts for the conference can be sent through the conference homepage (https://wiki.aalto.fi/display/POAC13/HOME). The deadline for the abstracts is Friday, 30 November 2012. The authors of the accepted abstracts will be informed of the acceptance by end of December 2012.

Abstract submission deadline: Friday, 30 November 2012.

The goal of this Chapman Conference is to bring together scholars, social scientists, and journalists to discuss both the history and recent advances in the understanding of climate science and how to communicate that science to policymakers, the media, and society. A research agenda of the conference will focus on the efficacy of scientific communication, with ideas on improved practices arising as an outcome from collaborations spawned at the conference.

This exploration will take place through: 1) discussions covering the history of climate science and successes and failures in communicating scientific ideas to the policy makers and public; 2) an assessment of where we are with respect to current knowledge of climate science and its communication and acceptance by society; 3) a comparison with experiences in other areas producing similar difficulties between scientific knowledge dissemination, societal acceptance of that knowledge, and governance.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists in conjunction with Congressman Sam Farr and responders will highlight how they access and interpret science to keep communities safe and commerce moving through a hypothetical California-based scenario impacting a National Marine Sanctuary, walking participants through each step of the response. The scenario will cover: oil spill response, marine debris tracking and removal, early Natural Resource Damage Assessment efforts, information management, and public involvement. There will be many opportunities for audience engagement and discussion.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks announces that applications are now being accepted for an 18-day three-credit summer field course entitled "The 2013 Arctic Vegetation Ecology." The course will be taught at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, the Toolik field station, and remote locations in northern Alaska 6-23 June 2013.

The course is appropriate for vegetation scientists and botanists, as well as students interested in an overview of the Arctic, its ecosystems, and its role in contemporary discussions of climate change and land-use change. An interdisciplinary approach will examine vegetation, soils, permafrost, geology, land-use and climate-change issues in a wide variety of habitats and settings along the climate gradient. Students will learn methods of vegetation, soil, and environmental sampling required for vegetation analysis.

The course will be offered through the Summer Sessions program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and is limited to ten students. The cost of meals, lodging and travel between the field sites is included in the course fee. Students are expected to pay for their travel to Fairbanks and meals while in Fairbanks.

A $500 non-refundable deposit is required within one week of acceptance the course. Final payment is due 6 May 2013.

The workshop focuses on the impact of our climate on coastal zones and inland waters, on climate change and its expected effects on European seas, and on the role of remote sensing for its study. Topics include:

• Changing terrestrial run-off into coastal waters
• Escalation of extreme coastal events: floods, storms, high tides
• Hydrology and water budget evolution of rivers and lakes
• Increasing temperatures in inland and coastal waters
• Impact of varying physical forcing on morphodynamics and ecosystems
• New developments of habitats, biodiversity and alien invaders
• Fluxes and fate of seawater constituents, including pollutants
• Role of Coastal Zone Management in adapting to climate change

Topics involving investigation with remote sensing include:

• Active and passive methods in all spectral ranges, sensor combinations
• Satellite, airborne and ground-based methods including ground truth
• Modeling of radiative transfer, image processing and related aspects
• Interaction of physical, biological and chemical conditions and processes
• Ocean color remote sensing for coastal and inland waters

Contributions are invited on the following topics:

• From visual data interpretation to semiautomatic and automatic procedures in an archaeological perspective
• Remote sensing, GIS, and geospatial analysis for the risk monitoring and management of cultural resources
• Integration of space/airborne and ground remote sensing in archaeogeophysics
• The "LiDAR revolution" - SAR applications for archaeology and palaeonvironmental studies
• Interactions between environment and human civilizations in the past: which approach by using remote sensing? * Geographic information and earth observation technologies for the protection and management of cultural resources in emerging countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America
• Low cost technologies
• From remote sensing to virtual reconstruction: the study of human past

Methodology keywords include: cellular automata spatial modeling; change detection; classification; data fusion; data integration; data mining; edge detection; geomatics; geostatistics; geovisual analytics; image interpretation; image processing; linear and non linear statistical analysis; pansharpening; pattern recognition; segmentation; site catchment analysis; space-temporal modeling; spatial autocorrelation; spatial multicriteria decision analysis; spatial statistical models; viewshed analysis; visual exploratory data analysis; wavelet.

The CliC Arctic Sea Ice Working Group has held three past workshops (2009 - 2011) bringing together some of the world's leading sea ice researchers to develop, standardize and implement measurement protocols and to integrate observation and modeling. Since 2011 CliC, together with SCAR, strives to integrate sea-ice modeling and observation activities in the Southern Ocean through ASPeCt. This workshop for 30 researchers from around the world will include specialists working on sea-ice modeling, observations, remote sensing and forecasting.

Workshop goals include:

• To establish optimal linkages between international groups involved in sea ice modeling, observations, data assimilation, prediction and service provision;
• To find avenues for future research efforts that are most productive for addressing the gaps in knowledge and weaknesses in our ability to observe sea ice, generate sea-ice data products and strengthen sea-ice modeling capabilities; and
• To outline observational needs for sea-ice models.

Projected outcomes include:

• A review of the current state-of-the-art research, gaps and advances in sea-ice observations, modeling, data assimilation and prediction;
• Action items with identified partners on how to coordinate overlapping interests, close gaps in knowledge, and enhance networking between groups; and
• A compendium of sea-ice issues to be discussed with the wider climate community in the third meeting under this proposal.

Presentations are invited on the current use of earth observation as a support tool for education, training, and capacity building with emphasis on the following topics:

• Earth observation for kids
• Earth observation and its associated use to support science education at schools and universities
• Environmental science as a tool in cooperative learning and teaching, in enquiry-based learning, and in other educational practices for tomorrow's schools
• Earth observation and its use as educational support in areas like biology, chemistry, geography, physics, and mathematics curricula in the classroom but also in continuous individual learning
• Training activities in GMES, with a focus on environment, climate change and natural disasters, in GEOSS, and other international programmes
• Earth observation and its use for public outreach of Environmental Sciences and Global Change