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The Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region is a biennial conference for parliamentarians representing the eight Arctic countries and the European Parliament. The first Parliamentary Conference concerning Arctic cooperation was held in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1993. The next conference will be held in the Iceland 5-7 September 2012.

The biennial conference is attended by representatives from the national parliaments of the Arctic states and the European Parliament. The Arctic indigenous peoples are permanent participants to the cooperation. Observers participate from governments and inter-parliamentary organizations as well as from observer states and relevant international organizations.

One of the main priorities of the Standing Committee was originally to support the establishment of the Arctic Council. Since then the Standing Committee has worked actively to promote the work of the Council and participates in the meetings of the Arctic Council as an observer. Today the Committee is engaged in topics like: shipping possibilities, education and research, human development and climate change.

The main items on the agenda for this conference are:
1. Arctic Governance and the Arctic Council
2. Economic opportunities in the Arctic
3. Human Development in the Arctic: Interplay of Research, Authorities and Residents

The conference will adopt a statement directed to the Arctic Council, the governments in the Arctic Region and the institutions of the European Union. Please note that participation is by invitation only.

Professionals will be gathering in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA on August 5-10, 2012, to share health related research findings and program successes that will improve the quality of life for those living in circumpolar regions. This will be a wonderful opportunity to share your products, information, and network with approximately seven hundred and fifty health professionals, researchers, and indigenous representatives from USA, Greenland, Denmark, Canada, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland and other countries interested in circumpolar health.

For further information, please visit:
http://www.icch15.com/

Organizers of the "Public Participation in Scientific Research" (PPSR) conference announce that registration and abstract submission are now available. The conference will be convened 4-5 August 2012 in Portland, Oregon. It is being held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), which is scheduled 6-10 August 2012.

With the rapid growth and innovation of PPSR, there is a need for sharing insights across projects and fields of study. This landmark event will convene science researchers, project leaders, educators, technology specialists, evaluators, and others from across many disciplines (including astronomy, molecular biology, human and environmental health, and ecology) to discuss advancing the field of PPSR.

Poster abstracts will feature highly in the conference and will allow extended informal discussions and active participation by authors and coauthors. There will be three separate 1.5-hour poster sessions.

This workshop will be organized around four principal topics:
1. Addressing state regulatory and policy issues
2. Introduction of cargo airship developers and vehicles
3. Understanding the environment of northern operations
4. Funding for airship development and deployment

The first two days will build on the discussions and efforts that were launched at last year’s cargo airship workshop. We will address how best to bridge the remaining challenges and opportunities associated with bringing this yet to be exploited air transportation system to full deployment in northern operations. The optional final day will offer the opportunity to take part in a variety of local site visits—more information and pricing will be available soon.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Collaborative Research and Training Experience Program (CREATE) announces the availability of a training program in Arctic Atmospheric Science. The program will be held 23-27 July 2012 in Alliston, Ontario.

The Summer School is intended for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows working in the field, with some places available for CREATE undergraduate summer interns. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from experienced researchers in a small and comfortable setting. In addition to classroom lectures, students will participate in a hands-on photochemical modeling tutorial; engage in a diverse career panel discussion; develop strategies for linking scientific knowledge to public engagement, education, and outreach; and present their own research during a poster session.

The goal of the program is to significantly enhance the educational opportunities available to young researchers interested in polar, atmospheric, and climate sciences, enabling them to build collaborations and to develop scientific, technical, communications, and organizational skills. Topics to be covered include aerosol-cloud-climate interactions, arctic halogen chemistry, polar stratospheric ozone, middle atmosphere dynamics, satellite remote sensing of pollution, global climate, glacier-climate interactions in the Arctic, carbon cycling in glacial environments, space and ground-based atmospheric instrumentation, science support management at South Pole Station, Inuit culture, teaching and education in the Canadian Arctic, and science journalism.

Admission to the summer school includes all on-site food and accommodation. A chartered bus will be available to take attendees to and from downtown Toronto, however, attendees are responsible for travel between their home institution and Toronto or Alliston. To apply, please
fill out the application form obtained from the 'Opportunities' section of the CREATE website (http://www.candac.ca/create). Completed applications must also include a curriculum vitae and a short letter of support from the applicant's supervisor. Applications must be submitted by email (create_summerschool [at] atmosp.physics.utoronto.ca).

Visit the world’s only university-owned rocket range, located in the heart of the Interior’s gold-mining district – Chatanika. Poker Flat Research Range has launched sounding rockets since 1969, but has recently grown to include a fleet of unmanned aircraft. You’re invited to tour the lower range, view models of rockets and unmanned aircraft and earn about the history of this exciting site that draws scientists from around the world. The Poker Flat Research Range Open House runs from 4 to 8 p.m. and admission is free!

The two-week summer school will bring graduate students and young scientists together with academic specialists in climate science and decision makers from both the public and private sectors. It is specifically designed to immerse a new generation of scientists in the
opportunities and challenges of climate modeling. Alaska and the Arctic will serve as test-beds for regional downscaling, although the methods will be suitable for applications elsewhere.

The main focus of the summer course will be on how to apply available observations and global and regional model output to meet user needs at the local and regional scales. Introductory overviews of major components of the climate system, including features unique to the Arctic, will be followed by details of how those observations and modeling efforts can be made useful to stakeholders. Dialog with individuals from government agencies, industry, and local communities will help foster understanding of the problem of communicating climate
science to society.

The summer school will consist of lectures and technical sessions in the mornings, and mini-projects and informal discussions in the afternoons. Mini-projects will be performed in collaboration with faculty members and lecturers. All participants will give short presentations on their mini-projects at the end of the two-week period. Because one of the goals of the summer school is to bridge observations and modeling with 'real-world' applications, classroom lectures will be complemented by field trips to research sites around interior Alaska.

The summer school will be offered as a two-credit UAF summer graduate course. Hosted by UAF and sponsored by the Department of Interior's (DOI) Alaska Climate Science Center, the course will be coordinated by Vladimir Alexeev, John Walsh, Scott Rupp, and Stephen Gray. Opportunities will be provided for students and scientists from different regional DOI Climate Science Centers to interact and share experiences. Summer school participants will also include graduate students from outside of the Climate Science Center Network, with
several participants drawn from the international scientific community.

Application packages must include a curriculum vitae and a letter of interest. Applications should be submitted electronically to Tohru Saito (saito [at] iarc.uaf.edu) no later than Tuesday, 15 May 2012.

Important: All applicants need to secure their own funds to participate in this opportunity, including airfare to Fairbanks, meals, and lodging.

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and the World Climate Research Program (WCRP) are pleased to announce the kick-off workshop of the renewed Ice-Sheet Mass Balance and Sea Level (ISMASS) expert group.

WORKSHOP AIMS:

1)To assess the current knowledge of the contribution of the Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheets to global and regional sea-level rise, taking into account ongoing and proposed projects including the ESA/NASA-supported Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-Comparison Exercise. The focus will be on quantifying the uncertainties, and understanding and resolving the current discrepancies among the estimates from different observational and modelling methods. New techniques will also be explored.

2)To analyze how model-based predictions of ice-sheet discharge contributions to sea-level changes can be improved. The emphasis will be on identifying the main shortcomings of the currently available models and suggesting improvements for the next generation of ice-sheet models. Particular attention will be given to the interactions of ice sheets and shelves with the oceans and the atmosphere.

3)To reach a consensus on the magnitude of the current contribution of ice-sheet surface mass balance and discharge to sea-level change, and disseminate this knowledge not only to other researchers, but to policymakers and the general public.

4)To analyze the feasibility of preparing updates of the estimates of the contribution of ice-sheet discharge to sea-level rise between successive IPCC reports (e.g. every two years).

5)To study the regional distribution of sea-level rise and its impacts on coastal areas.

6)To determine how the renewed SCAR-IASC joint expert group on Ice Sheet Mass Balance and Sea Level (ISMASS) should be organized to effectively meet the above objectives.

The Local Organizing Committee and Portland State University look forward to welcoming the Antarctic community to Portland, Oregon in July of 2012.

This SCAR Open Science Conference will focus on SCAR's dual role of science and advice to policy makers. In a change to previous conferences the first time slots (2.5 hours) of the last three days will be in plenary, with a focus on high level overarching themes we believe will be of interest to the majority of attendees:

-Antarctic Conservation Challenges in a Century of Change
-Past, Present and Future Climate Evolution
-Evolution and Biodiversity in Antarctica

There will be parallel sessions as normal after these plenary sessions.

For more information regarding the program and meeting, please visit:
http://scar2012.geol.pdx.edu/

This workshop will provide training in the sampling, production, description and interpretation of thin sections of sediments from a wide variety of environments, with particular focus on glacigenic sediments. It is intended for research students, early career and established researchers who wish to explore the potential of thin section micromorphology, SEM and 3D-computed tomography within their research.

The workshop is limited to 18 delegates, and will cost £250 (£150 for postgraduates); on-campus accommodation is available at QMUL.

For more details, please contact the Centre for Micromorphology (geog-cfm [at] qmul.ac.uk), or visit: http://www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/ research/centres/micromorphology/index.html.