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The ACORN series is a monthly online seminar series by PerCS-Net members on topics related to Arctic coastal research. Talks are scheduled for the last Wednesday of the month (September to May) at 1 pm Eastern Time.

Abstract

Arctic marine ecosystems have witnessed an increase in sea surface temperatures (SSTs) due to Arctic amplification, potentially affecting biogeochemical cycling and marine life. This study examines satellite-derived SSTs in the lagoon and adjoining waters of the Beaufort Sea Coast in northern Alaska. We compare observed changes with those occurring in other Arctic marine ecosystems. Results spanning 1982 to 2022 reveal a consistent warming trend across all lagoon environments during the ice-free season. Barrier islands emerge as crucial agents in safeguarding warmer waters from mixing with colder oceanic waters. Lagoons influenced by river deltas display prominent warming earlier in spring, while all lagoons exhibit a delayed freeze-up during the fall. We also investigate spatial variations in the rate and scope of warming sea surface temperatures within the lagoon and its adjacent waters. This study offers valuable insights into the potential repercussions of warming SSTs on nearshore lagoon ecosystems. The uniformity of these changes with those in open oceanic regions points toward shared underlying drivers of these trends.

Speaker: Bob Busey, NWS Alaska Pacific River Forecast Center.

The spring break up of 2023 was among the worst of the last thirty years for flooding across the state of Alaska. The cool April slowed the melting and weakening of the river ice across many of the major rivers in the state. This resulted in a series of ice jams as the break up front moved down the Kuskokwim and Yukon towards the Bering Sea. This talk will be a bit of a summary of the spring as well as a walkthrough of some of the remote sensing products the River Forecast Center uses during the breakup season.

A changing climate is altering northern landscapes and there is a need for communities to be able to understand what they may expect in the future. During this webinar, presenters will unveil the interactive Northern Climate Reports tool created by UAF’s Scenarios Network for Alaska and Arctic Planning (SNAP) team and review how the tool uses climate data to construct a variety of possible futures for a warming North.

Please register to attend.

How can we make Arctic social and environmental science open science? Join the Navigating the New Arctic Community Office for this one-hour virtual event to discuss approaches to open science in the context of collaborative and convergent research in the Arctic, while upholding Indigenous data sovereignty.

Registration is required.

The Arctic Frontiers 2024: Actions and Reactions conference will take place in Tromsø, Norway, and digitally from January 29th- February 1st, 2024.

The Arctic Frontiers annual conference aims to connect different expertise and perspectives from areas such as policy, science and business. It is an arena for networking and knowledge exchange.

Big Picture sessions are the conference's largest sessions, and an arena for discussing the most pressing issues in the Arctic region. Recurring topics are geopolitics, climate change mitigation and adaptation, energy transition and business and policy related to the ocean.

The science program showcases the most recent research on the Arctic, to enhance collaboration and provide knowledge-based solutions.

Side events provide a deep dive into selected topics. A side event can have different formats, such as a panel discussion, workshop or meeting.

The conference's Open events invite the city of Tromsø to engage in discussions on the future of the Arctic. Open events take place in venues across the city and are in both Norwegian and English languages.

Abstract submission deadline: 25 September 2023.

The 2023 WAIS Workshop will be hosted at the University of Minnesota's Cloquet Forestry Center in Cloquet, Minnesota. The conference will kick off with an informal dinner on Monday 25 September, and the formal science agenda will conclude by lunch on Thursday 28 September. For 2023, the organizers hope to have a set of Thursday afternoon workshops ranging in topic, likely including education, cloud computing, data archiving, and more.

Sponsored by the NSF and NASA, the workshop will focus on marine ice-sheet and adjacent earth systems, with particular emphasis on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Registration and abstract submission is now open. You can find the registration link.

Abstracts must be submitted no later than 5:00 pm PDT on 11 August 2023.

Polar STEAM is an NSF-funded program that supports broader impacts through matching educators, artists, and writers with polar researchers to co-create educational and creative resources related to polar research. Applications are currently open for the 2024/25 field seasons in the Arctic and Antarctic.

Educators in the following areas are welcome to apply:

• Educators across all subject areas
• Informal educators who work in science education settings such as museums and science centers
• Faculty from community colleges and Minority Serving Institutions
• Middle and High school educators

The application deadline for polar educators is 24 September 2023 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time .

For more than 30 years, the Falmouth Forum, presented by the Friends of the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), has brought free cultural enrichment to our community. The Falmouth Forum is supported by the Falmouth Forum Endowment, the Bakalar Endowed Director's Discretionary Fund, and The Falmouth Fund of The Cape Cod Foundation.

Lectures are free and open to the public. Free parking is available in any Marine Biological Laboratory lot. No registration required for in-person attendance. Doors open at 7:00 pm, lectures start at 7:30 pm.

Bio

Melody Brown Burkins is the Director of the Institute of Arctic Studies, Senior Associate Director in the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, and Adjunct Professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth College. In January 2022, she was also named the UArctic Chair in Science Diplomacy and Inclusion. With more than 30 years of experience as a polar scientist working in academia and governance, she is an advocate for policy-engaged scholarship, experiential education, and the support of science policy and diplomacy initiatives advancing sustainability, inclusion, and gender equality in the Arctic and around the world.

A "science diplomat" for Arctic and global issues, Burkins is a Special Advisor and Assembly Representative to the UArctic global network, an elected member of the Founding Governing Board of the International Science Council, and Past Chair of the U.S. National Academies' Board on International Scientific Organizations. Over the past two years, she has served on the UN Office of Disaster Risk Reduction Global Assessment Report Advisory Board and UNESCO Global Independent Expert Group on Universities and the 2030 Agenda.

Born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, Burkins' strong personal and professional connections to the North also inform her work to connect Dartmouth students and faculty with opportunities for Arctic scholarship, cooperation, and engagement. She enjoys sharing the experience of developing and leading effective science policy and diplomacy collaborations with colleagues and students in talks, webinars, workshops, and panel discussions.

Burkins earned her B.S. in geology at Yale and both her M.S. and Ph.D. at Dartmouth, focusing her doctoral studies on earth and ecosystem studies in the Antarctic Dry Valleys.

Rick Thoman will review recent and current climate conditions around Alaska, discuss some forecasting tools and finish up with the Climate Prediction Center’s forecast for October 2023 and the early winter season. Join the gathering online to learn what’s happened and what may be in store with Alaska’s seasonal climate.

Please register to attend.

The far north is feeling the heat from climate change more than anywhere else on Earth, with rising temperatures and melting ice putting increasing pressure on marine life, ocean currents, and human lives and livelihoods. Host Véronique LaCapra will talk with scientists studying Earth’s northernmost regions and learn how changes in the Arctic affect the rest of our planet.

Speakers

• Sarah Das, Climate Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• Evie Fachon, Marine Biologist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• Isabela A Le Bras, Oceanographer, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution