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Our Winter World and GLOBE Alaska are collaborating with the Geophysical Institute to learn how people, animals and plants rely on snow. Join us to become a citizen scientist, dig snow pits, simulate an avalanche, learn about water molecules and more.

This event will take place from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm AKST. All ages welcome! (Adult supervision required.)

The call for abstracts for the 54th International Liège Colloquium "Machine learning and data analysis in oceanography" is now open.

The colloquium will be a hybrid conference, taking place 8-12 May 2023 at the University of Liège in Liège, Belgium and Online. In-person attendance is encouraged.

Deadline for abstract submissions: 27 January 2023.
Early Bird registration: before 31 March 2023.

The Liège Colloquium will be organized into 3 sessions:

1. Learning from Numerical Models
2. Learning from Observations
3. Cross-cutting approaches and integration

Historically, the Arctic Region has served as a natural strategic buffer between nations competing for geopolitical and economic interests. The impacts of climate change on the Arctic’s physical environment have coincided with the reemergence of great power competition for resources, influence, and governance around the globe. The White House’s recent release of the National Strategy for the Arctic Region emphasizes the convergence of these competing interests and for the first time, the Arctic is included as a regional priority in the National Security Strategy. The Department of Homeland Security’s multi-faceted mission through agencies like the United States Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement makes it integral to upholding and advancing the nation’s priorities under the NSAR’s four pillars.

Please join the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute for a conversation with DHS Deputy Secretary John Tien on DHS’s unique and significant role in the Arctic region. This chat will be followed by a panel of experts from DHS agencies who will discuss DHS’s role in upholding the NSAR’s pillars through maritime security, disaster preparedness and recovery, and law enforcement collaboration.

Keynote Speaker

Deputy Secretary John K. Tien
Deputy Secretary, Department of Homeland Security

Moderators

Dr. Rebecca Pincus
Director, Polar Institute

Michael Sfraga
Chair & Distinguished Fellow, Polar Institute // Chair, US Arctic Research Commission

Panelists

Ambassador David Balton
Executive Director, Arctic Executive Steering Committee, Office of Science & Technology Policy, White House; former Senior Fellow, Polar Institute, Wilson Center

Rear Admiral Michael P. Ryan
Deputy Commandant for Operations Policy & Capabilities (CG-DCO-D), U.S. Coast Guard

Tasha Reid Hippolyte, Ph.D.
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Trade Policy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Robert J. Hammer
Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, Department of Homeland Security

David Kang
Director, Office of Response and Recovery, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

The Permafrost Discovery Gateway hosts a monthly webinar series on a Thursday at 09:00 Alaska time. The webinar aims to 1) connect the international science community interested in big data remote sensing of permafrost landscapes, and 2) provide the Permafrost Discovery Gateway development team with end-user stories (by the presenter and webinar participants), such as exploring tools the community needs to create and explore big data.

Abstract

Comprehensive and up-to-date analysis-ready geospatial data on pan-Arctic infrastructure is lacking, hampering risk assessment efforts that attempt to quantify the socioeconomic impacts of permafrost thaw-related natural hazards on the built environment. A recent study addresses this data gap by producing the first pan-Arctic satellite-based record of infrastructure and anthropogenic impacts within 100 km of Arctic coasts at a 10 m spatial resolution, mapping infrastructure from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 imagery using machine learning and deep learning models. In this ongoing study, we attempt to complement and improve upon this data product by developing a deep learning framework to map pan-Arctic infrastructure at a sub-meter spatial resolution using Maxar commercial satellite imagery, which presents a number of unique challenges. Semantic complexity of objects at sub-meter spatial resolution requires a plausible classification scheme that generalizes across the thematic and geographic variability in Arctic infrastructure. The amount of time required to create a circumpolar training dataset requires the integration of numerous open-source geospatial datasets to speed up the process. Model training and testing sites must be carefully selected in order to account for variables including settlement type, structure size and shape, density of building distribution, rooftop design and material, and natural environmental factors. Early stages of the study show promising performance of a U-Net++ model trained to detect various buildings types, roads, airport runways, gravel pads, pipelines, and storage tanks in rural, medium-density, urban, and industrial settings across Alaska, Russia, and Canada.

The organizers welcome oral and poster contributions on all aspects concerning the mass balance and dynamics of Arctic glaciers, including the Greenland Ice Sheet.

The purpose of the meeting is:

• To present and discuss new results on observations and modelling of the dynamics and mass budget of Arctic glaciers, including the Greenland ice sheet
• To plan and coordinate field work on Arctic glaciers with the aim of using the available infrastructure and logistics in the most efficient way
• To develop ideas for future projects and collaboration

In addition to the workshop, the meeting will host a special session on "Glacier - atmosphere interactions in a warming and wetting Arctic".

With funding from IASC, the organizers will be able to provide financial support to a selection of early career researchers.

Please register and submit your abstract by 25 November 2022.

Harvard Kennedy School's Arctic Initiative announces their upcoming book talk featuring Douglas Causey (Arctic Initiative Associate and Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage) and Christian Leuprecht (Class of 1965 Professor in Leadership at the Royal Military College of Canada), co-editors of the new book, Polar Cousins: Comparing Antarctic and Arctic Geostrategic Futures.

Drawing from their new book, Causey and Leuprecht will discuss the impacts of geopolitics and climate change on national and international security interests in both polar regions, as well as the lessons learned from the Arctic experience for addressing challenges relating to governance, environmental protection, and maritime operations in the Antarctic.

Attendance

In-person attendance is limited to Harvard ID holders; no RSVP required. Room capacity is limited and seating will be on a first come, first serve basis.

Members of the public are welcome to attend virtually via Zoom. Virtual attendees need to register to receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link.

Organizers are pleased to announce the start of the Arctic Coastal Observations, Research, and Networking Series (ACORN). ACORN talks will be scheduled for the fourth Wednesday of each month, starting January 2023.

Abstract

Subsea permafrost forms when sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic. Although year-round sea ice has until recently hindered measurement of subsea permafrost distribution, best estimates indicate that over 2.5 million km2 of permafrost exists under the Arctic continental shelf, with some areas of the Laptev and Kara seas underlain by permafrost that is more than 700 meters thick. Understanding subsea permafrost is important because it stores organic carbon and methane, which, if thawed, may reach the atmosphere as greenhouse gasses. Sea-level variations control subsea permafrost distribution. Yet to date, no subsea permafrost model has included local sea level that differs from the global mean due to glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). Here we present the first model of pan-Arctic subsea permafrost over the last 400,000 years to incorporate GIA. This model allows us to estimate present-day subsea permafrost extent and explore the effect that relative sea level has on permafrost evolution. Additionally, we extend the subsea permafrost simulation 1000 years into the future for the emissions scenarios outlined in the International Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report. Our future projections enable us to map the vulnerability of Arctic subsea permafrost to climate warming.

The International Conference on Sámi Research Data Governance aims to identify pertinent issues concerning Sámi data governance. The conference will facilitate the exchange of knowledge, understanding, and experiences regarding Indigenous and Sámi data governance and promote collaboration between Sámi and non-Sámi researchers in the Nordic context on data governance and management.

Deadline for registration is 15 November 2022.

The conference organisers call for abstracts for oral presentations (15–20 min.) on topics related to Sámi or Indigenous peoples’ knowledge and data governance, including (but not limited to):

• Forms of Sámi governance and stewardship for different research data sources (public data, archives, health data, biobank, etc.)
• Operationalizing the CARE principles in the Sámi context. Ways of enhancing Sámi participation in decision-making on data governance and sovereignty.
• Advancing ethical policies regarding Sámi data and digitization of Sámi traditional knowledge and data.
• Proposals for roundtables and panels are also welcome for which a group (3–5 panelists) submits the title of the roundtable/panel and individual abstracts for each participant.

Authors presenting at the conference will be invited to expand their papers into a submission in the conference proceedings in a special issue of a journal or an edited volume. Students are also welcome to present!

Abstract deadline is 15 November 2022. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by November 30th.

The European Space Agency, together with the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC) and the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) is organizing the SeaSAR2023 workshop in Longyearbyen, Svalbard from 2-6 May 2023.

The following topics will be addressed:

• Wave Retrievals
• Near Surface Wind Retrievals
• Doppler Shift Retrievals
• Detection of Extremes
• Sea Ice Retrievals
• Sensor Synergy
• Methodology and Techniques
• Future Missions
• Applications (Oil Spill, Ship Detection, etc)

The workshop is open to ESA Principal Investigators, co-investigators, Sentinel-1 users, scientists, students, representatives from national, European, and international space agencies and value adding industries. No participation fees will be charged. Participants are expected to finance their own travel and accommodation expenses.

Due to the capacity of the venue, the number of attendees will be limited to around 120.

Deadline for abstract submission: 25 January 2023.

Users of satellite data at high latitudes face unique challenges, both related to the operational mission and to the quality and availability of observational data. This presentation will share examples and best practices for leveraging GOES and JPSS satellite data in the high latitudes.

Please register to attend.