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In 2021, the Government of Greenland made an active shift in the political discourse regarding Greenland’s development and is now pursuing a green transition. Greenland sees itself as a “state in formation”, and looks to other nation-states for inspiration. The question is: to whom, to what, does Greenland compare itself in the process of finding a fitting model for future green development? This discussion will further explore two additional topics: first, Greenland’s ambition to be an exporter of hydropower and mining rare earth minerals, which would support the technology for the green transition; and secondly, the political conversation about joining the Paris agreement.

Bio

Dr. Lill Rastad Bjørst is an Associate Professor in Arctic Studies with Aalborg University and the 2022 Fulbright Arctic Initiative III Visiting Researcher with the Institute of Arctic Studies at Dartmouth. For over 15 years, she has been researching climate change in Greenland as a scholar within the human and social sciences. At Aalborg, she also serves as the Head of Research for the Centre of Innovation and Research in Culture and Living in the Arctic (CIRCLA), a member of the Aalborg Arctic Coordination Board, and on the Steering Committee of IKL Green Transition. Her work is co-funded by grants from the Independent Research Fund Denmark and the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.

In recent decades there have been major changes in Arctic Ocean circulation, salinity, and temperature and associated declines in sea ice coverage and thickness. There is evidence of connections of these changes with climate indices, and the changes arguably affect climate by altering the radiative heat balance at high latitudes, impacting the strength of the global overturning circulation, and influencing the interaction between the ocean and Greenland ice sheet. There are also indications that Arctic sea ice and atmospheric circulation can play an important role in extended range predictability of extreme weather events in mid-latitudes. In spite of its importance, Arctic Ocean observations are limited. Several major in situ observing programs that existed in the 2000s have ended, and today sustained oceanographic observations outside the Canada Basin have almost ceased to exist. This workshop will aim to assess our understanding of the Arctic Ocean circulation and discuss observing system requirements needed to confirm and extend that understanding.

More specifically, the workshop will explore changes in Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas circulation related to global change and the observing system required to track those changes in the future. The observing system design effort will be cognizant of the practical, geopolitical, and operational constraints of Arctic Ocean observing, but will incorporate modern objective experimental design and data assimilation using numerical models as fundamental guiding principles. Its work will contribute to evaluations of model simulations and observational analyses to assess opportunities for model improvements.

The US CLIVAR Observing, Modeling, and Understanding the Circulation of the Arctic Ocean and Sub-Arctic Seas Workshop will include presentations addressing:

A. The state of knowledge of Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas circulation with an eye toward identifying critical gaps in observations of modes of variability
B. The observing system needs and data assimilation approach to track those modes of variability
C. The practical, institutional, technical, and geopolitical challenges of increasing the coverage of Arctic Ocean observations that are required by A) and B)

This conference aims to contribute to the understanding of the value of indigenous astronomy, advocacy and communication programmes, improved research methodologies, epistemologies and philosophies. Other outcomes include the launch of the international indigenous astronomy experts’ society, publication of the proceedings and recommendations, which will be disseminated to stakeholders. Policy briefs and research notes will also be produced to share with policy makers.

This international conference’s strategic objectives will be:

• To bring together Indigenous Knowledge Systems experts, Indigenous Astronomy experts, researchers, scholars including indigenous knowledge holders and practitioners to establish the International Indigenous Astronomy Experts Society (IIAES).
• To promote indigenous astronomy as a paradigm for social, cultural, educational and economic development and empowerment.
• The conference will provide a platform for deliberations on strategies and policies in indigenous astronomy research, but also address best practices.
• The conference will promote dialogues, critical conversations and debates on inter / multi / transdisciplinary conventions of IKS.

Abstract submission deadline: 30 April, 2022.

Rick Thoman review recent and current climate conditions around Alaska, discuss forecast tools, and finish up with the Climate Prediction Center’s forecast for August 2022. Join the gathering online to learn what’s happened and what may be in store with Alaska’s seasonal climate.

Please register to attend.

Observed fall Eurasian snow cover extent (SCE) anomalies were first linked with variability in the North Atlantic/Arctic Oscillation (N/AO) where above normal SCE was related to colder temperatures across the Northern Hemisphere continents. Subsequent studies demonstrated that above normal SCE favored tropospheric precursors to sudden stratospheric warming (SSWs) and subsequent tropospheric negative N/AO events. However, the relationship has weakened over the past decade in the observations and is weak to absent in most modelling studies complicating our understanding of snow climate coupling.

In a more recent study, we showed that Eurasian SCE is better linked to a lesser-known stratospheric polar vortex (SPV) disruption that involves wave reflection and stretching of the SPV that is related to ridging/high pressure coupled with above normal temperatures across Alaska and cold to even extreme cold across parts of Asia and North America east of the Rockies. Using both observational analysis and novel numerical modeling experiments, we showed that autumn SCE and Arctic sea ice trends can force observed increasing trends in SPV stretching and surface impacts. Our analysis provides a dynamical link between rapid Arctic change and extreme winter weather across large regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Given the link between SCE and SPV variability, SCE could be utilized in subseasonal to seasonal prediction in the winter months.

Inuit from Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Chukotka will come together in a hybrid format for the 14th Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) General Assembly under the theme “Inuit – Strength and Peace”.

ICC holds a General Assembly every four years at which Inuit delegates from across the Circumpolar region elect a new Chair and an Executive Council, develop policies, and adopt resolutions that will guide the activities of the organization for the coming term. The General Assembly is the heart of the organization, providing an opportunity for sharing information, discussing common concerns, debating issues, and strengthening the bonds between all Inuit.

ICC has become one of the most respected international Indigenous organizations and a trusted and compelling voice for Inuit in Arctic global issues. Over the intervening years ICC has come together 13 times with strong Inuit leadership and visionaries in a collective voice as a General Assembly.

This General Assembly will be held virtually this year. The public is welcomed to join via livestream.

The in-person General Assembly will be held in Ilulissat, Greenland in July 2023.

Join Climate Generation, and the NOAA Climate Office virtually for a three-day conference on climate change education built by educators and climate change professionals from across North America! Gain the skills, tools, and resources to teach climate change in all subject areas.

The Summer Institute for Climate Change Education is structured to allow time for learning and networking. During the first two virtual days hosted by Climate Generation, educators can select from concurrent workshops.

During a third regional cohort day, educators will attend a cohort workshop facilitated and hosted by a regional cohort leader to focus on place-based climate change education and the need for ongoing support throughout the year. Cohort days may be in-person or online, depending on educator and cohort leader needs in that region. Each group of 20-50 educators will explore local impacts, actionable solutions, connections to local experts, and planning and networking. More details about dates and locations for each cohort group are listed on the registration page.

Understanding the extent of ice sheets and patterns of sea-level changes in the geological past is fundamental to gauge the challenges our coasts face as greenhouse gases emissions continue unabated and the climate warms. Thus, the overarching goal of the meeting will be to foster exchanges between the communities working on paleo, modern, and future changes in ice sheets and sea levels. The organizers foresee working together to improve regional and global future sea-level change predictions, informed by the past.

The Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences at Northumbria University is hosting the 2022 edition of the British Society for Geomorphology’s Annual Meeting from Monday 5 September to Wednesday 7 September 2022 at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. The conference will follow the well-established format of oral and poster presentations, spread over three days, on a wide variety of geomorphological and geomorphology-related topics. Registration and accommodation costs have been kept to a minimum to promote participation, especially for postgraduate and other early career researchers.

Important Dates

• Call for abstracts and registration now open
• Abstract submission deadline: Friday 15 July 2022
• Notification of acceptance: end of July 2022 (latest)
• Registration closes: Tuesday 23 August 2022

The 17th Workshop on Antarctic Meteorology and Climate (WAMC) will be a hybrid meeting – it will be held online as well as in-person at the Pyle Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 4-6 August 2022. The WAMC brings together those with common interests in Antarctic meteorology, climate, forecasting and related disciplines.

This meeting is being held just before the American Meteorological Society Madison Collective Meeting which includes the Polar Meteorology and Oceanography meeting. Synergies between the two events are strongly encouraged. The 17th WAMC two-day event will focus on weather forecasting, numerical weather prediction, operational/logistical interests, and observational network reports. Contributions from around the world are welcome on these topics.

Important Dates

• Friday, July 15: Registration and short abstract submission deadline
• Friday, July 22: Extended abstract submission deadline