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The International Glaciological Society will hold an International Symposium on ‘Snow’ in 2022. The symposium will be held at the Davos Congress Centre,
Davos, Switzerland on 25–30 September 2022.

Snow is a complex material, transient and of singular beauty. While our understanding has improved over the recent decades, it still offers numerous scientific challenges.The snow cover plays a crucial role in the climate of cold regions – from high latitudes to high elevations – and impacts societies and their activities. Because of its high climate sensitivity, snow is declining, with far-reaching consequences for the environment and humanity.

Given these prospects and improvements in advanced technologies for monitoring and modelling, we announce a symposium focused on understanding snow and its impacts on the environment, people and infrastructure. Snow will be examined at all scales – from the microscale of snow structure to the
global scale.

This meeting seeks to address various challenges by bringing together scientists from diverse communities engaged in research on snow. The organizers welcome snow-related contributions, including ground-based observations, remote sensing, laboratory experiments, numerical modelling, data compilations and analyses, risk management, water resources, climate and social impact assessment.

Suggested Topics

These include (but are not limited to):

1. Observing and modelling of snow and its changes at different scales
2. Snow physics and chemistry
3. Snow as a component of climate
4. Remote sensing of seasonal snow and avalanches
5. Snow in motion and snow engineering
6. Snow and biosphere
7. Snow hydrology

Abstract and Paper Publication

Participants who wish to present a paper (oral or poster) at the Symposium will be required to submit an abstract by 28 June 2022. Accepted abstracts will be posted on the Symposium’s website. The Council of the IGS will publish a thematic issue of the Annals of Glaciology on topics consistent with the Symposium themes. Participants are encouraged to submit manuscripts for this Annals volume.

The IARPC June Atmosphere Collaboration Team Meeting will have updates on the current status of atmospheric observatories in Northern Alaska. It will feature the following presentations that are intended to spark a collaborative discussion:

• Merged Observatory Data Files (MODF) for Utqiagvik- Sara Morris (NOAA) (10 mins)
• Updates on Department of Energy Facilities- Andrew Glen (Sandia National Lab) (10 mins)
• The New BRW Observatory & Opportunities for Collaboration- Brian Vasel (NOAA) (10 mins)

The meeting will end with updates from the community. The organizers invite all meeting attendees to share announcements, recent findings (published or unpublished), ideas for collaboration, requests for future meetings, or anything that you wish to share or ask, etc.

The SCAR Action Group RINGS will organize the 4-day First International Workshop on Antarctic RINGS. The primary goal of this workshop is to generate synergies and international cooperation to develop more accurate and complete reference bed topography data for robust assessments of ice discharge from all around Antarctica. The secondary goal is to discuss relevant science plans for the ice sheet's marginal zone.

The organizers welcome both Action Group members and non-members from multiple disciplines related to RINGS. The organizers uphold SCAR's values of diversity and inclusion and strongly encourage Early Career Researchers to attend the workshop.

The workshop was originally planned in March but postponed due to pandemic. The organizers hope recently improving pandemic situations will allow all interested travel to Norway in June. New registration is required even if you registered for the planned March workshop. To broaden the community, the organizers offer online participation to talk and poster sessions this time. However, discussion sessions are for onsite participants only.

Deadlines

• Registration deadline for onsite participation: 10 April.
• Registration deadline for online participation: 25 June.

This workshop was originally scheduled for 20-23 October, 2020, and then 12-15 July, 2021.

In recent decades we have seen 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)

Important Dates

Organizers are currently accepting abstracts for talks and posters. Abstract submission is through the registration platform and abstracts have a 250-word limit.

Registration is on a first come, first-served basis until capacity is reached. The organizing committee anticipates 100-120 participants at the workshop. Abstracts are not a requirement for participation.

• Abstract submission deadline: 1 June 2022
• In-person registration deadline: 13 June 2022
• Virtual registration deadline: 26 June 2022

The School of Ice is an NSF-funded professional development program for faculty at Minority Serving Institutions. This program will train participants to understand paleoclimate evidence derived from ice cores and acquire the skills necessary to bring this exciting inquiry into new and existing Earth and environmental science classes on their campuses. The experiential nature of this workshop will build background knowledge of cutting-edge research and empower participants to communicate authentic paleoclimate research practices, ice core data, and results to their students.

There will be two opportunities to attend the School of Ice this summer. Besides thinking about the dates, the organizers would like you to reduce your carbon footprint by considering the one closer to you geographically. In both, you will interact with experts currently working in climate and ice science research, take interesting field trips, and engage in hands-on learning experiences you can use with your students. Travel expenses are paid, and all resources are provided freely to workshop participants.

Registration is open now. Priority consideration will be given to applications received by the due date but accepted on a rolling basis until the workshop is filled. Note: there is usually a waiting list to attend, so apply early!

School of Ice – Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
Date: June 26-30, 2022
Applications Due: March 11, 2022

School of Ice – COLDEX-Oregon State University, Oregon
Date: August 6-12, 2022
Applications Due: April 14, 2022

The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) announces their upcoming IARPC Program Manager Chat webinar, Early Career Opportunities in Arctic Research.

Join IARPC for a federal program manager chat about research, funding, internship, employment, and other opportunities available for early career researchers in Arctic sciences. Staff from NASA, the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Energy, NOAA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the National Science Foundation will share information about opportunities offered by their agencies. After short presentations, there will be ample time for questions with the panel of program officers.

This webinar will be recorded and posted on the IARPC YouTube channel.

Note: This event was originally scheduled to take place 21-22 October 2021, but was postponed to 23-24 June 2022.

Please join The Cryosphere in a Changing Climate in Davos for an exciting scientific symposium with high-level speakers, scientific poster sessions and ample networking time. The symposium aims to build a bridge between generations of cryosphere and climate scientists. Use this opportunity to present and discuss your latest research in a stimulating environment. The organizers invite Early Career Scientists interested in participating to apply for a travel grant.

The Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL announces that the registration to the above mentioned symposium in the memory of our past Director, Koni Steffen, is now open.

Konrad Steffen – or Koni, as everyone knew him – was a passionate researcher and teacher, who dedicated his life to science through the study of the cryosphere and the climate of cold environments. Koni was driven by the mission of informing about the ongoing, rapid human-driven changes and the resulting impacts on human and natural systems these changes could impose. This scientific symposium will honour Koni’s scientific legacy, covering a wide range of topics, including the study of Arctic sea ice, the dynamics of polar ice sheets, the quantification of climate-driven ice losses in Antarctica and Greenland, the effects of melting ice on global sea level, as well as more generally the impacts of climate change on polar and high mountain environments. By bringing together long-term colleagues that accompanied Koni over the years and early-career researchers that have recently embarked in the related disciplines, the event will aim at building a bridge between generations of cryosphere and climate scientists – a task in which Koni excelled.

Important Dates

• Abstract submission deadline 10 May 2022.
• Registration deadline 31 May 2022.

The University of Alaska Southeast and the International Glaciological Society are pleased to announce the International Symposium on Maritime Glaciers.

Glaciers in most parts of the world are located well above treeline. However, in maritime climates it’s possible to stand on a glacier and look up at forested valley slopes. Maritime glaciers exist not because of especially cold temperatures, but because of high snow accumulation rates. In places like Southeast Alaska, snow accumulation rates often exceed 5 m per year at high elevations, melting can occur year round and can exceed 10 m per year at low elevations, and persistent rainfall is a significant component of glacier runoff. Temperate ice and wet snow are also characteristics of maritime glaciers. Due to their high mass turnover maritime glaciers respond quickly to climate change, and surging glaciers in maritime climates have shorter surge cycles than surging glaciers found elsewhere. A small percentage of maritime glaciers terminate in water, but these glaciers have outsized impacts on sea level rise due to their large size and susceptibility to rapid change.

The glacier-to-ocean distance is generally small for maritime glaciers, and as a result these glaciers constitute a large portion of their respective watersheds, with important consequences for stream temperature and chemistry and adjacent ecosystems. The short glacier-to-ocean distance also means that glacier runoff in these environments strongly affects the physical and chemical oceanography of near-shore waters, which serves as important habitat for fish, such as salmon, marine mammals, and sea birds. Glacier transition into or out of marine systems has profound impacts on fjord circulation, water properties, and ecosystem evolution. Deglaciation of these landscapes also increases the risk of landslides and landslide-generated tsunamis. The rich marine habitat provided in part by glaciers has sustained humans for centuries, and the peoples living along these coastal waters have important stories and legends related to glacier change. Glaciers continue to be an important component of maritime societies, although today the focus is shifting toward ecotourism.

Key focus areas of this symposium include:

• Instruments and methods for observing high-accumulation, high-melt glaciers
• Glacier hydrology and wet firn
• Glacier runoff and sediment and nutrient export
• Tidewater and lake-calving glaciers
• Glacier-ocean-sediment interactions
• Surging glaciers
• Hazards associated with landscape change: outburst floods, landslides, and tsunamis
• Impacts on terrestrial and marine ecosystems
• Social and indigenous perspectives

Online abstract submission is now open. Please note that the abstract submission system is separate from the IGS Connect. You will have to register your details.

Please note the participation is capped at 50 people and it is ‘first come, first served’ so please register early to avoid disappointment.

Important Dates:

• Opening of online registration 25 March 2022.
• Abstract submission deadline extended to 1 April 2022.
• Early-bird registration deadline extended to 15 April 2022.

*Update: The Nordic Geographers Meeting has been moved due to COVID restrictions. The new dates are 19-22 June 2022. (The original dates were 7-10 February, 2022).**

Our planet is facing some of its greatest challenges. Especially in the North, the imminent threat of irreversible climate change, and its palpable effects on our physical, ecological and social worlds, is increasingly felt. In particular, the polar region is warming faster than any other area of Earth. There is an urgent need to assess the multiple relationships between these increasing natural hazards and our societies, geopolitics, economies and environment. Conversely, we are forced to seek new ecological, political and economic concepts and approaches to help mitigate climate change and adapt to inevitable transformations. Furthermore, the challenges facing the Nordic states are embedded in complex and spatially differentiated socio-economic and ecological landscapes, which requires multiple scientific approaches.

The International Arctic Workshop is a friendly, informal, and relaxed conference open to all students and professionals interested in the Arctic. Originally starting at INSTAAR at the University of Colorado – Boulder, the Arctic Workshop alternates between INSTAAR and an international host. This year, and for the first time in the High Arctic, the Svalbard Science Centre is hosting the meeting in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway.

The small size, informal focus, and strong student orientation makes this a perfect meeting for presenting your new research, networking between students and academics, discussing your current projects, and exploring a range of topics across multiple polar disciplines. Limited travel and accommodation support is available for presenting students. Organised in the heart of the Arctic and jointly between the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), the Norwegian Polar Institute, the Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System (SIOS), and the Svalbard Museum, it promises to be a fantastic, stimulating, and fun event. This year’s meeting is made possible by funding from the Research Council of Norway through the Svalbard Science Forum. Funding for additional events has been provided by iEarth – the Centre for Integrated Earth Science Education and APECS – the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists.

All those interested in Arctic science are invited to attend. The meeting is based around a series of talks and poster sessions covering all aspects of high-latitude environments, with a conference banquet, mid conference field excursion, and an optional post-conference excursion in Spirtsbergen’s Isfjorden. Past Arctic Workshops have included presentations on arctic climate, glaciology, environmental geochemistry, geomorphology, hydrology, soils, ecology, oceanography, Quaternary history, archaeology and more. Arctic palaeoenvironments, terrestrial and marine, have traditionally been at the centre of the Arctic Workshop.

This year the organizers are also encouraging abstracts on topics relating to the challenges of polar field teaching as well as on sustainability in Arctic research and education.

Registration and abstract deadlines: Monday 16 May 2022.