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Full title: High-Resolution Forecasting of Wildfire Activity and Smoke: The High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) Model

Beginning with the implementation of the latest version in Dec 2020, NOAA’s High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model now includes operational prediction of smoke from wildfires. The model simulates smoke from wildland fires in real time with 3-km grid spacing over CONUS and Alaska domains. The modeling system estimates biomass burning emissions and simulates fire plume rise in an inline mode by using the fire radiative power data from the VIIRS (onboard S-NPP and NOAA-20) and MODIS (Terra and Aqua) satellite instruments. The model includes the direct feedback of smoke on radiation, as well as the impact of smoke on near-surface visibility. In this presentation, we describe the model configuration, and show results from retrospective simulations during recent years.

This talk will also describe recent work to develop a novel fire weather index, referred to as the Hourly Wildfire Potential (HWP), which is intended for application to a convection-allowing model like the HRRR. The HRRR’s ability to represent convective storms and their outflows, as well as its treatment of land surface processes within the RUC Land Surface Model, allows for forecasts of wildfire activity in the next 1-2 days. The HWP index is able to capture a portion of the weather-related variability in fire behavior, in particular the changes in activity related to synoptic and mesoscale wind events, as well as rainfall and snowfall. Comparison with existing fire weather indices illustrates the ability of the HWP index to highlight fire weather conditions and rapidly-changing fire weather. Real-time HWP index forecasts are now being produced for CONUS and Alaska based on the operational HRRR, and for North America based on the experimental Rapid Refresh Forecast System (RRFS), slated to replace the HRRR in operations in several years. This development also paves the way for improved prediction of wildfire smoke emissions in the coming hours and days.

The Virtual Alaska Weather Symposium (VAWS) is a collaboration between ACCAP, the Geographic Information Network of Alaska, and the NOAA National Weather Service. The organizers present cutting-edge technologies in satellite remote sensing, forecasting, and modeling to a statewide audience through this webinar series.

Registration is required.

With climate change expanding trade routes in the Arctic and the resultant pursuit of oil, gas, mineral deposits, and fish, it is imperative that the eight Arctic countries find paths towards sustainability and peace in the region. Revisiting and understanding the early play and games of the indigenous people of these regions can go a long way towards helping those determining the region’s future to work cooperatively towards these goals.

Throughout history, the games the Sámi have played have been a testament about who they were, and are. From early Sámi lassoing games, to the gladiator contests of Ancient Rome, to the modern American game of baseball, the games the Sámi play have served as a statement of and a rehearsal for the life-world of that period and place. By reconnecting with and understanding the games of the Sámi's past, we can build meaningful bridges between the past and present, and hopefully gain a better understanding of the modern world. The aforesaid are timely and important, especially as they relate to indigenous people throughout the world who are trying to preserve their traditions in a fast changing modern world.

This presentation will offer, based on John Kilbourne's research and experiences in the Arctic, lessons learned from early Sámi play and games that may help promote sustainability and peace in the Arctic world. Hopefully, by acknowledging these lessons we can pursue a path forward, together reconnecting with the early play and games of the Arctic with the hope of building meaningful bridges between the past and present and moreover, helping to enhance our understanding of the important role early games can play in shaping an Arctic where sustainability and peace flourish.

The Stevens Center is honored to support ALCOM in planning, preparing, and conducting ALCOM’s Arctic Symposium 2022 in conjunction with the Arctic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC) hosted at the University of Alaska Anchorage. On behalf of the Commander ALCOM, ANR and 11AF, Lt General David Krumm, the organizers respectfully relay that this symposium about the Arctic, conducted near the Arctic, is now being planned primarily as an in-person activity to take place from 3-6 May 2022 in Anchorage, Alaska.

As announced by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on 9 June 2021, the Stevens Center is the Department of Defense’ (DoD’s) newest Regional Center, joining five well-established Regional Centers located in Germany, Hawaii and Washington D.C. There will be more to relay on the Stevens Center in the coming weeks, and a summary about the Center will be included for those interested as an annex to this communication.

ALCOM’s Arctic Symposiums and Arctic Senior Leader Summits are provided in support of U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and serve to help to fulfill ALCOM’s engagement-oriented tasks in association as USNORTHCOM’s lead for Arctic Affairs.

Previously planned for late November 2021, and delayed due to COVID-19, to 5-8 April 2022, and now to the first week in May 2022, AS22 intentionally connects to two other events that are occurring during that same week in Alaska. The first of which is ALCOM’s 75th Anniversary events scheduled on the afternoon and evening of 6 May 2022, which will be held at JBER. The second is the alignment of the Arctic Security Forces Roundtable, (ASFR) an international 2-star level event co-chaired by U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and the Norwegian Defense staff, planned for 3-5 May in Fairbanks. AS22 planners will work with USEUCOM and USNORTHCOM leaders to seek available Allies and partners attending ASFR to join AS22 for a post-event brief for the morning of 6 May that should prove quite insightful.

Please stay posted for day-by-day details to be provided soon. Please also note that ADAC at University of Alaska Anchorage hosts the current information on AS 22 at the link above.

Registration, further information about agendas, read ahead packages, administration, lodging details and more will be posted well in advance of the Symposium.

The Polar Microbes Symposium was postponed once again due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and rescheduled for 3-6 May 2022 (originally scheduled for May 2020, and then May 2021).

The 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses will take place at Tvärminne Zoological Station, 120km southwest of Helsinki, Finland.

This symposium will bring together molecular microbial ecologists specializing in different organism groups to share our latest results and discuss methodological problems, as well as future prospects in the field, including practical international collaborations. The environmental focus will be on cryospheric environments including sea ice, glaciers, ice sheets, and permafrost, but excellent research in other polar environments is also invited. The methods to be discussed will focus on ‘omics’ techniques, ranging from single cells to metagenomes, but exciting research using additional methods is encouraged as well.

Organizers: Dr. Eeva Eronen-Rasimus (University of Helsinki) and Dr. Eric Collins (University of Manitoba & University of Alaska Fairbanks).

Deadline for Abstract Submission: March 14, 2022.

Registration Deadline: April 10, 2022.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine invites you to join a workshop to foster community-wide discussion about harnessing cutting-edge technological innovations to advance, facilitate, and transform Antarctic and polar research; to increase the reach of Antarctic and polar research while reducing the environmental footprint of these operations; and to facilitate broader, more diverse participation in Antarctic and polar research. While focused primarily on Antarctic science, the workshop will explore lessons from, and solutions applicable to, Arctic science as well—and we actively seek to draw insights from science and engineering fields beyond polar science. As input to this workshop, we invite your creative ideas regarding existing or possible new technologies that could be used for advancing key aspects of Antarctic/polar research. Submit by April 20. You do not have to register for the workshop to submit ideas.

The YOPP Final Summit website has been launched now and the link for abstract submission is open.

The YOPP Final Summit is the apex of the decade-long Polar Prediction Project initiated by the World Meteorological Organization’s World Weather Research Programme in 2013. The conference aims to review progress, share key findings and success stories, and discuss and shape the legacy of the Polar Prediction Project. The summit will bring together polar science experts from operational prediction centres, academia and research institutes, government, and corporate representatives as well as northern communities and users of polar prediction services.

Contributors are invited to submit their abstracts on their research and achievements produced in the frame of PPP and YOPP, on the below topics:

• Advancements in polar prediction during YOPP (2017–2019) and their operationalization
• Building international cooperation amongst the polar prediction community
• Paving the way for the legacy of the Polar Prediction Project, to enable environmental safety in the Arctic and Antarctic in the future
• Representation of polar processes in numerical models, with a focus on coupling of the atmosphere, ocean and sea ice
• Ocean and sea ice modelling and services
• The MOSAiC expedition and other polar observation campaigns
• Supersite multi-variate observations and process studies (YOPPsiteMIP)
• Observing System Experiments (OSE) and reanalyses in polar regions
• Teleconnections linking polar weather to mid-latitudes predictability
• Science to services: tailoring polar forecasting products and services to meet user needs
• Societal and economic implications of accessible, relevant, and useable forecasts

Participation of Early Career Researchers (ECRs) is encouraged. A third Polar Prediction School will precede the YOPP Final Summit from 27–30 April 2022 in Rimouski, QC, Canada. Also, PPP Early Career Scientist fellowships will provide ECRs with the opportunity to showcase their research and networking with senior mentors at the YOPP Final Summit. For information how to apply to become a YOPP Final Summit Fellow (self-nominations are welcome) and to participate in the Polar Prediction School, please find more information on the YOPP final summit website (see link above).

Important dates

• Submit your abstract by 17 November 2021
• Early Bird registration extended until 15 May 2022
• Deadline for submission of presentations 10 August, 2022

The German Society of Polar Research (DGP) cordially invites you to attend the 28th International Polar Conference to be held in Potsdam, Germany from 1 to 5 May 2022.

"Polar Regions, Climate Change and Society" will be the motto of the conference.

The polar and alpine environment faces dramatic changes, which are observed in all climate components including the atmosphere, ocean, ice, and soils. These changes have consequences not only for fauna, flora, and marine organisms, but also for human beings, their settlements and local and non-local economy. In view of the biases in space and time, whole-year and long-term observations are desperately needed as well as comprehensive views into past climates and geological settings. This requires ambitious sample strategies, new technologies, installation of modern infrastructure and modelling efforts covering the relevant processes and scales in space and time.

Deadline for registration and abstract submission has been extended to 9 March 2022.

Topics

Oral and poster contributions are welcome in the field of polar and high mountain research covering the following themes and related topics:

• Polar Research in a Changing Society
• Humans in the Changing Arctic
• Coole Klassen – Polarbildung in der Schule
• Atmosphere, Sea-ice, and the Polar Ocean
• Glaciers, Ice Sheets and Sea-level Rise
• Hunting for the Oldest Ice
• Tectonics and Geodynamic Processes of Polar Regions
• Stratigraphy and Evolutionary Dynamics at High Latitudes
• Facing Polar Climate Change: Insights from the Past
• Changing Atmosphere-Land-Ocean Systems in the Eurasian Arctic
• Permafrost in a Warming World: Impacts and Consequences
• Organisms in the Face of Climate Change: Discoveries and New Approaches
• Astronomy and Astrophysics in Polar Regions
• Needs for Innovative Polar Infrastructure
• Polar Resources and Governance: Chances and Risks
• Polar Ecosystems: State, Changes and Management
• Polar Research through the Lens of an Artist
• Report Colloquium of SPP “Antarctic Research”

Conference Language: English (selected sessions may be held in German).

The International Indigenous Astronomy Conference from 27-29 July 2022 will take place at the North-West University in the city of Mahikeng, North West Province, South Africa.

The 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.

UPDATE: Due to the worldwide COVID19 pandemic the IPICS OSC initially planned for 2020 had to be postponed. Also in 2021 the global situation did not allow to organize a truly international ice core conference with safe participation from all regions of the globe. The IPICS SSC therefore decided to postpone by another year. The local organization committee is now proud to announce that the IPICS OSC will take place in October 2022 and is looking forward to see all of you in person in picturesque Crans Montana in the midst of the Swiss Alps. New confirmed dates: October 2 - October 7, 2022

Ice cores provide information about past climate and environmental conditions as well as direct records of the composition of the atmosphere on timescales from decades to hundreds of millennia. With the pioneering work of Hans Oeschger of University of Bern on carbon dioxide in polar ice cores, a long tradition of ice core research in Switzerland began. Less known is that Hans Oeschger also initiated a high-alpine drilling project on Colle Gnifetti in Switzerland in the 1970s. To acknowledge Hans Oeschger’s important contribution to these two ice core fields and to foster the link between the corresponding communities the theme of the conference is Ice Core Science at the Three Poles.

Abstract submission, registration, and travel support application is open since January 1st, 2022. Deadline for abstract submission is April, 30th, 2022.

With climate change expanding trade routes in the Arctic and the resultant pursuit of oil, gas, mineral deposits, and fish, it is imperative that the eight Arctic countries find paths towards sustainability and peace in the region. Revisiting and understanding the early play and games of the indigenous people of these regions can go a long way towards helping those determining the region’s future to work cooperatively towards these goals.

Throughout history, the games the Sámi have played have been a testament about who they were, and are. From early Sámi lassoing games, to the gladiator contests of Ancient Rome, to the modern American game of baseball, the games the Sámi play have served as a statement of and a rehearsal for the life-world of that period and place. By reconnecting with and understanding the games of the Sámi's past, we can build meaningful bridges between the past and present, and hopefully gain a better understanding of the modern world. The aforesaid are timely and important, especially as they relate to indigenous people throughout the world who are trying to preserve their traditions in a fast changing modern world.

This presentation will offer, based on John Kilbourne's research and experiences in the Arctic, lessons learned from early Sámi play and games that may help promote sustainability and peace in the Arctic world. Hopefully, by acknowledging these lessons we can pursue a path forward, together reconnecting with the early play and games of the Arctic with the hope of building meaningful bridges between the past and present and moreover, helping to enhance our understanding of the important role early games can play in shaping an Arctic where sustainability and peace flourish.