News Archive

Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) team members announce the call for contributions to the 2023 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) August report (based on May, June, and July data). Submission Deadline: 6:00 p.m. (AKDT) Wednesday, 16 August 2023 (firm).

The July 2023 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available. This issue includes two articles: Harmful Algal Blooms in the Alaskan Arctic—a WCH Science Short Video and A 50,000-Year History of the Bering Land Bridge Revealed Through the Marine Nitrogen Cycle and Sea Level Modeling.

The 2023 June Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) Report is now available online. The SIO reports, developed by Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) team members with contributions from the research community and citizen scientists, provide an open process for sharing sea ice predictions and information.

The June 2023 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available. This issue includes three articles focused on Arctic Indigenous food security: Arctic Community Observations and Western Science Document Impact of Climate Change on Food Security, Developing a Framework for Arctic Agroecology, and The Indigenous Foods Knowledges Network.

Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) team members announce the call for contributions to the 2023 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) July report (based on May and June data). Submission Deadline: 6:00 p.m. (AKDT) Wednesday, 12 July 2023 (firm).

The 2023 June Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) Report is now available online. The SIO reports, developed by Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) team members with contributions from the research community and citizen scientists, provide an open process for sharing sea ice predictions and information.

Register for the virtual Arctic Research Seminar featuring Alec Bennett (University of Alaska Fairbanks) on “Arctic Sea Ice Decline and Geoengineering Solutions: Cascading Security and Ethical Considerations” that will take place online on 28 June at 9:00 a.m. AKDT.

The National Science Foundation has made an award to a national partnership, led by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California Santa Barbara, to develop and curate the NSF Arctic Data Center, a new archive for Arctic scientific data as well as other related research documents. A webinar on Thursday, 21 April at 10:00am PDT will provide an opportunity to get more information about the NSF Arctic Data Center and will allow for feedback and additional insights into the needs of the Arctic research community.

Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) team members announce the call for contributions for the 2023 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) June report. The SIO provides an open process for those interested in Arctic sea ice to share ideas. Submission Deadline: 6:00 p.m. AK Monday, 12 June.

Register for the virtual Arctic Research Seminar featuring Cana Uluak Itchuaqiyaq (Iñupiaq scholar, Virginia Tech) and Corina Qaaġraq Kramer (Director of Operations at Aqqaluk Trust) on “Getting Started with Equitable Arctic Research at Any Stage of Your Project: Tips from Inuit Arctic Researchers” on 6 June at 9:00 a.m. AK.

The May 2023 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available. This issue includes three articles: Reflections on the Displacement of Yupik in Chukotka, New Partnership Between IARPC and UIC Science, and Arctic Beaver Observation Network—Tracking a New Disturbance Regime.

The April 2023 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available online. This issue includes two articles: Sediment, Ice, and Learning on the Tanana (SILT) River, an overview of the SILT project’s effort to better capture full sediment fluxes in the ice covered Tanana River and the related outreach activities with K–12 students in Alaska; and Doing Ethnography and Engaging with Indigenous Alaskan Communities Based on Ethnographers’ Identities an example of how the diversity of a research team, in terms of ethnic and national identity, and gender enables a more multifaceted approach to sociocultural studies.

For questions, or to suggest topics for future articles, please contact Betsy Turner-Bogren, ARCUS (betsy [at] arcus.org).

We are excited to share a publication by Sea Ice Prediction Network-Phase 2 (SIPN2) team members: Blanchard-Wrigglesworth, E., Bushuk, M., Massonnet, F., Hamilton, L. C., Bitz, C. M., Meier, W. N., & Bhatt, U. S. (2023). Forecast skill of the Arctic Sea Ice Outlook 2008–2022. Geophysical Research Letters.

The March 2023 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available online. This issue includes three articles: Greenland's Largest Ice Stream Likely to Lose Ice Six Times Faster than Thought, an overview of new findings leading an interdisciplinary team to revise the assessment of the future mass loss of this sector; Improving the Arctic Observing Network in a Changing Environment: A Report Summary, highlights from a report to Congress on 13 December 2022 describing the need for a sustained Arctic Observing Network; and Reflections on a Recent Conference Session: Alaskan and Arctic Anthropology Since Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, a discussion of the rapid societal changes in Ukraine and in Chukotka as a result of the war, the related loss of hundreds of Indigenous hunters, reindeer herders, culture, language, and knowledge bearers, and the direct relevance for Arctic social sciences.

For questions, or to suggest topics for future articles, please contact Betsy Turner-Bogren, ARCUS (betsy [at] arcus.org).

PolarTREC alumnus Sarah Johnson is returning to the Arctic in late March to assist with the University of Washington's Float Your Boat project, which helps community members and students learn about the Arctic Ocean. Read more about Sarah's original expedition in the PolarTREC Virtual Base Camp.

A report of the ARCUS 2022 Annual Meeting is now available for download. The report provides an overview of the meeting, a synthesis of discussions, links to shared resources, as well as a number of ideas and recommendations for future Arctic research community collaboration activities.

The February 2023 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available online. This issue includes three articles: USARC Releases Report on the Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research 2023–2024, highlighting the research goals and cross-cutting themes that will inform decision-makers and advance efforts outlined in the United States' Arctic policies, strategies, and plans; Caribou Migrations in a Changing Arctic, an overview from the National Park Service on how climate change impacts caribou migratory routes; and Celebrating 75 Years of Arctic Research in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, a summary of the five-day event focused on science and engineering in the North Slope region over the last 75 years and envisioning a framework for Arctic science, engineering, and education in the future.

For questions, or to suggest topics for future articles, please contact Betsy Turner-Bogren, ARCUS (betsy [at] arcus.org).

ARCUS invites nominations for committee members to serve on the consortium’s Membership Committee charged with planning and supporting ARCUS member engagement activities, including planning and hosting the ARCUS Annual Meeting. Nominations are due by 15 February.

The January 2023 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available online. This issue includes two articles: New Observatory Supports Broader Understanding of Climate-Change and Infrastructure Impacts to Ice-Rich Permafrost Systems, highlighting research efforts at the new Natural Ice-Rich Permafrost Observatory near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska that seek to understand what has happened in areas of the oilfield that are mainly affected by climate change in the absence of infrastructure; and The 2022 Arctic Report Card, a summary of the annual view into the state of the Arctic highlighting an Arctic in transition.

For questions, or to suggest topics for future articles, please contact Betsy Turner-Bogren, ARCUS (betsy [at] arcus.org).

We are hiring! ARCUS is seeking a full-time Accountant to join our team. This will be an Alaska-based position, primarily work-from home, with a generous benefits package. Application review has been extended to 24 February 2023.

In December 2022, ARCUS Member Representatives elected four individuals to the ARCUS Board of Directors. Congratulations to Heather Sauyaq Jean Gordon (Child Trends), Alexis Will (World Wildlife Fund), Cheryl Rosa (US Arctic Research Commission), and Victoria Herrmann (the Arctic Institute)! The newly elected cohort will serve three-year terms from 2022-2025. Dr. Rosa was re-elected to the Board, having completed her first term. Members of the Board of Directors are elected by designated representatives from ARCUS member institutions. ARCUS is grateful for the leadership, service, and varied perspectives they bring to Arctic research!

Join PolarTREC Tuesday, 24 January at 9:00 am Alaska time, for a live PolarConnect event with educator Bill Henske and the Dry Valleys Ecosystem Study team. Bill will be joined by members of "Team Wormherder" to discuss the research and fieldwork involved in the project, and what it's like to live and work in Antarctica. As part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research (MCM LTER) Program, Bill's presentation will focus on research being carried out in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. The Dry Valleys represent a region where life approaches its environmental limits. The overarching goal of this long-term research project is to document and understand how ecosystems respond to environmental changes.

You must register to attend this free event.

Join PolarTREC this Wednesday, 18 January at 9:00 am Alaska time, for a live PolarConnect event with educator Elaine Krebs and the IceCube and Askaryan Radio Array team. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is located at the South Pole and records the interactions of a nearly massless sub-atomic messenger particle called the neutrino. IceCube searches for neutrinos from the most violent astrophysical sources: events like exploding stars, gamma ray bursts, and cataclysmic phenomena involving black holes and neutron stars. The observatory is a powerful tool to search for dark matter, and could reveal the new physical processes associated with the enigmatic origin of the highest energy particles in nature.

You must register to attend this free event.

As we wrap up the year, we invite you to learn more about ARCUS activities and achievements by exploring the 2022 ARCUS Annual Report. We are grateful for everyone in the ARCUS community and look forward to working with you in 2023!

On behalf of all of us here at the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S., Happy Holidays! As we near the end of the year, we want to thank everyone in our community for your work, collaboration, support, and friendship!