News Archive

SEARCH Leads and Action Team members have convened a number of sessions for the 2017 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting taking place 11-15 December 2017. Please visit our SEARCH at AGU webpage to see what they have planned and to find an opportunity to connect with our researchers and program leads while they are in New Orleans.

PolarTREC is currently accepting applications from Researchers for teacher research experiences. Researchers are invited to submit an application to host a PolarTREC teacher in the 2018 arctic and/or the 2018-2019 Antarctic field seasons. The application deadline has been extended to Monday, 2 October 2017.

The Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) guides the work of SEARCH's action teams and working groups. Committee members representing diverse disciplines volunteer their time to help SEARCH facilitate synthesis and communicate the results broadly. Uma Bhatt (University of Alaska Fairbanks), Bob Bindschalder (NASA retired), and Breck Bowden (University of Vermont) have completed their service, and we greatly appreciate their thoughtful service.

Four new members have been appointed to three-year terms beginning in September 2017.

Dr. Kevin Griffin, professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Chair of the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology at Columbia University is a terrestrial ecologist with expertise in plant physiology and landscape carbon balance.

Dr. Gifford Miller is a professor and former Chair in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado. He is a paleoclimatologist, a GSA and AGU Fellow, and has worked in the Arctic for most of his long career.

Dr. Irina Overeem is a Research Scientist at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research at the University of Colorado. Her research focuses on river and coastal systems and their response to changing environmental factors. She develops numerical models to explore sediment transport processes and geomorphological change.

Dr. Sandy Starkweather is at the University of Colorado, Boulder where she is employed by NOAA as the Executive Director, of the U.S. Arctic Observing Network. Previously, she was in Washington, DC on a detail as a Program Manager in NOAA’s Arctic Research Program. Her training is in atmospheric science and engineering, and she brings practical experience in both academic and applied research.

"The breadth and depth of expertise of the SEARCH SSC attests to the great strength of the Arctic research community. Kevin, Giff, Irina, and Sandy will further strengthen a great team, and I am honored to work with them," reports Executive Director Brendan Kelly.

The July report for the 2017 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) is now available online. The goal of the SIO is to improve Arctic sea ice prediction on seasonal time-scales. The organizers thank the groups that contributed to the 2017 June and July reports. For July, 36 contributions for pan-Arctic extent predictions were received with the median Arctic Outlook value for September 2017 sea ice extent of 4.5 million square kilometers. Eight contributed Alaska regional extent predictions, 12 contributed for Antarctica, and there were two informal contributions. The July report includes analysis of the contributions, discussion of projected sea ice probability, first ice-free days, current sea ice and atmospheric conditions, Alaska regional ice extent, and discussion of the Antarctic contributions.

During the week of July 10-14, 2017, over half of the SEARCH Land Ice Action Team (LIAT) presented at the WCRP/IOC Conference on Regional Sea Level Changes and Coastal Impacts. The LIAT is now using the interactions they had with stakeholders at the conference to co-produce actionable information for improved coastal management decision support.

Exploring the idea that the HBO hit TV series "Game of Thrones" is an epic parable about environmental change, E&E News reporter Arianna Skibell turned to SEARCH's Executive Director for his insight on what a warming Arctic means for the rest of the planet.

A meeting report of the International Workshop to Reconcile Methane Budgets in the Northern Permafrost Region has been published in Eos. The meeting was organized by SEARCH and held in Seattle, WA during 7-9 March 2017. More than 40 participants convened to develop a road map toward resolving the discrepancy in estimates of methane emissions in the northern permafrost region. The SEARCH Permafrost Action Team will track resulting products and publications.

The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces the call for contributions for the 2017 Sea Ice Outlook July report based on May and June data. The Sea Ice Outlook provides an open process for those interested in Arctic sea ice to share ideas. The monthly reports contain a variety of perspectives from advanced numerical models to qualitative perspectives from citizen scientists. Detailed guidelines for a new submission process of pan-Arctic, Alaska regional outlooks, and pan-Antarctic contributions, as well as submitting figures and gridded data for other regional contributions, are available online.

Submission deadline: 6:00 p.m. (AKDT) on Thursday, 13 July 2017.

On 25 July, SEARCH's Executive Director Brendan Kelly joined ACCAP to discuss SEARCH's Arctic Answers initiative and the role it plays in accelerating cross-disciplinary research and making scientific understanding more accessible to policy makers and other stakeholders.

The June report for the 2017 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) is now available online. The goal of the SIO is to improve Arctic sea ice prediction on seasonal time-scales. The organizers thank the groups that contributed to the 2017 June report; 33 contributions that include pan-Arctic predictions, 2 additional contributions with a regional focus, and 7 Antarctic forecasts. The June report includes analysis of the contributions, discussion of projected sea ice probability and first ice-free days; current sea ice and atmospheric conditions; and regional ice conditions.

Registration is now open for the ARCUS D.C. Arctic Research seminar/webinar featuring Dr. Sandra Starkweather, Executive Director for the US Arctic Observing Network. The presentation will discuss the capabilities of the new US AON initiative and how they are being mobilized. The event will be held Friday, 21 July from 12:00-1:00pm EDT. Registration is required for both the live event, held at the ARCUS D.C. office, and the online webinar.

The Spring 2017 issue of Witness the Arctic is now published online. This issue includes summaries on: SEARCH program activities; the Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook; the Sea Ice Prediction Network; a study of water security in rural Alaska; Anchorage Arctic Research Day; the IARPC 5-year Research Plan; the USARC Report on Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research 2017-2018, the National Academies review of a the Draft Climate Science Special Report; an international suicide prevention initiative; a highlight of ARCUS member organization, ABR, Inc.; and comments from ARCUS board members and ARCUS Executive Director, Robert Rich.

The Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (SIWO) provides information on spring sea ice, weather, and walrus to support safety and food security for Alaska Native subsistence hunters and coastal communities. The final outlook of the 11-week 2017 season was published on Friday, 9 June following unusually early sea ice retreat. Local observers in Wales, Shishmaref, Nome, Gambell, and Savoonga provided weekly observations and photos. SIWO is managed by ARCUS and produced with information from local observers, the National Weather Service, and other sources.

On Tuesday June 20th, join us for a PolarTREC live event with teacher Steve Kirsche and the research team from Summit Station, Greenland. It will take place at 8:00 AM AKDT [9AM PDT, 10AM MDT, 11AM CDT, 12PM EDT]. This event will focus a research project based out of Summit Station in Greenland. The team is looking at the firn (granular snow, especially on the upper part of a glacier, where it has not yet been compressed into ice) to get a better interpretation of paleoclimate from air that becomes trapped within the firn. More information and journals related to this expedition and the science can be found here.

The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces the call for contributions for the 2017 Sea Ice Outlook June report based on May data. The Sea Ice Outlook provides an open process for those interested in Arctic sea ice to share ideas. The monthly reports contain a variety of perspectives—from advanced numerical models to qualitative perspectives from citizen scientists. Detailed guidelines for a new submission process of pan-Arctic, Alaska regional outlooks, and pan-Antarctic contributions, as well as submitting figures and gridded data for other regional contributions, are available online. Submission deadline: 6:00 p.m. (AKDT) on Monday, 12 June 2017.

A final report from SEARCH's International Workshop to Reconcile Methane Budgets in the Northern Permafrost Region has been released. The report details near-term and longer-term priorities for addressing questions about methane dynamics in the northern permafrost region.

Brendan Kelly, SEARCH's Executive Director, reflects on the importance of the new agreement on international Arctic scientific cooperation and the urgent need to communicate the global significance of Arctic change with decision-makers in today's new Eos article.

A recording is now available of the ARCUS D.C. Arctic Research seminar/webinar featuring Robert Corell (GETF). Robert's presentation discusses why changes in the Earth’s climate system in and across the Arctic are important both for Northern peoples and for the rest of the world.

SEARCH's Permafrost Action Team is developing scientific resources to answer key questions about permafrost in the Arctic. The Team invites feedback as well as assistance identifying the articles, reports, and publications needed to support the tiers of each knowledge pyramid.

Loss of sea ice, thawing permafrost, reduced snow cover, and rising sea level are reducing hunting and fishing opportunities and degrading infrastructure for rural Arctic communities. SEARCH's Arctic Answers has more information about this issue, why it matters, and the current state of our science.

SEARCH announces a call for Science Steering Committee (SSC) member nominations. SEARCH seeks candidates that are cross-disciplinary thinkers, good communicators and consensus-builders, strongly committed to the SEARCH vision. Nominations are due Sunday, 4 June 2017.

The Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) program announces a call for Science Steering Committee (SSC) member nominations. SEARCH seeks nominations of candidates that are broad and cross-disciplinary thinkers, are good communicators and consensus-builders, and have a strong commitment to the SEARCH vision. Nominations are due Sunday, 4 June 2017.

The Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS) is pleased to release the premiere issue of Witness Community Highlights—an online publication created to highlight one or two Arctic research efforts, other timely items of interest to our readers, and complement the regular publications of Witness the Arctic. The first issue includes news about the 2017 Week of the Arctic, contributed by Larry Hinzman, and results from a 2016 survey to asses U.S. public knowledge about the Arctic, contributed by Lawrence Hamilton and project colleagues. Editors welcome ideas for future articles. If you have a suggestion, or a question about this publication, please contact Betsy Turner-Bogren at betsy [at] arcus.org.

The 2015 Arctic Observing Open Science Meeting (AOOSM), held in Seattle, WA, 17–19 November, provided the research community with a forum to discuss the advances supported by sustained, broad, contemporaneous observations in the Arctic and to identify areas for integration into an Interagency Arctic Observing Network. The meeting was structured to include keynote presentations, an agency panel discussion on achieving an interagency Arctic observing network, disciplinary parallel sessions, and a poster session. The meeting was attended by 206 participants and included 99 parallel session presentations and 42 posters. All products from AOOSM are now available on the ARCUS website. Meeting products include the final AOOSM report, full parallel discussion summaries, brief summary report slides, speaker abstracts, presentations, and more.

A recording is now available of the ARCUS D.C. Arctic Research seminar/webinar featuring Mia Bennett (UCLA & Cryopolitics). Mia's presentation discusses the the social and economic impacts of Arctic transportation infrastructure.