News Archive

Jennifer Francis, co-lead of the SEARCH Sea Ice Action Team, discusses links between a warming Arctic and North America's winter weather patterns in this article featured by Arctic Now.

To empower Indigenous scholars and provide a key opportunity for officials at U.S. government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other groups working on Arctic issues to learn and integrate information/perspectives from multiple Arctic knowledge systems, ARCUS and ICC Alaska invite applications from and/or nominations of leading Arctic Indigenous scholars to travel to Washington D.C. Scholars are defined as experts within their own knowledge systems—no formal education is required. While the selected Arctic Indigenous Scholars are in D.C., ARCUS and ICC Alaska will facilitate meetings with officials at relevant U.S. government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other groups, where such scholars will be able to share their interests via a seminar and meetings, learn of available resources, build toward collaborative relationships, and provide on-the-ground perspectives to key decision-makers.

Applications are due Thursday, 15 February 2018

The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces availability of the 2017 Arctic Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) Post-Season Report. The report includes reviews of the 2017 Arctic conditions, the melt season, contributions to the 2017 SIO monthly reports, as well as discussions of the statistical methods and local-scale analysis of 2017 Sea Ice Outlooks. The report also includes discussion of contributions to the call for forecasts of the Antarctic maxima, and discussion of the beginning of the Sea Ice Drift Forecast Experiment (SIDFEx), which is a contribution to the Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP).

An open "Arctic Sea Ice Prediction Stakeholders Workshop" will be held on Monday, 22 January 2018 in conjunction with the Arctic Frontiers Conference in Tromso, Norway. This workshop will bring together sea ice stakeholders and forecasters to:
1) Assess the value of forecasts by the user community.
2) Determine if and how ice forecasts are currently being used in decision making.
3) Communicate the relevant metrics needed by various stakeholders.
4) Identify where improvements in sea ice forecasts would help stakeholders make decisions.
5) Communicate the limits and opportunities of current forecasting systems.

Members of the SEARCH-affiliated Permafrost Carbon Network have convened a conference session exploring the permafrost carbon (CO2, CH4) and non-carbon (N2O) feedbacks of climate change as part of the 2018 EGU General Assembly. The session is seeking contributions that address N2O dynamics from Arctic ecosystems that aim to understand the dynamics and estimate the potential importance in climate feedbacks compared to CO2 and CH4. The EGU General Assembly will take place in Vienna, Austria from 08–13 April 2018. Abstract deadline is January 10, 2018.

Happy Holidays from all of us at ARCUS & we look forward to doing great work in the new year!

An "Arctic Sea Ice Prediction Stakeholders Workshop" will be held on Monday, 22 January 2018 in conjunction with the Arctic Frontiers Conference in Tromso, Norway. This workshop will bring together sea ice stakeholders and forecasters to:
1) Assess the value of forecasts by the user community.
2) Determine if and how ice forecasts are currently being used in decision making.
3) Communicate the relevant metrics needed by various stakeholders.
4) Identify where improvements in sea ice forecasts would help stakeholders make decisions.
5) Communicate the limits and opportunities of current forecasting systems.

Join PolarTREC and Polar Educators International (PEI) at the upcoming Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), held 11-15 December 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana!

The AGU Fall Meeting brings together scientists from all over the world to share, discover, and engage in science discussions. ARCUS will be hosting a community meeting room, an annual membership meeting, and a reception.

PolarTREC alumni will be attending and sharing their experiences at various poster and oral sessions.

For those interested in polar education, Polar Educators International (PEI) will be hosting a PEI Meeting on Tuesday, 12 December 2017; 5:00pm – 6:30pm CST at the Hyatt New Orleans Convention Center in the coffee/bar lounge area. For more information about PEI activities, contact Betsy Wilkening, ewilkening99 [at] gmail.com.

The Fall 2017 issue of Witness the Arctic is now published online. This issue includes a summary of the NSF Vision for Research Support and Logistics at Summit Stations and announcement of the NSF Arctic Sciences Program Town Hall during the 2017 AGU Fall meetings; a highlight of recent community-based research on the health and wellbeing of Alaska Native Elderly; Sea Ice Prediction Network news; discussion of the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) program’s syntheses and communication efforts; results from a workshop that examined relationships between research and Alaskan Indigenous communities; updated information on the Agreement to Enhance International Arctic Scientific Cooperation with the newly-released map; results from an international workshop on maritime traffic in the Bering Strait; news from IARPC and the Polar Research Board; highlights from the 2017 Joint Science Education Project, international news from IASC, the Year of Polar Prediction project, and the Greenland Ecological Monitoring Program; a summary of recent ARCUS activities; and comments from ARCUS Executive Director, Robert Rich.

Join us for a special international day of activities including a live event from the South Pole Station, Antarctica with PolarTREC teacher Lesley Anderson. The presentation will focus on the history of the Antarctica Treaty and how it relates to science conducted at the South Pole, in particular with the IceCube project. Additional Antarctica Day activities as well as the virtual balloon launch can be found at Our Spaces.

Event Time: Monday, 4 December 2017 at 9:30am AKST [10:30am PST, 11:30am MST, 12:30pm CST, 1:30pm EST] in North America.

The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces an open meeting on Tuesday, 12 December from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. (CST) in New Orleans, Louisiana, during the 2017 American Geophysical Union (AGU) fall meetings. This meeting will provide: a discussion of the 2017 Arctic sea ice/Sea Ice Outlook season, an overview of the recently-funded "SIPN 2" project and collaborations, and opportunity for discussion and to share information on related efforts. A boxed lunch will be provided for meeting participants who RSVP by Friday, 1 December 2017. For questions and to RSVP, contact Betsy Turner-Bogren, ARCUS (betsy [at] arcus.org).

ARCUS announces the availability of community meeting space at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), held 11-15 December 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Arctic Community Meeting Rooms are hosted by ARCUS to encourage collaboration and to facilitate face-to-face meetings of opportunity, and is funded by the National Science Foundation's Division of Polar Programs. Meeting space is available in one or two-hour blocks for groups working on Arctic research and/or education activities.

Connect to the Antarctic! Join us for an upcoming PolarConnect event with George Hademenos and the Antarctic Automatic Weather Stations on Thursday, 9 November 2017 at 9:00am AKST (10am PST, 11am MST, 12pm CST, 1pm EST) This event will be broadcast live from McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Register today!

The Interagency Arctic Research Committee (IARPC) and the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) will host a joint Town Hall event at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting on Thursday, 14 December 2017 from 12:30-1:30 p.m (Central Time) in Room 252-254 of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, LA.

Recognizing the importance of science that is actionable by stakeholders, this Town Hall will engage the community in discussions of effective practices and new approaches. Examples of Arctic research addressing stakeholder needs will serve as test cases to examine: how are needs identified; how are questions appropriately framed to meet stakeholder needs; and what promotes and constrains research addressing those needs? The executive directors of SEARCH and IARPC will moderate discussion among SEARCH and IARPC teams and the broader community. Discussion questions will include:

• IARPC & SEARCH focus on different stakeholder audiences; what audiences are left out?
• Who is/should be targeting those other audiences?
• How might your efforts to engage stakeholders amplify—or be amplified by—the efforts of IARPC and SEARCH?
• What are effective approaches for communicating with diverse audiences?

Light refreshments will be provided.

For more information, contact:

Martin Jeffries
Executive Director
Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee
Martin_O_Jeffries [at] ostp.eop.gov

Brendan P. Kelly
Executive Director
Study of Environmental Arctic Change
bpkelly [at] alaska.edu

The October 2017 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available. This online publication highlights Arctic research efforts and other timely items of interest to our readers. The October issue includes an article discussing the legally binding "Agreement on Enhancing International Arctic Scientific Cooperation” signed by the eight member states of the Arctic Council on 11 May 2017 at the Arctic Council Ministerial meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska. The goal of this science agreement is to facilitate access, whether to territory and research areas, platforms, infrastructure, facilities, materials, samples, data, or equipment.

Registration is now available for the next ARCUS Arctic Research seminar/webinar featuring Courtney Carothers (University of Alaska Fairbanks) and Laura Zanotti (Purdue University). The presentation will discuss the co-production of knowledge and community-researcher relationships in the Leadership and Strength Project in Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska. The event will be held Thursday, 30 November from 12:00-1:00pm EDT. Registration is required for both the live event, held at the ARCUS D.C. office, and online webinar.

Join PolarTREC for an upcoming event with teacher Dave Jones and researcher Mike DeGrandpre who will discuss the research carried out aboard the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent on CO2 and pH studies in the Beaufort Sea. This live event will be held on Wednesday, 1 November 2017 at 1:00pm AKDT (2pm PDT, 3pm MDT, 4pm CDT, 5pm EDT). Register for this free event today!

ARCUS announces a call for nominations for our 2017 Board of Directors election. There are a possible four seats up for election in a vote of the ARCUS membership expected to take place in December 2017. We seek nominations of candidates with enthusiasm and time to dedicate to ARCUS, who are willing and able to help ARCUS fulfill its vision and mission, and achieve its organizational goals and objectives (see https://www.arcus.org/arcus). We particularly invite nominations of individuals with experience in and connections to industry, foundations, or Arctic Indigenous groups.

Nomination submission deadline: Wednesday, 1 November 2017

SEARCH leads joined a science panel discussing Arctic Environmental Futures as part of a Polar Initiative event at The Wilson Center on 29 September 2017. A recording of the event is now available.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, released a 2017 Projected onset of sea ice freeze-up on the Chukchi Sea continental shelf northwest of Icy Cape will begin near the end of November to the first week of December. This is approximately 36 days later than the long-term mean (1981-2016). The metric is defined by sea-ice concentration reaching 30% as determined by passive microwave observation.

Connect to the the Antarctic! Join PolarTREC for an upcoming event with Jennifer Bault and the team working on Seasonal Ice Production in the Ross Sea on Thursday, 2 November 2017 at 6:30am AKDT (7:30am PDT, 8:30am MDT, 9:30am CDT, 10:30am EDT). This event will be broadcast live from McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Register today for this free event!

A special issue of the journal Remote Sensing is currently being developed with a focus on the Remote Sensing of Dynamic Permafrost Regions. The guest editors for the issue are Permafrost Carbon Network collaborators Benjamin Jones, Annett Bartsch, and Guido Grosse. The deadline for manuscript submissions is 1 March 2018.

The Permafrost Carbon Network's all scientist meeting will take place this year on Sunday, 10 December 2017, 9-5pm in New Orleans, LA (just before the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting begins). This event is free and open for all researchers working on Permafrost Carbon topics to attend. The meeting agenda will be accessible via the SEARCH website later in October. The deadline to register is Friday, 17 November 2017.

SEARCH has released a number of new 1-2 page science briefs addressing stakeholder questions about Arctic environmental change. These are great resources for short and up to date summaries of the current state of knowledge surrounding diverse topics.

ARCUS announces availability of a new web resource, Conducting Research with Northern Communities – Documented Practices and Resources for Productive, Respectful Relationships Between Researchers and Community Members. Scientific research in the Arctic necessitates good communication and cooperation with northern communities. This new webpage is a compilation of resources, recommendations, and documented practices from a variety of organizations on working with northern communities. Resources include practices from across the north, relevant information from outside the Arctic, and resources specific to community-based monitoring.