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ICESAT-2 Cryospheric Science Hackweek, June 15-19, 2020 (Virtual).ICESat-2 Cryospheric Science Hackweek is a 5-day hackweek to be held at the University of Washington. Participants will learn about technologies used to access and process ICESat-2 data with a focus on the cryosphere. Mornings will consist of interactive lectures, and afternoon sessions will involve facilitated exploration of datasets and hands-on software development.
3rd Arctic Science Ministerial Research Community Workshops, June 15, 2020 (virtual)
.
Organizers invite participation in an online workshop to discuss topics and ideas that participants think are important for policy makers and the Arctic Science Ministers to better understand and prioritize at the Third Arctic Science Ministerial
(ASM3)
.
Bringing together States, Arctic Indigenous participants, and international organizations, ASM3 aims to take action on coordinated Arctic observing, research, and education in an open and transparent format which includes all Arctic stakeholders.
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Arctic Reading for the Quarantine:
If you find yourself looking for a good read, consider boosting your Arctic knowledge with this report.
 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, June 2020).
Mapping the Coast of Alaska: A 10-year Strategy in Support of the United States Economy, Security, and Environment. Alaska's 66,000 miles of Arctic and sub-Arctic shorelines constitute a tremendous strategic, economic, and ecological resource to the Nation. Accurate and contemporary mapping of Alaska's coastal and nearshore regions is critical to informed use of these vast resources, maritime domain awareness, safeguarding of the health and security of coastal communities, and strengthening of the Blue Economy. The November 2019 Presidential Memorandum on Ocean Mapping of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone and the Shoreline and Nearshore of Alaska calls for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the State of Alaska, and the Alaska Mapping Executive Committee (AMEC) to develop an Alaska coastal mapping strategy. The Alaska Coastal Mapping Strategy (Strategy) builds on decades of effort to modernize Alaska's geospatial infrastructure, including AMEC's creation in 2012, and envisions an Alaska that in 2030 possesses seamless coastal mapping data.
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'Forever Chemicals' Are Building Up in the Arctic-and Likely Worldwide. The Arctic can appear to be a pristine, isolated frozen land. But human pollution has reached even this remote corner of the world-which the World Wildlife Fund has called "the chemical sink of the globe." Now researchers have discovered that a virtually indestructible type of chemical has been building up in the region since the 1990s. The presence of these "forever chemicals" is undoubtedly growing worldwide, scientists say. And the potential impacts on the health of humans and ecosystems are not yet fully known. The problem paradoxically started because of an effort to fix another environmental issue: the hole in the ozone layer.
Scientific American
 Rare Whales That Were Hunted Almost to Extinction Survived Under the Arctic Ice. Bowhead whales are enormous whales that can grow up to 65 ft. and weigh up to 220,000 lb. They have stocky, blubber-insulated bodies and thick triangular-shaped heads. These whales can live for up to 200 years old.
Some white markings can be seen on their belly and a whitish band on their tail. Bowheads are blue-black in color with a large spot on their lower jaw. Their big heads compose one-third of their overall length, and just like most whales, they do not also have dorsal fins; this allows them to navigate underneath the Arctic ice. They also have two blowholes, which produces a distinctive V-shaped spray.
Science Times
 Migration Numbers Plunge for the Red Knot, a Threatened Shore Bird. A sudden drop in the number of red knots visiting the beaches of Delaware Bay during migration this spring has renewed concern among scientists about the survival of the threatened shore bird's Atlantic Coast population. According to biologists, the number of knots that stayed to feed at the bay in May declined by about 80 percent from the same time last year. The Delaware Bay is one of the world's most important sites for shorebird migration.
New York Times
Oil Spill Science and Alternative Response Measures with Dr. Kenneth Lee. In this "FED Talk" video, Dr. Ken Lee reviews the current state of knowledge on oil spill response in Canada. He discusses the collaborative efforts of Canadian and international scientists to advance research on alternative oil spill response and clean-up measures that will enhance our capability and capacity to prevent and minimize impacts to the environment and its living resources. These efforts are part of the Multi-Partner Research Initiative (MPRI), designed to build a research network that brings together the best scientific expertise in oil spill research to enhance Canada's level of preparedness and response capability to marine petroleum incidents.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
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Future Events
Alaska Electric Vehicle Workshop, June 16-17, 2020 (Virtual)
.
The first virtual Alaska Electric Vehicle Workshop co-hosted by the
Alaska Center for Energy and Power
and the
U.S. Arctic Research Commission is to be held
June 16-17, 2020 (9 am to 1 pm AKDT)
.
The goal of the workshop is to connect stakeholders and help develop a clearer vision of electric vehicle research and policy priorities for Alaska and the Arctic.
Local, national, and international speakers will engage with each other, as well as  audience members, on topics including vehicle charging behavior,
cold weather performance, electrical grid impacts and policy opportunities.
Registration and workshop details can be found at
here
.
113th meeting of the US Arctic Research Commission, June 22, 2020, 9 am to noon, Alaska Time (Virtual)
. After postponing the Commission's original
 113th meeting, scheduled (for in-person participation
) for March 24, 2020 at the University of Maine, in Orono, ME, USARC has renumbered its meetings, and will now meet virtually, on June 22nd. The three-hour-long meeting will focus on commission business and on an initial discussion of the outline and content of USARC's next publication "Report on the Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research 2021-2022 for the US Arctic Research Program Plan." The part of the meeting open to the public (from 9:00 am until 10:15 am, Alaska time) will be on commission business. The remainder of the meeting will not be open to the public, because the discussions on the next goals report are pre-decisional and deliberative. Details, an agenda, and the URL link to the YouTube live broadcast of the meeting can be found here
.
Arctic Science Storytelling Webinar With Film Michael Snyder, June 24, 2020 (Virtual). Great stories can change the world, and you have one to tell! Join the Migration in Harmony NSF-Research Coordination Network and our collaborator, award-winning filmmaker Mike Snyder, in this virtual workshop to learn how you should think about your research topics and experiences in the context of a story, how to develop photographer and videographer partnerships, and how to pitch your work to different outlets. The event is hosted by Migration in Harmony. Migration in Harmony: An Interdisciplinary Network in Littoral Species, Settlements, and Cultures on the Move (MiH-RCN) is an international, cross-disciplinary network of Arctic migration researchers funded by the National Science Foundation.
Arctic Circle Assembly, October 8-11, 2020 (Reykjavik, Iceland). The annual Arctic Circle Assembly is the largest annual international gathering on the Arctic, attended by more than 2000 participants from 60 countries. It is attended by heads of states and governments, ministers, members of parliaments, officials, experts, scientists, entrepreneurs, business leaders, indigenous representatives, environmentalists, students, activists and others from the growing international community of partners and participants interested in the future of the Arctic.
3rd Arctic Science Ministerial, November 21-22, 2020 (Toyko, Japan). Since the last Arctic Science Ministerial in 2018, changes in the Arctic ecosystem and the resulting impacts locally and globally have been severely felt. While the reasons for these changes in climate largely stem from activities outside of the Arctic, the Arctic is warming at a rate of nearly double the global average. Considering the need for climate change mitigation, adaptation, and repair measures, the relevance of an international Arctic Science Ministerial has never been greater. It is necessary to strengthen scientific cooperation and collaboration among both Arctic and non-Arctic States in order to develop our understanding of the rapid changes impacting the Arctic. The First Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM1) was hosted by the United States in 2016, and two years later, the Second Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM2) was co-hosted by Germany, Finland, and the European Commission. The Third Arctic Science Ministerial will be co-hosted by Iceland and Japan.
Arctic Science Summit Week, March 20-26, 2021 (Lisbon, Portugal). The Portuguese Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Local Organizing Committee will host the Arctic Science Summit Week 2021. The Conference is organized by FCT, Ciência Viva, AIR Center, the Portuguese Arctic Community and by IASC and partners. Framed by the overarching theme for the Science Conference "The Arctic: Regional Changes, Global Impacts," Lisbon invites International experts on the Arctic and Indigenous Peoples to discuss the "New Arctic" and also its impacts and interactions to and with the lower latitudes.
Save the Date: 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses, May 3-6, 2021 (Hanko, Finland). Organizers announce, that due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses has been postponed to 2021. 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 research using additional methods is encouraged as well.
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External links in this publication, and on the USARC's World Wide Web site (
www.arctic.gov) do not constitute endorsement by the US Arctic Research Commission of external Web sites or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities, the USARC does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. These links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this newsletter and the USARC Web site.
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