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May 10, 2019

Lowell Wakefield Fisheries Symposium, May 7-10, 2019 (Anchorage, Alaska USA). This symposium provides a forum to discuss ways to facilitate effective cooperative research, a platform for scientific talks on the application and results of cooperative research, and opportunity to evaluate how such research might be best envisioned, applied and implemented. The symposium involves participants from a variety of relevant marine industries, address these issues through facilitated discussion, identify best practices, and articulate a set of case studies for effective collaboration. The symposium also includes scientists from a wide range of sectors, including state and federal agencies, universities, research institutes and industry science. This event is sponsored by Alaska Sea Grant College Program. 
Media

Secretary Pompeo Postpones Travel to Greenland [And Announces Intent to Reestablish Presence in Greenland]. Secretary Pompeo must postpone his visit to Greenland due to a need for the Secretary to be in Washington, DC today. We look forward to rescheduling the Secretary's visit at a time convenient for Greenland, Denmark, and the United States. As the Secretary noted in his speech in Rovaniemi on Monday, the United States remains committed to increasing our already robust engagement with Arctic allies and partners. Secretary Pompeo is pleased to announce that the United States intends, after six decades, to reestablish a permanent Department of State presence in Greenland, and we will work together with Congress and Denmark to make this happen as soon as possible. US Department of State  
 
greenland US State Department Announces Plans for Diplomatic Presence in Greenland. The U.S. State Department announced Thursday that it plans to establish a presence in Greenland. The announcement was made as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled a planned visit there to return to Washington, D.C. early from a trip that included his participation in the Arctic Council's biannual ministerial meeting in Finland. It included few details, such as a timeline and whether the presence would be a full-fledged consulate or take some other form. Arctic Today
   
Arctic: Murkowski Pressed Pompeo on Climate Language. The Arctic presents opportunities for greater resource extraction and trade, but leaders must also account for the impacts of climate change and food insecurity on the region's residents, Alaska's senior senator said yesterday. "We cannot forget that there are people who live and work and raise their families in the Arctic," Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska told reporters on Capitol Hill during a briefing on her recent trip to Rovaniemi, Finland, for the 11th Arctic Council Ministerial meeting. E&E News
 
As the Ice Goes, Arctic Nations Find Their Bonds Are Tested. In the end, the eight nations of the Arctic Council signed a short statement, affirming their commitment to peace and cooperation. But two major issues loomed over the Arctic Council meeting in Finland this week, and they pull at the seams of Arctic unity. Arctic Council meetings have always ended with a long declaration. The one signed in Fairbanks in 2017 had 46 points, acknowledging shared values, goals and concerns. But this year the countries couldn't reach a unanimous agreement on a declaration. The holdout was the United States. Alaska Public Radio  
 
The Arctic Shipping Route No One's Talking About. I recently attended (via teleconference, to cut down on travel time and emissions!) a meeting on future maritime trade flows at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)'s International Transport Forum. One session focused exclusively on the Northern Sea Route, the shipping route along Russia's north coast that has sat at the center of discussions on Arctic development for the better part of two decades now. Maritime Executive
 
Greenhouse Gas Causing Canadian Arctic Seas to Acidify Quicker: Report. Research suggests that greenhouse gases are turning Canada's Arctic waters acidic at a faster rate than anywhere else in the North. The results were presented to the eight countries that ring the Arctic Circle at a meeting in Finland earlier this week. CBC News  
 
Sea-ice Algal Phenology in a Warmer Arctic. The Arctic sea-ice decline is among the most emblematic manifestations of climate change and is occurring before we understand its ecological consequences. We investigated future changes in algal productivity combining a biogeochemical model for sympagic algae with sea-ice drivers from an ensemble of 18 CMIP5 climate models. Model projections indicate quasi-linear physical changes along latitudes but markedly nonlinear response of sympagic algae, with distinct latitudinal patterns. While snow cover thinning explains the advancement of algal blooms below 66°N, narrowing of the biological time windows yields small changes in the 66°N to 74°N band, and shifting of the ice seasons toward more favorable photoperiods drives the increase in algal production above 74°N. These diverse latitudinal responses indicate that the impact of declining sea ice on Arctic sympagic production is both large and complex, with consequent trophic and phenological cascades expected in the rest of the food web. Science Advances
Future Events

Arctic and Boreal Carbon: Key Findings from the State of the Carbon Cycle Report, May 14, 2019 (Silver Spring, Maryland USA or via webinar). This is seminar 10 in the Series: From Science to Solutions: The State of the Carbon Cycle, the 2nd State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR2). The speaker is Dr. Ted Schuur from the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society at Northern Arizona University. Dr. Schuur will present on changing factors that control terrestrial carbon storage in unmanaged arctic and boreal ecosystems. Surface air temperature change is amplified in high-latitude regions, as seen in the Arctic where temperature rise is about 2.5 times faster than that for the whole Earth. Permafrost temperatures have been increasing over the last 40 years.

Intersection of Arctic Science and Policy, May 14, 2019 (webinar). Join this discussion with Dr. Brendan Kelly, Executive Director of the Study of Environmental Arctic Change ( SEARCH). He will present a short history of Arctic research policy followed by observations on the science needed to support policy. Input from others on the call is encouraged. Open to all. This discussion is lead up to the  Arctic Futures 2050 conference (September 4-6, 2019 at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.).  Registration for the conference is now open. Register for the webinar at:  https://zoom.us/meeting/register/983d26c5e1a37a2f4ac87b605f06faf5. For more information, contact Andrea Fisher,  [email protected]

Understanding Northern Latitude Vegetation Greening and Browning: Proceedings of a Workshop, May 14, 2019 (Webinar). The Polar Research Board, in collaboration with the Board on Life Sciences of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, convened a workshop in December 2018 to discuss vegetation greening and browning in tundra and boreal ecosystems. Studies have often documented large-scale greening trends (i.e. increased plant productivity and measured "greenness") but they have also identified areas of browning (decreased productivity) or shifts between greening and browning over varying spatial extents and time periods. This public webinar that will summarize the recently released Workshop Proceedings ( downloadable here). 

Synoptic Arctic Survey - International Planning and Coordination Workshop, May 15-16, 2019 (Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA). An open coordination and planning workshop will be held to continue planning the Synoptic Arctic Survey (SAS). The SAS is a developing international program envisioned to mount a coordinated, multi-nation, oceanographic field based effort on a Pan Arctic scale over two summer seasons (2020-2021). The key objective is to achieve a quasi-synoptic baseline understanding of the fundamental structure and function of the linked Arctic carbon-ecosystem-physical systems that will permit detection of ongoing and future changes. More information and the international science plan is available  here. More info on participating in this workshop is available  here.   Update: Application Deadline for Early Career Travel Support Extended to April 30.

Arctic Science Summit Week, May 22-30, 2019 (Arkhangelsk, Russia). The Arctic Science Summit Week 2019 will take place in Northern (Arctic) Federal University and Northern State Medical University, Russia, Arkhangelsk. Under the auspices of International Arctic Science Committee, participants from more than 23 countries and regions will be involved.

May 2018 National Weather Service Alaska Climate Outlook Briefing, May 24, 2019 (Webinar). This event is part of the OneNOAA Science Seminar Series. The tools and techniques for making monthly and season scale climate forecasts are rapidly changing, with the potential to provide useful forecasts at the month and longer range. We will review recent climate conditions around Alaska, review some forecast tools and finish up the Climate Prediction Center's forecast for June and the summer season. Feel free to bring your lunch and join the gathering in person or online to learn more about Alaska climate and weather.
 
Resilience in Rapidly Changing Arctic Systems, proposals close June 14, 2019. This joint Belmont Forum CRA calls for co-developed and co-implemented proposals from integrated teams of natural and social scientists, and stakeholders to address key areas of arctic resilience understanding and action. This collaboration of academic and non-academic knowledge systems constitutes a transdisciplinary approach that will advance not only understanding of the fundamentals of arctic resilience but also spur action, inform decision-making, and translate into solutions for resilience. The term "stakeholder" is used here in its broadest possible sense, allowing for co-development of projects with partners from, but not limited to, civil society, government, industry, NGOs, and Indigenous organizations.
   

Mark your calendars to attend IDA-8, which some have called one of the best Arctic gatherings around. Historically, this biennial symposium was co-hosted by U.S. National/Naval Ice Center (NIC) and the US Arctic Research Commission (USARC). In 2019, these partners will join forces with the Wilson Center's Polar Institute, and the Patuxent Defense Forum (run by the Patuxent Partnership), and St. Mary's College of Maryland as co-hosts. The now 2-day symposium will be held in the Ronald Reagan Building Amphitheater, in Washington, DC. The event will focus on a broad cross-section of naval and maritime operations and issues in an ice-diminishing Arctic. The symposium brings together nationally and internationally recognized experts on Arctic governance, geopolitics, marine operations, infrastructure, science, and environmental observations, from the local, regional, and pan-Arctic scale. Information on prior symposia, including lists of speakers, video clips, and copies of presentations, is available here. Attendance is free, and registration is now open, here
. The event will be webcast live, and video recorded.
 
18th International Conference on Cold Regions Engineering / 8th Canadian Permafrost Conference, August 18-22, 2019 (Quebec, Canada). Sustainable infrastructure development and permafrost science, in a climate change context, will be the focus of the discussions of this international conference.

2019 Sea Ice Symposium, August 18-23, 2019 (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada). IGS co-hosts a sea ice symposium every 5 years. The Centre for Earth Observation Science (University of Manitoba) is excited to be hosting the first IGS event to be held in Canada. The symposium will include oral and poster sessions, and will provide a friendly and intellectually stimulating environment to facilitate face-to-face interactions and networking. Additional activities will include an opening reception, a banquet dinner and a mid-symposium afternoon excursion. 

Arctic Futures 2050: Science and Policy for a Changing Arctic, September 4-6, 2019 (Washington, DC USA).  In 2019, the Study of Environmental Arctic Change  (SEARCH) and partners will convene Arctic scientists and decision makers to jointly forecast  Arctic research needed to inform policy in the coming decades. The conference also is intended to foster more effective and iterative collaborations among Arctic scientists and decision makers.

Alaska Unmanned Aircraft Systems Interest Group Meeting, September 23-26, 2019 (Fairbanks, Alaska USA). The Alaska Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) is accepting submissions from potential speakers through May 1. Focus areas include policy/ regulations, research and education training, commercial aspects of UAS. More information will be available here.

** New this week **  Bridging Science, Art, and Community in the New Arctic, Sept. 23-25, 2019, (University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia USA). The University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville, VA, is hosting a conference and workshop entitled "Bridging Science, Art, and Community in the New Arctic" from Sept. 23-25, 2019, sponsored by the National Science Foundation Navigating the New Arctic program, with additional support from UVA's Institute for Humanities and Global Cultures, and Center for Global Inquiry and Innovation. The UVA Environmental Resilience Institute's Arctic CoLab is organizing the event, with assistance from the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS).

EU Arctic Forum, October 3-4, 2019 ( Umeå, Sweden). The European Commission, the European External Action Service, and the Government of Sweden will jointly organize a high-level EU Arctic Forum . The EU Arctic Forum will bring together key Arctic players and stakeholders to assess recent developments in the region and to discuss the new challenges ahead. The EU Arctic Forum will include several keynote addresses and two high-level panel sessions on the morning of 3 October. Foreign ministers from EU member states as well as the Arctic Council will be invited to participate.

Understanding and Responding to Global Health Security Risks from Microbial Threats in the Arctic , November 6-7, 2019 (Hanover, Germany). The workshop will be planned as a collaboration between the U.S. National Academies Polar Research Board, Board on Life Sciences, and the Board on Global Health as well as the InterAcademy Partnership and the European Academies Science Advisory Council. Additional information about the project and a form to submit nominations (by April 5) can be found here. Contact Lauren Everett ( [email protected]) with any questions.

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