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The USARC Website Has a Whole New Look! The US Arctic Research Commission recently released an updated website. You can see the newly improved website here.
Intent to Appoint Additional Commissioners of the US Arctic Research Commission. President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to appoint individuals to key administration posts. These appointments include Crawford Patkotak, of Alaska, and Thomas Emanual Dans, of Texas, to be members of the Arctic Research Commission. The White House
Arctic Change 2020, December 7-10, 2020 (virtual). ArcticNet's international Arctic science conference takes place every 3 years, bringing together researchers and partners from around the world. This year the conference will be virtual. Building on the success of our previous Annual Scientific Meeting while facing the realities of our times, the organizers are pulling out all the stops to reach a bigger audience than ever before. The ArcticNet Network of Centers of Excellence and their partners warmly invite the global Arctic community to join them-from wherever you are-at the Arctic Change 2020 Virtual Conference.
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 Increased Heat From Arctic River is Melting Sea Ice in the Arctic Ocean and Warming the Atmosphere. A new study shows that increased heat from Arctic rivers is melting sea ice in the Arctic Ocean and warming the atmosphere. The study published recently in Science Advances was led by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, with contributing authors in the United States, United Arab Emirates, Finland, and Canada. SciTech Daily Watching the Arctic Thaw in Fast-Forward. The frozen permafrost in the Arctic is thawing on an alarming scale. By analyzing an annual record of satellite images, researchers have now confirmed these findings: thermokarst lakes in Alaska are draining one by one because warmer and wetter conditions cause deeper thaw, effectively weakening frozen ground as a barrier around lakes. In the season 2017/2018, lake drainage was observed on a scale that scientists didn't expect until the end of the century. Science Daily  A Pair of US-Greenland Education Partnerships Get State Department Funding. Two recently announced educational partnerships between Greenlandic and American educational institutions will receive $3 million in U.S. State Department funding to "foster collaboration between education communities in the United States and Greenland, as well as expand mutual educational and economic opportunities," according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, which will lead both initiatives. The agreements come amidst a growing U.S. presence in Greenland, that, in April, culminated in a commitment by Washington to invest $12 million as a way to "jumpstart" relations between the two countries, a State Department spokesman said at the time. Arctic Today
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Future Events
Release of NOAA's 2020 Arctic Report Card, American Geophysical Union Annual Fall Meeting Virtual Press Conference, 11:00 am EST on December 8, 2020. NOAA will release the 2020 Arctic Report Card at a virtual at the American Geophysical Union press conference. Key findings include: The average annual land surface air temperature in the Arctic north of 60° N between October 2019 and September 2020 was the second-warmest since at least 1900, and was responsible for driving a cascade of impacts across Arctic ecosystems during the year. Nine of the past 10 years saw air temperatures at least 2.2 degrees F above the 1981-2010 mean, and more than 4 degrees F warmer than the 1900-2019 mean. Arctic temperatures for the past six years have all exceeded previous records. Attendance is limited to those who have registered for the AGU conference.
** New this week ** US Coast Guard Capabilities for Safeguarding National Interests and Promoting Economic Security in the Arctic, 2:30 pm on December 8, 2020 (Washington, DC USA and via video stream). U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, chairman of the Subcommittee on Security, will convene a hearing titled, "U.S. Coast Guard Capabilities for Safeguarding National Interests and Promoting Economic Security in the Arctic," at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 8, 2020. The hearing will examine how the United States Coast Guard (USCG) 2019 Arctic Strategic Outlook is being resourced through acquisition plans, training exercises, and infrastructure investments, and the importance of USCG presence in the Arctic as commercial sea traffic increases. The hearing will also address the security implications of Chinese and Russian interests in the Arctic and the current state of the USCG's icebreaking capacity. US Arctic Research Commissioner Randy Kee will testify at this hearing.
The Arctic Resilience Forum: Infrastructure, December 9, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am - 1:00pm (EST) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020. The online series, organized by the Arctic Council and the Harvard Kennedy School, will engage the broadest audience possible in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas.
IARPC Public Webinar Series: NSF Arctic Program Manager Office Hours, 12:00 pm AST on December 10, 2020 (virtual)  . The National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Program's (OPP) Arctic Science (ARC) Section for program manager outreach will host this event during the American Geophysical Union's ( AGU) 2020 Fall Meeting. This virtual office hour will focus on orienting interested scientists to ARC, highlighting updated solicitations, and offering insight into how COVID-19 continues to impact operations. There will also be ample time for the community to ask questions of NSF staff. Learn more and register: here.
  Woodrow Wilson Center Polar Institute- ADAC Arctic Security Dialogues: Toward a US Army Arctic Strategy, 4:00 pm AST on December 11, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Security Dialogues, hosted by the Wilson Center's Polar Institute and Arctic Domain Awareness Center,address a broad spectrum of security issues to include, but not limited to, national security, homeland security, and the many components of civil security. "Toward a U.S. Army Arctic Strategy" is the second program in the series, following the inaugural discussion on the US Air Force Arctic Strategy. The U.S. Army has yet to publish an Arctic Strategy, though one is currently in development. The conversation is expected to included developing challenges, emerging opportunities, strategic priorities and essential components that could influence an upcoming U.S. Army Arctic Strategy. A panel of retired U.S. Army General Officers and security experts will contribute perspectives and suggestions on policy, planning and/or operations for drafters to consider in the development of the U.S. Army's Arctic Strategy.
Creeping Security in the Arctic? 12:00 pm CET on December 18, 2020 (virtual). Niklas Eklund is an associate professor at the Department of Political Science and Deputy Director at the Arctic Research Center at Umeå University. His research is on public administration, security, leadership and crisis management. He has also contributed to the 'Handbook of Arctic Security' in which he introduce Sweden from a state-based security perspective. In December, Arcum is arranging an online seminar within the Umeå Arctic Seminar series, where Niklas will talk about the creeping securitization in the Arctic. This event is organized by the Arctic Research Center at Umeå University.
Alaska Native Perspectives of an Evolving Arctic Environment, 12:00 pm AKST on January 15, 2021. Join AKWorld for this discussion of climate, security, economic opportunity, science, resilience and other implications of a changing Arctic. Whether you are in Florida, California, Alaska, or another state in-between, you have experienced significant weather changes amplified by a rapidly changing Arctic. Come, listen, and join the conversation with two Alaska Native women who have firsthand knowledge and understanding of this important issue for Alaska, the United States, and the World.
2021 Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 26-28, 2021 (virtual). The Alaska Marine Science Symposium (AMSS) has  been bringing together scientists, educators, resource managers, students, and interested public for over twenty years to discuss the latest marine research being conducted in Alaskan waters. Showcasing Alaska's marine science remains the utmost priority despite the challenges we all have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are also exploring some additional events (virtual panels, social hours, etc.) surrounding the virtual launch of AMSS 2021, so stay tuned! We are looking for panel ideas Topic ideas may include but are not limited to: coastal resiliency, ocean noise, marine debris, perspectives on changing ecosystems, co-production of knowledge, economics of climate change, and the future of the Arctic Research Post-COVID in local communities. (submit here: https://alaskamarinescience.org/2021-panels).
Arctic Frontiers 2021, February 1-4, 2021 (virtual). Arctic Frontiers  started out in 2006 assembling the first global scientific conference on economic, societal and environmental sustainable growth in the north. In February 2021, we will arrange the 15th conference with the theme "Building Bridges". The conference has a pan arctic perspective and builds new partnerships across nations, generations and ethnic groups. Arctic Frontiers provides a forum for dialogue and communication between science, government and industry in the Arctic.
ALCOM's Arctic Senior Leader Summit, 2021, March 10-11, 2021 (virtual). In support of U.S. Northern Command's Arctic mission, please consider joining Lt General David Krumm, USAF, Commander Alaska Command, Alaska NORAD Region and 11th Air Force and a host of Defense and Security Leaders for Arctic Senior Leader Summit 2021 (ASLS 21) 10-11 March 2021. This event is oriented to addressing senior leader strategic views on the developing range of security and defense matters affecting the Arctic region. Due to the on-going complications of in-person meetings as a result of COVID 19, Arctic Senior Summit 2021 will be conducted via video conference. Day 1 of ASLS 2021 is focused on plenary presentations and follow-on strategic discussions. Day 2 ASLS 2021 is a planned tabletop exercise. Further details and registration to be provided soon via ASLS 21 planning team at the Arctic Domain Awareness Center. Please see: https://arcticdomainawarenesscenter.org/Events for more details or email ADAC center leadership at https://arcticdomainawarenesscenter.org/Team.
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.
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.
3rd Arctic Science Ministerial, May 8-9, 2021 (Toyko, Japan). The  Japanese and Icelandic organizers of this ministerial continue to plan for an in-person ministerial, in Tokyo, but have moved the dates from November 21-22, 2020 to May 8-9, 2021 because of Covid-19. Since the last Arctic Science Ministerial in 2018, changes in the Arctic ecosystem and the resulting impacts locally and globally have been severely felt. 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. ASM3 will be co-hosted by Iceland and Japan.
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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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