Arctic Update Header
June 21, 2019

Today no Arctic-science events are scheduled.
Media

Copernicus Sentinel-1 Images the Largest Delta in the Arctic. The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission takes us over the Lena River Delta, the largest delta in the Arctic. At nearly 4500 km long, the Lena River is one of the longest rivers in the world. The river stems from a small mountain lake in southern Russia, and flows northwards before emptying into the Arctic Ocean, via the Laptev Sea. Phys.org  
 
Researchers Report Annual Variability of Ice-Nucleating Particle Concentrations at Different Arctic Locations. For the first time, an international research team led by the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) has investigated atmospheric ice-nucleating particles (INPs) in ice cores, which can provide insights on the type of cloud cover in the Arctic over the last 500 years. These INPs play an important role in the formation of ice in clouds, and thus have a major influence on the climate. So far, however, there are only a few measurements that date back only a few decades. The new method could provide information about historical clouds from climate archives and thus close large gaps in knowledge in climate research. Phys.org
 
Helicopter NMR Prepares to Detect Arctic Oil Spills. Exploiting the Earth's magnetic field, researchers in the US and Canada have developed an innocative way to detect a grim prospective problem: pollution from increased shipping in the Arctic. The team, including Albuquerque, US-based NMR innovators ABQMR and their Dallas-headquartered compatriot oil giant ExxonMobil, built a giant coil 6m in diameter that folds up into a transport container. The Royal Society of Chemistry
 
polar bear matt As Sea Ice Changes in a Warming Arctic, New Challenges for Polar Bear Research. Research on polar bear health and abundance is critical to understanding how the animals are responding to declining sea ice in the warming Arctic. But changes in the ice are also presenting challenges for researchers who go out and collect information on the bears. So they're trying to adapt. For eight seasons now, wildlife biologist Todd Atwood has been part of a team that's flown over the Beaufort Sea during the spring in a helicopter, looking for polar bears. Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
 
As Countries Battle for Control of North Pole, Science is the Ultimate Winner. A competition for the North Pole heated up last month, as Canada became the third country to claim-based on extensive scientific data-that it should have sovereignty over a large swath of the Arctic Ocean, including the pole. Canada's bid, submitted to the United Nations's Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) on 23 May, joins competing claims from Russia and Denmark. Like theirs, it is motivated by the prospect of mineral riches: the large oil reserves believed to lie under the Arctic Ocean, which will become more accessible as the polar ice retreats. Science Magazine
 
How Reindeer Evolved to Survive Freezing Arctic Winters. Santa's warm workshop is nothing like the cold, often-dark Arctic where reindeer really live. Above the Arctic Circle, temperatures can drop as low as -67°C and darkness can last nearly the entire day. Now, a new study reveals how reindeer have evolved to cope with these tough conditions. To look for the genes that let Santa's helpers survive scarce food and months without daylight, researchers took advantage of a massive effort to sequence the genomes of reindeer and 43 other ruminants, including cows, sheep, and camels. They compared the reindeer's genes for various traits to the same genes in several other mammals. Science Magazine
Future Events
     


Over 50 confirmed speakers including:
  • Sen. Lisa Murkowski
  • Sen. Angus King
  • Commandant Karl Schultz, US Coast Guard
  • RDML Tim Gallaudet, PhD, USN Ret., Deputy NOAA Admin.
  • Hon. Fran Ulmer, Chair, USARC
  • AMB Ken Yalowitz (State Dept. retired), Wilson Center
  • AMB Harri Mäki-Reinikka, Finland
  • AMB Marie-Anne Coninsx, EU Ambassador at Large for the Arctic
  • Presidents and CEOs of four Arctic Alaska Native Regional Corps.: Rex Rock, ASRC, Wayne Westlake, NANA, Gail Schubert, BSRC, and Aaron Schutt, Doyon

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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, the Arctic Domain Awareness Center at the Univ. of Alaska, and the Patuxent Defense Forum (run by the Patuxent Partnership), and St. Mary's College of Maryland as co-hosts.

The 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 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.

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.

Large-scale Volcanism in the Arctic: The Role of the Mantle and Tectonics, October 13-18, 2019 (Selfoss, Iceland)The American Geophysical Union (AGU) Chapman Conference will focus on the diversity of Arctic magmatism and tectonics from the Paleozoic to present-day. The conveners are Owen Anfinson, Bernard Coakley, Carmen Gaina, and Grace Shephard. The program will focus on five themes including: Theme I: pre-breakup and rifting;Theme II: seafloor spreading;Theme III: mantle-derived heterogeneity (including plumes and large-igneous provinces);Theme IV: subduction related volcanism, and, Theme V: HALIP and environmental effects.  The website (link above) is open for abstract submission until June 19th and for meeting registration until September 9th. Funding is available for travel support, particularly for early career scientists. Travel support will be awarded on the basis of submitted abstracts and to promote diversity among attendees.
 
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 ( leverett@nas.edu) with any questions.

** New this week ** IX International Forum "Arctic: Today and the Future," December 5-7, 2019 (St. Petersburg, Russia). Save the date for Arctic: Today and the Future. More information to follow.

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