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July 30, 2020


Arctic Science Coalition Building Webinar with Brett Veerhusen, 2-3 PM EDT July 29, 2020 (Virtual) The most impactful Arctic research is driven by a strong, diverse coalition of individuals, businesses and organizations united by a common mission. In this virtual workshop Brett Veerhusen, Ocean Strategies founder, will share how he has built coalitions in fisheries research, management, and policy action in Alaska, and teach you how to move from an idea to an action plan by building a coalition that gets you to your Arctic research or policy goal.  The event is hosted by  Migration in Harmony : An Interdisciplinary Network in Littoral Species, Settlements, and Cultures on the Move (MiH-RCN), an international, cross-disciplinary network of Arctic migration researchers funded by the National Science Foundation.
Media

wildfire Wildfires, Record Warmth, and Rapidly Melting Ice: Arctic Climate Goes Further Off the Rails This Summer. The Arctic summer of 2020 is one that has been marked by raging fires in the Far North, with smoke extending more than 1,000 miles downwind, along with alarming new temperature records and ice melt. While rapid Arctic climate change is not exactly news - the region is warming at about three times the rate of the rest of the world - the manifestations of this phenomenon are increasing in severity, scope and societal consequences. The Washington Post
 
The Arctic Ocean is Becoming More Like the Atlantic and Pacific, Studies Say. A new Arctic Ocean is emerging with more algae blooms, bigger waves and more similarities to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, according to a series of recently released studies. Blame - or credit - should go at least in part to the loss of sea ice and in the seas peripheral to the Arctic Ocean and the increase in heat that those peripheral seas are sending north, the separate studies say. Nunatsiaq Online
 
Increasing Arctic Freshwater is Driven by Climate Change. New, first-of-its-kind research from CU Boulder shows that climate change is driving increasing amounts of freshwater in the Arctic Ocean. Within the next few decades, this will lead to increased freshwater moving into the North Atlantic Ocean, which could disrupt ocean currents and affect temperatures in northern Europe. The paper, published July 27, 2020 in Geophysical Research Letters, examined the unexplained increase in Arctic freshwater over the past two decades and what these trends could mean for the future. CU Boulder Today
 
Melting Arctic Sea Ice During the Summer of 2018. A study details the changes that occurred in the Arctic in September of 2018, a year when nearly 10 million kilometers of sea ice were lost throughout the summer. Its findings give an overview of how sea ice has receded over the 40 years of the satellite era and show how the summer's extensive decline is linked to global atmospheric processes as far south as the tropics. Science Daily

Comment by August 2 on Development of the Next Arctic Research Plan .The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) is beginning development of the Arctic Research Plan 2022-2026. We are seeking input on the structure, goals, and objectives of the plan. Please share your ideas on the critical issues facing the Arctic and what research needs to be conducted to address those issues. The comment deadline is August 2. Find more information about the plan and how to comment  here .
Future Events

National Science Foundation Arctic Program Manager Chat: COVID-19 Response, August Update, 2pm EDT on August 5, 2020 (Virtual) . Join the National Science Foundation on IARPC Collaborations for a program manager chat about  COVID-19 impacts  to NSF operations. The Arctic Sciences (ARC) Sections in the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) will be offering a virtual office hour to share information with the polar research community regarding NSF's current operations. These office hours will also allow the community to ask questions, share concerns, and/or offer suggestions on how ARC can do more to address the impact of COVID-19 on researchers. All are welcome. Register for the webinar: here.

** New this week ** Building Arctic Empathy through Virtual Reality, 2 pm EDT August 12, 2020 (Virtual). Learn how virtual reality and immersive learning can build empathy, connection, & commitment to conservation in Arctic research. Research shows that immersive media drives empathy, creates connection, and motivates positive social behaviors like no other platform. Join Emmy and Webby award winning immersive technology pioneer  Wesley Della Volla as he presents ways you can use shared, synchronized immersive reality to integrate live presentations with a tangible connection with Arctic science research, traditional knowledge, and Arctic landscapes and ecosystems using the devices you already have. Migration In Harmony is an international, cross-disciplinary network of Arctic migration researchers funded by NSF. Learn more and sign up at  migrationharmony.org.
   
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. 

AGU Fall Meeting, December 7-11, 2020 (San Francisco, California USA). Fall Meeting is the largest gathering of Earth and space scientists in the world. More information will be available at the link.

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.

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.
 

2021 Regional Conference on Permafrost/ 19th International Conference Cold Regions Engineering, July 11-16, 2021 (Boulder, Colorado USA). For the first time a Regional Conference on Permafrost will be combined with the bi-annual 19th International Conference on Cold Regions Engineering. This conference is hosted by the US Permafrost Association, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the International Permafrost Association, the Permafrost Young Researchers Network, and the University of Colorado Boulder. A complete list of planned sessions is available here.

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