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March 19, 2020



Arctic Reading for the Quarantine:


 
usarc_logo_small_transparent_background (US Arctic Research Commission) Report on the Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research, 2019-2020. Arctic research plays a key role in addressing fundamental scientific issues and in helping the nation meet its needs, aspirations and responsibilities as an arctic nation. To this end, the USARC delivers a biennial report to the President and Congress outlining recommended scientific research goals and objectives for the Arctic.
 
(US Government Accountability Office) Arctic Capabilities: Coast Guard is Taking Steps to Address Key Challenges, but Additional Work Remains, 02/05/2020. Coast Guard icebreakers can ensure year-round access to the Arctic-critical to protecting U.S. economic and national security interests in the region. We testified on the Coast Guard's Arctic strategy and capabilities, including icebreaking. The Coast Guard's only operating heavy polar icebreaker is near the end of its service life. The plan is to replace it with 3 Polar Security Cutters. We've made a number of recommendations on this cutter acquisition.
 
(Congressional Research Service) Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress, updated 01/23/2020. The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened interest in, and concerns about, the region's future. The United States, by virtue of Alaska, is an Arctic country and has substantial interests in the region. The seven other Arctic states are Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark (by virtue of Greenland), and Russia.

(University of the Arctic's Thematic Network on Geopolitics and Security) Arctic Yearbook, 2019. The Arctic Yearbook is an initiative of the UArctic Thematic Network on Geopolitics and Security. Yet since our first publication launched in 2012, we have never elected to produce a volume on the theme of security itself, focusing instead on topics such as human capital, innovation, regional governance, development, and the Arctic Council.
Media

Arctic Maritime Spill Response Modeling (AMSM) Workshop Report. On December 3-5, 2019, the Center for Spills and Environmental Hazards (CSE) and Arctic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC) hosted the Arctic Maritime Spill Response Modeling (AMSM) workshop at the University of Alaska in Anchorage, AK. The ADAC project is comprised of the following six phases: the formation of project core advisory team, core team determination of needs/questions to be addressed by response models, three-day Arctic Maritime Spill Response Modeling Workshop, formation of working groups on specific response model components/criteria, two-day workshop to review working group drafts and integrate feedback, and the completion of knowledge product. A link to the full report is here.
 
Packing the Tundra with Animals Could Slow Arctic Melt. Enormous herds of animals roamed the Arctic tundra thousands of years ago. Just a fraction remain today, but some scientists say they should be brought back to help fight climate change. Wild horses, reindeer, bison, musk oxen and other large herbivores trample the ground as they plod along, packing down the earth and any snow that's on top of it. Thick and fluffy snow tends to act as an insulator, warming the soil beneath it. But denser snow can keep soil colder. Scientific American
 
Arctic Melting Continues at Alarming Rate, UC Irvine and JPL Scientists Say. Arctic melting continues at an alarming rate, threatening to erode coastal areas as sea levels rise, UC Irvine and Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists concluded in a paper published Wednesday. "We're seeing it's continuing and we're not slowing down," said the study's lead author, UCI professor Isabella Velicogna. "The ice sheets are continuing to lose mass into the ocean at increasing levels consistently." NBC Southern California
Future Events

March 2020 National Weather Service Alaska Climate Outlook Briefing, March 20, 2020 (Webinar and Fairbanks, Alaska USA). This 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 the coming months. 

** New this week **  Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) Webinar Series: National Science Foundation (NSF) Program Manager Chat, March 20, 2020 (Webinar). NSF Polar Programs Directors Roberto Delgado and Colleen Strawhacker will host a webinar ( https://www.iarpccollaborations.org/events/16190) on NSF funding opportunities, including RAPID and RCN. Topics to be covered in this webinar: NSF Grants Resource Center; Research Coordination Networks (RCNs); Rapid Response Research (RAPID) Proposals; and, NSF Arctic Research Opportunities Program Solicitation.
 
** Updated **  113th USARC Meeting, March 24, 2020 (Orono, Maine USA). The US Arctic Research Commission meeting is postponed indefinitely.

** Updated **  Arctic Science Summit Week and the 5th Arctic Observing Summit. March 27 to April 2, 2020, (Akureyri, Iceland).  This conference will now be limited to online participation.

** Updated **  A Comparison of the Zooplankton Communities Between the Arctic Ocean and Subarctic Pacific with Emphasis on ROV Observations, March 30, 2020 (Webinar). This is part of the OneNOAA Science Seminars. We describe the zooplankton communities found in the upper 3 kilometers of the oceans to the north and south of Alaska from ROV observations supported by plankton net collections. Each tool has implicit biases. The ROV is particularly adept at finding larger, rarer and more fragile species, while nets provide quantitative information on smaller, more abundant and more robust species. Together they provide a more complete assessment of biodiversity in each habitat.
 
** Updated **  Ice Core Science Community Planning Workshop 2020, April 2-3, 2020 (Virtual Meeting Only).  Please note, this event is meeting virtually only now. Scientific discoveries achieved in the Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets and temperate glaciers are critical to society today, but they are not achieved without significant advance planning. The U.S. Ice Drilling Program (IDP) will sponsor an interdisciplinary ice community workshop to identify science driving future Arctic and Antarctic ice coring sites, the ice drilling technology that will be needed, and the timeline over the coming decade for advancing ice core science on multiple frontiers. The outcome of the workshop will be white papers describing community endeavors with associated timelines that will become part of the updated U.S. Ice Drilling Program Long Range Science Plan.  

** Updated **  North x North Festival + Critical Futures, April 13-19, 2020 (Anchorage, Alaska USA).  North x North is postponed until the fall.  Additional information will be available soon.

** Updated **  The 7th Annual Arctic Encounter, April 16-17, 2020 (Seattle, WA USA).  The Arctic Encounter has been postponed. More information may be available at the link soon.

NOAA Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program Webinar Series, April 16, 2020 (Webinar). Deep-sea coral and sponge communities in the Aleutian Islands are important habitat features for many life stages of commercially important fish targets, including Atka mackerel, Pacific cod, and rockfish. The effects of commercial fishing activities on deep-sea corals and sponges has been difficult to quantify due to a lack of spatially-explicit fishery data, bottom contact by different gear types, undetermined location of corals and sponges, and the susceptibility and recovery dynamics these structure-forming invertebrates (SFI). To address these challenges, a fishing effects model was developed in the North Pacific to integrate spatially explicit VMS data with target-specific gear configurations for over 40,000 bottom trawls since 2003. Fishery observer coverage for Aleutian Island trawl fisheries is nearly 100 percent and records catch species composition. Species distribution models provide presence data for coral, sponge, Primnoidae, and Stylasteridae.

** Updated ** Securing S&T Success for the Coming Arctic, April 22-23, 2020 (Washington, DC USA). The Arctic Domain Awareness Center hosts this annual meeting. The meeting will review the Center's current research and discuss better leveraging ADAC. The agenda includes discussions regarding the transition of ADAC's mature research and the initiation of new research associated with ADAC's recently awarded projects from ADAC's Arctic Incidence of National Significance 2019 workshop. Cancelled

ICESAT-2 Cryospheric Science Hackweek, June 15-19, 2020 (Seattle, Washington  USA). 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.

Arctic Science Summit Week 2021- Open Science Conference: The Arctic Regional Changes, Global Impacts, March 23-26, 2021 (Lisbon, Portugal). The event will bring together scientists, Indigenous people, Arctic community members, and Arctic science stakeholders from all over the world to present and discuss the most recent advances on Arctic knowledge across disciplines, from the natural sciences to the humanities. The OSC will also be an opportunity to foster research synergies between both Polar Regions, with sessions that target both Poles welcomed. 

** New this week ** Arctic Circle Assembly, October 8-11, 2020 (Reykjavík, 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. 

** New this week ** 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.

** New this week ** 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.

** New this week ** 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.

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