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11th Maritime Risk Symposium 2020, October 26-30, 2020 (virtual). The Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI), a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, will host the 11th Annual Maritime Risk Symposium (MRS 2020) in collaboration with the National Academy of Sciences. The theme of MRS 2020 is "Maritime Resilience." DHS defines resilient infrastructure systems as the "ability of systems, infrastructures, government, business, communities, and individuals to resist, tolerate, absorb, recover from, prepare for, or adapt to an adverse occurrence that causes harm, destruction, or loss of national significance." Through presentations, panels and open forums, the symposium will focus on the attributes of resilience to adversarial events of national significance in the maritime domain, using our experience with COVID-19 as a driver for the discussion. The objective is less about the specific impacts COVID-19 had and is having, and more on how that event informs us on resiliency for future global upsets, in terms of what works, what gaps have been exposed, and what research questions ought to be studied as a first step towards enhancing Maritime Resilience.
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[Science Advances] Remobilization of Dormant Carbon from Siberian-Arctic Permafrost During Three Past Warming Events. Carbon cycle models suggest that past warming events in the Arctic may have caused large-scale permafrost thaw and carbon remobilization, thus affecting atmospheric CO2 levels. However, observational records are sparse, preventing spatially extensive and time-continuous reconstructions of permafrost carbon release during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. Using carbon isotopes and biomarkers, we demonstrate that the three most recent warming events recorded in Greenland ice cores-(i) Dansgaard-Oeschger event 3 (~28 ka B.P.), (ii) Bølling-Allerød (14.7 to 12.9 ka B.P.), and (iii) early Holocene (~11.7 ka B.P.)-caused massive remobilization and carbon degradation from permafrost across northeast Siberia. This amplified permafrost carbon release by one order of magnitude, particularly during the last deglaciation when global sea-level rise caused rapid flooding of the land area thereafter constituting the vast East Siberian Arctic Shelf. Demonstration of past warming-induced release of permafrost carbon provides a benchmark for the sensitivity of these large carbon pools to changing climate. (October 2020)
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Media
 Arctic Sea Ice Goes Through 'Historic' Loss in 2020. Arctic sea ice has been in decline for a while now, but 2020 is turning out to be - by far - one of the worst years ever. Every year, like clockwork, the northern ice cap, or sea ice, shrinks in the spring and summer - reaching its minimum extent in September - and then it grows in the fall and winter to reach its maximum extent in March. But as carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions have warmed the planet, the area covered by this summer sea ice has gotten smaller and smaller. And the ice has failed to reach its usual maximum extent in the winter. This is a change that's come on fast, with recent years producing much worse sea ice even than the period from 1981 to 2010. But even compared with the worst years of the last decade, this summer has been devastating. LiveScience
 Polar Bears to Vanish From Most of the Arctic This Century. With Arctic sea ice in a spiraling decline-2020 was recently declared the second-lowest ice year in the satellite record-it's an axiom of climate change that polar bears are in peril. But until now, scientists have been unable to pinpoint when and where populations of this charismatic marine mammal will begin to collapse. A novel model combining projections of future sea ice loss by region with calculations of the maximum number of ice-free days polar bears can withstand now gives a timeline for one of the most familiar symbols of global warming. EOS
Young Scientists to Receive Arctic Exploration Grants. About 30 young scientists, postgraduate students and masters from universities in the Krasnoyarsk Territory have won a research project contest sponsored by the local science foundation. They will be awarded 200-thousand-ruble grants that will finance development projects in the Arctic and the Extreme North. The grant-winning projects focused on energy efficiency, rational use of natural resources, production and medical technologies, new materials adapted to the northern climate, and innovative education. The Arctic
 Where's the Sea Ice? 3 Reasons the Arctic Freeze is Unseasonably Late and Why it Matters. With the setting of the sun and the onset of polar darkness, the Arctic Ocean would normally be crusted with sea ice along the Siberian coast by now. But this year, the water is still open. I've watched the region's transformations since the 1980s as an Arctic climate scientist and, since 2008, as director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center. I can tell you, this is not normal. There's so much more heat in the ocean now than there used to be that the pattern of autumn ice growth has been completely disrupted. The Conversation
[Opinion] When ESG Investing Hurts the People of the North American Arctic. Moral purpose or marketing? This summer, Deutsche Bank became the latest major bank to boycott Arctic resource investment. It's part of a growing chorus of financial institutions demonstrating their fiduciary responsibility to combat climate change. At first hand, the announcements look like testaments to global financial institutions finding their "moral purpose." However, the unfortunate reality is that their Arctic pledges not only fail to contribute to lowering global CO2 emissions or stop the Arctic from melting, but many of those pledges have significant potential to cause damaging social impacts for those who live in the Arctic. Policy Options Politiques
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Future Events
** New this week ** Naval War College Newport Arctic Scholars Initiative: Report Launch: Conflict Prevention and Security Cooperation in the Arctic: Frameworks of the Future, 10:00 am on October 30, 2020 (virtual). This event marks the launch of the 2020 Newport Arctic Scholars Initiative Report, a summary of findings and recommendations on frameworks nations and navies should consider leveraging or creating to prevent conflict and strengthen security cooperation in the Arctic region. NASI reports capture consensus of the 18 distinguished sailors and scholars from Arctic states over the 10-month collaborative research program. This report offers critical insights and practical solutions for senior leaders on areas for security and defense cooperation in the Arctic over time. Event panelists will include Dr. Walter Berbrickand RADM Lars Saunes of the Naval War College; Commander Rachael Gosnell, U.S. Navy; Dr. Will Greaves, University of Victoria, Canada; and Commander, Stefan Lundqvist, Swedish Royal Navy; Commander Johannes Riber, Royal Danish Navy.
The Arctic Resilience Forum: Gender, November 18, 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.
The Arctic Resilience Forum: Socio-Ecological Resilience, November 25, 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.
The Arctic Resilience Forum: Financing Resilience, December 2, 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.
** New this Week ** 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.
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.
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. Over 700 people attend this 4-day long conference held annually during the month of January. Each day of the conference highlights important Alaskan marine ecosystems: Gulf of Alaska (Tuesday), Bering Sea & Aleutian Islands (Wednesday), and the Arctic (Thursday). Research topics discussed range from ocean physics, fishes and invertebrates, seabirds, marine mammals, to local traditional knowledge. Since its inception, NPRB has been a proud sponsor and one of the leading organizers of AMSS.
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.
** New this week ** 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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