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October 9, 2019
 
112th Meeting of the US Arctic Research Commission. October 9, 2019 (Reykjavik, Iceland)Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Arctic Research Commission will hold its 112th meeting in Reykjavík, Iceland, on October 09, 2019. The business sessions, open to the public, will convene at 10:30 a.m. at the Radisson Blu 1919, Goðafoss meeting room, Pósthússtræti 2, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland. Here is a link to the draft agenda.
Media

Russian Scientists Find Microplastics Along 'Entire' Arctic Sea Route. Russian scientists say they have discovered small plastic debris along the entirety of an Arctic shortcut connecting Asia and Europe that Russia calls the Northern Sea Route. Microplastics - plastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters in length - are now present in every part of the environment, according to a 2019 scientific review by European Union researchers. While high concentrations of microplastics are harmful to the environment and living creatures, it's difficult to measure the effects of these particles at normal concentrations, the researchers said. The Moscow Times
 
Research Vessel Encounters Giant Methane Seep in Arctic Waters. Researchers from Tomsk Polytechnic University reported Monday that they have found an "unusually powerful" methane seep in the remote East Siberian Sea. The team - comprised of TPU faculty and scientists from other Russian research institutions - is on a mission to study the environmental impact of melting permafrost. Subsea permafrost is similar to permafrost on shore, but underwater; it is found in shallow-water areas of the Arctic continental shelf, including areas of the Beaufort Sea and waters of the East Siberian Sea.  Maritime Executive
 
Research in a Changing Arctic Must Be Prioritized. The Arctic is changing, and it's changing fast, even faster than models had predicted. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report found with strong confidence that the Arctic is warming two to three times faster than the global average. Storms that used to dissipate once they reached cold Arctic waters are now not only not losing power, they are in fact becoming reinvigorated by the higher temperatures. Land-fast ice that has traditionally buffered coastal communities from storm surge no longer provides dependable protection, because it is less abundant. The amount of land-based ice melt that occurred in Greenland in July 2019 alone-the hottest month on record-was not   forecasted to happen until 2070. New Security Beat
Future Events
           
2019 Arctic Circle Assembly, October 10-13, 2019 (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.
 
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.

Narwhal: A Tusk with a Twist, October 28, 2019 (Washington, DC USA). After over a dozen years chasing the elusive and mysterious Narwhal in its Arctic habitat, conducting laboratory analysis, and applying a traditional study of Inuit and Greenlandic culture, Martin Nweeia, a dentist in Connecticut and lecturer at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and assistant professor at Case School of Dental Medicine, solved one of science's greatest riddles: the function of the narwhal's unicorn-like tusk. Join the National Museum of Natural History as Nweeia reveals his findings and what we can learn about the evolutionary history of the narwhal and its tooth, and asks us to consider adaptation of northern regions, animals, and peoples in a rapidly warming Arctic.
 
Greenland Science Week, December 1-5, 2019 (Nuuk, Greenland).  Greenland Science Week builds bridges between science and the Greenlandic society, business community and government, and creates a networking and cooperation platform for the Greenlandic and international science community around research in the Arctic.

1st Southern Hemisphere Conference on Permafrost: Permafrost at Altitude and Latitude, December 4-14, 2019 (Queenstown, New Zealand). This conference will operate in a new format, with three-day field excursions offered before and after the conference session days. This will allow participants to make a roundtrip from Christchurch to Queenstown, with visits to glaciers and glacial lakes, the South West New Zealand World Heritage Area and Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, cultural points of interest, and scenic spots to discuss glacial and periglacial landscape development. 

IX International Forum "Arctic: Today and the Future," December 5-7, 2019 (St. Petersburg, Russia) The forum will consider Arctic development issues. The forum is supported by the State Commission for the Development of the Arctic, the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Public Chamber of Russia, and various federal ministries and departments government bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

ASM2019 Annual Scientific Meeting, December 2-5, 2019 (Halifax, NS Canada). Canada's North is experiencing unprecedented change in its sea and terrestrial ice, permafrost and ecosystems under the triple pressures of climate change, industrialization and modernization. The impacts of these pressures can be seen on food and energy security, shipping, sovereignty, northern community health and well-being, and sustainable development and resource exploitation. All these issues have brought the North to the forefront of national and international agendas. With a focus on networking events, this gathering of  leading Arctic researchers, graduate students, Northern community representatives, government and industry partners and stakeholders from all field s will provide all with  valuable connections where innovative ideas and initiatives  can  develop  in  support of health  and sound  governance in the Arctic.

Greenland Science Week, December 2-5, 2019 (Nuuk, Greenland). The Arctic research conference, Polar Research Day, will be held in Nuuk on December 4, 2019. Alongside the one-day conference, several additional science events are planned and organized, so that the conference, a public outreach day, themed workshops, seminars and networking activities will be part of Greenland Science Week. The event will include opportunities to meet and network with a broad range of researchers, business community, government employees and society in an Arctic context, and the organizers anticipate participants from all disciplines in discussions of Arctic science in relation to Greenland. Greenland Science Week is organized by Ilisimatusarfik, AAU Arctic, Sermersooq Municipality and Greenland Perspective.

American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. December 9-13, 2019 (San Francisco, CA). As per usual, there will be a lot of Arctic research presented at this huge gathering.

ISAR-6: Arctic Research: the Decade Past and the Decade Future, March 2-6, 2020 (Tokyo, Japan). Rapid changes are taking place in the Arctic that impact regional human and natural systems, and affect the global environment. The International Symposium on Arctic Research (ISAR) will meet for the sixth time since its first symposium in 2008 to identify changes in the Arctic environment and society, and to discuss possible future sustainable development. The hosts invite all researchers with interests in the Arctic to participate in this multidisciplinary symposium and share their insights, their challenges, and to explore the possible futures of the Arctic.
 
Arctic Science Summit Week and the 5th Arctic Observing Summit. March 27 to April 2, 2020, (Akureyri, Iceland). 
The Arctic Observing Summit (AOS) is a high-level biennial summit that provides a platform to address urgent and broadly recognized needs of Arctic observing across all components of the Arctic system. The theme of AOS 2020 is Observing for Action. AOS 2020 will be held in Akureyri, Iceland (March 31-April 2) and will focus on pressing issues related to the use, design, optimization and implementation of the observing system. To that end, submissions in the form of white papers, short statements and poster abstracts are requested that address any and all aspects of the overarching theme and sub-themes. Currently seeking submissions to the AOS. See link for additional information.

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