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January 28, 2020

Arctic Frontiers, January 26-30, 2020 (Tromso, Norway). Arctic Frontiers is a global scientific conference on economic, societal, and environmental sustainable growth. This year's theme will be "The Power of Knowledge," with a pan-arctic emphasis, 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. The plenary program will have five main sessions with the following working titles: State of the Arctic, The power of knowledge, Robust and resilient Arctic communities, Powered by knowledge, Arctic oceans - distant connections, Sustainable business development. An abstract-driven science program will address Arctic Food Security, Local or Global Arctic? Multi-scaled considerations of connections and remoteness in climate-impacted, Disruptive Technologies and Knowledge-based Development in the Arctic.

The Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 27- 31, 2020 (Anchorage, Alaska USA). The Alaska Marine Science Symposium (AMSS), Alaska's premier marine research conference, 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. 

Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) Information Webinars January 28 and 29, 2020 (Webinar). Navigating the New Arctic (NNA), one of NSF's 10 Big Ideas, embodies the National Science Foundation's forward-looking response to these profound challenges and opportunities. NNA seeks innovations in fundamental convergence research across the social, natural, environmental, and computing and information sciences, and engineering that address the interactions or connections between natural and built environments and social systems and how these connections inform our understanding of Arctic change and its local and global effects. The National Science Foundation encourages everyone to join one of our virtual office hours with NNA Program Officers to learn more about Navigating the New Arctic Solicitation 20-514 and get your questions answered.

Workshop on the Dynamics and Mass Budget of Arctic Glaciers & the IASC Network on Arctic Glaciology Annual Meeting, January 28-30, 2020 (Obergurgl, Austria). In addition to sessions on glacier dynamics and mass balance, the workshop will host a cross-cutting activity by the Cryosphere and Marine Working Groups of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) on "Glacier-ocean interactions and their impact on Arctic marine ecosystems". This activity aims to provide an inter-disciplinary forum by bringing together glaciologists, marine ecologists and oceanographers interested in glacier-ocean interactions and to stimulate future collaborations.
Media

arctic shipping IMO Urged to Prohibit Low Sulphur Marine Fuel in the Arctic. The Clean Arctic Alliance (CAA) has urged the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to ban ships from using fuels with high black carbon emissions in the Arctic region. The request is based on the new research that found some of the blended low sulphur shipping fuels contribute to highly polluting black carbon emissions in the environment. CAA is a global coalition of environmental organizations that support the ban on heavy fuel oil (HFO) use in the Arctic region. Ship Technology

Inuit Exemption to European Union's Seal Product is Ineffective: Report. The European Union should do more to raise public awareness about how its ban on seal products includes an exemption for Inuit communities, say the governments of Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Greenland. That's according to a report published by the European Commission earlier this month, which finds that the 2015 amendment to the European seal product ban, which exempts "Inuit or other Indigenous communities," has failed to have a positive impact on socioeconomic development. Nunatsiaq Online
 
Do Ungava Bay Beluga Exist? A major point of contention during the recent hearing on beluga management in Nunavik was whether or not a stock of Ungava Bay beluga even exists. Its presence is the reason for a traditional beluga hunting area on Ungava Bay being closed off by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. But hunters from Ungava Bay say the closure is without merit. Nunatsiaq Online
 
Alaska's North Slope Has Plenty of Undeveloped Oil Left, a New Estimate Finds. Four decades after oil began flowing from Alaska's North Slope, a new resource assessment says there is plenty more oil yet to be discovered. The Central North Slope - the state-owned territory that is the core area of existing development - holds another 3.59 billion barrels of yet-to-be-discovered but recoverable oil, according to a mean estimate calculated by the U.S. Geological Survey in its newest resource assessment. Arctic Today
Future Events
 
Coordinating Future Research Efforts in the Bering Sea/ Strait and Adjacent Regions, January 31 (Anchorage, Alaska USA). The US Arctic Research Commission, the North Pacific Research Board, the Alaska Ocean Observing System, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration invite you to a workshop to discuss a planning framework for new, coordinated, and comprehensive studies of the Bering Sea/Strait and adjacent regions. All are welcome to join the conversation. Broad and diverse perspectives are sought on: 1) emerging research questions and needs, 2) methods to facilitate research design and implementation that draw on indigenous, traditional, local, and scientific knowledge, and 3) approaches for gathering input from interested audiences on an ongoing basis and communicating back to them the resulting research plans and results in a timely and appropriate manner.

Polar Extremes: NOVA Special, February 5, 2020 (Television special). Hosted by palaeontologist Kirk Johnson, Sant Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, (and the  IARPC  Principal for the Smithsonian Institution) the NOVA program "Polar Extremes " features a pole-to-pole presentation of the history of the planet's Arctic and Antarctic regions over the past 650 million years and how these regions have responded to, and helped create, global climate change. Check your local listing for broadcast times. The time here is for WETA Washington, DC.

Jim Thomson: Ocean Waves in the New Arctic, February 7, 2020 (Webinar). The rapid decline of summer sea ice cover in the Western Arctic has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in the sea state of the region. Ocean waves are now more common throughout the region, including multiple energetic swell events each summer. These waves interact with the sea ice and help to both form and define the expanding Marginal Ice Zone of the Western Arctic. This seminar will review recent work to observe and forecast changes in the Arctic sea state, including implications for sea ice retreat and coastal morphology.

Alaska Forum on the Environment, February 10-14, 2020 (Anchorage, Alaska USA). The 22nd Alaska Forum on the Environment will be held February 10-14, 2020, offering 6 Keynote Events, over 100 presentations, panel discussions, special events and workshops. Technical sessions include: climate change, emergency response, brownfields, marine debris, environmental regulations, fish and wildlife, forests, rural issues, energy, military issues, business issues, pollution prevention, contaminants, and more.

"Arctic Worlds: A Symposium on Environment and Humanities" February 26, 2020, (Boston, Massachusetts, USA)  is an interdisciplinary Arctic event at Boston University, hosted by the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future. There will be speakers from the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities addressing questions on how the Arctic/North can engender new understandings. Thekeynote speaker will be the Head of Representation in North America for Greenland, Minister Inuuteq Holm Olsen.

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.

International One Health, One Future 2020 International Conference, March 11-14, 2020 (Fairbanks, Alaska USA). This year's conference, presented by University of Alaska Fairbanks Center for One Health Research in partnership with the U.S. Department of State, will host internationally recognized keynote speakers across eight themes. There will be something for all stakeholders - community members, health care providers, state and federal agency employees, researchers, educators and students. One Health recognizes the interdependence of human, animal and environmental health, and that a holistic approach to the well-being of all will lead to improved health outcomes and enhanced resilience.

Linking Experts in Polar Science and Technology, March 12, 2020 (Boulder, Colorado USA). The Polar Technology Conference (PTC) brings together polar scientists, technology developers, and field technicians from academia, state and federal agencies, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations. This interdisciplinary space provides an opportunity for technical and theoretical exchange on challenges impeding polar research and field operations. Community input is crucial to ensure that technological infrastructure investments are efficient, satisfy science drivers, and meet field requirements. The conference will address approaches to working and studying in the polar regions, including: terrestrial, marine, atmospheric, and social science disciplines; autonomous instrumentation; observation platforms; and all levels of logistical support.

High North Dialogue, March 18-19, 2020 (Bodø, Norway). Since 2007, the High North Dialogue conference series have brought together leaders of the High North - present and future - to discuss the dimensions of the changes taking place in the Arctic.  The High North Dialogue 2020 will provide you with a different perspective on the future of the High North.  The theme of the 2020 conference is "Business in the Arctic."  The conference also includes Master and PhD courses, a research workshop, breakout sessions, the High North Hero award, and the High North Young Entrepreneur contest.  Please visit our website for more information. 

usarc_logo_small_transparent_background 113th USARC Meeting, March 24, 2020 (Orono, Maine USA). The US Arctic Research Commission will host its 113th meeting at the University of Maine. Additional information coming soon on the website and in the Federal Register.

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.

North x North Festival + Critical Futures, April 13-19, 2020 (Anchorage, Alaska USA).  North x North celebrates connection, creativity, imagination and innovation across the Circumpolar North and convenes people worldwide for a discussion about possible futures. It begins with Critical Futures , a creative conference that focuses on language, visuals and ideas for creatively and critically thinking about the future and responding to climate change, and ends with a Fest featuring film, food and music. This event is hosted by the Anchorage Museum.

The 7th Annual Arctic Encounter, April 16-17, 2020 (Seattle, WA USA).  The 2019 Arctic Encounter Seattle drew participants and stakeholders from over 20 nations, including over 80 speakers, 27 sponsors, 17 media partners, northern fashion and photography art installations, 13 guest performers, the second annual Far North Fashion Show, live podcast recording sessions, musical and spoken word performances, and over 10 artist exhibitors. The 2020 Arctic Encounter Seattle expects to increase engagement in new sectors and engage participants through policy debates, research presentations, live performances, and more. The Arctic Encounter is the largest annual Arctic policy and business conference convening in the United States, with partnerships and convening efforts worldwide. 

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