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March 27, 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.

Zach Hamilla_ Exec. Dir._ The Arctic Studio
Based on data from late 2019, this year's surveys, from "The Arctic Studio," continued to track Americans' agreement or disagreement with a basic combined assertion of U.S. Arctic identityand interests, as well as asking about interests and identity separately.




Newly shared reports this week.
 
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Arctic Program) Arctic Report Card, 2019. Issued annually since 2006, the Arctic Report Card is a timely and peer-reviewed source for clear, reliable and concise environmental information on the current state of different components of the Arctic environmental system relative to historical records. The Report Card is intended for a wide audience, including scientists, teachers, students, decision-makers and the general public interested in the Arctic environment and science.
 
(Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme) AMAP Climate Change Update 2019, 2019. AMAP, 2019. AMAP Climate Change Update 2019: An Update to Key Findings of Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA) 2017.
Media

Planes, Drones to Help Count Polar Bear Population. Experimental aerial surveys, due to be conducted in coastal areas between the Yamal and Taimyr peninsulas, will help estimate polar bear and marine mammal populations and assess the scale of threats facing polar bears, the apex Arctic predators. This will eventually make it possible to draft a detailed plan for protecting polar bears and evaluating the entire region's environmental status. "A ban on hunting these endangered animals was imposed about 70 years ago. However, poachers remain undeterred and continue to shoot them barbarically..." The Arctic
 
The Arctic Travel Experts Have Created a Virtual 'Lights Over Lapland' Tour. With much of the world currently on lockdown, one Arctic travel specialist has launched a series of virtual tours bringing this mesmerizing part of the world to people's homes. The specialist aurora photography company, Lights over Lapland, normally leads adventurous travelers on photography tours of Abisko National Park, Sweden, a vast expanse of spectacular landscape around 195 kilometers inside the Arctic Circle. Forbes
 
Publisher in Arctic Canada Putting Inuit-Language Books Online Amidst COVID-19 Closures. A publisher, in partnership with the organization that represents Inuit in Canada's eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut, are making Inuit-language children's books available online, to help families amidst the three-week school and daycare closures ordered in the region in response to the COVID-19 pandemic."We want to support learning from home, and to encourage people to use this time to come together and strengthen our language," said Louise Flaherty, a cofounder of Inhabit Media, in a news release on Wednesday.  Radio Canada International

American Polar Society Wants You!  Since 1934, the American Polar Society has brought together scientists, entrepreneurs, explorers, contractors, military personnel and policy makers-people who make the polar regions matter.  We publish a full-color journal, The Polar Times, and organize periodic symposia to keep our select community updated on trends and developments in the Arctic and Antarctic.  We're in a rebuilding phase and need your energy, your enthusiasm and your skill sets.  Whether you're already a member or a potential member, or just want to learn more, please let us hear from you at americanpolar1@gmail.com .  And please check out our new, award-winning website, www.americanpolar.org . Let's expand horizons together in 2020!

NOAA NOAA Job Opportunity: Arctic Program Director.  NOAA is seeking a physical scientist to serve as the Arctic Research Program Director, providing leadership, management oversight, direction, and overall day-to-day management for NOAA's Arctic Research Program (ARP). ARP provides support for carrying out a research program to develop, maintain and extend Arctic observing systems targeting the ocean, marine, and sea-ice environments. The Arctic Research Program Director develops the strategic vision and other planning and budget documents and presentations to guide the program in consultation with the GOMO Director; proposes, defends and manages the program budget; and monitors the performance of the ARP. She/he conducts long-range planning and sets goals and priorities; guides staff, and ensures effective, timely and economical accomplishment of program objectives. She/he contributes leadership for Arctic research within OAR and represents OAR and NOAA at scientific, intra- and inter agency, and international meetings.  USAJobs
Future Events
 
Arctic Observing Summit 2020, March 30- April 2, 2020 (Virtual). Arctic Observing Summit (AOS) aims to guide the design, coordination, and long-term operation of an international network of observing systems to improve understanding and response to Arctic change. AOS 2020 is part of Arctic Science Summit Week 2020.

** 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.

** New this week ** Arctic Observing Summit (AOS) Working Group 3: Indigenous Food Security, March 30, 2020 (Virtual). Part of the Arctic Observing Summit, this event seeks to address approaches and priorities to increase the efficiency, reach and impact of observations in support of Indigenous food security and related needs. 

** 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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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