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Arctic Reading for the Quarantine:
This week's newly shared reports and publicans.
(The Study of Environmental Arctic Change) Arctic Futures 2050 Conference Report, April 16, 2020. In September 2019, the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) brought together nearly 400 scientists, Indigenous Knowledge holders and leaders, and policy makers from 15 countries to explore Arctic research needs. The Arctic Futures 2050 conference report covers takeaways from the spoken and poster presentations organized by five conference questions and reflects on the conference format and lessons learned. A main conference conclusion is that holistic understanding and useful adaptation to rapid Arctic change requires bringing together scientists, Indigenous Knowledge holders, and policy makers in all phases of research from defining the problems to conducting research and sharing knowledge. Please also note
the webinar opportunity for providing ideas inspired by the report.
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Claire L. Parkinson: 2020 Finalist Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement. As scientists worldwide chart the reasons for and the consequences of climate change, they know that one significant factor is melting polar sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic oceans. They also know that the melting sea ice has adversely impacted wildlife, led to coastal erosion and the retention of solar radiation. These scientific findings have been meticulously documented for more than four decades by NASA's Claire Parkinson, the climate change senior scientist who pioneered research in satellite data analysis, quantified major changes in the polar sea ice covers and put this information in the context of climate change.
Service of America Medals
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| Dr. Claire Parkinson |
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These Public Servants are Finalists for the Oscars of Government. (Yes, Fauci is One of Them.) In any year, being a finalist for the Career Achievement Award is one of the highest possible honors for a federal public servant. The Service of America Medal - the "Sammies," awarded by the nonpartisan Partnership of Public Service- are the Oscars of government...But Claire Parkinson is no slouch, either. One of the world's leading experts on polar ice caps since long before most people recognized their importance as an indicator of climate change, she also is project scientist for the Aqua satellite, which collects data about the atmosphere, oceans, sea ice, land ice and vegetation - data that is relied upon by other scientists, the Coast Guard, the U.S. Forest Service and countless others.
The Washington Post
Warming Caused a Glacier in Alaska to Collapse. Global warming isn't just causing glaciers to melt-it's making some collapse suddenly. That's what scientists believe happened at Alaska's Flat Creek Glacier, deep in the mountains of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. In August 2013, a 1,600-foot tongue of ice suddenly detached from the bedrock near the bottom of the glacier. It sent a flood of ice and debris hurtling nearly 7 miles down the mountainside.
Scientific American
 Arctic 'Shorefast' Sea Ice Threatened by Climate Change, Study Finds. For people who live in the Arctic, sea ice that forms along shorelines is a vital resource that connects isolated communities and provides access to hunting and fishing grounds. A new study by Brown University researchers found that climate change could significantly reduce this "shorefast ice" in communities across Northern Canada and Western Greenland.
Phys.org
In Alaska Town, Calls to Shut Down Fishing Season Amid Coronavirus Fears. Robin Samuelson grew up hearing stories about mass death in his Alaska community, victims of a pandemic so brutal that dogs were found feeding on human bodies.
The 68-year-old's father-in-law was among the hundreds of children orphaned by the 1918 flu epidemic, which some scholars estimate
killed at least 30 percent of the population in Alaska's Bristol Bay region. Some locals fear that history could repeat itself unless Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) shuts down the upcoming salmon fishery, which attracts more than 12,000 workers from across the country for a frenetic, two-month season that begins next month.
The Washington Post
US Navy Ships Enter Arctic's Barents Sea for First Time in Decades. Four U.S. Navy surface ships entered the Barents Sea on Monday for the first time in decades as part of maritime security operations aimed at asserting freedom of navigation in the Arctic Circle. The destroyers USS Donald Cook, USS Porter and USS Roosevelt, along with the fast combat support ship USNS Supply, were joined Monday by the Royal Navy's HMS Kent.
The Voice of America
 Wolf Spiders May Turn to Cannibalism in a Warming Arctic. Wolf spiders in a warming Arctic are getting bigger, reproducing more and eating different foods. Including other spiders. A study conducted in Alaska suggests that as female wolf spiders become larger and produce more offspring, competition among them increases - triggering higher rates of cannibalism and reducing the number of young spiders that survive to adulthood. The new research from Washington University in St. Louis is published May 5 in the Journal of Animal Ecology.
Mirage News
Extended Deadline - Call for Input: Comment on the Next IARPC 5-Year Arctic Research Plan Due August 2
The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) has extended the deadline for comments on the next Arctic Research Plan.
A scoping Federal Register Notice (FRN) for the next Arctic Research Plan was published on 3 April 2020 and will be open for comments until 2 August 2020. The full FRN is available
online
. IARPC is initiating development of the next Arctic Research Plan, as called for in the Arctic Research Policy Act (ARPA) of 1984 (15 U.S.C. 4108). The Plan aims to strengthen interagency communication, coordination, and collaboration of the 14 Federal agencies, departments and offices that make up IARPC. The Plan will address critical needs in Arctic research and identify those areas where research in the Arctic can be improved through interagency collaboration.I ARPC will begin developing the next 5-year Arctic Research Plan and wants to know what should be included. Your thoughts and ideas are valued and welcome.
Comments can be made via the
Federal Register
or email:
[email protected]
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Future Events
** New this week **
National Science Foundation Manager Chat: Response to COVID-19, May 6, 2020 (webinar). An IARPC Collaborations Webinar Series, join NSF Office of Polar Programs Officers to discuss the NSF response to COVID-19 including impacts on awards, regulations, and the 2020 field season. This is an opportunity for open dialog with OPP and we welcome the research community to join, ask questions and share feedback.
Register here! For more information about the topics to be covered in this webinar, see
here.
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| MOSAiC expedition_ Polarstern_ Carin Ashjian |
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COVID-19 Impacts in the Arctic, May 19-20, 2020 (Virtual conference, Zoom)
. Organized and hosted by the US Naval War College, the Wilson Center's Polar Institute, and the US Arctic Research Commission, this event will be a series of panel conversations on the impacts of the virus in the Arctic. COVID-19 threatens the Arctic region with new challenges to human life, economic prosperity, and the fabric of communities. Ongoing climate and environmental change further compound the challenges facing Arctic communities. In light of these unprecedented, intersecting challenges, the co-hosts will run a virtual conference of panels focusing on Arctic Community health, economic
activities, US Coast Guard Operations, scientific research, international impacts and more. Speakers will include leading voices from Arctic communities, federal and state agencies, academia, international entities, and the private sector.
Registration
is
open
and is
required
.
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 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.
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.
Save the Date: 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.
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