arctic-update.jpg

August 20, 2021

today.jpg

No Arctic science events are scheduled for today.

in-the-news.jpg

Female and Young Walruses Depend on Disappearing Arctic Sea Ice for Food Sources

Noaa-walrus19.jpg

A new study shows that disappearing sea ice is a significant element of the food web supporting female walruses and their dependent young in the Arctic's Chukchi Sea. Researchers were able to trace biomarkers that are unique to algae growing within sea ice to connect marine mammals with a food source that is rapidly diminishing in the face of climate change.

Phys.org

Researchers Refute Myth About Wild North, Despite Increased Military Activity

Karsten Friis is head of the NUPI (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs) research group on security and defense. In a Arendal Week debate moderated by High North News Editor-in-Chief Arne O. Holm, Friis refuted the myth about the Arctic as a wild and lawless land. “Few other areas are better regulated than the Arctic. There are plenty of cooperation partners around the region, and there are many misunderstandings about the High North, as if it were a kind of anarchy. However, we abide by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and there is mostly agreement about how to solve misunderstandings with neighboring countries”, Friis says.

High North News

New Hampshire Delegation Announces More Than $2.1 Million Heading to UNH for Scientific Research to Support Arctic Resilience & Improve Understanding of Space Weather

National Science Foundation.jpeg

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced with Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Representatives Annie Kuster (NH-02) and Chris Pappas (NH-01) that the National Science Foundation awarded the University of New Hampshire (UNH) $2,109,164 to support scientific research to better understand the impact of magnetic storms, or space weather, on Earth and bolster the Arctic’s resiliency and sustainability. Shaheen chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies which oversees funding for the National Science Foundation.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen
events.jpg

August 23-26, 2021 | Rankin Inlet, Canada

Arnait Tulliningit

The Government of Nunavut is hosting a leadership forum in August to build capacity among Nunavummiut women. The GN’s department of Family Services is hosting the four-day event with funding provided through the federal government’s Women and Gender Equality Canada department. The forum aims to empower Nunavut’s women and girls using traditional knowledge, skills, and their roles as natural leaders.

Event Link

11:00 am ET on September 14, 2021 | Virtual

What Can We Learn from Ignorance? Arctic Energy Frontiers, Environmental Regimes, and Indigenous Rights Movements Since the 1970s

In this talk, Prof. Andrew Stuhl will examine the state of knowledge that Pimlott experienced as a constitutive element of energy frontiers, environmental regimes, and struggles for Indigenous rights in the late twentieth-century Arctic. This event is part of the Arctic Environmental Humanities Workshop Series and is hosted by The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies and the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge.

Event Link

October 14-17, 2021 | Harpa, Reykjavík, Iceland

Arctic Circle Assembly

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.


For the most up-to-date COVID information, please see the the US Embassy in Reykjavik's COVID page: here.

Event Link
2021 Regional Conference on Permafrost.png

OCTOBER 24–29, 2021 | BOULDER, COLORADO, USA

2021 Regional Conference on Permafrost/19th International Conference Cold Regions Engineering

For the first time, a Regional Conference on Permafrost will be combined with the bi-annual 19th International Conference on Cold Regions Engineering. This conference is hosted by the US Permafrost Association, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the International Permafrost Association, the Permafrost Young Researchers Network, and the University of Colorado Boulder. A complete list of planned sessions is available here.

Event Link

November 2-4, 2021 | Houston, Texas USA

The Maritime Risk Symposium

The Maritime Risk Symposium is an annual three-day conference in which government and maritime industry leaders, port representatives, researchers, and solution providers convene to examine current and emerging threats to maritime security. Government agencies, commercial entities, institutions of research, and higher education come together to discuss various threats, challenges, and risks to international and domestic maritime sectors.

Event Link

November 10-11, 2021 | Brussels, Belgium

EU Arctic Forum and Indigenous Peoples’ Dialogue

The European Commission and the European External Action Service will organize a high-level EU Arctic Forum and the Annual Arctic Indigenous Peoples’ Dialogue. The EU Arctic Forum will bring together key Arctic players and stakeholders to assess recent developments in the region and discuss challenges ahead. The event will provide a strategic outlook for the updated EU Arctic policy and delve into topics that are of particular significance for the Arctic’s inhabitants.

Event Link

November 17, 2021 | Portland, Maine USA

New England Arctic Network 2021 Meeting

The New England Arctic Network (NEAN) will host its 2021 meeting at the University of New England in Portland, Maine. Additional information will be published soon. 

Event Link

November 30- December 3, 2021 | Anchorage, Alaska USA

Reducing Arctic Risks and Advancing Cooperation, Alaskan Command Arctic Symposium 2021

Arctic Symposium 2021 continues momentum in Arctic defense and security collaboration established in prior ALCOM-hosted events. AAS21 seeks to address the challenges faced by the U.S. military and our allies and partners in understanding and responding to our respective national interests. AAS21 is planned and organized by the Arctic Domain Awareness Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) in support and in compliance to guidance from Alaskan Command (ALCOM) Staff and Commander. More information available soon.

Event Link

December 6-10, 2021 | Virtual

A Blue Arctic Ocean: U.S. Arctic Research and Marine Infrastructure Needs

Hosted entirely online the ArcticNet Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting 2021 (ASM2021) is a hub for Arctic research in Canada. The ASM2021 brings together researchers from the natural, health, and social sciences to meet the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing Arctic region, shaped by climate change and modernization. This conference will push the boundaries of our collective understanding of the Arctic and strengthen our ability to address the Arctic issues of today and tomorrow.

Event Link

December 13-17, 2021 | New Orleans, LA USA & virtual

A Blue Arctic Ocean: U.S. Arctic Research and Marine Infrastructure Needs

The National Academies’ Polar Research Board is convening the following session at the Fall AGU meeting.

Event Link

MAY 9-12, 2022 | HANKO, FINLAND

2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses

Organizers announce, that due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses has been postponed to 2022. 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.

Event Link
USARC.jpg
Visit our Website
Facebook      Twitter

External links in this publication, and on the USARC's World Wide Web site (www.arctic.gov) do not constitute an endorsement by the US Arctic Research Commission of external Web sites or the information, products, or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities, the USARC does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. These links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this newsletter and the USARC website.