Arctic Update Header
November 10, 2020

No Arctic- science event is scheduled for today.
Media

Important Climate Data Rescued by Norwegian Coast Guard North of Alaska. The moorings were set out in the Beaufort Sea last year with a plan to be recovered by the United States' Coast Guard icebreaker "USCGC Healy" this fall. The icebreaker, though, had to cancel the voyage just after leaving port in Alaska in August due to a fire in one of the engines. With the U.S. Coast Guard not having other capable ice-classed ships available, the Norwegians were asked to assist. "KV Svalbard", the country's largest Coast Guard ship with icebreaking capabilities, started the voyage across the Arctic in mid-October in what is the first-ever sailing by the Norwegians to the waters north of Alaska. The Barents Observer
 
Canadian PM Promises to Connect 98% of Canadians, including in North, to High-speed Internet by 2026. The announcement comes as more Canadians find themselves living online while stuck at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today announced his government's plan to launch a $1.75-billion universal broadband fund to build infrastructure across the country, mainly in rural and remote communities; $1 billion of that sum was announced in the 2019 federal budget. Radio Canada International
 
Northernmost Non-Arctic State Knocks on the Arctic Council Door. Hot and cool: The Arctic is hot and getting a seat around the table of the Arctic Council is cool. On Monday, the Foreign Ministry in Tallinn officially submitted an application for observer status on the Arctic Council. "Estonia is the northernmost non-Arctic country," the ministry argues. How far south the Arctic extends can be argued, but Estonia's capital Tallinn is slightly further north than Arctic Council member Sweden's capital Stockholm. Also, the Gulf of Finland with the port of Tallinn freezes in wintertime. The Barents Observer
 
USW, Oceanography Student Uses Arctic Experience to Advance Research. Lt. Kristen Ainslie, an undersea warfare student at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), is on the home stretch of her challenging thesis in physical oceanography. Her research, critical to continue the advancement of the Navy's understanding of the unique Arctic environment, explores the dynamics of diffusive convection, often observed in the Arctic Ocean. As the Navy continues to evolve Arctic strategies, it's clear the service has every intention, and need, to operate successfully in the Arctic region. For this reason, understanding sound propagation in these one-of-a-kind environments is paramount. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
 
In the Arctic, Reindeer are Sustenance and a Sacred Presence. For the Indigenous communities who herd the animals, safeguarding dying culinary traditions isn't merely about eating but about protecting a longstanding way of life.In Northern Sami, a language spoken in the uppermost reaches of Norway, Sweden and Finland, eallu is a herd, or more precisely, the herd - of reindeer, always, on whose lives the speakers depend. Between 400 and 500 words may be used to single out each animal within the herd, by coloring, girth, stance, stage of life, branching pattern of antlers, even temperament, from the truculent female who resists the rope (njirru) to the plodder whose hooves hardly leave the ground (slohtur) to the one that keeps its own counsel, hovering at the fringes (ravdaboazu). That this is poetic is incidental; it is knowledge first, essential to survive. Etymologically, "eallu" is kin, via the proto-Uralic root ela, to ealat, which encompasses both a pasture and the conditions that make it good for grazing, and to eallin: life, which the eallu and ealat make possible. New York Times
Future Events

Third Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3): Webinar One, 1:00 pm UTC on November 11, 2020 (virtual). This meeting is part of the ASM3 webinar series and will focus on addressing gaps and barriers in international Arctic science research. For more information on ASM3, see here

Design of the Built Environment in the Arctic Webinar, 1:00 PM ET on November 11, 2020 (virtual). This talk will explore recent work of the Arctic Design Group to develop architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design strategies in the far north. Working directly with northern communities - and in collaboration with scientists and engineers - these strategies seek holistic design solutions to meet current and future challenges of an increasingly dynamic built environment in a rapidly changing Arctic. This webinar is supported by the Migration in Harmony Research Coordination Network.

Arctic Maritime Oil Spill Modeling, Part 1 on November 16 | Part 2 on November 23 | Part 3 on November 30, (virtual). This event is hosted by the Arctic Domain Awareness Center. This event is conducted in accordance with ADAC's "Year 6 Work Plan" ADAC conducts quarterly Customer and Partner's Roundtables. More information coming soon.

The Arctic Resilience Forum: Gender, November 18, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am - 1:00pm (EST) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020.  The online series, organized by the Arctic Council and the Harvard Kennedy School, will engage the broadest audience possible in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas.

** New this week ** How Ice and Ice Breakup Shape Subarctic Streams, November 20, 2020 (virtual). Lina Polvi Sjöberg is an associate professor in physical geography with focus on rivers and streams at the Department of Ecology and Environmental Science. She examines which processes steer how Swedish streams look- past glaciation, current floods or winter ice? Her research also examines which physical factors, including local geomorphology, geomorphic complexity, and larger landscape-scale factors, affect how the ecology of streams recover after restoration. Arcum will hold an online seminar in November where she will talk about the importance of ice and ice break-up in Arctic streams. This event is organized by the Arctic Research Center at Umeå University.

The Arctic Resilience Forum: Socio-Ecological Resilience, November 25, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am - 1:00pm (EST) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020.  The online series, organized by the Arctic Council and the Harvard Kennedy School, will engage the broadest audience possible in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas.

Third Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3): Webinar Two, 5:00 pm UTC on December 2, 2020 (virtual). This meeting is part of the ASM3 webinar series and will focus on Indigenous Peoples' Interests in ASM3 (specific topics in consultation with ASM3 Science Advisory Board and Arctic Indigenous Organizations). For more information on ASM3, see here.

The Arctic Resilience Forum: Financing Resilience, December 2, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am - 1:00pm (EST) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020.  The online series, organized by the Arctic Council and the Harvard Kennedy School will engage the broadest audience possible in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas.

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 Change 2020, December 7-10, 2020 (virtual). ArcticNet's international Arctic science conference takes place every 3 years, bringing together researchers and partners from around the world. This year the conference will be virtual. Building on the success of our previous Annual Scientific Meeting while facing the realities of our times, the organizers are pulling out all the stops to reach a bigger audience than ever before. The ArcticNet Network of Centers of Excellence and their partners warmly invite the global Arctic community to join them-from wherever you are-at the Arctic Change 2020 Virtual Conference.

The Arctic Resilience Forum: Infrastructure, December 9, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am - 1:00pm (EST) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020.  The online series, organized by the Arctic Council and the Harvard Kennedy School, will engage the broadest audience possible in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas. 

The Arctic Resilience Forum: Working Together in the Arctic: Indigenous and Western Knowledge Systems, December 16, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am - 1:00pm (EST) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020.  The online series will engage the broadest audience possible in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas.

** New this week ** Creeping Security in the Arctic? 12:00 pm CET on December 18, 2020 (virtual). Niklas Eklund is an associate professor at the Department of Political Science and Deputy Director at the Arctic Research Center at Umeå University. His research is on public administration, security, leadership and crisis management. He has also contributed to the 'Handbook of Arctic Security' in which he introduce Sweden from a state-based security perspective. In December, Arcum is arranging an online seminar within the Umeå Arctic Seminar series, where Niklas will talk about the creeping securitization in the Arctic. This event is organized by the Arctic Research Center at Umeå University.

Alaska Native Perspectives of an Evolving Arctic Environment, 12:00 pm AKST on January 15, 2021. Join AKWorld for this discussion of climate, security, economic opportunity, science, resilience and other implications of a changing Arctic. Whether you are in Florida, California, Alaska, or another state in-between, you have experienced significant weather changes amplified by a rapidly changing Arctic. Come, listen, and join the conversation with two Alaska Native women who have firsthand knowledge and understanding of this important issue for Alaska, the United States, and the World.

Third Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3): Webinar Three, 2:00 pm UTC on January 20, 2021 (virtual). This meeting is part of the ASM3 webinar series and will focus on Theme 1: Observing networks; Data sharing-towards implementation. For more information on ASM3, see here.

2021 Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 26-28, 2021 (virtual). The Alaska Marine Science Symposium (AMSS) 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.

Arctic Frontiers 2021, February 1-4, 2021 (virtual). Arctic Frontiers started out in 2006 assembling the first global scientific conference on economic, societal and environmental sustainable growth in the north. In February 2021, we will arrange the 15th conference with the theme "Building Bridges". The conference has a pan arctic perspective 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.

Arctic Maritime Horizons Workshop, February 2-4, 2021 (Anchorage, Alaska USA). This event is hosted by the Arctic Domain Awareness Center. This workshop will be an assessment of the future maritime transportation system of the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort sea regions.

Third Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3): Webinar Four, 1:00 pm UTC on February 17, 2021 (virtual). This meeting is part of the ASM3 webinar series and will focus on Theme 2: enhance understanding and prediction capability on Arctic environmental and social systems and its global impact. For more information on ASM3, see here.

Third Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3): Webinar Five, 1:00 pm UTC on March 17, 2021 (virtual). This meeting is part of the ASM3 webinar series and will focus on Theme 3: Respond: sustainable development; evaluation of vulnerability and resilience; application of knowledge. For more information on ASM3, see here.

ALCOM's Arctic Senior Leader Summit, 2021, March 10-11, 2021 (virtual). In support of U.S. Northern Command's Arctic mission, please consider joining Lt General David Krumm, USAF, Commander Alaska Command, Alaska NORAD Region and 11th Air Force and a host of Defense and Security Leaders for Arctic Senior Leader Summit 2021 (ASLS 21) 10-11 March 2021.  This event is oriented to addressing senior leader strategic views on the developing range of security and defense matters affecting the Arctic region.  Due to the on-going complications of in-person meetings as a result of COVID 19, Arctic Senior Summit 2021 will be conducted via video conference.  Day 1 of ASLS 2021 is focused on plenary presentations and follow-on strategic discussions.  Day 2 ASLS 2021 is a planned tabletop exercise.  Further details and registration to be provided soon via ASLS 21 planning team at the Arctic Domain Awareness Center.  Please see:  https://arcticdomainawarenesscenter.org/Events for more details or email ADAC center leadership at https://arcticdomainawarenesscenter.org/Team.

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.

Third Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3): Webinar Five, 1:00 pm UTC on April 7, 2021 (virtual). This meeting is part of the ASM3 webinar series and will focus on Theme 4: Strengthen: capacity building; education; networking; resilience-prepare the next generation. For more information on ASM3, see here.

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.

3rd Arctic Science Ministerial, May 8-9, 2021 (Toyko, Japan). The Japanese and Icelandic organizers of this ministerial continue to plan for an in-person ministerial, in Tokyo, but have moved the dates from November 21-22, 2020 to May 8-9, 2021 because of Covid-19. Since the last Arctic Science Ministerial in 2018, changes in the Arctic ecosystem and the resulting impacts locally and globally have been severely felt. 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. ASM3 will be co-hosted by Iceland and Japan.
 

Third Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3): Closing Webinar, 1:00 pm UTC on June 9, 2021 (virtual). This meeting is part of the ASM3 webinar series and will focus on the post-ministerial review: joint statement actions. For more information on ASM3, see here.

2021 Regional Conference on Permafrost/ 19th International Conference Cold Regions Engineering, July 11-16, 2021 (Boulder, Colorado USA). 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.

The 2021 Alaska Marine Science Symposium (AMSS), January 26-28, 2021 (Virtual). Oral and poster presentations will continue to be the main focus of AMSS 2021. Showcasing Alaska's marine science remains the utmost priority despite the challenges we all have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are also exploring some additional events (virtual panels, social hours, etc.) surrounding the virtual launch of AMSS 2021, so stay tuned! We are looking for panel ideas Topic ideas may include but are not limited to: coastal resiliency, ocean noise, marine debris, perspectives on changing ecosystems, co-production of knowledge, economics of climate change, and the future of the Arctic Research Post-COVID in local communities. (submit here: https://alaskamarinescience.org/2021-panels).

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