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Arctic Reading for the Quarantine:
(Congressional Research Service) Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress, updated 01/23/2020. The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened interest in, and concerns about, the region's future. The United States, by virtue of Alaska, is an Arctic country and has substantial interests in the region. The seven other Arctic states are Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark (by virtue of Greenland), and Russia.
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 Coronavirus Concerns Force Arctic Mission to Cancel Research Flights. The global coronavirus outbreak is now curtailing research at the top of the world. Travel restrictions imposed by Norway have forced the cancellation of research flights in support of the Polarstern, the icebound German research ship that is the centerpiece of a $150 million mission to study the effects of climate change on the Arctic. A series of 10 to 15 research flights due to take off from Svalbard, Norway, in March and April have been canceled, says Markus Rex, an atmospheric scientist at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research.
Science Magazine
Earth From Space: Magnificent Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission takes us over part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Most of the archipelago is part of Nunavut - the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. The archipelago covers an area of around 1,500,000 sq km and consists of 94 major islands and more than 36,000 minor ones. The archipelago is bound by the Beaufort Sea to the west and by Hudson Bay and the Canadian mainland to the south - largely obscured by clouds in this image.
SciTechDaily
Researchers Worried by Rain-on-Snow Impact in the Arctic. Researchers at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado, and their colleagues at Alaska Pacific University and the University of Lapland have launched a five-year project, the Arctic Rain on Snow Study (AROSS). NSIDC Director Mark Serreze, the project's principal investigator, said global climate change in the Arctic such as disappearing sea ice and ice thinning, the appearance of new bacteria and the starvation of reindeer are major challenges that the international community must address as a priority.
The Arctic
 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
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Future Events
** 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.
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.
** New this week **
10th International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS X) Arctic Generations: Looking Back and Looking Forward, June 15-20, 2020 (Arkhangelsk, Russia). The ARCTICenter at the University of Northern Iowa (USA) and Northern Arctic Federal University (Russia) are pleased to host the 10th International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS X) organized by the International Arctic Social Sciences Association (IASSA).ICASS X will focus on all aspects of human existence in the Arctic in the past, present and future: social, cultural, historical, economic, political, linguistic, educational, archaeological, engineering, health, legal, psychological, to name a few. The Congress will also emphasize history, future and sustainability of Arctic peoples and environments throughout generations and co-production of knowledge with Indigenous knowledge holders and Arctic stakeholders.
** New this week **
Arctic Circle Assembly, October 8-11, 2020 (ReykjavÃk, 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.
** New this week **
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.
** New this week **
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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