Permafrost is the understructure of the Arctic, but it’s thawing at a drastic pace, putting infrastructure and landscape in peril. Researchers wanted to ascertain how rising temperatures and thawing permafrost are affecting the movement of the Arctic’s large rivers. A new study published in Nature Climate Change found that such rivers’ channel migration is actually decreasing. Rivers across Alaska and Canada’s Yukon and Northwest Territories migrated 20% less between 1972 and 2020, a period when the region’s temperatures spiked.

People stuck sitting in tight airplane seats for an entire long-haul flight are at risk of dangerous blood clots. But somehow immobile, hibernating bears are not. Now scientists know why. Bears settled in for winterlong slumbers have low levels of a key protein that helps blood clots form, researchers report in the April 14 Science. Platelets lacking this protein don’t easily stick together, protecting the animals from developing potentially dangerous blood clots. And low levels of the protein are not just found bears, the team writes. Mice, pigs and humans with a largely sedentary lifestyle because of long-term mobility problems have the same protection.

Killer whales (also known as orcas) are intelligent predators. While it’s known that killer whales in the Pacific Northwest exploit widely different food types, even within the same region, we know much less about the feeding habits of those found throughout the North Atlantic. Thanks to a new technique developed by a research team led by McGill University, it is now possible to quantify, for the first time, the proportion of different prey that killer whales in the North Atlantic are eating by studying the fatty acid patterns in their blubber.

Scientists are studying the diets of the ocean's top predators as they change in response to their environments. This is because how much and what they eat can affect how ecosystems function. And while researchers know that killer whales, also known as orcas, are the oceans' apex predators, our understanding of their diet—particularly the quantity of each species they consume—remains incomplete.

For three years, Eric Regehr traveled more than 2,000 miles to what he calls “the end of the world.” Not even the coronavirus pandemic stopped the University of Washington biologist’s research on Wrangel Island, high above the Arctic Circle in Russia. When the pandemic grounded Regehr in 2020, his Russian colleagues continued monitoring the remote island’s polar bears, a carnivore many fear may decline as the world warms.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has said that it is preparing for an eventual end to the longstanding moratorium on commercial fishing in U.S. Arctic waters. Speaking last month during the Arctic Encounter Symposium held in Anchorage, Alaska, ADF&G Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang said his department is seeking $1 million in state funds and another $2 million in federal funds to work on research aimed at understanding sustainable fishing in the Arctic, in the event it happens there.

Inuit in northern Quebec are now able to take vision tests using the Inuktitut writing system, after two Montreal doctors developed eye exam charts in syllabics. Christian El-Hadad, a McGill University ophthalmologist, and colleague Shaan Bhambra, a recent graduate of McGill’s medical school, developed the charts after they started traveling to Nunavik, the Inuit region in the Arctic part of the province, to see patients. 

Hosted by the Arctic Migration in Harmony Research Coordination Network in partnership with the US Arctic Research Commission, this event will be an opportunity to connect early-career Arctic researchers with others interested in Arctic research, policymaking, connections, and study. From students to storytellers, diplomats to interdisciplinary researchers with an interest in the Arctic, all are welcome.

The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee and the National Science Foundation will host this webinar for an NSF Arctic Sciences Section community office hour. NSF will highlight new Dear Colleague letters, discuss solicitation updates, outline research support and logistics expectations for the upcoming season, and provide other updates. There will be time set aside for Q&A as well as breakout rooms with program officers.

The geopolitical situation and increased interest in the sustainable development of the Arctic have resulted in new Arctic funding strategies from agencies such as ESA, the American NSF, and the EU work programs. The AITC conference will provide opportunities to interact across scientific, civil, and commercial domains, in three overall thematic tracks Sea, cryosphere, and land, ranging from ocean, sea-ice, and land ice including permafrost and ice-free land, to develop new ideas and projects and to create new collaboration aiming for sustainable development of the Arctic regions and especially Greenland.

The Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) is where energy professionals meet to exchange ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters. The conference will include presentations discussing technical solutions, innovations, and advancements of all aspects of the offshore energy industry. Participants will include operators, research, vendors, and stakeholders. The experience of the last 50 years in the Arctic will be in attendance. That expertise and knowledge is available to move forward and support energy, mining, renewables, marine transport, tourism, and other activities in the harshest environments.

The 2023 Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference will focus on Alaska’s role leading the energy transition from established renewable sources to innovative and emerging technologies. World-renowned speakers and experts will highlight the agenda, along with breakout tracks, panel discussions, and multiple networking opportunities.

Launch Alaska’s Climate Innovation Showcase celebrates the people and projects working to accelerate the energy transition in Alaska. Featuring a networking reception, project and technology exhibits, and a panel discussion featuring the next chapter of Alaska’s energy transition.

The conference will encompass all relevant aspects of permafrost research, engineering and outreach on a global and regional level during three exciting days of plenary lectures, oral presentations and posters, combined with several local field trips across the eastern Pyrenees (Cerdanya, Núria, Andorra, etc).

The 6th biennial "Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit" Conference will be held on 14-15 November 2023 in Rovaniemi, Finland, the birthplace of official Arctic cooperation. This international conference, organized by the City of Rovaniemi and the Arctic Centre at the University of Lapland, gathers policymakers, academics, and other stakeholders for Arctic discussions. Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, changes in Arctic cooperation will be prominently featured in the conference agenda, and will be explored from the point of view of national and international security, and from a regional perspective, including the Barents region.

The 52nd International Arctic Workshop will be held at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The International Arctic Workshop is a friendly, informal, and relaxed conference open to all students and professionals interested in the Arctic. Originally started at INSTAAR at the University of Colorado - Boulder, the Arctic Workshop alternates between INSTAAR and an international host. This year, University of Massachusetts with the department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences & Climate System Research center will be hosting. 

In lead up to its 35th anniversary in 2025, the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) is coordinating a multi-year planning process for the Fourth International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP IV) that will engage Arctic researchers, policymakers, residents, and stakeholders from around the world to collegially discuss the state of Arctic science, the place the Arctic occupies in global affairs and systems, to consider the most urgent knowledge gaps and research priorities that lie before us and to explore avenues to address these research needs. This event is hosted by a consortium of US institutions, including the University of Colorado Boulder, University of Northern Iowa, University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Alaska Pacific University. ICARP I, II, and III focused the attention of the world’s researchers toward the value of strategic international coordination in accelerating progress in addressing critical challenges. ICARP IV will build upon this concept by striving to achieve consensus and build collaborations among the leading scientific, academic, environmental, Indigenous and political organizations currently concerned with Arctic issues.