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 alga Melosira arctica, which grows under Arctic sea ice, contains ten times as many microplastic particles as the surrounding seawater. This concentration at the base of the food web poses a threat to creatures that feed on the algae at the sea surface. Clumps of dead algae also transport the plastic with its pollutants particularly quickly into the deep sea—and can thus explain the high microplastic concentrations in the sediment there. Researchers led by the Alfred Wegener Institute have now reported this in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

In the Arctic Ocean, sea ice is shrinking as the climate heats up. In the Western U.S., wildfires are getting increasingly destructive. Those two impacts are thousands of miles apart, but scientists are beginning to find a surprising connection.

About a quarter of the organic carbon contained in ice-rich Arctic permafrost is more difficult for microorganisms to utilize. The reason for this is a strong binding of the organic material originating from dead plant remains to mineral soil particles. That is the result of a study conducted by a research group led by Professor Dr Janet Rethemeyer and Dr Jannik Martens at the University of Cologne’s Institute of Geology and Mineralogy. Accurate predictions of the release of greenhouse gases from permafrost deposits are therefore more complex than previously assumed.

Sea ice algae is an essential resource for the survival of many species living in the Arctic. Traces of ice algae have been found in many animal groups from tiny filter-feeding shrimp to large predators like whales, revealing the critical importance of algae and the sea ice on which it grows to the fragile Arctic ecosystem.

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.

Georgetown University will host this presentation and topic discussion. As of 4/19, the following agenda was available.

• 12:00 pm Welcome and Opening Remarks, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
• 12:10 pm Keynote Presentation: The Arctic Under Fire
• 12:30 pm The Mental Health Crisis in The Arctic: Bringing Telehealth to Remote Communities
• 12:45 pm A Hidden Impact of the Climate Crisis: Domestic Violence and Gendered Effects
• 1:00 pm Better Health Through Clean Water: Sanitation in Remote Communities
• 1:15 pm Melting Ice and Cultural Traditions: Impacts of Increased Shipping on Subsistence Hunting
• 1:30 pm Farming for Better Food Security: Small-Scale Agriculture in the Arctic
• 1:45 pm Deploying Traditional Knowledge in Kotzebue Sound: Mapping Marine Mammal Interactions with the Salmon Fishery
• 2:00 pm The Nuclear Option for Alaska: Getting Past Old Biases for New Power Supplies
• 2:15 pm Bringing Energy Storage to Remote Arctic Communities: A Case Study in Kotzebue, Alaska
• 2:30 pm Losing Land to the Sea: Coastal Erosion and Adaptation Strategies
• 2:45 pm Eyes in the Sky: Using UAVs to Improve Arctic Domain Awareness

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. 

The 12^th International Conference on Permafrost will consider “Integrating Perspectives of Permafrost Thaw, Change, and Adaptation.” Event partners include the Canadian Permafrost Association, IPA, and Yukon University.

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.