The brutal demographic figures for Russia’s Kola Peninsula continue sharp down. The population is nearly halved over the last three decades. “First of all, we need to take measures to stop the current decrease,” Acting Deputy Governor Maria Derunova told the Barents Observer in 2019. She presented a long list of measures to improve living conditions in Russia’s industrialized Kola Peninsula, a region that borders Norway and Finland to the west and the Arctic Barents Sea to the north.

Finding, cultivating, and bioengineering organisms that can digest plastic not only aids in the removal of pollution, but is now also big business. Several microorganisms that can do this have already been found, but when their enzymes that make this possible are applied at an industrial scale, they typically only work at temperatures above 30 °C. The heating required means that industrial applications remain costly to date, and aren’t carbon-neutral. But there is a possible solution to this problem: finding specialist cold-adapted microbes whose enzymes work at lower temperatures.

In December 2022, the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) and the United States Arctic Observing Network (U.S. AON) Board released a report to Congress: On the Need to Establish and Maintain a Sustained Arctic Observing Network. This webinar will feature an overview of the report and efforts to move toward improved implementation of our national Arctic Observing Network. It will include open time for discussion and questions. If you have time to review the report before joining the call that will allow for more robust discussion. 

Research collaborators and sisters Corina Qaaġraq Kramer (Iñupiaq, Aqqaluk Trust) and Cana Uluak Itchuaqiyaq (Iñupiaq, Virginia Tech) will share how their approach to community partnership and co-production of knowledge is innovating equity, outcomes, and Indigenous leadership in Arctic research. This presentation is a must-see for anyone who is interested in Arctic research in and with Indigenous communities.

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.