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Arctic Reading for the Quarantine:
Newly shared reports this week.
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Arctic Program) Arctic Report Card, 2019. Issued annually since 2006, the Arctic Report Card is a timely and peer-reviewed source for clear, reliable and concise environmental information on the current state of different components of the Arctic environmental system relative to historical records. The Report Card is intended for a wide audience, including scientists, teachers, students, decision-makers and the general public interested in the Arctic environment and science.
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Hidden Source of Carbon Found at the Arctic Coast. A previously unknown significant source of carbon just discovered in the Arctic has scientists marveling at a once overlooked contributor to local coastal ecosystems-and concerned about what it may mean in an era of climate change. In a Nature Communications paper released today, aquatic chemists and hydrologists from The University of Texas at Austin's Marine Science Institute and Jackson School of Geosciences, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Florida State University present evidence of significant, undetected concentrations and fluxes of dissolved organic matter entering Arctic coastal waters, with the source being groundwater flow atop of frozen permafrost.
Phys.org
 Arctic Research Fieldwork Impacted by COVID-19 Precautions. Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks are facing challenges in conducting their research due to limitations from COVID-19 precautions. Hajo Eicken, director of the International Arctic Research Center, says the impact from the novel coronavirus pandemic on research that involves field measurements is severe.
Webcenter 11
Construction of New Arctic Ships, Maintenance of Frigates Halted Because of COVID-19. Construction of the Royal Canadian Navy's new Arctic and offshore patrol ships and maintenance of its frigates has been temporarily halted because of the novel coronavirus. "We are immediately suspending industrial activities at Halifax Shipyard, Marine Fabricators, and Woodside Industries related to the AOPS construction program and the Halifax-class In-Service maintenance program," wrote Irving Shipbuilding president Kevin McCoy in a message Thursday to unionized employees.
Ottawa Citizen
 Canada Defers Cruise Season, Cancels in the Arctic. As a response to Covid-19, the Government of Canada will defer the start of the cruise ship season in Canada, from April 2, 2020, to July 1, 2020, at the earliest, according to a recent press release. This deferral will apply to cruise ships capable of carrying more than 500 passengers and crew members. Given the limited public health capacity in Canada's Northern communities, the cruise ship season for vessels with Canadian Arctic stops will be deferred for the entire season this year. This would apply to cruise ships of all sizes.
High North News
Hidden Source of Carbon Found at the Arctic Coast. A new study has shown evidence of undetected concentrations and flows of dissolved organic matter entering Arctic coastal waters coming from groundwater flows on top of frozen permafrost. This water moves from land to sea unseen, but researchers now believe it carries significant concentrations of carbon and other nutrients to Arctic coastal food webs.
Science Daily
Arctic Light Pollution Affects Fish, Zooplankton up to 200 Meters Deep. If artificial light shines into the Arctic Ocean during the polar night, does it matter? A new paper in Communications Biology says the answer to this is a strong yes. The Arctic polar night is a time when the sun remains below the horizon for a full 24-hour cycle. It is dark, but not completely. Nevertheless, the lack of light has long led researchers to assume that the organisms that live through this dark period are mostly dormant.
The Maritime Executive
 Sea Ice on the Move Could Spread Pollution Around. The study predicts that by mid-century, the average time it takes for sea ice to travel from one region to another will decrease by more than half, and the amount of sea ice exchanged between Arctic countries such as Russia, Norway, Canada, and the United States will more than triple. Increased interest in off-shore Arctic development, as well as shipping through the Central Arctic Ocean, may increase the amount of pollutants present in Arctic waters. And contaminants in ice travels much faster than those in open water that ocean currents move.
Futurity: Research News
River Deltas at the Top of the World. The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's oceans, but it receives a surprisingly large percentage of the world's river water. Rivers thus have a disproportionate effect on Arctic Ocean characteristics, especially near its shores. The deltas at the ends of these rivers modify and filter flows of water, sediment, nutrients, and heat. Few detailed studies of Arctic river deltas have been done, however.
EOS
Air Force Banging Drum for Arctic Partnerships. With great power competitors Russia and China trying to gain footholds in the Arctic region, the United States needs to increase its partnerships with allies in the High North, the secretary of the Air Force recently said. "One region pivotal to defense of America's homeland - the Arctic - exemplifies the need to deepen and strengthen our international relationships," said Barbara Barrett.
National Defense
 American Polar Society Wants You! Since 1934, the American Polar Society has brought together scientists, entrepreneurs, explorers, contractors, military personnel and policy makers-people who make the polar regions matter. We publish a full-color journal, The Polar Times, and organize periodic symposia to keep our select community updated on trends and developments in the Arctic and Antarctic. We're in a rebuilding phase and need your energy, your enthusiasm and your skill sets.
Whether you're already a member or a potential member, or just want to learn more, please let us hear from you at
[email protected]
. And please check out our new, award-winning website,
www.americanpolar.org
. Let's expand horizons together in 2020!
 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
** New this week **
Ground Truth Briefing: Russia's Military Posture in the European Arctic, March 26, 2020 (By-phone meeting). The Arctic has been widely understood by coastal states to be an area of "low tension." However, the Arctic is not insulated from global security challenges, especially those around the impacts of climate change, and the period of Arctic exceptionalism is coming to an end. Mathieu Boulègue, Katarina Kertysova, and Michael Sfraga will consider Russia's military posture in the European Arctic and seek to explain Moscow's military build-up in the region, Russia's general force posture, and its impact for NATO and its allies.
** 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 **
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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