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June 11, 2020



Media

greenland US Reopens Consulate in Greenland Amid White House's Arctic Push. The U.S. on Wednesday reopened a diplomatic outpost in the capital of Greenland, the second consulate in the strategic location besides Iceland, as part of a recent push from the White House to expand U.S. presence in the Arctic to curb Russian and Chinese influence. The announcement from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo comes just one day after the White House directed agencies to come up with a plan to develop a new fleet of icebreakers to ensure a "persistent" U.S. presence in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Politico  
 
Russia Says 'Years' Needed to Clean Up Arctic Spill. Russian investigators on Wednesday detained three staff of a power plant over a huge fuel spill in the Arctic, as response teams warned a full clean-up would take years. The spill of over 21,000 tons of fuel took place after a fuel reservoir collapsed last month at a power plant operated by a subsidiary of metals giant Norilsk Nickel in the city of Norilsk. It is the largest ever to have hit the Arctic, say environmentalists. The Moscow Times
 
[Canadian] Coast Guard Crew Await COVID-19 Tests Before Arctic Season. The Canadian Coast Guard starts its Arctic season in about two weeks, and it's still not sure where COVID-19 tests for sailors will come from. But crew will be tested before they set sail, whether testing happens through the provinces or through a private company, coast guard officials said Tuesday during a media briefing held over teleconference. Coast Guard Crew Await COVID-19 Tests Before Arctic Season. CBC News
Future Events
 
ICESAT-2 Cryospheric Science Hackweek, June 15-19, 2020 (Virtual). 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.

3rd Arctic Science Ministerial Research Community Workshops, June 15, 2020 (virtual) . Organizers invite participation in an online workshop to discuss topics and ideas that participants think are important for policy makers and the Arctic Science Ministers to better understand and prioritize at the Third Arctic Science Ministerial  (ASM3) Bringing together States, Arctic Indigenous participants, and international organizations, ASM3 aims to take action on coordinated Arctic observing, research, and education in an open and transparent format which includes all Arctic stakeholders.

Alaska Electric Vehicle Workshop, June 16-17, 2020 (Virtual) The first virtual Alaska Electric Vehicle Workshop co-hosted by the  Alaska Center for Energy and Power  and the  U.S. Arctic Research Commission is to be held  June 16-17, 2020 (9 am to 1 pm AKDT) .   The goal of the workshop is to connect stakeholders and help develop a clearer vision of electric vehicle research and policy priorities for Alaska and the Arctic.  Local, national, and international speakers will engage with each other, as well as audience members, on topics including vehicle charging behavior,
 cold weather performance, electrical grid impacts and policy opportunities.  Registration and workshop details can be found at  here

Arctic Science Storytelling Webinar With Film Michael Snyder, June 24, 2020 (Virtual). Great stories can change the world, and you have one to tell! Join the Migration in Harmony NSF-Research Coordination Network and our collaborator, award-winning filmmaker Mike Snyder, in this virtual workshop to learn how you should think about your research topics and experiences in the context of a story, how to develop photographer and videographer partnerships, and how to pitch your work to different outlets. The event is hosted by Migration in Harmony. Migration in Harmony: An Interdisciplinary Network in Littoral Species, Settlements, and Cultures on the Move (MiH-RCN) is an international, cross-disciplinary network of Arctic migration researchers funded by the National Science Foundation.

Arctic Circle Assembly, October 8-11, 2020 (Reykjavi­k, 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. 

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.

AGU Fall Meeting, December 7-11, 2020 (San Francisco, California USA). Fall Meeting is the largest gathering of Earth and space scientists in the world. More information will be available at the link.

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.

Save the Date: 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses, May 3-6, 2021 (Hanko, Finland). Organizers announce, that due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses has been postponed to 2021. This symposium will bring together molecular microbial ecologists specializing in different organism groups to share our latest results and discuss methodological problems, as well as future prospects in the field, including practical international collaborations. The environmental focus will be on cryospheric environments including sea ice, glaciers, ice sheets, and permafrost, but excellent research in other polar environments is also invited. The methods to be discussed will focus on 'omics' techniques, ranging from single cells to metagenomes, but research using additional methods is encouraged as well.
 

2021 Regional Conference on Permafrost/ 19th International Conference Cold Regions Engineering, July 11-16, 2021 (Boulder, Colorado USA). For the first time a Regional Conference on Permafrost will be combined with the bi-annual 19th International Conference on Cold Regions Engineering. This conference is hosted by the US Permafrost Association, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the International Permafrost Association, the Permafrost Young Researchers Network, and the University of Colorado Boulder. A complete list of planned sessions is available here.

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