Norway's state-owned coal company will close its last mine in the Arctic Svalbard archipelago in 2023, it said on Thursday, causing the loss of 80 jobs and ending 120 years of exploitation. While Store Norske Spitsbergen Kullkompani (SNSK) has shut its major mines in the islands over the past two decades, it had kept the smaller Mine 7 open, primarily to ensure supplies to a local coal-fired power plant, as well as some exports.

The facility continues to undertake critical research into how climate change is impacting the pristine environment, with the Arctic warming three times faster than the rest of the world. The Arctic station is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). It was formally established in September 1991.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is developing a strategy for the conservation of polar bears in the Russian Arctic, which will be adopted by the close of the year, deputy head of the Rosprirodnadzor natural resources regulator Amirkhan Amirkhanov said. “The Ministry of Natural Resources is developing a strategy on polar bears, and it’s expected to be approved by the end of this year,” Amirkhanov said at the Polar Bear Universe Conference.

As climate change accelerates and the Arctic becomes more accessible than ever before, the geopolitical importance of the polar regions is growing. Arctic countries share a commitment to protecting the environment of those regions in the face of growing interest. In particular, Finland and the United States share a commitment to increase Arctic and polar scientific cooperation, as well as a responsibility to create awareness of the pace of climate change in the polar regions and the effects of global emissions on the Arctic environment. The Wilson Center’s Polar Institute and the Embassy of Finland will host this discussion exploring how science and technology help the United Nations, Finland and the United States increase awareness about the changes occurring in the polar regions.

NERACOOS and CIOOS Atlantic, with funding support from the U.S. Embassy in Canada, will host a three-part webinar series featuring discussions with local experts on scientific, economic, and policy issues facing coastal communities spanning the Arctic to the Northeastern seaboard of the United States. Each of the three seminars will coincide with part of the voyage of the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy, which has partnered with Canada to undertake a research cruise the Northwest Passage and circumnavigation of North America. As the Healy passes through the Arctic, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia and the Gulf of Maine, experts in a variety of subjects will speak about the challenges they're encountering, and how we can come up with solutions that transcend borders. 

Conversations will include John Farrell, the executive director of the US Arctic Research Commission, and Larry Mayer, a former commissioner with the US Arctic Research Commission.

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.

For the most up-to-date COVID information, please see the the US Embassy in Reykjavik's COVID page: here.

NERACOOS and CIOOS Atlantic, with funding support from the U.S. Embassy in Canada, will host a three-part webinar series featuring discussions with local experts on scientific, economic, and policy issues facing coastal communities spanning the Arctic to the Northeastern seaboard of the United States. Each of the three seminars will coincide with part of the voyage of the US Coast Guard Cutter Healy, which has partnered with Canada to undertake a research cruise the Northwest Passage and circumnavigation of North America. As the Healy passes through the Arctic, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia and the Gulf of Maine, experts in a variety of subjects will speak about the challenges they're encountering, and how we can come up with solutions that transcend borders. 

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.

The Maritime Risk Symposium is an annual three-day conference in which government and maritime industry leaders, port representatives, researchers, and solution providers convene to examine current and emerging threats to maritime security. Government agencies, commercial entities, institutions of research, and higher education come together to discuss various threats, challenges, and risks to international and domestic maritime sectors.

The European Commission and the European External Action Service will organize a high-level EU Arctic Forum and the Annual Arctic Indigenous Peoples’ Dialogue. The EU Arctic Forum will bring together key Arctic players and stakeholders to assess recent developments in the region and discuss challenges ahead. The event will provide a strategic outlook for the updated EU Arctic policy and delve into topics that are of particular significance for the Arctic’s inhabitants.

The New England Arctic Network (NEAN) will host its 2021 meeting at the University of New England in Portland, Maine. Additional information will be published soon. 

Hosted entirely online the ArcticNet Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting 2021 (ASM2021) is a hub for Arctic research in Canada. The ASM2021 brings together researchers from the natural, health, and social sciences to meet the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing Arctic region, shaped by climate change and modernization. This conference will push the boundaries of our collective understanding of the Arctic and strengthen our ability to address the Arctic issues of today and tomorrow.

The National Academies’ Polar Research Board is convening the following session at the Fall AGU meeting.

Organizers announce, that due to the coronavirus outbreak, the 2nd Symposium on Polar Microbes and Viruses has been postponed to 2022. 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.

Arctic Symposium 2022 continues momentum in Arctic defense and security collaboration established in prior ALCOM-hosted events. AAS22 seeks to address the challenges faced by the U.S. military and our allies and partners in understanding and responding to our respective national interests. AAS22 is planned and organized by the Arctic Domain Awareness Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) in support and in compliance to guidance from Alaskan Command (ALCOM) Staff and Commander. More information available soon.