As President Biden prepares a final decision on the huge Willow oil project in Alaska, his administration announced he will prevent or limit oil drilling in 16 million acres in Alaska and the Arctic Ocean. Plans announced Sunday night will bar drilling in nearly 3 million acres of the Beaufort Sea — closing it off from oil exploration — and limit drilling in more than 13 million acres in a vast swath of land known as the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska.

The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, and this means that glaciers, which sit on land, and sea ice, which floats on the ocean surface, are melting rapidly. Two-thirds of Arctic Sea ice has disappeared since 1958 when it was first measured. Between 2000 and 2019, the world’s glaciers lost 267 billon tons of ice each year. Himalayan glaciers are on a trajectory to lose one-third of their ice by 2100, and Alpine glaciers are projected to lose half of theirs.

Climate models used by the UN’s IPCC and others to project climate change are not accurately reflecting what the Arctic’s future will be. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg argue that the rate of warming will be much faster than projected.

The mission of the Defense Science Board (DSB) is to provide independent advice and recommendations on matters relating to the DoD's scientific and technical enterprise. The objective of the meeting is to obtain, review, and evaluate classified information related to the DSB's mission. DSB membership will meet to discuss the 2023 DSB Summer Study on Climate Change and Global Security (“the DSB Summer Study”). The DSB members will meet in a plenary session to discuss classified strategies for anticipating global stresses and possible conflict due to climate change. DSB members will hear classified remarks from Mr. Greg Pollock, Principal Director, Office of Arctic and Global Resilience Policy, regarding an Arctic & Global Resilience Overview among other presentations.

The US Arctic Research Commission will hold its 116th meeting in person at the Northwest Arctic Heritage Center (National Park Service) in Kotzebue, AK on March 27th from 1pm – 5pm. Presentations and community discussions will be open to the public from 1pm on March 27th, with a public comment session from 4:30 pm–5pm that day.

This 5-day in-person workshop will provide researchers with an introduction to advanced topics in computationally reproducible research in python, including software and techniques for working with very large datasets. This includes working in cloud computing environments, docker containers, and parallel processing using tools like parsl and dask. The workshop will also cover concrete methods for documenting and uploading data to the Arctic Data Center, advanced approaches to tracking data provenance, responsible research and data management practices including data sovereignty and the CARE principles, and ethical concerns with data-intensive modeling and analysis.

As the largest Arctic policy and business conference in the United States, with partners and convenings worldwide, the Arctic Encounter continues to gather leading voices from around the world. The Arctic Encounter is eager to welcome participants to Alaska for a world-class arts and cultural experience, including dialogue and presentations with elected and international leaders, business executives, Indigenous peoples, scientists, students, defense leaders, diplomats, policymakers, and more.

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.

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.

With support from the National Science Foundation and R/V Sikuliaq operations team and crew, Oregon State hosts an early career chief scientist training cruise June 5-12 as part of a transit from Seward to Nome (AK). This training will also include a series of pre-cruise planning meetings from March to May (a condensed version of a typical pre-cruise preparation process). The goal is to help a cohort of diverse researchers gain skills and confidence in requesting, organizing, and leading scientific surveys on Arctic research vessels at high latitudes.

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.

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.