Arctic Update Header
October 2, 2020

No Arctic-science events are scheduled for today.
Media

The Navy is Building a Network of Drone Submarines and Sensor Buoys in the Arctic. The U.S. Navy has awarded the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution a contract worth more than $12 million to develop unmanned undersea vehicles and buoys, along with a networked communications and data sharing infrastructure to link them all together. The project is ostensibly focused on developing an overall system to support enhanced monitoring of environmental changes in the Arctic for scientific purposes. However, it's not hard to see how this work could be at least a stepping stone to the creation of a wide-area persistent underwater surveillance system in this increasingly strategic region. The Drive
 
russian flag Russia to Offer Arctic Council Countries its Own Cross-Border Cooperation Program. Interregional cooperation in the context of the global Arctic was an issue of focus at a regular meeting of the Lena Club held as part of the 2nd Northern Sustainable Development Forum. Alexander Krutikov, Deputy Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, noted that the level of practical cooperation between the Arctic regions of Russia and other countries is extremely low, which results in many lost opportunities when it comes to trade and exports of products manufactured in the Russian Arctic. "During Russia's chairmanship in the Arctic Council, we plan to offer our regions and our partners in the council a new program for promoting cross-border cooperation and interregional links, including with respect to the small-numbered indigenous peoples. The program will allow the launch of joint projects between the regions of the Arctic states," said Alexander Krutikov. The Arctic
 
Salmon Seafood Harvests Remained Stead, Despite Pandemic. Some surprising results are revealed in the first of a series of briefing papers showing how Alaska's seafood industry has been affected by the pandemic from dock to dinner plates. The updates, compiled by the McDowell Group for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), show that so far the amount of seafood that has been harvested is in line with previous years.
The Arctic Sounder

Climate: Iodic Acid Influences Cloud Formation at the North Pole. The Arctic is warming two or three times faster than the rest of the planet. This amplified warming is due to several factors, but the relative importance of each one remains still unclear. "We do know, however, that clouds could play an important role," says Julia Schmale, an EPFL professor who heads the Extreme Environments Research Laboratory and holds the Ingvar Kamprad Chair. "By reflecting the sun's rays back into space or trapping heat close to the Earth's surface like a blanket, clouds help either cool off or warm up the planet." Phys.org
 
Parks Canada Plans to Record Underwater Sounds at Tallurutiup Imanga Conservation Area. Parks Canada wants to record underwater activity in four spots around Arctic Bay, in the hope of creating greater understanding of how human activity in the area affects the ocean. "The ocean is a dynamic place," said Clare Kines, who is the Inuit stewardship co-ordinator with Parks Canada and is managing the underwater noise study file. "It has its own soundscape, and noise propagates very well in the ocean." Arctic Today

Nunavut Moms Younger and Have More Children than Others in Canada: StatCan. Mothers in Nunavut are still the youngest and have the most children in Canada. That's according to recent numbers released on September 29 by Statists Canada. These show that the average age of mothers in Nunavut in 2019 was 25.8 years, while, in the rest of Canada, the average age was 30.7 years. Nunatsiaq Online

Job Posting: Director of the Secretariat. The Arctic Council seeks a candidate for the position of Director of the Arctic Council Secretariat (ACS). The ACS supports the work of the Arctic Council and is located in Tromsø, Norway. The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum to promote cooperation, coordination, and interaction among the Arctic States with the involvement of Arctic Indigenous peoples and other Arctic inhabitants. The Arctic Council Chairmanship rotates every two years among the Arctic States. Iceland is the current Chair of the Council and the Russian Federation will take over the Chairmanship in May 2021. The Arctic Council is comprised of the eight Arctic States: Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden, and the United States. A unique feature of the Arctic Council is the involvement of six international Indigenous peoples' organizations as Permanent Participants: Aleut International Association; Arctic Athabaskan Council; Inuit Circumpolar Council; Gwich'in Council International; Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North; and the Saami Council. Arctic Council
Future Events
 
United States Air Force Arctic Strategy: Perspectives and Insights, 12:00 pm EDT on October 5, 2020 (virtual). This event is hosted by the Polar Institute of the Wilson Center and the Arctic Domain Awareness Center. The Air Force Arctic Strategy was released in July 2020. According to the Department of the Air Force, "The strategy outlines the Department's unique regional role and efforts to optimize Air and Space capabilities throughout the region in support of the National Defense Strategy." We are honored to host a group of distinguished military leaders for a facilitated round table discussion regarding the Air Force Arctic Strategy to include contextual perspectives about the new Arctic, the Arctic in context of Great Power Competition, and the role and importance of the Air Force in Alaska and the Arctic.

Arctic Circle VIRTUAL: Dialogue with US Senator Lisa Murkowski, 1:30 pm EDT on October 6, 2020 (virtual). This event is hosted by Arctic Circle. In this Dialogue, which takes place only four weeks from the Presidential election, Senator Murkowski will discuss the importance of the election for the Arctic. Participants will be able to send in their questions and comments, both before and during the event, to be addressed in the Dialogue. Arctic Circle's own Chairman and former President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson will moderate this event.

** New this week ** Launch Party for 'After the Ice' Film Series, 10 am AKDT on October 7, 2020 (virtual). A virtual launch party will be held for a new mini-documentary series sharing stories of Indigenous communities challenged by sea ice loss in Alaska's Bering Sea. "After the Ice" is a three-part series created through a partnership between the Bering Sea Elders Group and the Study of Environmental Arctic Change program. The premier screening will be followed by a panel discussion with video-journalist Eli Kintisch, Bering Sea Elders Group executive director Mellisa Johnson and climate change educator Bill McKibben.

** New this week ** The Arctic Resilience Forum: Indigenous Youth Leadership, October 7, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am - 1:00pm (EDT) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020.  The online series will engage the broadest audience possible in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas.

** New this week ** Cultural Heritage, Climate Science, and Policy with Dr. Marcy Rockman 2:00 PM EDT on October 7, 2020 (virtual). This webinar will provide an overview of current connections between Arctic cultural heritage and climate change science and policy. You will learn where there are gaps between climate change and cultural heritage, and where there exists great opportunity. Together, we'll explore how we learn (or not) from the Arctic's past and how we learn (or not) our environments. The archaeology of migration and human encounters with new or unfamiliar environments are essential parts of this area. This webinar is supported by the Migration in Harmony Research Coordination Network.

IARPC Public Webinar Series: MOSAiC Expedition Overview, 2:00 pm EDT/ 10:00 am AKDT on October 8, 2020.  The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) will host a public webinar providing an overview of the MOSAiC expedition. Throughout October, IARPC Collaborations will be holding a "MOSAiC Month" focused on the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition. This is the first webinar in that series. All are welcome to attend.

** New this week ** The Arctic Resilience Forum: Food Security, October 14, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am - 1:00pm (EST) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020.  The online series will engage the broadest audience possible in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas. 

** New this week ** Alaska Federation of Natives 2020 Convention, October 15-16, 2020 (Virtual). The annual convention serves as the principal forum and voice for the Alaska Native community in addressing critical issues of public policy and government. The convention convenes thousands of official delegates and participants from membership organizations across the state. At the Convention, delegates discuss strategic opportunities and challenges, listen to memorable keynote speeches, hear reports from political leaders and presentations from expert panels, and share stories resilience, experiences, strengths, knowledge and hope for the future.

Arctic Maritime Oil Spill Modeling, Part 1 on October 16 | Part 2 on October 23 | Part 3 on November 30, (virtual). This event is hosted by the Arctic Domain Awareness Center. This event is conducted in accordance with ADAC's "Year 6 Work Plan" ADAC conducts quarterly Customer and Partner's Roundtables. More information coming soon.

** New this week ** The Arctic Resilience Forum: Renewable Energy, October 21, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am - 1:00pm (EST) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020.  The online series will engage the broadest audience possible in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas.

** New this week ** Impacts of Permafrost Degradation Webinar with Dr. Kimberly R. Miner, 2:00 PM EDT on October 22, 2020 2:00 PM EDT (virtual). In this webinar, you will learn from preeminent scientist Dr. Kimberley R. Miner about the cascading impacts of permafrost melt in the Arctic and beyond the circumpolar north. Permafrost is beginning to thaw, causing a cascade of risks to people, places, and our shared planet. When the organic material begins to decompose, permafrost thaw can destabilize major infrastructure, discharge mercury levels dangerous to human health, and release billions of metric tons of carbon. This webinar is supported by the Migration in Harmony Research Coordination Network.

** New this week **
 11th Maritime Risk Symposium 2020, October 26-30, 2020 (virtual). The Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI), a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, will host the 11th Annual Maritime Risk Symposium (MRS 2020) in collaboration with the National Academy of Sciences. The theme of MRS 2020 is "Maritime Resilience." DHS defines resilient infrastructure systems as the "ability of systems, infrastructures, government, business, communities, and individuals to resist, tolerate, absorb, recover from, prepare for, or adapt to an adverse occurrence that causes harm, destruction, or loss of national significance."  Through presentations, panels and open forums, the symposium will focus on the attributes of resilience to adversarial events of national significance in the maritime domain, using  our experience with COVID-19 as a driver for the discussion.   The objective is less about the specific impacts COVID-19 had and is having, and more on how that event informs us on resiliency for future global upsets, in terms of what works, what gaps have been exposed, and what research questions ought to be studied as a first step towards enhancing Maritime Resilience. 

** New this week ** The Arctic Resilience Forum: Human Health and Pandemics, October 28, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am - 1:00pm (EST) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020.  The online series will engage the broadest audience possible in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas.

Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS) Annual Meeting, October 29, 2020 (virtual) The ARCUS Annual Meeting serves as an important opportunity for for the Council of ARCUS Institutional Member RepresentativesARCUS Individual Members, and other members of the broader Arctic research community to connect with one another, the ARCUS Board of Directors, and staff. The meeting will be open to all interested participants and there is no cost to attend.

** New this week ** Maritime & Arctic Security & Safety Conference, November 3-4, 2020 (virtual). Organized by the Atlantic Canada Aerospace & Defense Association, this conference will be virtual in 2020.

** New this week ** Design of the Built Environment in the Arctic Webinar, 1:00 PM ET on November 11, 2020 (virtual). This talk will explore recent work of the Arctic Design Group to develop architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design strategies in the far north. Working directly with northern communities - and in collaboration with scientists and engineers - these strategies seek holistic design solutions to meet current and future challenges of an increasingly dynamic built environment in a rapidly changing Arctic. This webinar is supported by the Migration in Harmony Research Coordination Network.

** New this week ** The Arctic Resilience Forum: Gender, November 18, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am - 1:00pm (EST) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020.  The online series will engage the broadest audience possible in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas.

** New this week ** The Arctic Resilience Forum: Socio-Ecological Resilience, November 25, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am - 1:00pm (EST) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020.  The online series will engage the broadest audience possible in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas.

Arctic Maritime Horizons Workshop, December 1-2, 2020 (Anchorage, Alaska USA). This event is hosted by the Arctic Domain Awareness Center. This workshop will be an assessment of the future maritime transportation system of the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort sea regions.

** New this week ** The Arctic Resilience Forum: Financing Resilience, December 2, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am - 1:00pm (EST) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020.  The online series will engage the broadest audience possible in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas.

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.

** New this week ** The Arctic Resilience Forum: Infrastructure, December 9, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am - 1:00pm (EST) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020.  The online series will engage the broadest audience possible in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas. 

** New this week ** The Arctic Resilience Forum: Working Together in the Arctic: Indigenous and Western Knowledge Systems, December 16, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Resilience Forum will be convened every Wednesday from 11:30am - 1:00pm (EST) over a series of ten weeks, beginning October 7, 2020.  The online series will engage the broadest audience possible in conversations about how to build the resilience of Arctic communities and ecosystems across a variety of focus areas.

2021 Alaska Marine Science Symposium, January 26-28, 2021 (virtual). The Alaska Marine Science Symposium (AMSS) has been bringing together scientists, educators, resource managers, students, and interested public for over twenty years to discuss the latest marine research being conducted in Alaskan waters. Over 700 people attend this 4-day long conference held annually during the month of January. Each day of the conference highlights important Alaskan marine ecosystems: Gulf of Alaska (Tuesday), Bering Sea & Aleutian Islands (Wednesday), and the Arctic (Thursday). Research topics discussed range from ocean physics, fishes and invertebrates, seabirds, marine mammals, to local traditional knowledge. Since its inception, NPRB has been a proud sponsor and one of the leading organizers of AMSS.

Arctic Frontiers 2021, February 1-4, 2021 (virtual). Arctic Frontiers started out in 2006 assembling the first global scientific conference on economic, societal and environmental sustainable growth in the north. In February 2021, we will arrange the 15th conference with the theme "Building Bridges". The conference has a pan arctic perspective and builds new partnerships across nations, generations and ethnic groups. Arctic Frontiers provides a forum for dialogue and communication between science, government and industry in the Arctic.

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.

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.

3rd Arctic Science Ministerial, May 8-9, 2021 (Toyko, Japan). The Japanese and Icelandic organizers of this ministerial continue to plan for an in-person ministerial, in Tokyo, but have moved the dates from November 21-22, 2020 to May 8-9, 2021 because of Covid-19. Since the last Arctic Science Ministerial in 2018, changes in the Arctic ecosystem and the resulting impacts locally and globally have been severely felt. 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. ASM3 will be co-hosted by Iceland and Japan.
 

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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