The Department of Defense identified Anchorage, Alaska, as the sole candidate city to host the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies, the Department of Defense (DoD) Regional Center for the Arctic. The Department will continue to work through the Department of the Air Force Strategic Basing process to evaluate facilities within Anchorage to finalize the site selection.

Members of the Biden administration on Wednesday launched a series of events aimed at exploring the Arctic’s potential to act as a “living laboratory of clean energy innovation.” Officials participating in the online event, billed as “ArcticX,” spoke of the challenges faced by remote communities in Alaska’s Arctic region, such as high energy costs and impacts from climate change. During the event’s broad discussions, they said they see opportunities for sustainable or renewable energy systems.

The narwhal is an elusive, mysterious resident of the remote Arctic. The species, a relatively small whale adapted for extreme icy environments, is known for growing a characteristic spiral tusk that resembles the historical portrayal of a unicorn’s horn. The name "narwhal" comes from the Norse words "nar" (corpse) and "hval" (whale). According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the name refers to the whale's dappled gray skin, which to sailors resembled that of a drowned person. 

ACCAP is hiring a highly skilled, energetic, and collaborative program manager. This person will be the lead point of contact for ACCAP whose mission is to conduct innovative and collaborative research and engagement to inform climate policy, decision making, and action for a just and sustainable future. The position will be based at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The Wilson Center's Polar Institute is pleased to co-sponsor the 14th Polar Law Symposium, which will be a hybrid event co-hosted by the Polar Cooperation Research Centre (Kobe University, Japan), Polar Law Institute (University of Akureyri, Iceland), Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law – Arctic Centre (University of Lapland, Finland), University of the Arctic and its Arctic Law Thematic Network (Finland).

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.

IARPC and the National Science Foundation will host a program manager chat focused on the Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) program. NNA program officers will provide an overview of the recently released solicitation, highlight major changes, review goals of the NNA program, and answer questions.

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

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.

The participants in the forum will focus on improving the living standards in the Arctic region, preserving its unique ecological potential, ensuring sustainable socioeconomic development in polar territories, and strengthening international cooperation to this end. The IAF is a unique space for constructive cooperation with international and regional organizations and an opportunity to focus on Russian and international priorities, including climate change, the environment, economic cooperation in the Arctic, sustainable development of transport infrastructure, and human capital development.

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.