The COP26 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Thawing permafrost in the Arctic is already unleashing methane and carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, exacerbating global temperature rise. As well adding to the climate crisis, this ground, which has been frozen for thousands of years, is becoming unstable and causing serious issues for local communities. For the first time, data from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 missions along with artificial intelligence have been used to offer a complete overview of the Arctic to identify communities and infrastructure that will be at risk over the next 30 years.

Environmental change affecting the Arctic may seem remote to many of us, but its impact is felt worldwide. As a vast and sparsely populated area, the infrastructure available for observing these changes is limited compared to other latitudes. The EU-funded project INTERACT (International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic) is working to improve this capacity and promote better scientific research on environmental change in the Arctic. It also hopes to raise awareness globally about what’s at stake.

In a surprise move, California-based Viasat this morning announced a plan to acquire UK-based Inmarsat for a cost of some $7.3 billion — potentially creating a commercial satellite communications behemoth worth $4.1 billion in 2021 revenue, of which 40% is in government sales, including to the Defense Department. While the acquisition will require approval from regulators, the combined company already is planning an expansion of its on-orbit assets, including two polar orbiting satellites that can bring capacity to the Arctic as global warming opens the potential for economic activity in the far North, including oil and gas extraction, world powers are jockeying for position there and military tensions are on the rise.

An emergency alarm was heard at 10:15 November 5th when a huge polar bear with a cub was spotted roaming around the entrance and vicinity of the Little Diomede School. People were rushing for safety while the Polar Guards were positioning to keep the bears away from the kids and folks. The bears were roaming in the vicinity for about 10 minutes before they swam back to the sea near the helipad area. John Ahkvaluk , 56 years of age, a Polar Guard and one of the Native residents of the place, revealed that this is a bad omen for the village folks since after several years, it’s the first time that bears came at this time of the year. “It’s a warning that they got no food out there and they came looking for it here.” John added.

Learn about climate change in the Arctic from America’s Arctic University. This MOOC covers modern climate science and the impacts of climate change across atmospheric, marine, terrestrial and human systems.

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.

During 2021, scientists from ADF&G, USFWS, and UAF joined the latest NOAA surface trawl survey. This survey monitored marine life; including salmon and other ocean-going fishes, seabirds, shrimp, and zooplankton in the northern Bering Sea. These surveys help improve understanding of the current status of the regional ecosystem in order to prepare communities, researchers, and fisheries for changes in our marine resources.

Jim Murphy is a research biologist with the Salmon Ocean Ecology and Bycatch Analysis group at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Juneau, AK. 

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The PRB Fall Meeting will take place as a series of online sessions. This session of the PRB fall meeting will include discussions with select federal agency polar program leaders about their current priorities, opportunities, and challenges. 

November 15th: This session of the PRB fall meeting will include discussions with select federal agency polar program leaders about their current priorities, opportunities, and challenges. There will be updates on developments in international polar science cooperation through IASC and SCAR. Additionally, there will be an overview of recent/current NASEM activities of relevance to polar science

November 19th: This session of the PRB fall meeting will explore current developments, and possible opportunities for new PRB efforts related to assessment of health risks/concerns for Arctic-region populations and prospects for expanding science cooperation in the Russian Arctic.

November 30th: There will be a joint session with the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC) and Ocean Studies Board (OSB) on “Tipping Points in the Climate System.” Participants will consider the scientific advances that have been made since the last major NASEM study related to thresholds/abrupt changes in the climate system (in 2013) and explore how a new Academies activity could make value contributions on this topic.

Museums in and of the North are leading the way in creative conversations about how museums and collections can generate new narratives with old objects. Join us for a virtual roundtable discussion with Arctic museum curators and scholars speaking about museums as engines of Indigenous cultural renewal, community knowledge, decolonial efforts, creative innovation, and more.

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. 

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.

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.