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February 23, 2021

No Arctic-science event is scheduled for today.
Media

Seismic Survey of Alaskan Arctic Refuge Won't Move Forward. An Alaska Native group failed to meet a critical deadline as part of its proposal to conduct a seismic survey in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Interior Department announced. The failure effectively kills the survey, which would have determined the location of oil and gas reserves in part of the refuge in anticipation of drilling there. A department spokeswoman, Melissa Schwarz, said that the group, the Kaktovik Iñupiat Corporation, had not undertaken reconnaissance flights to detect polar bear dens in the proposed survey area as a prelude to sending trucks and other survey equipment rolling across the refuge's coastal plain this winter. New York Times
 
Science, Climate Change, and Arctic Amplification. As the world seeks solutions to the global climate crisis, many eyes are turning north - to the Arctic Ocean. Climate scientists say Arctic regions are a key indicator of the changes that have already occurred worldwide and those yet to come. The Arctic has already warmed at least 3 degrees C in the past 50 years, more than most other parts of the world. Openings in the ocean ice pack are allowing the sun to directly warm the waters there, causing a warming feedback within the region's ice cover. Yale News
 
Soot From Asia Travels Express on a Highway to the High Arctic. Airborne pollutants from South Asia are a major source of the black carbon particles that exacerbate melting thousands of kilometres away in the frozen Arctic. The burning of fossil fuels and wood creates black carbon, which absorbs more solar energy than any other component of the microscopic air pollution called particulate matter. Airborne black carbon can sully the otherwise pristine ice and snow surfaces in the Arctic, making them reflect less sunlight and absorb more heat. Nature
Future Events
 
National Science Foundation Program Manager Chat: COVID-19 Update, 3:00 pm EST on February 24, 2021 (virtual). Join the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Program's Arctic Science Section for program manager outreach. This virtual office hour will focus on informing the science community about updates to the Arctic Science Section and offering insight into how COVID-19 continues to impact operations. There will also be ample time for the community to ask questions of NSF staff.

Simon Stephenson's retirement party. 3:00 to 4:00 EST on March 12, 2021 (virtual). Come celebrate our colleague and friend Simon Stephenson as he retires from federal service. As Section Head for Arctic Sciences at NSF, Simon led international and inter-agency engagement in support of the broad research goals of the Arctic Sciences Section. He provided the vision and has been the engine behind IARPC Collaborations for the past decade. We welcome an opportunity to honor these and his many other contributions to Arctic research. Old friends near and far are invited to share stories, raise a toast, and join in the celebration of Simon who has positively impacted so many.

ALCOM's Arctic Senior Leader Summit, 2021, March 10-11, 2021 (virtual). In support of U.S. Northern Command's Arctic mission, please consider joining Lt General David Krumm, USAF, Commander Alaska Command, Alaska NORAD Region and 11th Air Force and a host of Defense and Security Leaders for Arctic Senior Leader Summit 2021 (ASLS 21) 10-11 March 2021.  This event is oriented to addressing senior leader strategic views on the developing range of security and defense matters affecting the Arctic region.  Due to the on-going complications of in-person meetings as a result of COVID 19, Arctic Senior Summit 2021 will be conducted via video conference.  Day 1 of ASLS 2021 is focused on plenary presentations and follow-on strategic discussions.  Day 2 ASLS 2021 is a planned tabletop exercise.  Further details and registration to be provided soon via ASLS 21 planning team at the Arctic Domain Awareness Center.  Please see:  https://arcticdomainawarenesscenter.org/Events for more details or email ADAC center leadership at https://arcticdomainawarenesscenter.org/Team.

Arctic Domain Awareness Center's (ADAC) Arctic Challenges, Innovations, and Commerce Expo (Arctic CICE) Conference, March 16-17, 2020 (virtual). The Arctic Domain Awareness Center's (ADAC) Arctic Challenges, Innovations, and Commerce Expo (Arctic CICE) seeks to explore the networks, resources, and infrastructure needed to enable the commercial entrance of Arctic-related products and technologies into the Arctic domain. This expo will use an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to foster conversations around Arctic-centered business pressure points, state-of-the-Arctic-focused R&D, gap analysis of investment and innovation, and the future of business in the region. Participants will be exposed to the latest hardware, software, and people-ware emerging to advance domain awareness, risk mitigation, exploration, Arctic operations, and overall, Arctic security.

Third Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3): Webinar Five, 1:00 pm UTC on March 17, 2021 (virtual) . This meeting is part of the ASM3 webinar series and will focus on Theme 3: Respond: sustainable development; evaluation of vulnerability and resilience; application of knowledge. For more information on ASM3, see here.

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.

Advancing Collaboration in Canada-US Regional Security II, March 25-26, 2021 (virtual). The Arctic Domain Awareness Center (ADAC) and the North American and Arctic Defense and Security Network (NAADSN) will host this event as a follow up meeting on the Advancing Collaboration in Canada-U.S. Arctic Regional Security (ACCUSARS) conference in September 2020.The purpose of ACCUSARS II is to create a subset Strategic Foresight Assessment (SFA) for the North American Arctic, by specifically focusing on Alaska and Western Canada.

One Health, One Future, April 6-11, 2021 (virtual). This is expected to be the largest circumpolar One Health conference held in the United States in 2021, with participation anticipated from across the Arctic region. The event is part of the United States contribution to One Arctic, One Health, an Arctic Council project now in its sixth year of operation.  The project aims to develop a circumpolar network of One Health experts that can share knowledge, conduct exercises, and spur collaborative investigations of One Health phenomena.

Third Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3): Webinar Five, 1:00 pm UTC on April 7, 2021 (virtual). This meeting is part of the ASM3 webinar series and will focus on Theme 4: Strengthen: capacity building; education; networking; resilience-prepare the next generation. For more information on ASM3, see here.

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.

Arctic Maritime Horizons Workshop, May 4-6, 2021 (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.

3rd Arctic Science Ministerial, May 8-9, 2021 (Tokyo, 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.

Department of Homeland Security S&T OUP Centers of Excellence Summit, May 18-21, 2021 (virtual). DHS S&T's Centers of Excellence (COE) Summit is set and focused on Homeland Security Challenges: Evolving Threats & Dynamic Solutions. This event is a special opportunity for COE researchers to connect and network with DHS components, federal, state, and local stakeholders, as well as industry partners to present current and emerging solutions to threats and challenges faced by DHS. Attendees can visit the Innovation Showcase, where COE and vendor partners showcase research breakthroughs, new products and tools to assist operational decision-makers and dynamic solutions to secure our Homeland.

The Arctic Domain Awareness Center Program Year 7 Annual Meeting, May 26-27, 2021 (virtual). ADAC will conduct the Center's Program Year 7 Annual meeting to focused on U.S. Coast Guard Project Champions, key stakeholders and the community of Arctic science and technology researchers. Included in the Program Year 7 Annual meeting are planned guest speakers from HQ U.S. Coast Guard, DHS S&T and senior Arctic Research leadership in Washington D.C.

 
Third Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3): Closing Webinar, 1:00 pm UTC on June 9, 2021 (virtual). This meeting is part of the ASM3 webinar series and will focus on the post-ministerial review: joint statement actions. For more information on ASM3, see here.
 
2021 Regional Conference on Permafrost/ 19th International Conference Cold Regions Engineering, October 24-29, 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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