Michael Wenger still remembers the patches of blood red and vivid violet that daub the landscape of the Northwest Passage. “People usually think it's ice and glaciers and rocks. And then you get there and you see these meadows, with all the different plants,” he said, speaking by phone from Reykjavik, Iceland, where he was attending an Arctic Circle Assembly conference.

“It is crucial that we have good control and preparedness in our own sea areas,” said  Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Cecilie Myrseth, as she named the new ship. “The new Coast Guard vessel will strengthen Norway’s ability to maintain overview, preparedness and control in our waters,” Myrseth said.

Trying to put a wider spotlight on the global impacts of melting permafrost in the Arctic, Canada’s Dustin Whalen and Norway’s Tina Schoolmeester launched a new 174-page print and online Arctic Permafrost Map as an exhibit at the 10th Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, Iceland. “It’s the first atlas of its kind,” said Whalen, a scientist at Natural Resources Canada in Dartmouth, N.S., who helped to facilitate partnership with the Beaufort Delta Indigenous leaders. It’s an international effort led by Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research’s Nunataryuk, which maps underground and exposed permafrost including Antarctica, Russia, Alaska, and NWT Inuvialuit and Gwich’in communities of Tuktoyaktuk, Paulatuk, and Aklavik.

Norway on Thursday joined the race to launch satellites from the European continent by inaugurating a new spaceport on the island of Andoya, north of the Arctic Circle. Isar Aerospace said the "Andoya Spaceport" was to "become the first operational orbital spaceport in continental Europe to finalize the construction of the launch site."

The Commission is planning to hold its 2023 Annual Meeting on November 14-15 in Washington, D.C., focusing on national marine mammal science and management issues and celebrating 50 years of the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act. These laws have led to successes and challenges; some species have recovered, others have not, and all are facing the impacts of climate change. Through the meeting, we will use case studies of threatened and endangered marine mammals to explore national-level issues related to stock assessment, health surveillance and other management needs in a changing climate. The meeting will be public and open to all.

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.

Plastic pollution is of ever-growing concern. It is a well-known fact that plastic litter is omnipresent in our environment and the eventual sink for plastic waste is the world oceans. Even in the Arctic region plastic pollution is widespread. The Government of Iceland, with the support of the Nordic Council of Ministers, will host a Second International Symposium on Plastics in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic Region. The aim is to gather scientific, Indigenous and local knowledge on plastic pollution and discuss ways and means to reduce the impact of plastics on Arctic ecosystems.

For more than 100 years AGU has been opening science—opening pathways to discovery, opening greater awareness to address climate change, opening greater collaborations to lead to solutions and opening the fields and professions of science to a whole new age of justice equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. This year, as AGU convenes >25,000 attendees from 100+ countries in San Francisco for AGU23, the theme is: Wide. Open. Science.

The Alaska Marine Science Symposium (AMSS), has been bringing together scientists, educators, resource managers, students, and interested public for thirty 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.

The Arctic Frontiers annual conference aims to connect different expertise and perspectives from areas such as policy, science, and business. It is an arena for networking and knowledge exchange.

Arctic360’s Annual Event brings together Northern and Indigenous governments, institutions, and corporations; global finance; state leaders; mining, innovation, and other industry leaders; and Arctic experts from Canada and around the circumpolar North to advance the conversation and foster action for building a sustainable, peaceful, and prosperous Arctic region.

The 52nd International Arctic Workshop will be held at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The International Arctic Workshop is a friendly, informal, and relaxed conference open to all students and professionals interested in the Arctic. Originally started at INSTAAR at the University of Colorado - Boulder, the Arctic Workshop alternates between INSTAAR and an international host. This year, University of Massachusetts with the department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences & Climate System Research center will be hosting. The event website will be available in August.

Abstract deadline: February 25, 2024

The 7th biennial AOS as part of Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) 2024. The AOS draws a wide range of participants from across the spectrum of Arctic observing – Indigenous experts, operational agency representatives, scientists, and others – from around the world. Much of the summit is organized around discussions led by working groups on particular themes (Regional to global observing, Data sharing, System implementation/SAON ROADS, Observing System Benefits). In addition to plenary and working group sessions, this year we will include additional breakout sessions. 

As the largest Arctic policy and business conference in North America, with partners and convenings worldwide, the Arctic Encounter continues to gather leading voices from around the world. The Arctic Encounter is eager to welcome 1,000+ participants to Alaska for a world-class arts and cultural experience, including policy debates, dialogue with international leaders, business executives, Indigenous peoples, scientists, students, defense leaders, diplomats, policymakers, and more.

Nordland Research Institute and NORD University host this event. The congress includes high-level plenary sessions, several parallel sessions, network activities, and social and cultural events. Researchers, policymakers, businesses, and students exchange knowledge and connect across the Arctic. IASSA and UArctic will also hold their General Assemblies.

The 12^th International Conference on Permafrost will consider “Integrating Perspectives of Permafrost Thaw, Change, and Adaptation.” Event partners include the Canadian Permafrost Association, IPA, and Yukon University.

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.