Join Harvard Kennedy School’s Arctic Initiative for a debrief with Arctic experts recently returned from the United Nations Conference on Climate Change. The panelists will reflect on their key takeaways from the conference and answer any questions you might have about its outcomes, with a focus on Arctic biodiversity, permafrost thaw, and Indigenous peoples.

"We used to work with Russian permafrost scientists and hydrologists in the Barentsburg region. This doesn't happen now," the British scientist told AFP. "We're sad that we can't use this basis for collaboration, but we're not at all happy with the actions of the Russian government, obviously," he said at his office at Longyearbyen University in the archipelago's capital.

Inuit rights and knowledge remain at the forefront of a new management plan for Canada’s most northern national park, tabled last week in Ottawa. However, questions remain about whether climate change will increase cruise ship traffic in the ecologically sensitive Arctic and jeopardize sustainable tourism.

Strong demand for Russian crude oil in China resulted in record transit cargo on the Northern Sea Route in 2023. More than a dozen shipments delivered 1.5m tons of crude oil from the Baltic Sea to China through the Arctic. In total the route saw 2.1m tons of transit cargo, surpassing the previous high set in 2021.

In December 2006, I sat in a similar carpeted room in this city and listened to scientists talk about an Alaska-size chunk of sea ice that was no longer floating on the northern oceans compared to previous years. That meant that the “refrigerator of the northern hemisphere” was much less powerful than it had been in recent decades, said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado. That failing fridge is part of the reason our world has become warmer.

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted in favor of the conference report for H.R. 2670, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), supporting its passage in the Senate by a bipartisan vote of 87-13. The conference report passed the House Thursday morning by a vote of 310-118, and will now go to the President’s desk to be signed into law. This year’s NDAA authorizes $886 billion for national defense and border security, provides servicemembers with a 5.2 percent pay raise, and reinforces support for American allies including Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.

The Arctic is remote, with often harsh conditions, and its climate is changing rapidly—warming four times faster than the rest of the Earth. This makes studying the Arctic climate both challenging and vital for understanding global climate change.

Nominated for Best Documentary Short Film. A lone scientist on the coast of the Siberian Arctic finds that warming seas have taken a toll on the walrus migration, as documented in a film by Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev. "Haulout" is nominated for Best Documentary Short at the 2023 Academy Awards.

Alaska has the lowest rate of access to in-home water services in the United States. At the same time, the state also has the world's oldest Universal Basic Income (UBI) program, and every Alaska resident receives an annual payment through the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) program. In this study, we use a panel dataset of rural Alaska water and sewer utilities in 18 Alaska villages from 2012 to 2016 to explore the impact of the PFD on residential payments. We estimate fixed effects for eight models. Models are developed by grouping villages by low and high variability in payments, enrollment in Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) regional corporations and Community Development Quota (CDQ) organizations. We find that on average, each utility is missing $14 710 in customer payments yearly, and have a median residential delinquency rate of 14%. The model with all the villages (p < 0.01), ANCSA models (p < 0.05), and CDQ models (p < 0.05) all show a significant increase in residential payments when the PFD is paid in October. Average residential payments in October are $3671 to $10 058 higher than in other months. The increased payments represent 2% to 6% of the total revenue of utilities. We estimate that across rural Alaska the PFD generates between $734 200 to $2 011 600 in additional payments for water utilities. These findings suggest that the PFD and other unrestricted cash transfers can play an important role in increasing household water security in rural Alaska and other places with similar problems.

How can long-term observations of Arctic marine environments best benefit Indigenous Peoples and the broader region? The international ROADS initiative takes aim at this lofty goal. Join us to explore what this might mean for the Bering Strait region.

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.

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.

Guided by the theme “Transforming Energy Now for the Next 50 Years,” the 2024 Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference will focus on real world examples in Alaska and around the globe demonstrating progress in the energy transition including established renewable sources, advancements in energy storage, and emerging technologies such as green fuels and advanced nuclear power. World-renowned speakers and experts will highlight the agenda, along with breakout tracks, panel discussions, and multiple networking opportunities.

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.