City College of New York Professor Maria Tzortziou is the recipient of a $15 million grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to lead a new mission that will study the changing Coastal Arctic and impacts on vulnerable ecosystems and communities. Tzortziou’s project, “Arctic Coastlines–Frontlines of Rapidly Transforming Ecosystems (FORTE),” is one of six new NASA-funded airborne missions that will use novel, high-resolution observations from aircraft to complement what scientists can see from orbit, measure from the ground, and simulate in computer models.

Courtesy of climate change, the Arctic Ocean is steadily transforming into a geopolitical and military theatre. This shift is central to the evolution of defense alliances such as NATO, with strategic interests of members states in the High North changing. In response, NATO has heightened its research expeditions in the Arctic Ocean to help structure an appropriate defense adaptation to the region’s evolving landscape.

Russia continues to push ahead with plans to develop its Northern Sea Route into a year-round Arctic maritime shortcut. For the current year officials expect transit cargo to reach 3 million tons, around 50 percent more than last year. Volumes will primarily come from the transport of crude oil and LNG, but Russia now also aims to develop year-round container shipping.

NASA has deployed the second Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment, or PREFIRE, small satellite into space to study the impact of warming climate on Earth’s ice, seas and weather. The second PREFIRE CubeSat has established communications with ground controllers after it lifted off aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from the company’s Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, NASA said Wednesday.

The 12^th International Conference on Permafrost will consider “Integrating Perspectives of Permafrost Thaw, Change, and Adaptation.” The conference will address the most recent developments and stimulate engaging technical and scientific discussions among academics, professionals, contractors, suppliers, and students. The impacts of climate change and economic development have significantly changed the Arctic, in recent decades, resulting in a wealth of research initiatives and challenging engineering projects. Event partners include the Canadian Permafrost Association, IPA, and Yukon University.

The 12^th International Conference on Permafrost will consider “Integrating Perspectives of Permafrost Thaw, Change, and Adaptation.” The conference will address the most recent developments and stimulate engaging technical and scientific discussions among academics, professionals, contractors, suppliers, and students. The impacts of climate change and economic development have significantly changed the Arctic, in recent decades, resulting in a wealth of research initiatives and challenging engineering projects. Event partners include the Canadian Permafrost Association, IPA, and Yukon University.

The ice sheets near the Earth’s poles contain ancient ice formed from continuous snow accumulation over thousands of years. Using ice cores, scientists can study the old air trapped in the ice, which unlocks mysteries of Earth’s environmental history. Researchers from the University of California Irvine present this webinar from NSF Summit Station, Greenland as they study historical changes in atmospheric levels of hydrogen using a newly drilled ice core from the Greenland ice cap. Because of the unique challenges posed by hydrogen’s small molecular size, the researchers are bringing their instruments to Greenland to analyze samples as soon as they are retrieved!

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.