News Archive

PolarConnect participants will learn about what scientists are doing to study the polar regions, and what it is like to live and work in the Arctic and Antarctica through presentations and Q&A sessions with teachers and polar scientists.

Kelly and her team have been stationed in Greenland for field work that involves flying over the ice sheets in the Arctic. She will be at Thule, Greenland to connect with teachers and students around the country and share their experience. Learn more about Kelly and NASA's incredible expedition: https://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/operation-icebridge-arctic

This event will be broadcast with the team from Thule, Greenland. It will last one hour and it is open to all ages.

The first Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (SIWO) report of 2016 is now available! The SIWO provides weekly reports from April through June with information on sea ice conditions relevant to walrus in the Northern Bering Sea and southern Chukchi Sea regions of Alaska.

This report includes the current and forecasted weather and ice conditions, as well as an overview of the pre-season ice conditions contributed by Matthew Druckenmiller at NSIDC. Updates, observations, and images will be added throughout the week as they are received. Local hunters, experts, or scientists with observations on the development of sea ice or any other aspect of walrus and sea ice can email comments to Kristina Creek (creek [at] arcus.org).

The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces a call for pre-season and informal contributions to the 2016 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO). These contributions will be in addition to the regular SIO monthly reports in June, July, and August that synthesize predictions for the September monthly average extent of Arctic sea ice. Pre-season and informal contributions provide a way to share information on sea ice parameters or time periods not included in the regular monthly reports as well as any early field observations, such as unusual early season conditions. These contributions are valuable for understanding initial conditions as well as sea ice dynamics throughout the season.

The tentative agenda for the 2016 Polar Prediction Workshop as well as presentation and poster abstracts are now available online. The workshop will focus on sources of polar predictability on sub-seasonal to inter-annual timescales, sea ice prediction, and operational and research efforts. It will convene 4-6 May 2016 at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York.

The National Science Foundation has made an award to a national partnership, led by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California Santa Barbara, to develop and curate the NSF Arctic Data Center, a new archive for Arctic scientific data as well as other related research documents. A webinar on Thursday, 21 April at 10:00am PDT will provide an opportunity to get more information about the NSF Arctic Data Center and will allow for feedback and additional insights into the needs of the Arctic research community.

A new report about the Make An Impact Workshop is now available. The workshop, held 13-15 March during ASSW, brought together teachers who currently teach in Alaskan Arctic communities with Arctic researchers to collaborate on the development of STEM educational resources related to Arctic research priorities.

Seven years after his expedition to Finland, PolarTREC teacher Michael Wing is now published! Michael Wing is first author on a journal article in California Archeology. After he came back from his expedition in Finland, he "became very interested in a possibly prehistoric line of stones at the Point Reyes National Seashore."

Michael R. Wing, Kate Iida and Emily Wearing (2015) Stone-by-Stone
Metrics Shed New Light on a Unique Stone Alignment at the Point Reyes
National Seashore, Marin County, Alta California, California Archaeology, 7:2, 245-264

Registration is now available for the fourth ARCUS D.C. Arctic Research seminar/webinar “Regional and Global Implications of Changing Permafrost”. Featuring Ted Schuur of Northern Arizona University, the presentation will discuss the use of synthesis science by the SEARCH Permafrost Action Team and Permafrost Carbon Network to identify and understand the widespread implications of changing permafrost at both regional and local scales. The event will be held Thursday, 28 April from 12:00-1:00pm EDT. Registration is required for both the live event, held at the ARCUS D.C. office, and online webinar.

An archive is available for the Sea Ice Prediction Network webinar, "Challenges and Best Practices: Sea Ice Thickness Distribution as a Rosetta Stone for Cross-Scale Communication." Cathleen Geiger, University of Delaware, gave a presentation on the consistency of sea ice thickness distributions across different horizontal length scales, measurement accuracy, and challenges related to estimating sea ice thickness across many length scales. The event was held Tuesday, 22 March 2016.

An archive is available for the third ARCUS D.C. Arctic Research seminar/webinar "Using an Environmental Intelligence Framework to Evaluate the Impacts of Ocean Acidification in the Arctic”. Jeremy Mathis from the NOAA Climate Program Office gave a presentation on the intensity and extent of ocean acidification in the Arctic and its’ potential threat to Arctic ecosystems. The event was held Thursday, 31 March.

Registration is available for the third ARCUS D.C. Arctic Research seminar/webinar "Using an Environmental Intelligence Framework to Evaluate the Impacts of Ocean Acidification in the Arctic”. Jeremy Mathis from the NOAA Climate Program Office will present discussion on the intensity and extent of ocean acidification in the Arctic and its’ potential threat to Arctic ecosystems. The event will be held Thursday, 31 March from 12:00-1:00pm EDT. Registration is required for both the live event, held at the ARCUS D.C. office, and online webinar.

Registration is now available for the Sea Ice Prediction Network webinar, "Challenges and Best Practices: Sea Ice Thickness Distribution as a Rosetta Stone for Cross-Scale Communication." Cathleen Geiger, University of Delaware, will present discussion on the consistency of sea ice thickness distributions across different horizontal length scales, measurement accuracy, and challenges related to estimating sea ice thickness across many length scales. The event will be held Tuesday, 22 March 2016 from 9:00-10:00 a.m. AKDT.

The ARCUS staff and board members invite Arctic colleagues to join us at our Open House/Drop-In Event, our Exhibit Booth, and other events during the Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) 2016 on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. Join us for discussion about better ways to connect and support Arctic research, how ARCUS supported activities can help advance your research, and hear about new membership categories and benefits. The Open House/Drop-In event is 2:30-4:00 pm on Tuesday, 15 March in Gruening, Room 409. The ARCUS Exhibition Booth will be available Monday-Wednesday, 14-16 March from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the Wood Center.

A new report from the Center for Resilient Communities shares insights and best practices from Arctic practitioners of community-based observing (CBO). The purpose of this report is to outline the range of community-based observing types as well as their appropriate applications and trade-offs. This report is the first in an anticipated series of three.

EXTENDED Deadline for abstract submissions to 2016 Polar Predictability Workshop: Friday, 11 March 2016.

This workshop will focus on sources of polar predictability on sub-seasonal to inter-annual timescales, sea ice prediction, and operational and research efforts. Forecast users are especially encouraged to attend this workshop.

The workshop will be held 4-6 May 2016 at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) in Palisades, New York.

The Winter 2016 issue of Witness the Arctic is now published online. This issue includes an update on SEARCH program activities including highlights from the three SEARCH Action Teams, the Sea Ice Prediction Network, and the Arctic Observing Open Science Meeting; NSF Arctic Social Science Program news; interagency updates from NOAA, IARPC, and the Polar Research Board; news of the International Arctic Assembly and Arctic Observing Summit—both to convene is association with the 2016 Arctic Science Summit Week of 12-18 March; and comments from ARCUS Executive Director, Robert Rich.

The Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) program announces an extended deadline for the call for nominations of new Science Steering Committee members.

Although the official 2016 open call for nominations ended on April 4, any further nominations received by Sunday, 1 May 2016 may still be considered during the next candidate review cycle and will also be retained for future consideration as committee openings occur.

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) has chosen Fiamma Straneo, co-lead of SEARCH's Land Ice Action Team, to deliver the Sverdrup Lecture at this year's meeting of the Ocean Sciences section held in New Orleans from February 21-26, 2016. The lecture is one of the highest awards the section bestows on its members.

The SEARCH research community has been hard at work preparing white papers, short statements, and poster presentations for the 2016 Arctic Observing Summit to be held March 15-18 in Fairbanks, AK. The aim of the biennial Arctic Observing Summit is to provide community-driven, science-based guidance for the design, implementation, coordination and sustained long-term operation of an international network of Arctic observing systems.

Entry fee will support Polar Educators International, a vibrant network that promotes polar education and research to a global community, in spirit with the purpose of Arctic Science Week 2016. Join the fun on 19 March 2016 at 10am.

Not going to ASSW? Join the Virtual 5K: 2016 Polar Educators International 5K Run/Walk on the Equinox

A member of SEARCH's Science Steering Committee, Dr. George Kling (University of Michigan), will host STEM teacher Dieuwertje Kast's PolarTREC field research expedition at the Toolik Field Research Station this summer in Alaska. The goal of their research project will be to measure and understand the changes taking place in Arctic microbial ecology and the role these microbes play in the production of greenhouse gases. PolarTREC is a program of the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. in which K-12 teachers spend 3-6 weeks participating in hands-on field research experiences in the polar regions.

The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) released a report last month highlighting SEARCH's Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) as a key accomplishment in the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee's efforts to enhance interagency cooperation. With diverse support from the Department of Energy, NASA, NOAA, the National Science Foundation, and the Office of Naval Research, SIPN was celebrated for its collaborative interagency approach to improving the predictive skill of Arctic sea ice models.

Organizers announce that registration is now available for the 2016 Polar Predictability Workshop and call for abstracts. The workshop will be held 4-6 May 2016 at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in New York. This workshop will focus on sources of polar predictability on sub-seasonal to inter-annual timescales, sea ice prediction, and operational and research efforts. Registration and abstract submission are now available.

The second speaker for the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS) D.C. Seminar Series will be SEARCH's Sea Ice Action Team Lead, Dr. Jennifer Francis of Rutgers University. You are invited to attend her presentation on “Crazy Weather and the Arctic Meltdown: Are They Connected?”, which will take place at the ARCUS D.C. office and via live webinar on Thursday, 18 February, 2016 from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Please join ARCUS at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium in Anchorage, Alaska, 25-29 January. ARCUS will have an open “Drop-in” event with light lunch on Wednesday, 27 January and a poster presentation on “Collaboration in Arctic Marine Ecosystems" on Monday, 25 January.