News Archive

Please join us for a PolarConnect event with teacher Erin Towns from Ilulissat, Greenland! This live event will happen on Tuesday, 10 May at 6 a.m. Alaska (7 a.m. Pacific, 8 a.m. Mountain, 9 a.m. Central, 10 a.m. Eastern). Erin is working on the Greenland Subglacial Tremor Project which will improve our understanding of how increases in surface runoff will influence ice flow and subsequent loss of water mass from the Greenland ice sheet to the oceans. You can read more about her experiences in the field on her expedition page. The event will last for one hour with a Q&A session at the end. Tell your friends, colleagues, and family. This event is free and easy to join!

The Polar Technology Community Forum will have their first self-forming team meeting on Friday, 6 May 2022, 9:00-10:00 a.m. AKDT/10:00–11:00 a.m. PDT/1:00 –2:00 p.m. EDT. This open meeting will include information about the intentions for this team, outcomes from the 2020 Polar Technology Conference, and a presentation from Mike Prior-Jones (Cardiff University) entitled, "Solar regulators: how to stop them sucking the life out of your polar instrumentation". Login information will be sent to all IARPC Polar Technology Community Forum members prior to the event. Joining the IARPC Collaborations forum is free and membership can be requested through the IARPC webpage. The meeting and team membership are open to all who are interested in Arctic and Antarctic polar technology.

The April 2022 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available online. This issue includes two articles: Investigating Dramatic Growth in Thermokarst Features in Interior Alaska, an overview of how climate warming across interior Alaska has dramatically increased the top-down thaw of permafrost; and Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Tools for Arctic Research, a discussion of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) offer strong applications to Arctic science problems.

For questions, or to suggest topics for future articles, please contact Betsy Turner-Bogren, ARCUS (betsy [at] arcus.org).

PolarTREC teacher Erin Towns is heading to Ilulissat, a coastal town in western Greenland, to work with a team of researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on the Greenland Subglacial Tremor Project. They will be in Greenland to learn more about the Greenland ice sheet, examining how increases in surface runoff will influence ice flow and subsequent loss of water mass from the Greenland ice sheet to the oceans. Ms. Towns will be sharing her experience through journals, photos, videos, and real-time webinars.

ARCUS invites registration for the next Arctic Research Seminar featuring Dr. Tobias Schwoerer (University of Alaska Fairbanks). Dr. Schwoerer’s presentation, titled “Harnessing the Power of Community Science to Address Data Gaps in Arctic Observing,” will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, 11 May 2022 at 9:00 a.m. AKDT (1:00 p.m. EDT). Registration is required for this event.

ARCUS invites registration for the next Arctic Research Seminar featuring Denver Holt, founder and president of the Owl Research Institute. Denver’s presentation, titled “30 Years of Snowy Owl and Lemming Research at Utqiagvik, Alaska” will be held via Zoom on Thursday, 14 April 2022 at 9:00 a.m. AKDT (1:00 p.m. EDT). Registration is required for this event.

The Community and Citizen Science in the Far North Conference Report, is available for downloading. The virtual conference was held in October 2021 and focused on sharing, networking, and discussing the various aspects of conducting community and citizen science research in the Arctic. This conference was in response to a growing community of Arctic researchers, Arctic communities, and Arctic visitors that are becoming more engaged in research. The report summarizes the conference, shares conference outcomes, and suggests next steps to continue the discussions and networking that started at the conference.

ARCUS announces a call for nominations for members to serve on the consortium’s Membership Committee.The ARCUS Membership Committee is a standing committee established by the ARCUS Board of Directors to plan and support activities for ARCUS members and the wider Arctic research community, including planning and hosting the ARCUS Annual Meeting. This is a wonderful opportunity to serve an active role in developing and strengthening relationships with fellow ARCUS members. 

The March 2022 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available online. This issue includes two articles: COVID-19 in Remote Alaska Communities: A Longitudinal View of a Novel Pandemic, an overview of recent research aiming to understand the impacts of COVID-19 on daily life in remote Alaska; and the ARCUS Member Profile of Gabriella Gricius highlighting her research interests and activities.

For questions, or to suggest topics for future articles, please contact Betsy Turner-Bogren, ARCUS (betsy [at] arcus.org).

PolarTREC Educator Sarah Johnson will be part of two live events from Utqiaġvik, Alaska while she is in the field with the International Arctic Buoy Program team. On Tuesday, April 5th, join her for a live PolarConnect Event (webinar) at 7:00 am AKDT (11:00 am EDT). Registration is required for this event. Also, on Friday, April 1st, you can listen to a live broadcast with Sarah and the International Arctic Buoy Program team on KBRW (Top of the World radio) at 7:30 am AKDT (11:30 am EDT). The interview can be heard at KBRW's website.

The Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (SIWO) will begin the spring outlook season on Friday, 25 March. The outlook is a partnership with local observers in seven Bering Strait communities, the National Weather Service, and other organizations to share sea ice and weather forecasts and local observations, satellite images, and other products relevant to nearshore travel in coastal Bering Strait communities.

ARCUS will be participating virtually in Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) 2022 sessions, including presentation of two posters at the Arctic Observing Summit (AOS). The posters are, “A Unique Perspective on the Arctic Observing Network through the Lens of Program Support and Coordination” and “Building a Community & Citizen Science in the Far North Community of Practice”. They will be presented during the AOS poster session on Thursday, 31 March 2022, 20:00–21:30 CET (11am–12:30pm AKDT). Virtual registration is free.

ARCUS would like to congratulate the winners of our Early Career Conference Funding Award! This round of awardees received support for virtual conference registration and fees. Congratulations to: Lauren Kipp, Julio Ceniceros, Haley Cynar, Kharis Schrage, Lydia Schoeppner, Grant Peel, Alicia Blanton, Cameron McMillan, Tanea Fisher, Richterica Ford, Thomasina Horton, Margaret Lindeman, Rajesh Kandel. Saravanan Kanagaratnam, and Victoria Bergstrom!

A report on the 2021 ARCUS Annual Meeting is now available. The ARCUS Annual Meeting was held virtually on 4 November 2021 and brought together more than 128 individuals from the Arctic research community, including 50 attendees from ARCUS Member Institutions and 15 ARCUS Individual Members. This annual open meeting serves as an important opportunity for the ARCUS community to share updates, explore common issues, and discuss collaboration opportunities.

The 2021 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) Post-Season Report is now available online. The SIO is a community network activity led by the Sea Ice Prediction Network-Phase 2 (SIPN2) Project Team with contributions from key partners. This report includes a review of the 2021 SIO contributions and sea-ice extent anomalies, discussions and analysis of observed Arctic conditions during the sea-ice retreat season, a review of Antarctic conditions and contributions, discussions of SIO forecast methods and skill relative to control forecasts, information about new data products for sea-ice forecasting, and a summary from the Sea Ice Drift Forecast Experiment (SIDFEx).

News that "Scientists aim to improve sea ice predictions' accuracy, access" has been widely shared in the print and broadcast media. These stories are based on the December 2021 presentation by the SIPN2 Leadership Team,"A Community of Practice Approach to Improving and Communicating Seasonal Sea-Ice Forecasts" during the 2021 American Geophysical Union Fall Meetings.

For more information, see: "2022 Press/Media/Related Publications" on Presentations and Publications.

The February 2022 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available online. This issue includes two articles: Fourth International Conference for Arctic Research Planning outlines the coordinated multi-year planning process that will engage Arctic researchers, policy makers, residents, and stakeholders; and Supporting Collaboration and Equitable Knowledge-Sharing Within and Beyond the Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) Initiative provides an overview of the focus and activities initiated by the new Arctic Community Office (NNA-CO).

For questions, or to suggest topics for future articles, please contact Betsy Turner-Bogren, ARCUS (betsy [at] arcus.org).

Looking for collaborators in Arctic research? Join ARCUS and IARPC Collaborations for a virtual speed networking session on Tuesday, 26 April from 9-10:30am AK, 10-11:30am PT, 11-12:30pm MT, 12-1:30pm CT, 1-2:30pm ET. Over the course of 1.5 hours, researchers will be split into a series of small groups to rapidly get to know one another and explore shared research interests. Groups will be organized across diverse disciplines, knowledge systems, and career levels.

NOTE: ARCUS has made the difficult decision to temporarily pause collaborations with Russian-based organizations; individuals from Russian- or Belarus-based organizations will not be allowed to register or participate in this event at this time.

ARCUS invites registration for the next Arctic Research Seminar featuring Dr. Robert Holzworth, a Professor of Earth and Space Science and Adjunct Professor of Physics at the University of Washing. Dr. Holzworth’s presentation, titled “Lightning in the Arctic” will be held via Zoom on Thursday, 10 March 2022 at 9:00 a.m. AKDT (1:00 p.m. EDT). Registration is required for this event.

In December 2021, ARCUS Member Representatives elected four individuals to the ARCUS Board of Directors. Congratulations to Lauren Culler (Dartmouth College), Julie Raymond-Yakoubian (Kawerak, Inc), Cana Uluak Itchuaqiyaq (Virginia Tech), and Stacey Fritz (Cold Climate Housing Research Center & National Renewable Energy Laboratory)! The newly elected cohort will serve three-year terms from 2022-2025. Dr. Raymond-Yakoubian was re-elected to Board, having completed her first term. Members of the Board of Directors are elected by designated representatives from ARCUS member institutions.

The Arctic Research Consortium of the US (ARCUS) Early Career Conference Funding Award supports US-based, early career researchers and students to participate in virtual meetings and events relevant to Arctic research. In lieu of full travel grants due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions, these funding awards will cover registration fees, session/abstract submission costs, and other relevant expenses related to virtual conference attendance for one conference or event. Applications are due by 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, 15 February 2022.

The January 2022 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available online. This issue includes two articles: Arctic Research Plan 2022–2026: A Bold Strategy for a Changing Arctic provides a summary of the Plan published on 15 December 2021 and information on how to provide input to the first implementation plan; and an ARCUS Member Profile featuring Ming Xiao, a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Penn State University. ARCUS Community Member Profiles are short, easy-to-read features that support ARCUS community connections across disciplines and perspectives.

For questions, or to suggest topics for future articles, please contact Betsy Turner-Bogren, ARCUS (betsy [at] arcus.org).

A recording is now available of "Crossing the Borders of U.S. - Canada Collaborative Research", a panel discussion co-hosted by ARCUS and the Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies (ACUNS) at the 2021 ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting. The discussion was introduced by Jeanette Doucet (ACUNS), moderated by Diane Hirshberg (ARCUS Board Member) and featured remarks by Greg Poelzer (Fulbright Arctic Initiative), Mike Spindler (Northwest Boreal Partnership), Charleen Fisher (University of Alaska Fairbanks), & Gabrielle Slowey (York University). This session explored barriers and opportunities to bi-lateral research partnerships, while attempting to foster more cross-border collaborations across all disciplines.

The editors of Witness the Arctic and Witness Community Highlights invite contributions of short articles on Arctic research projects including news about physical, social, and Indigenous Knowledge projects. Editors will work with contributors to develop multi-media components that could enhance outreach efforts of complex ideas.

For more information, contact Betsy Turner-Bogren (betsy [at] arcus.org).

During the 2021 American Geophysical Union Fall Meetings in New Orleans, Louisiana; Uma Bhatt, SIPN2 Lead Project Principal Investigator, presented a talk entitled "A Community of Practice Approach to Improving and Communicating Seasonal Sea-Ice Forecasts." Her presentation was developed with input from, and on behalf of, the SIPN2 Project Team. A PDF of her five-minute presentation slides is available here.

A Community of Practice Approach to Improving and Communicating Seasonal Sea-Ice Forecasts (PDF - 5MB)