Date

Multiple Meeting Announcements

  1. Travel Funds Available
    SCAR Open Science Conference
    Portland, Oregon
    16-19 July 2012

  2. Distributed Biological Observatory Town Hall Announcement
    A Change Detection Array in the Pacific Arctic Region
    2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting
    Thursday, 23 February 2012 at 12:30-2:00 p.m.
    Salt Lake City, Utah

  3. Session Announcement
    012 - The Chukchi Sea Region: Rapid Changes in the Pacific Gateway
    to the Arctic
    2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting
    20-24 February 2012
    Salt Lake City, Utah

  4. Session Announcement and Call for Abstracts
    Human Dimensions of Resource Development and Commercial Activity in
    Inuit Communities
    Inuit Studies Conference
    Washington, D.C.
    24-28 October 2012

  1. Travel Funds Available
    SCAR Open Science Conference
    Portland, Oregon
    16-19 July 2012

The NSF Office of Polar Programs (OPP) is providing funds to support
participation of U.S. scientists in the Scientific Committee on
Antarctic Research (SCAR) Open Science Conference. The conference will
be convened 16-19 July 2012 in Portland, Oregon.

The Open Science Conference is an international and interdisciplinary
meeting that brings together scientists of all ages from around the
world with interests in Antarctica and the southern ocean. Funds are
intended primarily to support early-career researchers, graduate
students, and individuals who would increase the diversity of the polar
science community. Current OPP Investigators with meeting travel funds
included in their awards are not eligible for this travel support.

To apply for travel funds, download the application form from the SCAR
web site: http://usscar.tamu.edu/. Applications are due by 15 March
2012. Submit the completed application form together with your submitted
conference abstract to Terry Wilson (wilson.43 [at] osu.edu).

Application deadline: 15 March 2012.

To apply, download the application at:
http://usscar.tamu.edu/.

For more information on the conference, please go to:
http://scar2012.geol.pdx.edu.

  1. Distributed Biological Observatory Town Hall Announcement
    A Change Detection Array in the Pacific Arctic Region
    2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting
    Thursday, 23 February 2012 at 12:30-2:00 p.m. MST
    Salt Lake City, Utah

A town hall entitled "A Change Detection Array in the Pacific Arctic
Region" (EVTH06) will be held at the 2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting in Salt
Lake City, Utah. The town hall is scheduled for Thursday, 23 February
2012 at 12:30-2:00 p.m. MST in Room 251 A, B, D, and E.

To more systematically track the broad biological response to sea ice
retreat and associated environmental change, an international consortium
of scientists are developing a coordinated "Distributed Biological
Observatory" (DBO) that includes selected biological measurements at
multiple trophic levels in the Pacific Arctic. These measurements are
being made simultaneously with hydrographic surveys and satellite
observations. The DBO currently focuses on five regional biological
'hotspot' locations along a latitudinal gradient. Hydrographic transects
were occupied from spring to fall in 2010 and 2011 during a pilot
program at two sites in the southern Chukchi Sea and Barrow Canyon, and
provide repeat collections of water parameters and multiple biological
trophic level parameters seasonally. This sampling indicates freshening
and warming as Pacific seawater transits northward over the spring to
fall season as sea ice retreats, with impacts on both plankton and
benthic prey bases for larger marine mammals and seabirds.

As the DBO moves to an implementation phase, the intent is to serve as a
change detection array for the identification and consistent monitoring
of biophysical responses to climate change. Multiple participants in the
DBO effort will provide updates on the field program, results, and
future plans during this open town hall session.

Further information on the DBO can be found at:
http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/dbo/
http://pag.arcticportal.org/

For questions, please contact:
Jackie Grebmeier
Email: jgrebmei [at] umces.edu

  1. Session Announcement
    012 - The Chukchi Sea Region: Rapid Changes in the Pacific Gateway
    to the Arctic
    2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting
    20-24 February 2012
    Salt Lake City, Utah

Organizers announce session 012, entitled "The Chukchi Sea Region: Rapid
Changes in the Pacific Gateway to the Arctic." The session will be
convened at the 2012 Ocean Sciences Meeting, scheduled for 20-24
February 2012 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Over the last decade the Chukchi Sea has warmed significantly,
experienced major reductions in seasonal sea ice cover, and responded to
shifts in atmospheric forcing. These changes demonstrate the sea's
vulnerability to climate perturbations and its interconnectivity to the
Arctic and global oceans. Numerous scientific programs are underway with
support from state and U.S. government agencies, from private industry,
and via international efforts based in Canada, China, Japan, Korea, and
Russia. These programs are rapidly increasing our understanding of the
Pacific gateway to the Arctic and promise better system-level
understanding.

This multidisciplinary and international session will provide a state of
the art evaluation of the environmental status and trends of the
Arctic's Pacific sector, including physical forcing, biogeochemical
cycling, biological response, modeling, and social-economic
interactions. Poster presentations are scheduled for Thursday, 23
February 2012 in the Poster/Exhibit Hall. Oral presentations are
scheduled for Friday, 24 February 2012 at 8:00 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. MST in
Ballroom F.

A complete list of presentations is available at:
http://www.sgmeet.com/osm2012/sessionschedule.asp?SessionID=012.

For questions, please contact session organizers:
Jacqueline M. Grebmeier
Email: jgrebmei [at] umces.edu

Russell R. Hopcroft
Email: rpickart [at] whoi.edu

Bill Williams
Email: bill.williams [at] dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Sue E. Moore
Email: sue.moore [at] noaa.gov

  1. Session Announcement and Call for Abstracts
    Human Dimensions of Resource Development and Commercial Activity in
    Inuit Communities
    Inuit Studies Conference
    Washington, D.C.
    24-28 October 2012

Organizers of a session entitled "Human Dimensions of Resource
Development and Commercial Activity in Inuit Communities" announce a
call for abstracts. The session will be convened at the Inuit Studies
Conference, scheduled for 24-28 October 2012 in Washington, D.C.

Arctic regions are experiencing an unprecedented increase in economic
development initiatives and international attention to sovereignty,
access, climate change, and Inuit rights that bring both opportunities
and risks for local residents. The session addresses these issues and
the development of policy responses through papers that concentrate on
the exploitation of natural resources and increasing commercial
activities in the Arctic, including tourism. Emphasis will be on social
sustainability as well as resilience and adaptive capacity in Inuit
communities. Presentations that draw together multidisciplinary aspects
of change and that discuss policy and regulatory efforts within the
context of global change and economic development are particularly
welcome.

Abstract submission deadline: Tuesday, 28 February 2012.

To submit an abstract, or for questions, please contact session convenors:
Jackie Dawson
Email: jackie.dawson [at] uottawa.ca

Margaret Johnston
Email: mejohnst [at] lakeheadu.ca