News Archive

PolarTREC alumnus Sarah Johnson is returning to the Arctic in late March to assist with the University of Washington's Float Your Boat project, which helps community members and students learn about the Arctic Ocean. Read more about Sarah's original expedition in the PolarTREC Virtual Base Camp.

A report of the ARCUS 2022 Annual Meeting is now available for download. The report provides an overview of the meeting, a synthesis of discussions, links to shared resources, as well as a number of ideas and recommendations for future Arctic research community collaboration activities.

The February 2023 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available online. This issue includes three articles: USARC Releases Report on the Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research 2023–2024, highlighting the research goals and cross-cutting themes that will inform decision-makers and advance efforts outlined in the United States' Arctic policies, strategies, and plans; Caribou Migrations in a Changing Arctic, an overview from the National Park Service on how climate change impacts caribou migratory routes; and Celebrating 75 Years of Arctic Research in Utqiaġvik, Alaska, a summary of the five-day event focused on science and engineering in the North Slope region over the last 75 years and envisioning a framework for Arctic science, engineering, and education in the future.

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

ARCUS invites nominations for committee members to serve on the consortium’s Membership Committee charged with planning and supporting ARCUS member engagement activities, including planning and hosting the ARCUS Annual Meeting. Nominations are due by 15 February.

The January 2023 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available online. This issue includes two articles: New Observatory Supports Broader Understanding of Climate-Change and Infrastructure Impacts to Ice-Rich Permafrost Systems, highlighting research efforts at the new Natural Ice-Rich Permafrost Observatory near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska that seek to understand what has happened in areas of the oilfield that are mainly affected by climate change in the absence of infrastructure; and The 2022 Arctic Report Card, a summary of the annual view into the state of the Arctic highlighting an Arctic in transition.

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

We are hiring! ARCUS is seeking a full-time Accountant to join our team. This will be an Alaska-based position, primarily work-from home, with a generous benefits package. Application review has been extended to 24 February 2023.

In December 2022, ARCUS Member Representatives elected four individuals to the ARCUS Board of Directors. Congratulations to Heather Sauyaq Jean Gordon (Child Trends), Alexis Will (World Wildlife Fund), Cheryl Rosa (US Arctic Research Commission), and Victoria Herrmann (the Arctic Institute)! The newly elected cohort will serve three-year terms from 2022-2025. Dr. Rosa was re-elected to the Board, having completed her first term. Members of the Board of Directors are elected by designated representatives from ARCUS member institutions. ARCUS is grateful for the leadership, service, and varied perspectives they bring to Arctic research!

Join PolarTREC Tuesday, 24 January at 9:00 am Alaska time, for a live PolarConnect event with educator Bill Henske and the Dry Valleys Ecosystem Study team. Bill will be joined by members of "Team Wormherder" to discuss the research and fieldwork involved in the project, and what it's like to live and work in Antarctica. As part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research (MCM LTER) Program, Bill's presentation will focus on research being carried out in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. The Dry Valleys represent a region where life approaches its environmental limits. The overarching goal of this long-term research project is to document and understand how ecosystems respond to environmental changes.

You must register to attend this free event.

Join PolarTREC this Wednesday, 18 January at 9:00 am Alaska time, for a live PolarConnect event with educator Elaine Krebs and the IceCube and Askaryan Radio Array team. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory is located at the South Pole and records the interactions of a nearly massless sub-atomic messenger particle called the neutrino. IceCube searches for neutrinos from the most violent astrophysical sources: events like exploding stars, gamma ray bursts, and cataclysmic phenomena involving black holes and neutron stars. The observatory is a powerful tool to search for dark matter, and could reveal the new physical processes associated with the enigmatic origin of the highest energy particles in nature.

You must register to attend this free event.

As we wrap up the year, we invite you to learn more about ARCUS activities and achievements by exploring the 2022 ARCUS Annual Report. We are grateful for everyone in the ARCUS community and look forward to working with you in 2023!

On behalf of all of us here at the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S., Happy Holidays! As we near the end of the year, we want to thank everyone in our community for your work, collaboration, support, and friendship!

The December 2022 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available online. This issue includes three articles: International Arctic Coastal Networks Connecting in Connecticut, a brief report on the retreat focused on climate and land use change issues impacting Arctic coasts and communities; IARPC Releases Arctic Research Biennial Implementation Plan 2022—2024, a summary of the new implementation plan deliverables centered around supporting research, creating products, and coordinating information sharing; and Permafrost Pathways Project: Advancing Just Strategies to Address Arctic Warming, an overview of the project efforts to inform and develop adaptation and mitigation strategies to address the hazards of permafrost thaw.

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

The 2022 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 discussions of the 2022 observed Arctic sea-ice, atmospheric, and ocean heat conditions during the sea-ice retreat season; a review of the 2022 contributed forecasts for the pan-Arctic sea-ice extent and extent anomalies, pan-Arctic sea-ice probability, and sea-ice extent forecasts for Alaska regional seas and the Antarctic; a summary from the 2022 Sea Ice Drift Forecast Experiment (SIDFEx); and brief discussion of next steps for the SIO and SIPN project.

Antarctica Day is an international holiday recognizing the anniversary of the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959. It is celebrated on December 1st each year. Along with Midwinter Day, it is one of Antarctica's two principal holidays. Celebrate Antarctica Day with PolarTREC! Join PolarTREC for a live event from the Dry Valleys of Antarctica with PolarTREC teacher Lucy Coleman. The presentation will focus on the history of the Antarctica Treaty and how it relates to science conducted in Antarctica, in particular with the project Lucy is part of Microbial Interactions in Antarctic Lakes.

This event is free to attend but registration is required.

The November 2022 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available online. This issue includes three articles: “Decadal Review of the Long-Term Ecological Research Program,” an excerpt from the LTER Network Response to the Fourth Decadal Review Committee Report; "The Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies—Newest Regional Center of the US Department of Defense," an overview the Center's mission-related programs and activities; and "ARCUS 2022 Annual Meeting and Institutional Member Updates," a brief summary of meeting activities and links to member updates.

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

ARCUS will host two free meeting rooms at the Hilton at McCormick Place (123 E Cermak Road, Chicago, Illinois 60616) for groups planning to connect around Arctic research, science, and education during the AGU Fall Meeting. Rooms will include complementary use of AV equipment, screen projection capabilities, and wifi to support virtual participation. The rooms can accommodate groups of up to 50 people (seated) and may be reserved for 2-hour time blocks. The space is a resource for all Arctic research community members and you do not need to be an ARCUS Member to make a reservation.

ARCUS announces a call for nominations for our December 2022 Board of Directors election! We seek nominations of candidates with enthusiasm and time to dedicate to ARCUS, who are willing and able to help ARCUS fulfill its mission. Terms will be three years and begin in January 2023. Nominees are welcome from any career level and type of organization and we strive to embody our value of “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging” in our Board. The nomination submission deadline is Wednesday, 30 November 2022, 12:00 p.m. AKT.

PolarTREC alumna Lucy Coleman has recently returned to Antarctica as part of a research team led by Dr. Rachel Morgan-Kiss and funded by Miami University in Ohio. This is a continuation of Lucy's research experience that started with PolarTREC in 2014. Lucy and the team are researching Microbial Interactions in Antarctic Lakes. While in the field, the team will be sampling at multiple locations in Lake Fryxell and Lake Bonney within the McMurdo Dry Valley region of Antarctica. The samples being collected will be used to analyze the influence of environmental gradients (light, nutrients, oxygen, sulfur) and seasons on microbial communities. Lucy and the team are scheduled to be in Antarctica until mid-December.

Read about Lucy’s earlier PolarTREC experience in 2014 and follow along on her current expedition.

ARCUS invites registration for the next Arctic Research Seminar featuring Sarah Laske, a fish biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center. Sarah’s presentation, titled “Arctic Freshwater Biodiversity: Environmental Drivers of Fish Diversity and Composition,” will be held via Zoom on Thursday, 10 November 2022 at 9:00 a.m. AKST (1:00 p.m. EST). Registration is required for this event.

The October 2022 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available online. This issue includes two articles: SALVO: Monitoring Arctic Snowmelt and Changes in Albedo in Alaska, a brief report on a 2022 field campaign to monitor snowmelt patterns and albedo trajectories on two tundra and two sea-ice sites; and Tribal Climate Adaptation Guidebook Now Provides Online Resources, an overview of the comprehensive framework to support Indigenous communities in their efforts to prepare for climate change.

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

ARCUS and IARPC will be co-hosting an Arctic research funders networking event on Monday, 7 November from 9-10:30am AK/10-11:30am PT/11-12:30pm MT/12-1:30pm CT/1-2:30pm ET. This event provides an informal opportunity for Arctic researchers to connect with multiple funding organizations to gain insight into their Arctic research interests and funding opportunities. The event uses a speed networking format that allows small groups of researchers to rotate between multiple funders. Researchers will have the opportunity to meet with approximately 5-6 funding organizations over the course of the event.

The September 2022 issue of Witness Community Highlights is now available online. This issue includes three articles: Arctic Observing Summit 2022: A Call to Action, a summary of recommendations from the summit; Infrastructure and Permafrost Degradation in Point Lay, Alaska, an overview a multi-disciplinary team’s study of the effects of thawing permafrost on village infrastructure; and ARCUS Member Profile of Gaurav Madan, Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Oslo.

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

Three Arctic Indigenous Scholars—Naidene Baechler, Kimberly Kivvaq Pikok, and Richard Slats—will spend the week of 26–30 September meeting with a variety of policy- and decision-makers engaged in Arctic issues, including NSF, NOAA, EPA, US Department of Education, Bureau of Indian Education, and Senators Sullivan and Murkowski. The Arctic Indigenous Scholars Program is led by ARCUS and the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC) Alaska, and supported by the National Science Foundation's Division of Arctic Sciences and the Smithsonian Institution Arctic Studies Center.

The 2022 September Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) Report is now available online. The Sea Ice Outlook, managed by the Sea Ice Prediction Network–Phase 2 (SIPN2) Project Team, provides an open process for those interested in Arctic sea ice to share predictions and ideas. The monthly reports contain a variety of perspectives—from advanced numerical models to qualitative perspectives from citizen scientists. The Outlook is not an operational forecast.

For the 2022 September SIO Report, 22 contributions were received that included pan-Arctic predictions. Of those contributions, seven included predictions for the Alaska region, seven included predictions for pan-Antarctic, and 10 submitted September mean sea-ice extent anomalies. This report includes discussions of the contributed forecasts for the pan-Arctic, Alaska region, and pan-Antarctic; Arctic sea-ice extent anomalies; predictions from spatial fields; and current conditions.

The median September Outlook value for September 2022 pan-Arctic sea-ice extent is 4.90 million square kilometers, which is higher than that from August (4.83 million square kilometers), July (4.64 million square kilometers), and June (4.57 million square kilometers).

For questions, please contact Betsy Turner-Bogren, ARCUS (betsy [at] arcus.org).

ARCUS invites registration for the next Arctic Research Seminar featuring Charlie Paull, Senior Scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). Charlie’s presentation, titled “Decomposing Submarine Permafrost in the Canadian Beaufort Sea,” will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, 5 October 2022 at 9:00 a.m. AKDT (1:00 p.m. EDT). Registration is required for this event.