News Archive

The inaugural seminar of the ARCUS Arctic Research Seminar Series will be held Friday, 15 January 2016. The seminar is entitled 'Sea Level and Polar Warming: How Past Climate Change Informs Us about Ongoing Sea Level Rise' and the speaker is Dr. Julie Brigham-Grette (Professor at the University of Massachusetts and Chair of the Polar Research Board).

Seminar Abstract: Scientists now have a better understanding of how vulnerable ice sheets and glaciers are to small amounts of polar warming. Ongoing sea level rise due to the loss of ice mass into the sea is and will impact coastlines profoundly but to different degrees -- i.e., the oceans are not a simple bathtub subject to uniform sea level rise. Adaptation may require a range of actions.

This event is a brown-bag lunch that will be held in the ARCUS D.C. office (1201 New York Avenue, NW Washington D.C. Fourth Floor). A live webinar is also available to those unable to attend in person.

Learn more about the SEARCH's ongoing effort to coordinate a sustained Arctic observing system in this news article from The Arctic Sounder.

The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) has published the 2015 Sea Ice Outlook post-season report! Developed by the 2015 Sea Ice Outlook Action Team, the SIPN Leadership team, and with input from community members, it includes a review of the Arctic summer conditions, a pan-Arctic overview, a summary of local-scale analysis, discussion of the modeling and statistical contributions, and a summary of lessons learned from the 2015 Sea Ice Outlook as well as recommendations for the 2016 Sea Ice Outlook. Further suggestions from the community are welcome.

The 2015 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) Action Team invites community comment on its draft post-season report. This draft includes the main post-season analysis and discussion points, although some parts are still under development and editing. The SIO Action Team aims to have a final draft ready to share with the larger community during the 2015 American Geophysical Union Fall Meetings in San Francisco 14-19 December. Comments on the analysis and discussion sections, as well as suggestions on how to help improve sea-ice forecasts, are welcome.

Please send comments to Betsy Turner-Bogren (betsy [at] arcus.org) no later than Friday, 11 December 2015.

This one hour PolarConnect webinar archive celebrated Antarctica Day 2015 with PolarTREC teacher Michelle Brown and the Human Impacts in Antarctica 2015 expedition. Michelle and her team presented from McMurdo Station, sharing their research project with the webinar audience. The archive offers slides, audio, and video of the presentation. You can access the webinar content through the PolarConnect Archive.

The ARCUS PolarConnect special event celebrated Antarctica Day - 1 December. Antarctica Day honors the international treaty stating that the continent is set aside for peaceful scientific purposes. Over 2,000 students were registered for the event, tuning in from classrooms around the world! You can connect to the polar regions with future PolarConnect events by checking the PolarTREC website or joining the ARCUS Polar Education Email List: https://www.polartrec.com/education-list

SIPN will hold an open workshop to discuss data needs for sea ice forecasting on Thursday, 17 December 2015 from 12:30-1:30 pm during the 2015 AGU Fall Meetings.

This workshop will focus on how SIPN and others who provide data observations can best serve the needs of the forecasting community. The goal of the workshop is to help identify data needs for model initialization and verification, which available data products are particularly useful, what improvements to existing data products would make for better utilizations, what additional observations are needed, and how limited spatial scale data from ship observations etc. are being used.

The workshop will be held at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis on the 2nd floor in Foothill Room E. Lunch will be provided for meeting participants who RSVP to Betsy (betsy [at] arcus.org) by Monday, 7 December 2015.

The Fall 2015 issue of Witness the Arctic is now published online. This issue includes an ARCUS Member Highlight of the Arctic Centre in Rovaniemi, Finland; news of recent SEARCH activities and comments from the program's Executive Director; project reports from NSF-funded research in Arctic natural science and data management; several reports from interagency and international projects investigating a range of impacts on the Arctic from climate change; updates from USARC, the Polar Research Board, and the ASSW 2016 planning committee; and a newcomer's guide to the complexities of the Arctic research community from ARCUS Executive Director, Robert Rich.

The SIPN project leadership team announces a call for self-nominations to join a 2015 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO)-focused Action Team. This Action Team is being formed to guide post-season activities for the 2015 SIO and will be comprised of six to eight members of the sea ice prediction and stakeholder communities, including a representative from the SIPN leadership team. Self-nominations, including a brief summary of the expertise and perspective you could contribute to this Action Team should be sent to Betsy Turner-Bogren (betsy [at] arcus.org) by Tuesday, 13 October.

Reminder: The deadline for abstract submission and applications for early career travel awards is Friday, 9 October. The Arctic Observing Open Science Meeting will be held 17-19 November 2015 in Seattle, Washington. The open meeting will provide an opportunity to present and discuss scientific findings and advances resulting from Arctic observing projects funded by federal, state, and local agencies, and private and non-profit organizations.

Registration is now available for a Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) webinar, entitled "The 2015 Sea Ice Outlook Post-Season Discussion" The presentation will provide an overview of the 2015 summer sea-ice conditions, a review and analysis of outlooks contributed from 2008 to 2015, discussion of the challenges and successes of predictions at the local scale, and opportunity for community comment and discussion. It is scheduled for Tuesday, 6 October 2015 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. AKDT. For questions, please contact Betsy Turner-Bogren at ARCUS (betsy [at] arcus.org).

The Science Steering Committee (SSC) of the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) program announced today the selection of Caspar Ammann, PhD to serve as the new SEARCH SSC Chair. Dr. Ammann will assume the duties of his new role in November 2015.

As the SEARCH SSC Chair, Dr. Ammann will lead the Science Steering Committee’s efforts to ensure the program is achieving its vision, mission and long-term science goals by providing oversight and guidance to the SEARCH Project Office and Action Teams.

As part of the IARPC Terestrial Ecosystems Colloboration Team (TECT) meeting on 18 September 2015, Ted Schuur presented on the permafrost carbon synthesis work being done by the Permafrost Carbon Network and the SEARCH Permafrost Action Team.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) posted a preliminary announcement on 15 September that Arctic sea ice reached its likely minimum extent for 2015 of 4.41 million square kilometers on 11 September. This is the fourth lowest minimum in the satellite record. NSIDC scientists will release a full analysis of the Arctic melt season in early October. Further information is available on the NSIDC's Arctic Sea Ice News and Analysis web page: http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/.

As a reminder, this NSIDC announcement is for the daily minimum extent, while the Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) uses the September average.

ARCUS is currently accepting applications for an Executive/Program Assistant. This position will perform a wide range of complex and confidential administrative and executive support duties including support to ARCUS staff in logistical planning of meetings. Application review will begin 10 September 2015 but the position will remain open until filled.

Follow us on twitter @ArcticResearch, hashtag #GLACIER, for updates on the Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, Innovation, Engagement and Resilience (GLACIER) Conference in Anchorage on 31 August 2015.

Dr. Eicken joined the international array of foreign ministers and high-level leaders attending the U.S. State Department's conference on Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, Innovation, Engagement and Resilience (GLACIER) in Anchorage, AK on Aug 30-31 to discuss Arctic science priorities for an Arctic Observing Network.

Presentation Video:

Sea Ice Action Team Co-Chair, Jennifer Francis, will be the plenary speaker for the Implications of a Changing Arctic on Water Resources and Agriculture in the Central U.S. workshop taking place at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's School of Natural Resources on November 10, 2015 from 7-9pm.

The goal of the workshop is to build public awareness on the importance of the Arctic and the implications of changes in this region for the central U.S. The workshop is sponsored by NOAA's National Integrated Drought Information System, USDA's Office of the Chief Economist and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's School of Natural Resources.

The Science Steering Committee (SSC) of the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) program has announced the selection of Brendan Kelly, PhD as its new Executive Director. Dr. Kelly will assume the duties of his new role on 21 September 2015.

As SEARCH Executive Director, Dr. Kelly will work with the SEARCH SSC to provide leadership and strategic direction to the SEARCH program and to forge strong cooperative relationships between academia, agencies, and stakeholders.

The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces the release of the 2015 August Sea Ice Outlook (SIO). There were 38 (including one regional only) contributions—again a new record for the total number of submissions. Contributions were based on a range of methods: statistical, dynamical models, estimates based on trends, and subjective information. The median August Outlook for September 2015 Arctic sea ice extent is 4.8 million square kilometers (km2), 200,000 km2 lower than the June and July medians. This is the last monthly SIO report for the 2015 season. Post-season activities will provide an analysis of the different Outlook methodologist as well as a general review of sea ice dynamics over the summer. For more information, contact Betsy Turner-Bogren (betsy [at] arcus.org).

Registration and abstract submission is now open for the Arctic Observing Open Science Meeting. The meeting will be held 17-19 November 2015 in Seattle, Washington. The open meeting will provide an opportunity to present and discuss scientific findings and advances resulting from Arctic observing projects funded by federal, state, and local agencies, and private and non-profit organizations.

SEARCH Action Team Leader, Fiamma Straneo, was a guest this month on NPR's Science Friday news program. Listen to Fiamma discuss the important role Greenland's glaciers play in the changing Arctic with program host Ira Flatow here (Fiamma joins the program at 14:18).

The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces a call for Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) contributions to the August report (based on May, June, and July data). The SIO provides an open process for those interested in Arctic sea ice to share predictions and ideas about the monthly September minimum sea ice extent. Join a growing network of sea ice experts and contribute a pan-Arctic, regional, or informal Outlook. Submission deadline: Monday, 10 August 2015.

The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces the release of the July Arctic Sea Ice Outlook. We received 35 contributions, surpassing last month’s record number of submissions! The submissions use a range of methods including statistical, numerical models, trend-based estimates, and subjective information. The median Outlook value for September 2015 sea ice extent is 5.0 million square kilometers (km²), which is the same as June’s prediction. The overall range is 3.3 to 5.7 million km² (with the exception of one 0.98 km² outlying estimate). This month’s report also includes a discussion about the 11 dynamical model contributions as well as sections on regional predictions and the current conditions of the sea ice.

PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) is currently accepting applications. Researchers are invited to submit an application for expeditions during the 2016 (usually Arctic) or 2016-2017 (usually Antarctic) field seasons.

The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces plans to convene a Sea Ice Prediction Workshop tentatively scheduled for 4-6 May 2016 at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University. This workshop will focus on sea ice prediction on sub-seasonal to inter-annual timescales. Organizers welcome participants with interests in research and operational forecasting. Forecast users are especially encouraged to attend. Outcomes of the meeting will include recommendations for the Sea Ice Outlook and other activities related to sea ice prediction. More specific meeting goals will be available closer to the event. To stay informed about this meeting, please subscribe to the SIPN mailing list. For questions, contact Betsy Turner-Bogren (betsy [at] arcus.org).