Polar and Alpine Community News

The MEaSUREs Greenland Ice Velocity: Selected Glacier Site Velocity Maps from InSAR, Version 3 data set, accessible from the NASA National Snow and Ice Data Center Distributed Active Archive Center (NSIDC DAAC), has been updated to a new version. This data set is part of the NASA Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) program. It provides velocity estimates determined from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data for major glacier outlet areas in Greenland. The maps are produced from image pairs measured by the German Aerospace Center’s (DLR) twin satellites TerraSAR-X / TanDEM-X (TSX / TDX).

Université Laval's Sentinel North program announces the opening of the Sentinel North excellence scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships competition, from September 1 to October 10, 2020. 

These scholarships and fellowships aim to encourage the best candidates to undertake or pursue research activities within the Sentinel North research program in a transdisciplinary environment. 

I am reaching out to the cryosphere/glaciology community to ask for some assistance. My name is Will Harcourt and I am a PhD student at the University of St Andrews where I am developing new techniques to monitor glaciers from satellites and the ground. I am working on a very exciting outreach project, in collaboration with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS), to create a piece a music that encapsulates my research and the wider discipline. The aim of this project is to combine the artistic excellence of musicians and the knowledge of scientific researchers to bring the world of science to new audiences. The final piece will be presented at the Scottish edition of the Explorathon 2020 event (https://www.explorathon.co.uk/) due to be held in St Andrews, but will of course now be mostly virtual. Explorathon is a part of the European Researchers’ night (and day) which celebrates research through public outreach.

The 2020 August Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) Report is now available online. The SIO, a product of the Sea Ice Prediction Network–Phase 2 (SIPN2), 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.

The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) is performing several consultations as part of its new WCRP implementation plan, and the input from its core projects is essential; as CliC, the Climate & Cryosphere Project we have been requested to provide nominees to be part of the Regional Consultations.

The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) is performing several consultations as part of its new WCRP implementation plan, and the input from its core projects is essential; as CliC, the Climate & Cryosphere Project, we have been requested to provide nominees to be part of the task teams that will develop the proposed Lighthouse Activities (LHA) science plans. LHA are intended to be:
--Major experiments, high-visibility projects, infrastructure building blocks
--Activities that truly bring together the capabilities (scientific, technical, infrastructure) from across the whole of WCRP and with partners.

Below is an exciting opportunity for early career researchers with expertise in Ocean science and interest in Arctic region to join the international team developing the Arctic Action Plan of the United Nation’s Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (UNDOS) 2021 – 2030.

The WAPSA Regional Working Group of the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) is inviting nominations for new members of its Leadership Group. The Leadership Group supports the Group Co-Chairs in driving the activities and strategic oversight of the working group, including working towards the objectives of the Working Group, identifying opportunities for further collaborations and funding, and representing the Working Group at national and international meetings.

We would like to remind you of the call for papers for a Seismological Research Letters Focus Section dedicated to Arctic and Antarctic Seismology. The Focus Section will be published on the July 2021 issue, while the deadline to submit your manuscript is 1st December 2020. Please visit the journal website for a detailed scope and feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Kind regards and stay safe, Myrto Pirli & Peter Voss (Guest Editors)

The Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, opens the International laboratory of Integrated studies and sustainability of the Arctic. Students, postgrads and post docs are invited on a full-term basis to participate in the project on ecosystem services in permafrost zone, and Arctic social-ecological systems in 2021-23. All of those interested in working In Moscow on the forefront of complex humanitarian and physical sciences project are invited to send short CV and 10 sentences motivation letter to Dr. Gleb Kraev This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before Wednesday 26 August. Working knowledge of Russian is essential.