Polar and Alpine Community News

The Sea Ice Prediction Network–Phase 2 (SIPN2) Project Team announces the Call for Contributions for the 2021 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) August Report (based on May, June, and July data).

Submission Deadline: 6:00 p.m. (AKDT) Friday, 13 August 2021 (Firm)

Detailed Guidelines for Contributions

The Franco-German Research School “Perceiving Arctic Change – Climate, Society and Sustainability (PACCSS)" funded by the Franco-German University Saarbrücken, offers 12 open places for outstanding young scientists (Ph.Ds) in the topical field of Arctic studies, starting in October 2021.

The Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research Bremerhaven,Germany, and the UVSQ / Université Paris Saclay, France, provide a joined and unique research environment, bridging the gap between traditional disciplines. PACCSS combines natural science, humanities and anthropology in order to understand and decipher the complex Arctic environment under change and pressure, both for indigenous people, the ecosystem as well as the climate system as key region for global climate change.

We would like to draw your attention to a new surface velocity data set from Sentinel-1 radar imagery for glaciers and ice caps outside the large ice sheets. We have processed the Sentinel-1 archive since 2014 and routinely process upcoming new data using the same intensity offset tracking algorithm and post-processing. The data is provided free of charge for non-commercial usage to registered users via a web interface with spatial query function (http://retreat.geographie.uni-erlangen.de).

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected Dr. Roberta Marinelli to serve as director of the Office of Polar Programs, overseeing Arctic and Antarctic research and operational support for polar facilities.

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The Sea Ice Prediction Network–Phase 2 (SIPN2) announces the release of the 2021 July Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) report. The Sea Ice Outlook, managed by the 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 2021 July report, 41 contributions were received that included pan-Arctic predictions. Of those contributions, eight also included predictions for pan-Antarctic, eight included predictions for the Alaska Region, and 14 submitted September mean sea-ice extent anomalies.

If you are interested in the impacts of climate change on high-latitude marine ecosystems, this is your opportunity to help shape the future of the Ecosystem Studies of the Subarctic and Arctic Seas (ESSAS) program.

ESSAS is a regional program under the Integrated Marine Biosphere Research (IMBeR) project and is inviting nominations for an Early Career Scientist (within 6 years of PhD completion, excluding any periods of leave) to join its Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) for a three-year renewable term. The SSC is responsible for the development, planning and implementation of science with the goal to "compare, quantify and predict the impact of climate variability on the productivity and sustainability of Subarctic and Arctic marine ecosystems".

28th Annual West Antarctic Ice Sheet Workshop
September 20-23, 2021
The Algonkian (in-person) and Zoom (virtual)
Sterling, Virginia, U.S.A.

Abstract submission for the hybrid 2021 WAIS Workshop is due July 30. Sessions will include:

• Piecing the puzzle together: Multi-disciplinary, integrative science in West Antarctica
• Beyond MISI: Novel insights into Antarctic ice sheet processes
• Marine ice sheet sensitivity in the Earth system
• Greetings from the future: Innovations in observing and modeling techniques
• WAIS in the community: Civic engagement & co-production of deliverables

The NSF Office of Polar Programs (OPP) has released its inaugural newsletter.

Each quarterly OPP Newsletter will highlight research from around the polar community, share funding opportunities and program updates, and inform the polar community of the latest happenings from around OPP and the National Science Foundation. Stay in the know by subscribing today at https://bit.ly/3gHqVhk.