Polar and Alpine Community News

The University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMFK) is pleased to announce the creation of a new Arctic Studies Minor within the Arts & Sciences degree programs.

“We are excited to offer this new academic minor in Arctic Studies for students in Maine and beyond that connects with the University of Maine Arctic Initiative," said Dr. Kaisa Holloway Cripps, assistant professor of business at UMFK. "The environment, security, and economic stability of the Arctic is a strategic imperative for both the globe and the state of Maine,” added Dr. Michael Curran, assistant professor of business at UMFK.

IARPC Collaborations brings together individuals from a variety of disciplines, knowledge systems, career paths, and career stages around the shared goal of improving collaboration in Arctic science and research. The IARPC Collaborations Mentorship Program draws on this community to provide mentoring opportunities from a variety of career stages and paths within the Arctic research community. It brings together small groups of researchers and other professionals to discuss career opportunities and issues, learn from and support one another, and grow together.

We invite you to apply to participate in the ICESat-2 Hackweek, March 21-25, 2022, hosted with the opportunity to attend either virtually or in person by the University of Washington's eScience Institute in partnership with the NASA ICESat-2 community. Visit our website for details on how to apply.

Permafrost scientists and engineers!

Are you interested in learning more about each other’s disciplines? Then follow up and rewatch our PYRN Short course on Youtube. This 5 week course was filled with lecture content followed by questions from the audience, and during the last week, all of our panelists joined together to have an interactive discussion on how permafrost scientists and engineers can work together, and identify a strong path forward.

The Antarctic Tourism Action Group (Ant-TAG) was approved at the SC-HASS Business Meeting in November 2021. Ant-TAG provides an umbrella under which researchers and practitioners can make new connections, become aware of other existing projects, and pool existing expertise in order to make the most accurate and up-to-date recommendations relating to the practice of tourism in the region.

The group is planning a number of activities organised into six sub-groups and invites input from the SCAR community.

SCAR, the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) and the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) marked Antarctica Day (1 December) by announcing the recipients of this year's Antarctic Fellowships.

The American Quaternary Association (AmQua) has just released its call for award nominations, including new early- and mid-career awards. Please share this information with your networks and consider applying and submitting nominations. AmQua seeks a broad and diverse pool of nominees. For more information, reach out to the Awards Committee Chair, or Colin Long (AmQua Secretary, to whom applications should be submitted). Deadline March 1. For details see the AmQua website.

Understanding the causes and consequences of current Arctic change is an urgent and immense task for humankind. The AGORA initiative represents a common ground to bring together Arctic scientists, indigenous researchers, and community stakeholders together as a collective to discuss the core problems faced by the Arctic in the 21st Century. This workshop will focus on how these issues may be better understood by providing a firm historical context that extends beyond our currently limited instrumental monitoring.

The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) Collaborations invites participation in their Mentorship Program for the 2022 session. The IARPC Collaborations Mentorship Program will run from February through October 2022, with an optional break in August.

The Program will kick off at a 90-minute launch meeting on 4 February 2022 at 9:00 a.m. AKST/1:00 p.m. EST. After that, mentorship groups will meet at least monthly. There will be two additional all-cohort webinars in May and October 2022.