Polar and Alpine Community News

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has established Agency-wide policies and requirements to help ensure research environments are free from sexual assault, sexual harassment, and other forms of harassment. At the same time, NSF realizes that the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) is a unique research environment, with participants from a wide variety of institutions and backgrounds. With the recognition that more work is needed to develop a robust Sexual Assault/Harassment Prevention and Response (SAHPR) program to support the entire deployed community, regardless of affiliation, NSF is launching an extensive outreach effort consisting of an online survey and a series of focus groups to gather feedback that will guide efforts going forward.

We are pleased to inform you that the GEM-GeoNorth program has launched a call for proposals for grants and contribution.

Over the next six years, the program is looking to support innovative proposals to help develop long-term capacity building to facilitate use of GEM-GeoNorth data and knowledge for land use decision-making needs in the North. The GEM-GeoNorth Program is currently seeking proposals for multidisciplinary projects to be completed with 18 months after official approval (expect period covered from November 2021 to March 31st, 2023).

For more information, please consult this webpage.

The cryosphere is strongly represented in the Earth Project’s COP26 photography countdown: COP 26 Gallery 2 - THE EARTH PROJECT

Stunning images from South Georgia, Svalbard, the Swiss Alps and the Himalayas feature amongst the 26 images in Gallery 2. Enjoy the stunning photos and stories, and vote for your favourites to help give nature a voice at COP26.

Please circulate widely – incl children, school classes and other young people who would surely relish a chance to have their say!

Organizers invite abstracts for the Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP) Final Summit. This conference will take place 1-4 May 2022 in Montreal, Canada.

The YOPP Final Summit is the apex of the decade-long Polar Prediction Project (PPP) initiated by the World Meteorological Organization’s World Weather Research Programme in 2013. The conference aims to review progress, share key findings and success stories, and discuss and shape the legacy of the Polar Prediction Project. The summit will bring together polar science experts from operational prediction centers, academia and research institutes, government, and corporate representatives as well as northern communities and users of polar prediction services.

The IASC Medal is awarded in recognition of exceptional and sustained contributions to the understanding of the Arctic. A maximum of one award is made each year, assuming that there is a nominee of appropriate quality.

The whole IASC community, from all countries and career stages, is encouraged to submit a nomination to the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., demonstrating the nominee’s excellence (see evaluation criteria) and sustained contribution to the understanding of the Arctic. Visit the website for more information.

The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) invites applications for two IARPC Leadership Fellowships for Indigenous Peoples. These part-time, fixed-term position will work remotely.

This position has an expected 10 hour/month commitment. Fellowships are for one year with the option to extend pending funding.

You can now play the Greenland world via www.iceflowsgame.com or download the app via the App Store & Google Play Store.  There is also information & videos on the science behind the game on the website.

Ice Flows puts you in charge of climate, and tasks you to get your ice sheet to be the appropriate size, in order to get your game character to its dinner.

SCAR Action Group RINGS will organize a 4-day workshop from 9-12 March, 2022. The primary goal of this workshop is to generate synergies and international cooperation to develop more accurate and complete reference bed topography data for robust assessments of ice discharge from all around Antarctica. The secondary goal is to discuss relevant science plans for the ice sheet’s marginal zone.

We welcome both Action Group members and non-members from multiple disciplines related to RINGS. We uphold SCAR’s values of diversity and inclusion and strongly encourage Early Career Researchers to attend the workshop. Full information about this workshop is available here.

The Northern (Arctic) Federal University (NArFU), in cooperation with the UArctic Thematic Network on Model Arctic Council, will host a Model Arctic Council (MAC) from March 20 to 26, 2022 in Arkhangelsk, Russia for university students interested in Arctic and circumpolar affairs; Indigenous issues; international relations; and diplomacy.

Applications are due by Friday, November 5, 2021.

Please find the call for participation here.