*Check back soon - this list will be updated to the 2022-2023 Project Groups before the end of November*
1. Full-Year Project Groups
-
Alpine Cryosphere
Project Group Leads: Jolanta Rieksta and Rajeev Rajak
Project Group Members: Alba Puigdefabregas Sieso, Ben Louter, Carla Tapia Baldis, Dhanendra Singh, Florian Vidal, Kelly Huh, Marlen Kolbe, Niccolò Dematteis, Srilakshmi Chidambaram, Tom Webb, Vanya Pandey, Deniz Vural (ExCom Contact) and Marta Moreno Ibáñez (ExCom Contact)
An increasing number of APECS members work in the mid-latitude and high-altitude environments: The Alpine Cryosphere. This project group was therefore created to improve APECS’ resources for non-polar researchers, e.g. in 2021 the first Alpine Cryosphere Newsletter was published! In recent years the Project Group celebrated the International Mountain Day on 11 December with graphical abstracts and photo entries in 2019 and 2020. New ideas for partnerships, webinars or other resources are welcome!
-
APECS Arts
Project Group Leads: Kirsi Keskitalo and Anastasia Deyko
Project Group Members: Aman Kedir Kamsare, Andreas Hoffmann, Brian Schatteman, Ekaterina Sharova, James Haselman, Jill Diedrich, Julie Lattaud, Kelsey Aho, Lin Pei Han, Marte Hofsteenge, Nuno Pereira, Todd Anderson, Deniz Vural (ExCom Contact) and Gwenaëlle Gremion (ExCom Contact)
The APECS Art project group is promoting links between art and science and is looking for ways to raise the profile of interesting collaborative and inspiring Art-Science projects, as well as developing a networking framework to bring artists and polar researchers together. Projects and exhibitions were for example showcased in a Polar Art Blog or during the celebration of Polar Week in March. Any new initiatives, ideas and potentials for collaborations are welcome!
-
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Polar Research
Project Group Leads: Lauren Thompson and Stephanie Wright
Project Group Members: Akin Kuye, Alexander Thornton, Aman Kedir Kamsare, Élise Devoie, Inge Deschepper, Mariama Dryak, Meghan Helmberger, Nicolas Champollion, Rey Mourot, Seyed Ziaeddin (Zia) MADANI, Marta Moreno Ibáñez (ExCom Contact) and Mathieu Casado (ExCom Contact)
This project group is an umbrella group that facilitates discussion and action related to diversity, inclusion, and equity in polar research. It is guided by the broad aim of supporting APECS members to thrive in their professional endeavors regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religion, race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, economic class, disability, physical appearance, age, or career status. This project group cannot address all aspects of these broad and challenging topics. However, many of the challenges polar ECRs face in their careers – including widespread and high-profile issues like harassment, assault, and implicit bias – are interconnected and affect a range of individuals and groups. Therefore, this project group takes the form of an umbrella group that supports its members to lead activities related to the specific issues about which members are most concerned or passionate. Activities may focus on a single/narrow issue or on broad/overlapping issues: e.g., activities on international approaches to promoting inclusive field cultures, broadly; on combating harassment, specifically; or on combating sexual harassment in the field, more specifically. The goals of the group are to: (a) Facilitate international, interdisciplinary dialogue around diversity, inclusion, and equity in polar research; (b) Provide necessary and often hard-to-find resources for APECS members facing identity-related challenges, as well as bystanders, allies, and leaders in our communities, see collection of DEI resources here; (c) Help ensure that the values of diversity, inclusion, and equity remain embedded in APECS and related communities now and in the future.
-
T-MOSAiC Vlogs
Project Group Leads: Sergio Raez Villanueva and tbd
Project Group Members: Brian Schatteman, Lauren Negrazis, Deniz Vural (ExCom Contact) and Susana Hancock (ExCom Contact)
The public is increasingly aware of the Arctic and its relevance to climate and ecosystems, from local to global scales. While there is broad awareness of Arctic science, few people have experienced Arctic environments and scientific research, despite the interconnectedness that technology offers. Bringing the public on a journey into Arctic field research will foster a deeper appreciation for northern environments and science. Moreover, broader light in the community of Arctic researchers should be shed on current and proposed activities within T-MOSAiC project which is aimed to connect studies taking place throughout the Arctic and across disciplines in order to generate new insights into northern geosystems, ecosystems and human systems. See a map of T-MOSAiC Vlogs here. The objective is to coordinate a series of vlogs by Arctic researchers, exploring their fieldwork environment, science, and its relevance. The project was started collaborating with IASC through T-MOSAiC initiative to increase the awareness of Arctic ecosystems. Considering the APECS focus, which includes both Polar regions, as well as Alpine and Cryosphere, the project area extended to not only Polar regions, but also Alpine and Cryosphere-related places. Therefore, we highly encourage participants to share their works to help us inspire the general public with your valuable research!"
-
Indigenous Collaborations
Project Group Leads: Stanislav Ksenofontov and Suchithra Sundaram
Project Group Members: Alexander Thornton, Aman Kedir Kamsare, Blaine Mirasty, Daria Burnasheva, Élise Devoie, Emily Donnelly, Harmony Wayner, Ranjan Datta, Silja Zimmermann, Wasim Sajjad, Marta Moreno Ibáñez (ExCom Contact) and Susana Hancock (ExCom Contact)
This group is currently seeking to form partnerships with Indigenous organizations, Indigenous knowledge holders and Indigenous Early Career Scientists that could help to set the group's priorities. These partnerships would lay out mutual benefits of both APECS and our Indigenous partners. Within our activities, we invite Indigenous speakers to our monthly meetings, organize or co-organize webinars, and contribute to the APECS International Polar Weeks.
-
APECS Podcast (Polar Times)
Project Group Leads: Jack Buckingham and Damien Ringeisen
Project Group Members: Alexandra Zuhr, Femi Anna Thomas, Henrietta Hammant, Katharina Heinrich, Macall Hock, Maija Tulimaa, Mareike Bach, Silja Zimmermann, Swati Nagar, Zoe Nay, Marta Moreno Ibáñez (ExCom Contact) and Mathieu Casado (ExCom Contact)
This project is producing a podcast which takes the form of interviews, talking to anyone and everyone who lives and works in polar environments. The goal is to be informative and interesting but also entertaining - the episodes will appeal particularly to APECS members but should be enjoyable for everyone (from senior scientists to laymen) to listen to. Living and working in the polar world is exciting and adventurous but it can also be monotonous, lonely or logistically fraught. We would like to peel back the veil and reveal the polar world as people might not have seen it before. We would like to talk to literally everyone and anyone, from PhD students to institute directors to vessel captains to Indigenous peoples. The episodes could also be a platform to share APECS news or report from conferences, as well as celebrate events like International Polar Week. An effort is made to have not only English speaker episodes but a wider diversity of languages. The interviews are informal and just a chance to chat about the guest’s research or experiences (perhaps any fun fieldwork stories as well!).
Listen to the Podcast here! https://polartimes.podbean.com/
-
Remote Sensing Database
Project Group Leads: William Harcourt and Hiral Jain
Project Group Members: Adrien Wehrlé, Aikaterini Tavri, Akin Kuye, Arnab Paul, Ashishkumar Upadhyay, Azamat Tolipov, Danielle Hallé, Florian Vidal, Hugo Guímaro, Lauren Corlett, Liam Taylor, Michael Shahin, Monojit Saha, Neeraj Nilakanth Naik, Nuno Pereira, Prashant Pandit, Shanelle Dyer, Shridhar Jawak, Siddharth Shankar, Sophie Duveau, Vikram Goel, Wei Ji Leong, William Harcourt, William OHalloran, Deniz Vural (ExCom Contact) and Susana Hancock (ExCom Contact)
This project (now into its 2nd year) aims to build a resource that can be used by Early Career Researchers (ECRs) and the wider Polar community to help understand the availability of satellite remote sensing data sets. There are three key goals to the project: 1. To generate a central database and website that summarises the key specifications of past, present and future remote sensing instruments and how to access their data sets. 2. Review applications of satellite remote sensing in key areas of Polar science (e.g. glaciology, ecology and climate sciences) and incorporate them into the online resource. 3. To help improve the understanding of Remote Sensing instruments, their capabilities and limitations, and the suite of data sets available for Polar research. Anticipated Project Outputs: 1. An online database which contains the key specifications of satellite remote sensing instruments and their applications. 2. An accompanying website that summarises this information more succinctly. 3. A journal publication that will summarise the creation of this resource and help advertise it to the wider Polar community. A journal such as Earth System Science Data may be suitable for this purpose.
-
Mental Health Resources
Project Group Leads: Lina Madaj and Fizza Maryam
Project Group Members: Azizuddin Khan, Inge Deschepper, Lucy Howell, Macall Hock, Maria ScheelMaija Tulimaa, Maria Scheel, Gwenaëlle Gremion (ExCom Contact) and Mathieu Casado (ExCom Contact)
It is more and more clear that being an ECR in academia is stressful and challenging, especially with all the current uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this Project Group is to create and curate a database compiling information, online tests, tips, contacts, etc. from reputable sources on the issue of Mental Health and mental health issues in academia. APECS members and the entire community will be able to access this resource through the website, increasing the potential impact of this resource.
-
Science & Diplomacy
Project Group Leads: Nicholas Parlato and Chloe Scott
Project Group Members: Arundhati Wamorkar, Ashishkumar Upadhyay, Doğaç Baybars Işıler, Ebru Caymaz, Elena Adasheva, Elise Doumergue, Eva Horovcakova, Geetha Plackal, Inge Deschepper, Jeffrey Mar, Joana Fragão, Luiza Brodt, Marianna D'Amico, Quincy Faber, Seyed Ziaeddin (Zia) MADANI, Srilakshmi Chidambaram, Stefan Thiele, Suchithra Sundaram, Susana Hancock, Tayana Arakchaa, Thomas Williams, Trym Eiterjord, Wasim Sajjad, Deniz Vural (ExCom Contact) and Mathieu Casado (ExCom Contact)
Since the 1990’s, the Arctic has proven to be a robust space for open, diplomatic communication, unique multilateral governance structures, and strong international scientific cooperation. Through Arctic Council working groups, scientific observing networks, and critical research initiatives, a common commitment to science has served as the unifying force in Arctic relations and bears a substantial amount of the peacekeeping burden in the region, symbolically and materially. Much debate reigns on whether and how the “low politics” of science, cultural exchange, and environmental cooperation impact the “high politics” of great power competition, but what is clear is that social and natural scientists, as well as Indigenous people, are the best positioned actors to communicate humanitarian pan-Arctic values and thinking to policy-makers and representatives of national and regional governments. There is thus a need to highlight the diplomatic and cross-cultural work of scientists and Indigenous researchers, as well as empower early-career scientists to speak up for a sustainable and peaceful future. Successful multilateral collaboration between diverse actors will require that we foster an adaptive communicative culture and language to address an increasingly intersectional and interdisciplinary arena of action.
This project group was formed in 2020 and aims to create Arctic-specific science diplomacy and communication resources for early career-scientists interested in the policy-application of their own research and the broader conversation about peace and cooperation in the Arctic. A recent example of the Project Groups activity is a webinar on Science & Diplomacy in Greenland-US relations in May 2021. -
Mentorship Database
Project Group Leads: Meghan Helmberger and Wasim Sajjad
Project Group Members: Femi Anna Thomas, Seth Whiteaker, Stephanie Wright, Tom Stanton, Gwenaëlle Gremion (ExCom Contact) and Mathieu Casado (ExCom Contact)
The new project group aims to manage the mentorship database and start building a mentorship program using mentors that are on the list. These ideas are building off of previous work done and interest gathered from the existing list of mentors. This project group, if sustained throughout terms, would be responsible for maintaining the database every couple of years. Coupled with this, once established (in the first term), this project group would be responsible for connecting mentors/mentees each term. Individual tasks for project group members could be along the lines of: creating emails for mentee recruitment, developing text for the mentorship website hosted on the APECS website, creating a system for matching mentors and mentees (which could be updated every other term/or as needed), and/or creating collaborations with the DEI mentor subgroup.
-
Overcoming Language Barriers in Polar Research
Project Group Leads: Élise Devoie and Seyed Ziaeddin (Zia) MADANI
Project Group Members: Arundhati Wamorkar, Daria Burnasheva, Dilshan Kariyawasam, Elzbieta Mastej, Emma Riley, Meret Jucker, Skylar Leili Lipman, Stanislav Ksenofontov, Gwenaëlle Gremion (ExCom Contact) and Susana Hancock (ExCom Contact)
Objective: Create a platform for Indigenous early career researchers to develop scientific communication skills with the aim of overcoming barriers to publication, presentation and career development
This new group aims to establish a positive and safe learning environment where ECRs work together to develop and clearly communicate ideas. The first session of each term we will seek a mentor to give a seminar on effective practices for giving and receiving feedback. This group will be steered by the feedback from participants, and thus the objectives are flexible. Future work will aim to educate practitioners of western science about language barriers and how best to negotiate them inclusively. To begin, the objectives are:
1. Safe-space Science Socials: virtual meetings taking place approximately once every two weeks (depending on demand) where Indigenous ECRs are invited to come talk about their science, learn about others’ research projects, meet other Indigenous ECRs and practice science communication.
2. Peer Abstract Review: written abstracts can be sent in for ECR peer review.
3. Glossary of Cold Region Terms: a glossary of terms will be hosted on the APECS website, each term will be defined in simple language, and translated into as many Indigenous languages as possible with the help of ECR social participants.
If you are an ECR, a mentor, or have a passion for transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary science communication, please get in touch, we are excited to have you join us, shape our work, and are interested in your feedback and ideas!
This pilot project is aimed at Indigenous ECRs because they face a disproportionate number of barriers and are integral to the science benign studied on their lands, but in the future we hope to collaborate with the APECS Diversity Equity and Inclusion Project Group to identify and work to overcome barriers faced by any marginalized or under-represented group in polar science.
-
Communication of Climate Change impacts in the Arctic
Project Group Leads: Alexis Geels and Geetha Plackal
Project Group Members: Aikaterini Tavri, Anika Happe, Daniela Probst, Emelia Chamberlain, Eva Chamorro Garrido, Eva Horovcakova, Luisa Dunzweiler, Macall Hock, Maria Scheel, Ranjan Datta, Rebecca Duncan, Siobhan Johnson, Srilakshmi Chidambaram, Susana Hancock, Thomas Williams, Vivek Kumar, Zoe Nay, Gwenaëlle Gremion (ExCom Contact) and Marta Moreno Ibáñez (ExCom Contact)
In the wake of the latest IPCC report, the topic of climate change can be seen as very complicated and inaccessible, especially to the non-scientific population and likely to many scientists too. The goal of this project group would be to inform about the consequences of climate change on the Arctic and its environments and how it would impact other regions.
The first step would be the creation of a document/video/scheme/comic/... representing the climate-change threats on the Arctic and depicting the potential consequences of these changes to other regions. Of course, this should be understandable by all. The second step of this project would be to ensure the diffusion through relevant means to the targeted audience. As a way of diffusion, we can think of social media and press, but it can also be passed on to every local branch of APECS and they would arrange the relay to the relevant press.
As it is a cross-disciplinary project, not only scientists from different fields are encouraged to join the group, but also proficient communicators, designers and others. This is a first shot at devising a project that should be adapted according to the group and co-leader.
2. Temporary Project Groups
-
INTERACT - Guide on CO2 reduction in Arctic Science
Project Group Leads: Svenja Holste
Project Group Members: Deniz Vural, Ekaterina Uryupova, Femi Anna Thomas, Marta Moreno Ibáñez, Paul Rosenbaum, Rebecca Duncan, Sophie Duveau, Susana Hancock, Tatiana Burmenko, Vinod Kumar Nathan, Gwenaëlle Gremion (ExCom contact) and Mathieu Casado (ExCom Contact)
How to reduce CO2 in Arctic Science? - The Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2015) urges its parties to undertake ambitious efforts to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C, and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. A drastic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (net zero by 2050) is needed in order to avoid irreversible and dangerous changes to our climate and its adverse effects on ecosystems. This requires joint action from all parts of society. As polar (and alpine) researchers we are aware of this development. Some of us have even seen dramatic environmental change first hand. In addition, our scientific output contributes to a better understanding of climate change and serves as a basis for political action. But as everyone else, we have to think about reducing our own environmental impact, too. Especially for early career scientists, field trips provide many opportunities and experiences of a lifetime. However, while field work is necessary to collect and evaluate measurement data, it comes along with increased carbon footprint. In particular aviation (intercontinental flights) counts as a major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, and realistic alternatives for distant travels to remote areas are rare. Acknowledging the above, the research community must meet this dilemma and develop solutions. The goal of this project group is to work on the challenging question on how to reduce CO2 emissions in Arctic Science. More specifically we want to identify ways in which CO2 emissions from research travel to field sites can be reduced without compromising international cooperation. We strive for an open dialogue with as many ideas and perspectives as possible. We want to identify further CO2 emission intensive activities to draw a comprehensive picture and discuss ways to reduce the scientist’s environmental impact in the field. The formation of the project group is part of the EU Horizon2020-funded INTERACT III Project and aims at delivering a pocket guide on that topic in early 2022.
-
APECS International Mentorship Award 2022
Project Group Leads: Maciej Mańko and Olivia Noeline Fernando
Project Group Members: Azizuddin Khan, Monojit Saha, Muhammad Kamangar, Neeraj Nilakanth Naik, Paul Rosenbaum, Gwenaëlle Gremion (ExCom Contact) and Susana Hancock (ExCom Contact)
The APECS International Mentorship Award is designed to recognize the time and energy that mentors devote to Early Career Researchers each year, and their efforts to build a community of support. This Project Group will prepare the call, collect nominations for the APECS International Mentorship Award 2022, organize the evaluation and announcement of the new recipient. See more information on the selection process and past recipients on the APECS Website.
-
IASC Fellowship Review
Project Group Leads: none, as coordinated by the APECS Office
Timeline: October 2021-December 2021
The IASC Fellowship Program is meant to engage early career scientists in the work of the five IASC Working Groups (WGs): Atmosphere, Cryosphere, Marine, Social & Human, and Terrestrial and additionally for Arctic indigenous. IASC Fellows are doctoral or postdoctoral researchers who actively participate in selected activities of the IASC WGs. We are looking for reviewers for the applications. Only people who are not applying for the IASC Fellowships that year are qualified to be reviewers. See more information on the IASC Fellows 2021 here.
3. Event-Related Project Groups
-
Antarctica Day 2021
Project Group Leads: Katharina Heinrich and Azamat Tolipov
Project Group Members: Aman Kedir Kamsare, Eva Horovcakova, Geetha Plackal, Ioannis Baziotis, Jill Diedrich, Mareike Bach, Marlen Kolbe, Srilakshmi Chidambaram, Valentina Piñeros, Yousra Makanse, Deniz Vural (ExCom Contact) and Mathieu Casado (ExCom Contact)
Timeline: October 2021-December 2021
Antarctica Day is celebrated by the international polar community on 1st December 2021 in the meaning of its anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty (1959). During this time of the year, the group organises a series of activities (i.e. online workshops, flag activities, webinar series, photo/art contests, vlogs etc.) to celebrate with all APECS members, including inviting APECS National Committees and their activities towards raising awareness of the importance of Antarctica, especially in the changing world.
-
APECS International Polar Weeks 2022
International Polar Week March 2022
Project Group Leads: Juliana Souza-Kasprzyk and Alexandra FilippovaProject Group Members: Aikaterini Tavri, Arundhati Wamorkar, Connie Harpur, Muhammad Kamangar, Sanjana A H, Srilakshmi Chidambaram, Suchithra Sundaram, Marta Moreno Ibáñez (ExCom Contact) and Mathieu Casado (ExCom Contact)
Timeline: October 2021-March 2022
International Polar Week September 2022Project Group Leads: Arnab Paul and Srilakshmi Chidambaram
Project Group Members: Arundhati Wamorkar, Hannah Louise Ruskin, Ioannis Baziotis, Julie Lattaud, Neeraj Nilakanth Naik, Gwenaëlle Gremion (ExCom contact) and Mathieu Casado (ExCom Contact)
Timeline: April-September 2022
The polar regions support a rich array of life, including northern communities. Whether it's in the Arctic or Antarctic, scientists from all over the world are working together to increase our knowledge of the cryosphere and its inhabitants. It is for this spirit of international cooperation and the excitement of scientific discovery that the APECS proudly organizes International Polar Weeks. APECS uses this opportunity to plan & develop polar science, education and outreach related activities alongside teachers, educators and those interested in polar education for the equinoxes of each year. The equinoxes in March and September are the only time when everywhere on earth the day length is 12 hours, a perfect opportunity to celebrate the poles on a global scale! Polar Week is organized in both March and September and internationally coordinated by an APECS Council Project Group. We set up two Project Groups as one for the planning of the March and one of the September Polar Week. The groups will work on both, developing the APECS international education and outreach activities for the week, and also working in close cooperation with the APECS National and International Committees to encourage them to contribute activities for a wider celebration worldwide! -
APECS International Online Conference 2022
Project Group Leads: Ljuba Günther and Divyesh Varade
Project Group Members: Akin Kuye, Anika Happe, Ashishkumar Upadhyay, Carla Tapia Baldis, Daniela Walch, Dhanendra Singh, Geetha Plackal, Joana Fragão, Kirsi Keskitalo, Nicolas Champollion, Prashant Pandit, Sophie Duveau, Vivek Kumar, Deniz Vural (ExCom Contact) and Gwenaëlle Gremion (ExCom Contact)
Timeline: February-June 2022
This group organises the annual APECS Online Conference held annually since 2015 and all associated activities. This includes defining a theme, the call for abstracts, shortlisting the abstract submissions, planning and executing the programme and chairing the event. In recent years, excellent presentations were awarded with a prize for which the conference organizers organized the judging of presentations. Please see the most recent 7th APECS International Online Conference here.
-
APECS Workshop at the Arctic Science Summit Week 2022
Project Group Leads: tbd
Project Group Members: Estelle Coguiec, Eva Chamorro Garrido, Femi Anna Thomas, Geetha Plackal, Janosch Mueller-Hillebrand, Julia Garcia-Oteyza, Marta Moreno Ibáñez (ExCom Contact) and Susana Hancock (ExCom Contact)
Timeline: November 2021-March 2022
We plan to hold online workshops to engage Early Career Researchers (ECRs) who will be attending ASSW2022, and others who are interested in Arctic research. The workshops are being organized by early career researchers from the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) and potential partners. Interactive sessions will provide an opportunity for ECRs to engage with Arctic researchers and provide a community building for everyone who will be attending ASSW2022. Workshop topics are open for discussion for the Project Group.
-
APECS Workshop at the UArctic Congress 2022
Project Group Leads: tbd
Project Group Members: Azizuddin Khan, Brian Schatteman, Ebru Caymaz, Ekaterina Sharova, Elena Adasheva, Emily Chen, Eva Chamorro Garrido, Hannah Louise Ruskin, Harmony Wayner, Maija Tulimaa, Ranjan Datta, Tanmay Dhar, Vanya Pandey, Deniz Vural (ExCom Contact) and Susana Hancock (ExCom Contact)
Timeline: January - October 2022
The UArctic Congress 2022 will take place in Moscow, on October 4-7, 2022, hosted by Lomonosov Moscow State University. The Congress will be included in the general program of the Russian chairmanship of the Arctic Council for 2022 and it focuses the priorities as Arctic Peoples, Climate Change and the Arctic Environment, Socio-Economic Development in the Region, and Strengthening International Arctic Cooperation (including education and research) to become a top-of-the-line event in developing international scientific cooperation in the Arctic. APECS Project Group will take advantage of becoming a part of this Congress, which welcomes institutional leaders, indigenous representatives, academics, scientists and students from around the Circumpolar North and beyond, while creating its workshop series at the UArctic Congress 2022!