News Archive

On Thursday, 5 March 2015 Cecilia Bitz provided the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with testimony about Arctic research opportunities. Her comments featured the Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) as an example of exciting new work that could deliver even more relevant information to policy makers with further investments. Her comments are recorded from 1:26 to 1:31 in the archived video.

The archive is now available for the Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) webinar on "Sea Ice Modeling: Characteristics and Processes Critical for the Radiation Budget," presented by Elizabeth Hunke, Los Alamos National Laboratory. The archive includes video of the webinar, the presentation slides, and a list of webinar participants.

Reminder: Webinar today, Tuesday, 3 March 2015, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. AKST. on "Sea Ice Modeling: Characteristics and Processes Critical for the Radiation Budget." The speaker is Elizabeth Hunke, Los Alamos National Laboratory. This webinar is designed for the sea ice research community and others interested in learning about sea ice modeling from the global climate model perspective.

The Winter 2015 issue of Witness the Arctic is now published online. We are pleased with our new graphic-friendly format for email delivery of the newsletter. This issue includes information about the SEARCH program and related activities, Arctic Research Support and Logistics program updates, news from ACADIS, information related to an Executive Order to coordinate Arctic-related activities, new communication and collaboration tools from IARPC, an overview of NOAA's 2014 Arctic Report Card, updates on upcoming international meetings (ICARP III and ASSW 2016), and a profile of ARCUS board member Mark Ivey.

The Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) seeks nominations of candidates for the SEARCH Science Steering Committee (SSC) that are broad and cross-disciplinary thinkers, good communicators and consensus-builders, and have a strong commitment to the SEARCH vision. While we welcome nominations from all disciplines and research backgrounds, to complement existing strengths we are particularly interested in members with expertise in the social sciences (including economics), human dimensions, science-policy linkages, and those with expertise in partnering with stakeholders outside the academic and US federal scientific communities. Nominations are due Monday, 9 March.

A complete archive of the webinar on "International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP) III: Integrating Arctic Research—A Roadmap for the Future,” with presentations from Volker Rachold (Executive Secretary, International Arctic Science Committee) and Larry Hinzman (Director, International Arctic Research Center), is now available. Archived files include the presentation as a PDF, the participant list, and audio and video recordings.

Registration is now available for a SIPN webinar entitled "Sea Ice Modeling: Characteristics and Processes Critical for the Radiation Budget." The speaker is Elizabeth Hunke, Los Alamos National Laboratory. This webinar is designed for the sea ice research community and others interested in learning about sea ice modeling from the global climate model perspective. It is scheduled for Tuesday, 3 March 2015 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. AKST. For more information, contact Betsy Turner-Bogren at ARCUS (betsy [at] arcus.org).

The Polar Climate Predictability Initiative (PCPI) announces a call for abstracts and registration for the Sea Ice Prediction Workshop 2015. This workshop will discuss polar climate variability and predictability on seasonal to decadal timescales. Presentations on understanding the causes of of inter-annual polar climate variability, as well as idealised predictability studies, and operational forecasts are welcome. The workshop will convene 8-10 April 2015 at the University of Reading, United Kingdom. For more information contact Ed Hawkins (e.hawkins [at] reading.ac.uk).

ICARP III: Integrating Arctic Research: a Roadmap for the Future
Wednesday, 18 February 2015 at 8:00 a.m. AKST

The International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP) III aims at engaging all partners in shaping the future of Arctic research needs. The goal of the webinar is to provide information on ICARP III organization and activities.

This is a great time for experienced professionals interested in the Arctic! The Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Polar Programs' Arctic Sciences Section. This grant will support a new structure and suite of activities, including new positions of SEARCH Executive Director, a Project Manager, and a Communicator/Facilitator.

The PolarTREC team begins 2015 with two teachers' deployments in Antarctica as well as upcoming meetings on teacher-researcher partnerships and polar STEM education workshops with the National Science Teachers Association. Keep up with expeditions and events that connect students and the public to polar science at www.polartrec.com.

The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces the 2014 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) Post-Season Report! The SIO provides an open forum for researchers and others to share and discuss predictions of Arctic sea ice through monthly reports in the summer and a post-season analysis. The post-season report includes analysis of the relative skill of various Arctic sea ice prediction models and methods and an expanded focus this year on the spatial pattern, probability, and ice-free dates for specific regions.

The Fall 2014 issue of Witness the Arctic is now available. This issue includes information about the new SEARCH program structure and program updates; news of NSF-funded projects in Arctic natural sciences, social sciences, science education, and Polar Cyberinfrastructure; a perspective on recommendations from the Arctic Biodiversity Assessment; updates from ACADIS and USARC; profiles of two ARCUS board members; and a welcome to the five new members of the ARCUS Board of Directors.

A Town Hall on the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) will be held at the AGU Fall meeting in San Francisco. The Town Hall is scheduled for Monday, 15 December 2014 at 12:30-1:30 PM PST in Moscone West, Room 2005. Members of the Arctic science, education, and policy communities are invited to attend. We encourage students and early career investigators to participate. Light refreshments will be provided.

There will be a Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) Modeling Meeting on Wednesday, 17 December from 12:30-2:00 pm during the American Geophysical Union (AGU) fall meetings. This year's meeting will focus on issues related to predicting sea ice with methods that are sensitive to initial conditions. Specifically, the goal of this meeting is to set up a common protocol for experiments to test sensitivity to initial conditions in sea ice forecasts of summer 2015. We will also discuss metrics that are responsive to stakeholder needs. The meeting is open, and all SIPN and Sea Ice Outlook participants who use initial conditions in a model are invited. The meeting will convene in the Foothill E room on the 2nd floor of the San Francisco Marriott Marquis.

Lunch will be provided to folks who RSVP by 10:00 am (AKST) Monday, 8 December. For more information or to RSVP, contact Betsy (betsy [at] arcus.org).

Request for Input: Draft Post-Season Report. The 2014 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) Action Team invites community comment on its draft post-season report. This draft includes the main post-season analysis and discussion points. Following input, further development, and editing the SIO Action Team aims to share a final draft with the larger community during the 2014 American Geophysical Union Fall Meetings 14-19 December. Comments from the Arctic sea ice community on the analysis and discussion sections as well as suggestions on how to help improve sea-ice forecasts are welcome. Please send comments to Betsy Turner-Bogren (betsy [at] arcus.org) by Wednesday, 3 December 2014. The report is online and available to be downloaded as a PDF or Microsoft Word document here.

Going to the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco next month? Overwhelmed by the science program and not sure what presentations to see? We’ve got an online schedule of sea ice-related talks and posters to help!

The Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) requests input on a draft position paper on issues related to the design and implementation of an integrated Arctic Observing Network (AON). The paper represents a synthesis of discussions within SEARCH over the last year and builds on past SEARCH-AON community events and workshops. Key issues addressed in the paper include governance, network integration, and sustained funding. The deadline for input is Friday, 21 November 2014.

A draft report on arctic field safety is available for comment. The draft report summarizes discussions at an NSF-sponsored workshop on Arctic Field Safety Risk Management that was convened to improve field safety practices, build communication, and reduce risk. The draft is available for comment until Tuesday, 11 November 2014.

An archive of the Sea Ice Outlook: Post-Season Discussion webinar, held on 9 October 2014, is now available. The webinar, hosted by the Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN), focused on post-season analysis and discussion of the 2014 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) and provided a venue for discussion of the 2014 SIO, including processes that influenced sea ice melt this year and a review of the differing approaches to predicting the sea ice minimum extent.

Registration is now available for the Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) webinar, which will focus on post-season analysis and discussion of the 2014 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO). This webinar will provide a venue for discussion of the 2014 SIO, including processes that influenced sea ice melt this year and a review of the differing approaches to predicting the sea ice minimum extent. The webinar is open to all interested participants, including sea ice researchers, students, decision-makers, and others. This webinar is scheduled for Thursday, 9 October 2014 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. AKDT. Registration is required.

SAVE THE DATE: The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces an open webinar focused on post-season analysis and discussion of the 2014 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO). This webinar will provide a venue for discussion of the 2014 SIO, including processes that influenced sea ice melt this year and a review of the differing approaches to predicting the sea ice minimum extent. The webinar is open to all interested participants, including sea ice researchers, students, decision-makers, and others. This webinar is scheduled for Thursday, 9 October 2014 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. AKDT.

Announcing the August Sea Ice Outlook report! We received 23 pan-Arctic contributions and four regional contributions. The median Outlook value for September 2014 sea ice extent is 5.0 million square kilometers, with quartiles of 4.58 and 5.22 million square kilometers. This month's report includes comments on modeling outlooks and on regional predictions, a summary of current conditions, key statements from each Outlook, and links to view or download the full outlook contributions.

The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces a call for contributions to the August Sea Ice Outlook report. Please see the guidelines for submitting regional and pan-Arctic outlooks. A variety of perspectives, from advanced numerical models to qualitative perspectives from citizen scientists, are welcome.

Announcing the July Sea Ice Outlook report! The Sea Ice Outlook provides a venue for exploring the changing Arctic sea ice extent. It provides a transparent exercise in both scientific sea ice predictions as well as estimates from the public. For the July report, we received 28 pan-Arctic contributions and three regional contributions. The median Outlook value for September 2014 sea ice extent is 4.8 million square kilometers. The report includes a brief executive summary, comments on modeling outlooks and on regional predictions, current conditions, and the individual Outlook contributions.