Witness the Arctic | Volume 23, Number 1 - Spring

Recent activities of the Sea Ice Prediction Network–Phase 2 (SIPN2) include publications of the 2018 Sea Ice Outlook Interim and Full Post-Season Reports and a call for contributions to the 2019 June Sea Ice Outlook Report. Outreach activities included an open community meeting during the 2018 Fall Geophysical Union Meetings and an open webinar featuring Ron Kwok, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and ICESat-2 Team.

Lake-rich Arctic landscapes are particularly dynamic as the lakes located here are susceptible to catastrophic drainage. Taken together, lakes and drained lake basins cover up to 80% of Arctic lowland regions, making understanding their response to ongoing climate and land use change essential for providing insights into how Arctic lowland landscapes may change and evolve in the coming decades to centuries.

Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS) members are individuals and organizations that want to join with a larger community to tackle Arctic research challenges, respond collaboratively to emerging opportunities, and explore both the frontiers and intricate interconnections of the Arctic system in an interdisciplinary way. We invite all interested parties to join us and take advantage of ARCUS’ many communication channels.

Arctic Indigenous Scholar, Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, is a community health aide from Nuiqsut, Alaska. She shares here her motivation in light of the oil development occurring in close proximity to her village and her advocacy efforts in communicating across dividing lines to those who sit on both sides of the table and educate others on the issues and concerns of her people.

Responding to rapid environmental change in the Arctic requires the combined efforts of Arctic scientists from many disciplines, diverse Indigenous perspectives, and policy makers from all levels of government. The Arctic Futures 2050 Conference—convened 4-6 September 2019 at the National Academies of Sciences in Washington, D.C. by the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH)—will be an international conference designed to enhance collaboration between those groups.

The unprecedented low winter sea ice in the Bering Sea during 2018 quickly raised broad concerns regarding whether the Bering Sea had entered a new regime with potential impacts on the ecosystem, Indigenous communities, and fisheries. The role of the Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (SIWO) program in sharing information is becoming increasingly valuable in assisting to understand how rapid environmental change and variability are experienced within communities as they pursue the abundant walrus, whales, seals, fish, crabs, and other marine life from the Bering Sea.

Helen Wiggins highlights several ARCUS program activities and notes that none would be possible without our many collaborators, contributors, participants, and funders.

The Sitka Sound Science Center (SSSC), located in Sitka, Alaska, is highlighted here as an ARCUS member institution. The SSSC is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing understanding and awareness of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of Alaska through education and research. Since its inception in 2007, SSSC has developed strong community, state, and national partnerships.

Beginning in June 2019, U.S. educators will be embedded as research team members in scientific expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctica as part of the NSF-funded project, STEM at the Poles. Through these unique research experiences, participants will connect to the polar focused research community and develop resources with the goal to change how they teach STEM in both informal and formal learning environments.

Victoria Herrmann was elected to the ARCUS Board in 2018. She is is the President and Managing Director of The Arctic Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to Arctic security research. In her day-to-day work, she leads a team of 30 young scholars across North America, Europe, and Asia in research and capacity building projects on energy, climate, maritime, economic, and societal security issues.

Jasper (Joe) Hardesty, elected to the ARCUS Board in 2018, works at Sandia National Labs, out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is the Assistant Manager of the Alaska Arctic facilities for the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurements (ARM) program with sites at Utqiaġvik/Barrow, Atqasuk, and Oliktok Point, Alaska. These sites and systems support instrumentation and field campaigns to provide Arctic atmospheric measurements and data used by climate modelers around the world.

Craig Fleener, elected to the ARCUS Board in 2018, is the Executive Director of the Alaska Ocean Cluster. His goal is to create value in Alaska’s Blue Economy and discover new opportunities by connecting entrepreneurs, businesses, governments, universities, and knowledge in ocean and inland waters industries.

The U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC) has released their 2019-2020 Report on the Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research. Dedicated to USARC's late Commissioner, Mary Pete, the "Goals Report" outlines recommendations for research in a rapidly changing Arctic and outlines five priority research areas and lists recommendations and examples for each.

Studies have often documented shifts between greening and browning over varying spatial extents and time periods in northern latitudes. The potential implications of vegetation change and related greening and browning patterns extend from local to global scales. During a recent Polar Research Board workshop, participants discussed drivers of those shifts, included climate change and a variety of disturbance types, including many that are commonly linked to warming.

The Local Environmental Observer (LEO) Network is an online platform for documenting the symptoms of environmental change as described by Arctic residents who are experiencing the impacts first hand. The purpose is two-fold: first, to raise awareness about climate and environmental change through description of specific events; and second, to connect people who can explore these events and develop specific adaptation strategies.

The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC), through the open online platform on the IARPC Collaborations website, is changing the way Arctic researchers communicate and collaborate. This platform brings together over 2000 members from the research community in the United States and internationally to share resources, form connections, and team up to address new and emerging science questions.

What might a highly desirable Arctic data portal look like? More often than not, portal design reflects the desires multiple stakeholders have for open access and open data, the preservation and sharing of Indigenous knowledge and traditional knowledge from Arctic Indigenous communities, and to the sustainability of the data portals themselves.

Board President, Audrey Taylor, reflects on recent ARCUS activities that support our members and facilitate Arctic research.