Witness the Arctic - Spring 2019, Volume 23 Number 1

Chronicles of the NSF Arctic Science Section Spring 2019, Volume 23 Number 1 Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • [email protected] ARCUS Member Highlight (pgs 2-9) • Sitka Sound Science Center Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) (pgs 10-24) • Bering Sea Conditions During the Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (SIWO) 2019 Season • Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) Update Arctic Futures 2050 Conference Arctic System Science Program (pgs 25-32) • Catastrophic Lake Drainage in the Arctic System • Sea Ice Prediction Network–Phase 2 (SIPN2) — Advancing Understanding of Sea Ice Forecasting Data Management (pgs 33-36) • Emotions, Desires, and Arctic Data Portals Science Education News (pgs 37-39) • Educators Embark on Polar Research Experiences Interagency News (pgs 40-49) • IARPC Collaborations: Communicating Across Boundaries and Delving into Critical Issues • The LEO Network, Addressing Climate Change One Event at a Time U.S. Arctic Research Commission (pgs 41-53) • The U.S. Arctic Research Commission Releases its Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research 2019-2020 Polar Research Board (pgs 54-57) • Drivers and Implications of Arctic Vegetation Browning and Greening Trends—Proceedings from a Recent Workshop by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine ARCUS News (pgs 58-64) • Addressing Priority Needs for Arctic Research Support & Collaboration with ARCUS Members • Arctic Indigenous Scholar, Rosemary Ahtuangaruak: Educating, Communicating, and Affecting Change A Note From the ARCUS Executive Director (pgs 65-66) • ARCUS Highlights A Note From the ARCUS President (pgs 67-68) • ARCUS Highlight From the ARCUS Board (pgs 69-74) • Meet the Board of Directors - Craig Fleener • Meet the Board of Directors - Jasper (Joe) Hardesty • Meet the Board of Directors - Victoria Herrmann In this Issue ARCUS Member Highlight Sitka Sound Science Center Introduction Sitka Sound Science Center (SSSC) (https://sitkascience.org/) , located in Sitka, Alaska, 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 and created significant educational and research opportunities. As a biological field station, connected to both the Organization for Biological Field Stations (https://www.obfs.org/) and the National Association of Marine Laboratories (http://www.naml.org/) , SSSCs collaborative research includes work on salmon, marine mammal/commercial fisheries interactions, ocean acidification, geophysical studies, landslides, bioacoustics, abalone, and kelp. SSSC research collaborators include the RAND Corporation (https://www.rand.org/) ; Alaska Department of Fish and Game (http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=home.main) ; National Park Service (https://www.nps.gov /index.htm) ; U.S. Forest Service (https://www.fs.fed.us/) ; University of California Santa Cruz (https://www.ucsc.edu/) ; University of San Francisco (https://www.usfca.edu/) ; University of California Irvine (https://uci.edu/) ; University of Alaska Fairbanks (https://www.uaf.edu/uaf) ; U.S. Geologic Survey (https://www.usgs.gov/) ; University of Alaska Southeast (http://www.uas.alaska.edu/) ; and Moss Landing Marine Lab (https://www.mlml.calstate.edu/) . SSSC is funded by a variety of sources including the National Science Foundation (NSF) (https://www.nsf.gov/) , National Oceanic and Atmospheric 2 Administration (NOAA) (https://www.noaa.gov/) , U.S. Geologic Survey, the State of Alaska (http://alaska.gov/) , U.S. Department of Agriculture (https://www.usda.gov/) , private foundations, individual memberships, and corporate sponsorships. Additional support to the Science Center includes, memberships, research contracts, rentals, hatchery contracts, admissions during the visitor season, and retail operations. The Sage Building was built in 1929 as part of the Sheldon Jackson Campus and since 2007, when the campus closed its doors, it has been the home of Sitka Sound Science Center. Photo courtesy of the Sitka Sound Science Center. The Science Center operates the Molly O. Ahlgren Aquarium (https://sitkascience.org/visit/aquarium) and the Sheldon Jackson Salmon Hatchery (https://sitkascience.org/visit/hatchery) , both of which are used as educational tools for K-12 and university level students, as well as the 18,000 visitors who come annually to the facility from cruise ships. SSSC has a formal partnership with the University of Alaska Southeast Fisheries Technology Program (http://www.uas.alaska.edu/career_ed/fisheries) which utilizes the hatchery to train students in aquaculture and fisheries management. SSSC facilitates field courses for several colleges outside of Alaska including Stanford, University of Exeter, John Hopkins, Williams College, University of California Santa Cruz, and the University of San Francisco. SSSC staff includes 19 year-round, full time employees and 15 additional seasonal employees during the summer. The seasonal staff lead guided interpretive tours, work in the summer camps, and conduct field work. SSSC and its partners across the community contribute to the culture of science that encourages science 3 engagement among Sitka's students and the general population. The success of Sitka Sound Science Center is due in large part to the community's enthusiasm for scientific research and education. Research Highlights Research at the Sitka Sound Science Center is generally done in collaboration with other agencies and entities. SSSC values locally-relevant research that impacts the residents of Sitka and Southeast Alaska as a region. SSSC actively promotes researchers conducting research that is important to the community. While the non-profit attracts researchers, it also provides critical local support and guidance in how to operate in rural Alaska, requiring all scientists who utilize the facility to receive science communication training from SSSC staff and then facilitating community engagement activities. Some of the high-profile research projects currently underway at SSSC include: Landslide Studies In response to a deadly landslide in 2015, the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization whose purpose includes developing solutions to make communities safer and more secure, is working with Sitka Sound Science Center, the University of Oregon, the University of Southern California, Sitka Tribe of Alaska, and the Alaska State Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys in the development of a landslide warning system (LWS). In collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, National Weather Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this three-year long project aims to develop a new geoscience sensor network and create communication channels to disseminate landslide risk in Sitka, Alaska. 4 U.S. Forest Service Soil Scientist Jacquie Foss gives a description of layers of volcanic ash exposed in a debris flow channel. Photo courtesy of the Sitka Sound Science Center. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC) flagship program, this interdisciplinary LWS research has three major components: geoscience, social science, and risk management. We see information science at its most innovative here, collecting data from historical records and imagery, hydrologic sensors, and social networks; organizing it into useful information; and helping community members improve their safety, security, and overall quality of life. Ocean Change Studies Because Alaska is experiencing faster rates of climate warming than anywhere else in the U.S., and because the Gulf of Alaska has a high rate of ocean acidification, Sitka is an important place to study the effects of ocean warming and acidification. Sitka has one of the highest rates of ocean acidification in Alaska. 5 The research team headed by Dr. Kristy Kroeker set up a mesoclime in the wet lab at SSSC to investigate how ocean acidification and warming may affect the development of Pacific Herring embryos. Photo courtesy of the Sitka Sound Science Center. Headed by Dr. Kristy Kroeker at University of California Santa Cruz, one study is looking at the effects of warming temperatures and changing ocean chemistry on herring, abalone, kelp, and other intertidal invertebrates. Kroeker's research requires diving in kelp forests and her lab has set up a mesoclime in the SSSC wet lab. (Editor's note: a mesoclime models characteristics of a relatively small region.) Another team of researchers is simulating conditions that might be found in tide pools in the year 2100 to analyze the effects of stressors on the local fauna and flora. By raising water temperatures and increasing the input of CO2, scientists will be able to assess and predict how tide pool communities will react to our warming world. Previous studies have looked at only one species or just manipulated one factor of climate change. This NSF-funded project is unique in that it measures the effects of multiple stressors at once. The University of California Irvine (Dr. Matthew Bracken, Dr. Cascade Sorte), San Diego State University (Dr. Luke Miller), and the University of California Santa Cruz (Dr. Kristy Kroeker) are joining forces to explore the consequences of warming waters and ocean acidification on local coastal communities. 6 Researchers working on the Climate Change in the Intertidal project check salinity, temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen of 20 tidepools during a monthly survey. Photo courtesy of the Sitka Sound Science Center. Every month, biodiversity surveys are conducted and water samples are collected to monitor any changes that may be occurring with the increased water temperature and decreased pH. Hatchery Wild Chum Interaction Project Because of the value of hatchery production to industry's harvest, and the mandate that hatchery production be compatible with sustainable productivity of wild stocks, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and private hatchery operators have recognized the need for a research program addressing concerns about straying salmon, and genetic and ecological interactions between hatchery and wild fish. ADF&G organized a science panel composed of current and retired scientists from ADF&G, University of Alaska, aquaculture associations, and National Marine Fisheries Service. Panel members have broad experience in salmon enhancement, management, and wild and hatchery interactions. The Sitka Sound Science Center, in partnership with Prince William Sound Science Center, is part of a $4.5 million, five-year study on interactions between hatchery fish and wild salmon in streams around southeast and Prince William Sound. 7 Field technicians sample spawned chum salmon to look at genetic and ecological interactions between hatchery and wild stocks. Photo courtesy of the Sitka Sound Science Center. For more information visit the Sitka Sound Science Center website (https://sitkascience.org/) or contact Executive Director, Lisa Busch by email ( [email protected]g ) or phone: 907-747-8878. 8 Lisa Busch is the Sitka Sound Science Center's Executive Director. Photo courtesy of the Sitka Sound Science Center. Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • inf[email protected] 9 A mostly ice-free coastline at Wales on 4 March 2019. Photo courtesy of Robert Tokeinna Jr. 16 Wales hunters camped on the shorefast sea ice on 16 June 1922. Photo by Alfred Bailey. Editor's note: The 1922 photo is sourced from the Wales Sea Ice Dictionary (https://jukebox.uaf.edu/site7 /sites/default/files/documents/Preserving-our-Knowledge--Wales-Dictionary.pdf) . Kotzebue Sound and much of the southeastern Chukchi Sea north to Kivalina were also almost entirely ice free during the 2019 mid-winter period (approx. 24 Feb. to mid-March), which emphasizes that the changes observed during such extreme winters are not confined to the Bering Sea but are reaching further north. By the first week in March, sea ice extent in the Bering Sea was the lowest in the satellite record (1979-2019). Sea surface temperatures throughout the winter were very warm (up to 3ºC or 5ºF above normal), which impeded sea ice formation and thickening throughout winter. Figure 3 shows that on 5 March, the day of the lowest ice extent in March of this year, there was a band of extremely warm water extending from the western Bering Sea into Bristol Bay, as well as "hotspots" in the northern Bering Sea and at the entrance to Norton Sound. In past years, growth and movement of ice into such areas of warm water would have consumed much of the heat. 17 Figure 3. Sea surface temperature (SST) departure from normal (anomaly) on 5 March 2019, which is the date of the lowest sea ice coverage in the Bering Sea in March of 2019 (see Figure 1). The normal or average SST condition is defined over years 2003–2014. Image Source: Daily, 1km SST anomalies based on the GHRSST Multiscale Ultrahigh Resolution SST dataset, accessed from the PO.DAAC at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Ice coverage increased substantially throughout the middle of March, more so as a result of shifting winds rather than new ice growth. By the third week in March, ice extent in the Bering Sea rose slightly above last winter's level. With much thinner ice, the region continued to see substantial variability in ice extent, as the ice readily responded to shifts in wind and air temperature. Also, the thinner and weakly anchored shorefast ice near communities was also highly vulnerable to pack ice being blown in and breaking it up, as well as offshore winds causing ice to detach from the coast. At Port Clarence and Brevig Mission, SIWO Observer Marcus Barr observed on 12 April (https://www.arcus.org/siwo/2019-04-12) that: 18 "Strong north winds and strong current broke up ice faster. One day of south wind brought shorefast ice back in but went back out after another strong northerly wind. More variety of sea birds started to show up. More beluga was spotted but not within the last few days. None of the locals caught walrus yet but still get bearded seals." During April, higher pressure over the Chukchi Sea relative to lower pressure over southwest Alaska and the southern Bering Sea (see Figure 2) brought north winds that were responsible for a late-season partial recovery in ice coverage. During this time, SIWO observers reported on conditions that allowed for successful hunting. From Nome, Boogles Johnson reported on 19 April (https://www.arcus.org/siwo/2019-04-19) that: "There currently is pack ice south of Cape Nome which is good ice. We found Oogruk "bearded seal" and were successful and are now done Oogruk hunting for this season. The walrus have been to the west of Nome by Sledge Island making their migration north with their babies. The season is approx. 1 month early from previous years but the advantage is that we have snow for natural refrigeration and cold temps to preserve the catch. It has been a successful season for my crew I'm with this year and I hope all hunters are able to bring home catch to their families and community." From the village of Gambell, Clarence Irrigoo, Jr. noted on 18 April (https://www.arcus.org /siwo/2019-04-19) that: "The whalers landed a 57-foot whale on the 13 April 19. Lots of ice still around and the weather is very windy." By early May, the Bering Sea was mostly ice-free, more than one month ahead of schedule (see Figure 1), with the main ice edge well into the Chukchi Sea (See: Sea Ice Extent, 29 May 2019 (https://nsidc.org /data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/N_daily_extent_hires.png) . On the pan-Arctic scale, sea-ice extent in mid-May is well below normal. (See: Arctic Sea Ice Extent, February—May 2019 (http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/N_stddev_timeseries.png) . Warm water from the Bering Sea, due in large part to the conditions of winter 2019, is expected to contribute to another low summer sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic summer sea-ice minimum continues to serve as one of the most highly visible indicators of a changing Arctic. However, some of the most transformative environmental changes and the most warming (e.g., Walsh et al. 2018) are taking place during the Arctic winter. Continued information sharing within 19 SIWO may help to further elucidate what information local communities find useful as they respond by adapting their hunting and other food harvesting strategies in the changing Bering Sea. References McFarland, H.R., H. Eicken, R. Thoman, Z. Labe, M. Druckenmiller, and G. Sheffield. 2018. Bering Strait: An overview of winter 2018 sea ice conditions. International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Tokeinna, R. and O. Lee. 2019. Wales Loses Shore Fast Ice. LEO Network (leonetwork.org). Posted 5 March 2019; Accessed 19 May 2019. Walsh, J.E., R.l. Thoman, U.S. Bhatt, P.A. Bienikk, et al. 2018. The High Latitude Marine Heat Wave of 2016 and its Impact on Alaska (Chapter 8). In: Explaining Extreme Events of 2016: From a Climate Perspective. Special Supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Vol. 99, No. 1, January 2018. Weyapuk, Jr. W., and I. Krupnik, compilers. H. Anungazuk, I. Krupnik, and M.L. Druckenmiller, editors/contributors. 2012. Kifikmi Sigum Qanuq Ilitaavut – Wales Iñupiaq Sea-Ice Dictionary. Arctic Studies Center, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 112 p. This article was adapted from an original contribution to the Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (SIWO) in March 2019 as a summary of the "State of the Ice at Season's Start" ( https://www.arcus.org /siwo/2019-03-22 ). About the Authors Matthew Druckenmiller is a research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center and a member of the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) Sea Ice Action Team. His research is focused on how Arctic Indigenous communities use and rely on changing environments and communicating the societal implications of Arctic sea ice loss. 20 Olivia Lee is an Assistant Professor in the International Arctic Research Center (IARC) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Her research focuses on the integration of community observations and remote sensing imagery of sea ice to assess walrus and ice seal habitat in northern Alaska. She also works on participatory scenarios projects that aim to broaden our understanding of the socio-economic and biophysical drivers affecting the future of the Arctic. Hajo Eicken is Professor of Geophysics and Director of the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. His research focuses on sea ice geophysics, Arctic coastal processes, and their importance for human activities and ecosystems. In Alaska he has helped lead efforts to advance collaborative research with Indigenous knowledge holders and to enhance use of scientific data by Arctic communities and government agencies. This work draws on a number of different approaches, including participatory scenarios and community-based monitoring. For more than a decade, he has worked with colleagues to establish a sea-ice observatory at Utqiaġvik/Pt. Barrow. Other collaborative efforts include his involvement in helping launch the Arctic Sea Ice Outlook and Sea Ice Prediction Network, his co-leadership of the Arctic Observing Summit, and service as Chair of a National Academies Standing Committee on Offshore Science and Assessment. 21 Rick Thoman works as a climate specialist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks where he focuses on providing Alaskans with timely and relevant information. He has worked in Alaska weather and climate for more than 35 years, including more than 30 years with the National Weather Service in Nome and Fairbanks. Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • inf[email protected] 22 Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) Update Arctic Futures 2050 Conference By: Brendan Kelly, SEARCH Executive Director and Brit Myers, ARCUS Project Manager 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 (https://www.searcharcticscience.org/arctic2050/conference-2019) Conference—convened by the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) (https://www.searcharcticscience.org/) —will be an international conference designed to enhance collaboration between those groups. The conference will be held 4-6 September 2019 at the National Academies of Sciences in Washington, D.C. Invited speakers and participants will include Arctic scientists; Indigenous Peoples; policy makers; natural resource managers; and military, industrial, and other operators in the Arctic. Background Resources - Pre-conference resources that are currently available include: Scenarios - A SEARCH-led scenarios workshop helps frame the Arctic Futures 2050 conference. Participants are invited to prepare for the conference by reviewing and considering the scenarios here (https://www.searcharcticscience.org/arctic-2050/conference-2019/background/intro) . Knowledge and Policy Interplay Diagrams - Arctic Futures 2050 participants are invited to complete an optional four-question Knowledge-Policy-Interface survey (https://www.searcharcticscience.org/arctic-2050/conference-2019/background/survey) to inform conference planning and post-conference products. Learn more and complete the survey here (https://www.searcharcticscience.org/arctic-2050/conference-2019/background/survey) . Reading List: A background document reading list (https://www.searcharcticscience.org/files /page/documents/29249/intersection_of_arctic_science_policy_resources.pdf) is also available to help conference participants learn more about the intersection of Arctic Science and Policy. 23 Conference Agenda - The current draft agenda (https://www.searcharcticscience.org/arctic2050/conference-2019/program) includes talks, panels, and sessions on: past and future Arctic environments Indigenous knowledge approaches to informing policy how predictions and models inform the future melting ice, thawing permafrost, and changing ecosystems case studies on fisheries, conservation, and subsistence whaling, and other topics integrating science, Indigenous knowledge, and policy. Research, Indigenous perspectives, and policy programs from around the Arctic will be presented in posters. Conference Registration: Registration is now open. Early-bird registration rates are available through 10 July 2019. Register here (https://www.searcharcticscience.org/civicrm/event/register?reset=1&id=239) . Hotel Reservations: Information on making hotel reservations with a special Arctic Futures 2050 conference rate can be found here (https://www.searcharcticscience.org/arctic-2050/conference2019/logistics) . The group hotel rate will be available on a first come, first served basis through 2 August 2019. For questions, contact: Brendan Kelly, SEARCH Executive Director, by email ( [email protected] ) or by phone (907-209-6531). Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • inf[email protected] 24 Arctic System Science Program Catastrophic Lake Drainage in the Arctic System By: The Catastrophic Arctic Lake Drainage Research Team: Chris Arp, Ben Jones, Mikhail Kanevskiy, Amy Breen, Christopher Larson, and Louise Farquharson, University of Alaska, Fairbanks; Andy Parsekian, Nori Ohara, and Rodrigo Correa Rangel, University of Wyoming; Ken Hinkel and Ian Nichols, Michigan Technological University. Lakes are abundant in the Arctic, providing important fish and wildlife habitat and water supply for villages and industry. The lakes also interact with permafrost and the carbon it stores, with potential global-scale climate feedbacks. Lake-rich Arctic landscapes are particularly dynamic as the lakes located here are susceptible to catastrophic drainage (Yoshikawa and Hinzman, 2003; Smith et al., 2005; Jones and Arp, 2015; Nitze et al., 2018). 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. Figure 1. Example of a lake that drained on the North Slope of Alaska in early July 2014. Photo courtesy of Benjamin M. Jones. 25 forecast skill; discussions about Antarctic maxima sea ice extent forecasts; the Sea Ice Drift Forecast Experiment; an overview of sea ice forecasting needs of the Alaska marine shipping industry; and ideas of how to continue efforts to understand sea ice predictability and how to create information products that are accessible to stakeholders so that the science can be used in decision making to improve outcomes. SIO 2019 season launched with the Call for Contributions for the 2019 June report (https://www.arcus.org /sipn/sea-ice-outlook/2019/june/call) . Pan-Arctic and Regional Sea Ice Extent Outlooks and any additional figures and gridded fields will be accepted for the 2019 June Outlook. We particularly encourage submissions for the Alaska region (i.e., Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas). For those interested, submissions for Hudson Bay are also accepted. Submissions that include spatial forecast maps are encouraged. Outreach Activities SIPN2 convened an Open Community Meeting (https://www.arcus.org/sipn/meetings/2018/agu) on 11 December during the 2018 Fall Meetings of the American Geophysical Union. This meeting was organized to promote knowledge exchange and collaboration among members of sea ice research community. Meeting participants were invited to share brief updates about their projects/efforts related to sea ice prediction and/or observations. A brief overview of the 2018 Arctic sea ice/Sea Ice Outlook season was also provided. The first event of the 2019 SIPN2 webinar series was held on 25 April 2019. The presentation entitled "ICESat-2 over Sea Ice: Early Results" featured Ron Kwok, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and ICESat-2 Team. The presentation focused on one of NASA's science objectives for the ICESat-2 altimetry mission—to provide observations to quantify changes and to add to previous satellite and airborne records of freeboard, thickness, and sea surface height of the ice-covered Arctic and Southern Oceans. Webinar presentations are archived on the SIPN2 website (https://www.arcus.org/sipn/meetings/webinars) . Further information about SIPN2 and the Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) is available on the SIPN2 Meetings/Webinars website (https://www.arcus.org/sipn) . For questions, contact Betsy Turner-Bogren, ARCUS ( [email protected]g ). About the Author Betsy Turner-Bogren is a Project Manager at ARCUS who provides staff support to the SIPN2 project and its team members. She also manages the NSF-supported publications Witness the Arctic and Witness Community Highlights . 32 Data Management Emotions, Desires, and Arctic Data Portals By: Vanessa Raymond, Founder of Convene North What might a highly desirable Arctic data portal look like? To answer this question, my research project, "Desire and Arctic Data Portals: A Qualitative Comparison" examines what Arctic data portals provide their users today. This research focuses on the implementation of 25 Arctic data portals and any data or metadata management practices they may support using comparative qualitative analysis. This research is funded by Convene North (https://www.convenenorth.com/) . Data portals may house or reference data and metadata. Portals may have a variety of objectives. A data portal may be designed to visualize data, to showcase data, to encourage data play and manipulation, to find new audiences for data, to preserve and store data, or serve as a vehicle for downloading data. These objectives may have been identified by the software development team creating the portal, the research funder's data requirements, the portal funder, a principal investigator, the data needs of the research discipline, community members where the data was collected, or by any number of other stakeholders. More often than not, the portal design reflects the desires of multiple stakeholders. Figure 1. AOOS' Ocean Data Explorer's data visualizations include real time data visualizations and time sliders that allow portal users to view data over time. Captured here is a view of real time sensor data and historical data from the same sensor, part of the International Arctic Buoy Programme Air Temperature dataset. Image courtesy of the AOOS Ocean Data Explorer. Data is Emotional Research data grows increasingly prolific and comprehensive, serving as an emerging source of power and knowledge. Some researchers celebrate the proliferation of research data, its increased precision, and the 33 speed with which it is collected, processed, and manipulated. As a result of this proliferation of research data, data management and data portals become increasingly important for researchers and research communities. Yet, as research data grows in scale and significance, researchers may grow weary, overwhelmed, or fearful about the management of their research data. At times, researchers may feel resentful, confused, uncertain, or frustrated about data management requirements from funders. Conversely, a researcher may feel joy or pride in sharing what they view as quality or highly prized data. When faced with new guidelines, researchers may feel left out or left behind by changes in data management standards, data processing techniques, or other expectations about data. Research, and research data, are emotional. The desires and emotions that researchers have about their data carryover to the user's experience of Arctic data portals. Does the portal frustrate the researcher, or is it easy to use? Does the portal help the researcher meet important funder requirements? Does the portal help researchers publish their research, or hinder? Can the portal help the researcher to improve the quality of their data and metadata? Does the portal facilitate the sharing of a researcher's data in a way that all contributors can receive appropriate credit? What solutions does the portal provide for the researcher or Arctic data consumer? Figure 2. The NSF Arctic Data Center's enthusiasm for metadata shines in the portal's metadata quality report which performs 20+ checks to help researchers improve their metadata quality before submitting to the portal. Image courtesy of the Arctic Data Center Metadata Quality Report. Arctic Data Portals Today This research, still in progress, examines 25 Arctic data portals using 65 points of comparison. The comparison points were sourced through grounded theory, an analytical process by which concepts and categories are sourced from the dataset. Results are not finalized for this work, however ongoing work (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RfazdQHzvMN5yWuqbV4sg84uYRt2v1EQu13DPISTQXM 34 /edit#gid=1149117193) is available for those curious to see the comparison-in-progress and add comments. One important question that this analysis brings to light concerns Arctic data portals and the desire Arctic researchers have for open access and open data. While many portals have some components of open data—for example where data is downloadable by any visitor to the portal—many of the supporting components for open data and open science are not present in the Arctic data portals examined. These supporting components such as data versioning, data citation suggestions, digital object identifiers, downloadable metadata, downloadable processing scripts, and/or software components for reproducibility are mostly absent from Arctic data portals today. Another question that this ongoing research brings forward is about the future of Arctic data portals. While most portals note their funders, no portal analyzed in this research publicizes the duration of their funding, future funding plans, or details about how the portal will be sustained and maintained going forward. This information could be important to Arctic researchers who may consider preserving their data with a portal, however the sustainability and longevity of a portal has broader implications within the Arctic research community. Some of this uncertainty can be alleviated by data and metadata sharing with other repositories, however this practice is not widely adopted in the portals examined. A third question that is raised in the process of this research is about Arctic data portals' capacity to preserve and share Indigenous knowledge and traditional knowledge from Arctic Indigenous communities. This is a complex situation with much historical and cultural nuance. However, Indigenous data sovereignty efforts and Indigenous data management practices that are being adopted by non-Arctic Indigenous groups do not appear to be in use in Arctic data portals examined at this time. The CAFF's Arctic Biodiversity Data Service provides all datasets used in the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) reports to be downloaded by any user of the portal. Image courtesy of the CAFF Arctic Biodiversity Data Service (ABDS) . 35 Next Steps The next steps for this research include refining the concepts and categories for analysis and potentially expanding the comparison to include additional Arctic data portals. Further effort will be required to ascertain future funding information and to get more detail on software components used in Arctic data portals that are a part of this comparison. The research is expected to be finalized in 2020. For further information, contact Vanessa Raymond ( [email protected] ). About the Author Vanessa Lee Raymond is a sociotechnologist interested in data ethics and technology for social good. She holds a M.A. in Arctic Governance with a focus on Arctic Security from University of Alaska Fairbanks, and a B.A. in Cultural Studies from Hampshire College. Vanessa is an IT project manager and founder of Convene North, an organization connecting Northern communities and environments to technological solutions. Prior to founding Convene North, Vanessa worked at the UAF Geographic Information Network of Alaska and the NSF Arctic Data Center. Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • inf[email protected] 36 Science Education News Educators Embark on Polar Research Experiences By: Janet Warburton, ARCUS Project Manager You know it's summer in the Arctic when educators start heading into the field with researchers! Beginning in June 2019, educators will be embedded as research team members in authentic scientific expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctica. They will be working in research locations from the Arctic Ocean to the South Pole in Antarctica, as part of the NSF-funded project entitled STEM at the Poles! Research Experiences for Formal and Informal Educators in the Polar Regions (https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch /showAward?AWD_ID=1918637&HistoricalAwards=false) . The Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS) was recently awarded three years of funding from the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs (https://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=OPP) to support STEM at the Poles. This program utilizes ARCUS' signature education program, PolarTREC (https://www.polartrec.com/about) , to provide cutting-edge field research opportunities for U.S. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) (https://www.ed.gov/Stem) educators from both formal and informal learning environments. Through these unique research experiences, participants will connect to the polar focused research community and develop Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (https://www.nextgenscience.org/) resources with the goal to change how they teach STEM in both informal and formal learning environments. 37 The 2019 PolarTREC Cohort and project management team pose for a photo outside the Syun-Ichi Akasofu Building on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus during program orientation that was held in March 2019. The orientation is the only time the educators meet one another face to face. During the orientation, they learn about the program, discuss how to communicate their experience and the science to the public, and learn more about the polar regions. Photo courtesy of Joed Polly, ARCUS. In the current program year, twelve STEM educators will spend three to six weeks working with research teams in the Arctic or Antarctic. Arctic expeditions take place during the summer, beginning in June 2019. The Antarctic field season begins in October and continues through the winter of 2019–2020. With the continuing grant award, an additional 36 educators (eighteen U.S. middle and high school teachers and eighteen U.S. informal science educators) will also have the opportunity to participate in the program. While on field expeditions, they will be working with the researchers to share their experiences with the public through the use of the PolarTREC website (https://www.polartrec.com/) , creating online journals, photo albums, videos, and online learning resources. While in the field, the participants often share their experience and science in real-time (via online video platforms) with a variety of audiences. After the field experience, the teams continue to share their experiences with the public by creating instructional activities to transfer scientific data, methodologies, and technology to classrooms and other learning settings. One of the main goals of STEM at the Poles! is to allow for greater co-creation and collaboration between educators that work in classrooms and those that work outside the classroom, with the hopes of sharing polar science to larger audiences and across a variety of learning settings. Former PolarTREC alumni also have an important role in the program as mentors to new participants. The first expedition departs 3 June 2019 with David Walker from Austin, Texas, as he heads to Toolik 38 Field Station (https://toolik.alaska.edu/) in Alaska for four weeks. David will be working with Dr. Rose Cory, Dr. Byron Crump, and Dr. George Kling on an NSF-funded project: Collaborative Research: Coupled Biological and Photochemical Degradation of Dissolved Organic Carbon in the Arctic (https://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/carbon-in-the-arctic) . By mid-June multiple teachers will be heading to Alaska. Researchers who might be interested in hosting a STEM educator on a future field research project are encouraged to contact ARCUS Project Managers, Janet Warburton and Judy Fahnestock at [email protected] or visit the PolarTREC website (http://www.polartrec.com/) . About the Author Janet Warburton is a Project Manager at ARCUS whose primary focus is developing and implementing education related projects that help ARCUS meet its mission. For over a decade, she has administered ARCUS' signature education program, PolarTREC - Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating. She is also currently working with The Arctic in the Classroom, a program that focuses on citizen science projects in the Arctic. She is currently ARCUS' representative for University of the Arctic. Prior to joining ARCUS, she worked and lived in the Arctic in Kotzebue, Alaska. She has worked both with the federal government and local school districts developing and revamping science education programs to be more place-based as well as focus on both natural resource management and local knowledge. Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • inf[email protected] 39 Interagency News IARPC Collaborations: Communicating Across Boundaries and Delving into Critical Issues By: IARPC Secretariat Executive Secretary Sara Bowden, Web Manager / Communications Officer Jessica Rohde, and Project Analyst Meredith LaValley The Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC) Collaborations is changing the way Arctic researchers communicate and collaborate. Our open, online platform on the IARPC Collaborations website (https://www.iarpccollaborations.org/) , 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. IARPC consists of principals from 16 agencies, departments, and offices across the U.S. federal government and is charged with enhancing both the scientific monitoring of and research on local, regional, and global environmental issues in the Arctic. IARPC Collaborations was created by IARPC to connect federal government and non-federal government researchers and other stakeholders, including those overseas, to work together to solve the hard problems laid out in the IARPC Arctic Research Plan 2017—2021 (https://www.iarpccollaborations.org/uploads/cms/documents/arctic-research-plan-brochure20161201.pdf) . IARPC Collaboration Teams provide an opportunity for members of the Arctic research community to participate in implementation of federal research policy. Image courtesy of IARPC Collaborations. 40 To better support the Arctic research community, the IARPC Collaborations Teams website (https://www.iarpccollaborations.org/members/teams/index.html) includes a "self-forming team" feature. Self-forming teams are organized around a topic not covered in the existing set of Collaboration Teams and sub-teams. If members of the research community identify an emerging topic or need webspace to communicate and collaborate at any stage of a research effort, they may create a page on the site for community members to join and share their ideas. Currently the website supports six self-forming teams. Participation in the teams is open to anyone in the research community. Team meetings are posted as events on the IARPC Collaborations events website (https://www.iarpccollaborations.org/members/events /index.html) . To join a team, please request an account (https://www.iarpccollaborations.org/request-account.html) on the IARPC Collaborations member space. The recently created Diversity and Inclusion Self-forming Working Group (https://www.iarpccollaborations.org/members/people/teams/3862) recognizes the value of diversity and inclusiveness in Arctic science and encourages open conversations on how to facilitate inclusion and equity in scientific research to enhance problem solving and generate innovative solutions. This team is focusing its early efforts on sharing diversity and inclusion policies of federal funding agencies and other entities and holding open conversations via webinars to share experiences and ideas for ways to ensure diversity in the current and future generations of researchers. The Field Operations Working Group (https://www.iarpccollaborations.org/members/people/teams/1985) facilitates coordination and collaboration among organizations supporting field operations and campaigns to collect Arctic data. Each year federal members of the team compile a vessel and aircraft matrix that is made available early in the field season so that local communities as well as researchers know which vessels will be operating in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas. A recent Field Operations Working Group meeting featured a thorough overview of the logistics involved in the Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) project (https://www.iarpccollaborations.org /members/documents/13347) . This team is also a forum for sharing information and good practices around topics of common interest such as environmental compliance, managing risk in field settings, and implementing the Principles for Conducting Research in the Arctic. The Arctic STEM Education Working Group (https://www.iarpccollaborations.org/members/people/teams /3584) , chaired by NSF and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was initially formed in 2018 to coordinate federal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education activities in the Arctic. Initially a federal agency-only group, this team is now open to anyone who wishes to join. Its first open meeting convened on 31 May 2019. The group will connect STEM education organizations in order to leverage Arctic science. Its early work will be focused on bringing together STEM educators to discuss best practices and share ideas for expansion of STEM activities in the Arctic. 41 sustainable communities. He was born in Juneau and raised in Anchorage. He earned a BS in Biology from St. Lawrence University and a MS in Environmental Management from the University of San Francisco. He spent ten years as Community Services Director at the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, a regional tribal non-profit health consortium serving the Unangan population in Southwestern Alaska. He has spent the past ten years working for the statewide arm of the tribal health system where he directs environmental health services. Mike co-founded and directs the Local Environmental Observer (LEO) Network and is managing editor of the weekly e-journal, The Northern Climate Observer . He is associate faculty at Alaska Pacific University where he directs the Center for Climate and Health. Mike lives in Anchorage with his wife and four children. Erica Lujan, LEO Network Coordinator, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) is a member of the Tribal Capacity and Training Program at ANTHC, and works to help Alaskan communities document, and plan for, the impacts of climate change. Prior to coming on board with ANTHC, Erica worked as a Graduate Intern for the Division of Subsistence at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and as a Research Associate at the University of Alaska Anchorage Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies. Desirae Roehl, Tribal Capacity and Training Program Manager, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, is the Senior Program Manager for the Tribal Capacity and Training Program at ANTHC. She has over 14 years of experience working with tribal organizations on environmental and sustainability issues. 48 Michael Brook, Senior Software Architect, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, is a software engineer who has worked in the tribal health system since 2015. His work focuses on developing software that helps communities better monitor and address health conditions. He is the primary software architect for LEO Network. Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • inf[email protected] 49 U.S. Arctic Research Commission The U.S. Arctic Research Commission Releases its Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research 2019-2020 By: Cheryl Rosa, U.S. Arctic Research Commission Deputy Director The U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC) (https://www.arctic.gov/) released their 2019-2020 Report on the Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research (https://www.arctic.gov/reports_goals.html) on 8 May at their 111th Commission Meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. Dedicated to USARC's late Commissioner, Mary Pete, the "Goals Report" outlines recommendations for research in a rapidly changing Arctic. The report outlines five priority research areas and lists recommendations and examples for each. Illustrated cover of the 2019-2020 Report on the Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research. Image courtesy of USARC. Priority One: Advance Arctic Infrastructure Functional Arctic infrastructure is a prerequisite for human activity in the north. A changing climate damages essential infrastructure, making it costly to maintain, repair, and replace—especially in remote areas. USARC recommends preventative measures based on a well-informed understanding of 50 environmental conditions in order to reduce infrastructure damage and costs. USARC specifically seeks support for demonstration projects to address infrastructure engineering and design, as well as decisionsupport tools that are regularly updated to plan, design, and construct infrastructure in a rapidly changing environment. Priority Two: Assess Arctic Natural Resources As the Arctic becomes increasingly accessible, and as global demand for Arctic resources grows, decisionmakers need information that helps them to make informed choices on resource use. We recommend support for assessment of oil and gas potential on Alaska's North Slope, mineral distribution in the Arctic (Responsible agency: (United States Geological Survey (https://www.usgs.gov/) ), and trawl surveys of fish stocks from the Bering Sea northward (Responsible agency: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (https://www.noaa.gov/) ). We also encourage agencies, such as the Department of Energy, to fully implement their 10-year Arctic renewable energy plan. Priority Three: Observe, Understand, and Forecast Arctic Environmental Change Monitoring the rapid and unprecedented changes in the Arctic, and their impacts on wildlife and humans, is critically important. Our report mentions the stunning declines in migratory bird numbers, the majority of which spend critical parts of their lives in the Arctic. Another focus is the "cold pool"—or lack thereof—in the Bering Sea. Marine heatwaves are changing spawning habitat and egg survival, larval development, and fish growth rates, impacting the ecosystem as a whole. 51 Fish drying near Tooksook Bay. Photo courtesy of Jimmie Lincoln. Priority Four: Improve Community Health and Well-Being This "goal" used to be two separate priorities—one called Arctic Human Health and another having to do with culture, languages, and resiliency. Through feedback from community members, they were combined into one cohesive goal that underscores their inter-relatedness. Our recommendations range from how to perform research—emphasizing early and frequent collaboration with local communities on research questions, approach, and conduction—to specifics regarding the provision of mental health care, clean and adequate amounts of water in rural Alaska, and the emergence and expansion of diseases that can affect humans and wildlife. Priority Five: Enhance International Scientific Cooperation in the Arctic Increasing demands for information and interdisciplinary research results create a challenge for Arctic states and stakeholders. Enhanced cooperation among Arctic states and non-Arctic states can build synergies between national programs and create efficiencies for the best use of limited resources to address 52 Arctic scientific challenges that often extend beyond the jurisdiction of any one nation. Recommendations include implementation of the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement and the Arctic Science Cooperation Agreement, and strengthening of bilateral and multilateral research cooperation. The report also covers emerging topics in Arctic research, its collaboration with the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee, and addressing federal and state priorities. For further information, read the 2019-2020 Report on the Goals and Objectives for Arctic Research (https://www.arctic.gov/reports_goals.html) . About the Author Dr. Cheryl Rosa, Deputy Director and Anchorage-based Alaska Director of the United States Arctic Research Commission (USARC), is trained as a wildlife veterinarian and wildlife biologist and has worked with subsistence communities on the North Slope and in the Russian Far East on a wide range of studies involving wildlife health and zoonotic disease, marine mammal stranding response, subsistence food safety, and oil spill/offshore discharge research. She is a member of the International Whaling Commission's Scientific Committee, as well as numerous other federal and non-federal boards and steering committees. Presently, she is involved in running USARC's Alaska Rural Water and Sanitation Working Group, the Arctic Renewable Energy Working Group, and the Arctic Mental Health Working Group. Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • inf[email protected] 53 Polar Research Board Drivers and Implications of Arctic Vegetation Browning and Greening Trends—Proceedings from a Recent Workshop by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine By: April Melvin, Program Officer, Polar Research Board, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine The Polar Research Board (http://www.dels.nas.edu/prb) , in collaboration with the Board on Life Sciences (https://www.nap.edu/author/BLS/division-on-earth-and-life-studies/board-on-life-sciences) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (http://www.nationalacademies.org/) , convened a workshop in December 2018 to discuss vegetation greening and browning in tundra and boreal ecosystems. 54 The Proceedings from a workshop, "Understanding Northern Latitude Vegetation Greening and Browning," was published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Image courtesy of the National Academies. 55 Vegetation change has been observed across Arctic and boreal regions Studies have often documented large-scale greening trends (i.e. increased plant productivity and measured "greenness") but they have also identified areas of browning (decreased productivity) or shifts between greening and browning over varying spatial extents and time periods. At the same time, there are large portions of these ecosystems that have not exhibited measurable trends in greening or browning. These findings have fueled many questions about observed trends and identified drivers, implications of vegetation change, and methods and tools for evaluating changes and their uncertainties. These topical areas formed the primary themes of the workshop that were discussed by experts representing remote sensing and field-based research communities from U.S. and international institutions. Drivers of greening and browning trends Drivers discussed at the workshop included climate change and a variety of disturbance types, including many that are commonly linked to warming. Warming has been shown to contribute directly to greening trends in tundra by stimulating plant growth and shifting the landscape toward increased plant (including shrub) cover. Fire is a major disturbance in boreal forest that has increased in extent and severity with warming and has been linked to browning trends, and there is increasing concern that fires will also become more frequent in tundra. Insect infestations also cause browning as trees are either killed or defoliated. Harvest of high-productivity tree species, particularly in Canada, was also discussed as a common disturbance that decreases forest cover and can contribute to browning. Implications The potential implications of vegetation change and related greening and browning patterns extend from local to global scales. The Earth's surface energy balance is strongly affected by albedo (reflectance), which varies with the color of vegetation and the presence of snow on the vegetation surface. Shifts in plant species composition that often occur following a disturbance were also discussed. Areas often exhibit browning initially, followed by greening as the ecosystem recovers either to a state similar to predisturbance, or to a new state in which plant-soil-microbial feedbacks are altered, with implications for carbon and nutrient cycling and storage, permafrost thaw, and greenhouse gas release, among other processes. Vegetation change can also affect wildlife and hunting and have other societal impacts. Researchers are currently investigating linkages between migratory caribou, preferred food sources, and trends in greening and browning. Vegetation change, particularly increasing shrub cover, was also discussed as a possible hindrance to hunters' ability to visually find animals and as a negative impact on travel to hunting areas. A benefit of increasing shrub abundance around villages at high latitudes may be the increased use of shrubs as a fuel source. 56 Methods to evaluate greening and browning Commonly used methodologies include remote sensing platforms (satellites, airborne campaigns, drones, etc.) and field-based approaches that measure plant growth, percentage cover, leaf greenup and senescence, as well as eddy covariance (a micro-meteorological method used to directly observe the exchanges of gas, energy, and momentum between ecosystems and the atmosphere). Remote sensing is a useful tool because it can capture information across vast regions that are largely inaccessible over land. Many remote sensing platforms also provide relatively long records that can be analyzed to determine trends. A tradeoff, however, is that these datasets are often at coarse spatial and temporal resolution and therefore may be unable to detect smaller-scale changes that are observable when using field-based methods. Field measurements allow for fine-resolution evaluation of productivity drivers and may identify changes that are only discernible at a local scale. Field-collected data are also important for validating findings of remote sensing studies. The importance of the scale at which data are collected was a recurrent theme throughout the workshop. Participants emphasized that moving toward increased collection of data at finer spatial and temporal scales, with improved bridging of information across scales, would help to address observable inconsistencies that currently exist when comparing greening and browning patterns and trends across datasets. Expanded efforts to integrate new technologies and tools that have become available could also advance understanding. Further information is available in the Workshop Proceedings (https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25423 /understanding-northern-latitude-vegetation-greening-and-browning-proceedings-of-a) that summarize presentations and discussions at the workshop, released on 18 April 2019. Additionally, a public webinar was held on 14 May 2019. April Melvin is an environmental scientist and policy professional with experience studying the impacts of climate change and air pollution on society and the environment. She is currently a Program Officer at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine where she coordinates the development of consensus reports and workshops for the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate and the Polar Research Board. Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • inf[email protected] 57 Dr. Rosemary Ahtuangaruak Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • inf[email protected] 64 A Note From the ARCUS Executive Director ARCUS Highlights By: Helen Wiggins, ARCUS Interim Executive Director, Director of Programs I'm proud to highlight several activities below that have been keeping us very busy over the past months (a few also mentioned in the Note from the ARCUS President) (https://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2019/1/article /29377) —none of which would be possible without our many collaborators, contributors, participants, and funders. We also love to highlight interesting efforts and research of the broader community, and Witness the Arctic , with a reach of nearly 9,000 subscribers, is a great place to do this! If you'd like your work featured in a future issue, please email Witness the Arctic 's editor, Betsy Turner-Bogren, at [email protected]g . PolarTREC funded : We are thrilled to announce that NSF has awarded us a new three-year grant to support the highly successful PolarTREC (https://www.polartrec.com/) program! Funded by NSF's Office of Polar Programs, PolarTREC provides opportunities for U.S. STEM educators to participate in cutting-edge field research with polar scientists in both Arctic and Antarctic locations. More information is available in this issue here (https://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2019/1/article/29389) . Indigenous Scholars Program 2019 : Four Indigenous Scholars have just returned from visits to Washington, D.C, where they discussed Arctic issues with a variety of policyand decision-makers. An archive of a webinar from one of the scholars, Helen Aderman, on Bristol Bay Marine Ecosystem & Subsistence Resource needs, is available here (https://www.arcus.org/indigenous-scholars) . We also have an article in this issue (https://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2019/1/article/29400) of Witness from 2018 Arctic Indigenous Scholar, Rosemary Ahtuangaruak. Meeting on "Culturally Responsive Outreach to Indigenous Alaska K-12 Students" : As part of our The Arctic in the Classroom (TAC) (https://www.arcus.org/tac) project, ARCUS co-sponsored and participated in this meeting to review and adapt existing guidance about culturally responsive instructional strategies and/or to develop new guidance and resources. Sea Ice Prediction NetworkPhase 2 (SIPN2) : The collaborative SIPN2 project has published a 2018 post-season Sea Ice Outlook report (https://www.arcus.org/sipn/sea-ice-outlook/2018/post65 season) , held a webinar on ICESat-2 (https://www.arcus.org/sipn/meetings/webinars) , and launched the 2019 Sea Ice Outlook season with the first call for contributions (https://www.arcus.org/sipn/seaice-outlook/2019/june/call) . Arctic Research/Seminar Series : In 2019 we've organized webinars about marine mammals, community science, and public knowledge of the Arctic. Archives of past webinars are available here (https://www.arcus.org/research-seminar-series/archive) . Subscribe to the ArcticInfo email list (https://www.arcus.org/arctic-info) to receive notices of future webinars. Anchorage Arctic Research Summit : ARCUS was a partner for the 2019 Anchorage Arctic Research Summit, which brought together members of the Anchorage-area Arctic research community to share information around the themes: Transforming Research & Scholarship: Arctic Economic Security & Environmental Security. More information about the event is available here (https://www.anchoragemuseum.org/the-lab/projects/nxn/anchorage-arctic-research-summit-details) . Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (SIWO) : SIWO (https://www.arcus.org/siwo) provides weekly reports from April through May/June with information on weather and sea ice conditions relevant to walrus in the northern Bering Sea and southern Chukchi Sea regions of Alaska. The 2019 season is now winding down with summer approaching and very little sea ice remaining. Other ongoing communication activities include managing the ArcticInfo email list (https://www.arcus.org /arctic-info) , Witness Community Highlights (https://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/communityhighlights) (Witness the Arctic's companion online publication), and the Arctic Calendar (https://www.arcus.org/events/arctic-calendar) —your one-stop-shop for Arctic meetings and events. Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • inf[email protected] 66 A Note from the ARCUS President ARCUS Activities —Supporting our Members and the Research Community Greetings all ARCUS members, supporters, and friends! I'm writing this from sunny Anchorage, Alaska, where spring is returning with its complement of flowers, birds, and tourists. School is out and many on the ARCUS board and in the membership are likely headed to the field soon; I wish you the best of luck and an enjoyable and productive summer! We'll look forward to hearing how things went at our next annual membership meeting during AGU's Fall Meeting 2019. On the ARCUS end, we have been busy as usual networking, communicating, educating, and facilitating Arctic research at its finest. We had a strong presence at the end of last year at the American Geophysical Union's Fall Meeting (https://fallmeeting.agu.org/2018/) in Washington D.C., where we held our annual member meeting and reception (open to all interested parties, not just members!) and an inaugural "Arctic Funder's Meet and Greet" event featuring program officers from six federal agencies that fund Arctic research: NSF (https://nsf.gov /div/index.jsp?div=OPP) , the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (https://www.noaa.gov/) , the Department of Energy (DOE) (https://www.energy.gov/) , the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (https://www.nasa.gov/) , the North Pacific Research Board (NPRB) (https://www.nprb.org/) , and the U.S. Arctic Research Commission (USARC) (https://www.arctic.gov/) . We used the ARCUS annual meeting as a chance to query the members and representatives present about: (1) specific opportunities ARCUS members could collaborate on, and (2) existing gaps in resources or support for the Arctic research community. The responses to these questions were documented in our annual meeting summary report. In case you missed it, the 2018 ARCUS Annual Meeting Summary Report (https://www.arcus.org/files/page/documents/28632/2018annualreportc.pdf) is available on the ARCUS website. So far this spring, ARCUS has had a successful board/staff retreat in Anchorage where we aligned current 67 and upcoming project ideas with our new strategic plan (finalized fall 2018) to facilitate a strong sense of shared priorities within our team. In early May, we co-hosted the Anchorage Arctic Research Summit (https://www.anchoragemuseum.org/the-lab/projects/nxn/anchorage-arctic-research-summit-details) . The summit is an annual event aimed at bringing together the large and diverse research community in the Anchorage area to share updates, findings, and ideas in a unique and engaging format. This year's theme was "Transforming Research and Scholarship: Re-envisioning Arctic Environmental and Economic Security Through Indigeneity and Gender." Moving forward, we are hoping to connect more profoundly with our membership over the coming months since one of our goals as an organization is to be responsive to your concerns and needs. One way we are doing this is to include more member-focused content in the monthly ARCUS Member newsletter. We invite you to share any news or announcements related to the Arctic research taking place within your institution, as well as to use this forum to highlight opportunities for collaboration or community challenges. For details, please contact ARCUS staff member, Brit Myers ( [email protected]g ). That's all from the President's corner for now…until we meet again, be well and do good work. ARCUS appreciates all that you do to further our collective knowledge of the Arctic! Audrey Taylor President, ARCUS Board of Directors Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • inf[email protected] 68 From the ARCUS Board Meet the Board of Directors — Craig Fleener Craig Fleener was elected to the ARCUS Board of Directors in 2018 and his term expires in 2021. Craig 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. His background includes working in tribal and state government and the U.S. military. Early in his career, he worked on tribal and village corporation land issues. Then, at his regional tribal consortium, he worked on wildlife and fisheries issues, environmental stewardship, climate change research, vocational training, and healthcare. From 2008–2018, Craig worked as the Director of the Division of Subsistence, then Deputy Commissioner of Wildlife, Subsistence, and Habitat Divisions at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and ultimately serving as the Arctic Policy Advisor and Director of State and Federal Relations in Washington, D.C. Craig has served 32 years in the U.S. military. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1986, transitioning to the Alaska Air National Guard in 1991. He was enlisted for 16 years then received his commission in 2002. Currently, he holds the rank of Lt. Col. with the 176 Air Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf in Richardson, Alaska. Craig holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources Management from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (1999). His research focused on managing chronically low moose populations. In 2013, he earned a Master of Arts in Intelligence Studies from American Public University where his research was on developing a more effective U.S. Arctic Policy. In 2019, Craig completed Air War College at Air University with research that focused on resolving regional conflict in the South Atlantic. Craig and his family currently live in southern Maryland, but he’s originally from Fort Yukon, Alaska, and is a Gwichyaa Zhee Gwich’in Tribal member. His priority areas include tribal self-determination, economic independence and diversification, Arctic Policy including Arctic sub-national leadership, collaboration, research, and infrastructure. Craig’s ongoing interests include ensuring a better understanding of the Arctic including the needs of its residents, adaptation due to rapid climate changes, understanding the ocean, strong U.S. and Alaska leadership in developing Arctic Policy, and greater virtual storage, access to, and utilization of Arctic research that has 69 been conducted but is difficult to uncover. Craig is honored to serve with ARCUS because of its cross-regional/dimensional nature working to create a holistic understanding of the Arctic in partnership with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), universities, tribes, government agencies, and research entities. ARCUS is perfectly situated to advance Arctic understanding and promote research findings for the benefit of humanity. Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • inf[email protected] 70 From the ARCUS Board Meet the Board of Directors - Jasper (Joe) Hardesty Jasper (Joe) Hardesty,was elected to the ARCUS Board of Directors in 2018 and his term ends in 2021. He is also a member of the ARCUS Membership and Development Committee. Joe works at Sandia National Labs, out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where there is plenty of (non-Arctic) desert. 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, and having assets that include controlled airspaces, unmanned aircraft, and tethered balloon systems. These sites and systems support instrumentation and field campaigns to provide Arctic atmospheric measurements and data used by climate modelers around the world. Joe's degrees are in architecture and urban planning (University of Illinois) and chemical engineering (Stanford University). As an architect and planner, he has overseen all aspects of major institutional and commercial projects, with a focus on sustainable development, ecotourism, and responsible cultural tourism. As a researcher, he has contributed to Arctic projects for atmospheric study, building and infrastructure resilience, and renewable energy systems; as well as non-Arctic work with natural resource sustainability, biofuels, food security, international chemical/biological security, decontamination, and pollution remediation. In addition to his ARM work, Joe's current efforts are focused on expanding the repertoire of capabilities at Sandia Labs being applied to Arctic research, mentoring early career researchers, and planning for development of a comprehensive, permanent, year-round U.S. High Arctic Research Center and infrastructure network in Alaska. A common thread in Joe's work is a desire to connect disparate perspectives to fulfill our responsibilities as stewards of the environment and communities around us. Having worked with private business, government institutions, and philanthropic organizations, he sees opportunities where the ARCUS vision for collaborative, interdisciplinary Arctic research and outreach can raise awareness of Arctic issues and 71 impacts of a rapidly warming Arctic on lower latitudes in order to garner greater national support for Arctic programs. He would like to see greater pan-Arctic research coordination, including integration of local knowledge, citizen science, and academic research to fill gaps in our understanding of changes in the Arctic to inform appropriate responses. Published by the Arctic Research Consortium of the United States • 3535 College Road - Suite 101 • Fairbanks, AK 99709 • inf[email protected] 72 From the ARCUS Board Meet the Board of Directors — Victoria Herrmann Victoria Herrmann was elected to the ARCUS Board of Directors in 2018 and her term expires in 2021. She also serves as a member of the Membership Development Committee. Dr. Victoria Herrmann is the President and Managing Director of The Arctic Institute (https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/) , 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. This type of transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary Arctic research, that allows us to collaborate across so many boundaries, is why Victoria was first drawn to Polar Studies. Although fostering inclusivity in research communities is a continual pursuit, the Arctic research community's diversity of knowledges, generations, and geography means that being an Arctic researcher is to be a lifelong learner and listener. The collaboration, experiences, and friendships she has made over the past five years as part of the Arctic research community is why she joined the ARCUS Board. ARCUS provides the support not only for professional development and research communication for Arctic scholars and knowledge holders, but also a strong network for early career and established researchers to connect and collaborate. Though she thoroughly enjoys her Arctic family, Victoria also works with coastal communities in the Lower 48 and U.S. territories on climate change adaptation as a National Geographic Explorer. In 2016 and 2017, as lead researcher for America's Eroding Edges project, she traveled across the country interviewing more than 350 local leaders to identify what is needed most to safeguard coastal communities against the unavoidable impacts of climate change. Her current project, Rise Up to Rising Tides, is creating an online matchmaking platform that connects pro bono experts with climate-affected communities. Supported by the J.M.K Innovation Prize ( https://www.jmkfund.org/innovation-prize-2019/ ) and partnered with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, her ongoing project seeks to safeguard heritage by connecting national expertise to some of the 13 million Americans at risk of being displaced due to rising waters in the coming years. 73