During POLAR 2018 in Davos (Switzerland), IASC Working Groups convened for their annual meetings to assess activities held in 2017 and to plan upcoming activities for 2018/2019. “Upcoming activities” includes both Working-Group-specific and Cross-Cutting activities (that is to say when at least two Working Groups jointly support an activity). After consideration and discussion, proposals that receive approval from the Working Groups receive funding. The next annual meeting of the Working Groups will be during ASSW2019 in Arkhangelsk (Russia).
Below, you can read a brief overview of each Working Group’s upcoming activities and new members.
The Atmosphere Working Group thanked John Cassano for his work as Vice Chair and congratulates Annette Rinke for her election to take over. This year the AWG also welcomed two new WG members, Gijs de Boer and Kalevi Mursula, the 2018 Fellow, Gillian Young, and the newly appointed Secretary Rui Wang. MOSAiC Final Implementation Workshop (Early 2019, Potsdam (Germany), Contacts: Annette Rinke), is the only WG-specific activity funded for this year. Remarkably, the AWG put forward several cross-cutting proposals this year (10 in total), including the 3rd PACES Open Science Meeting, Workshops: IMPAACT, ALPACA, and Aerosol-Cloud Interactions (Contacts: Kathy Law, More information). Three of these cross-cutting activities include all five Working groups: YOPP Arctic Science Workshop (14 – 16 Jan 2019, Helsinki, Finland, Contacts: Thomas Spengler), Societal Relevance of Polar Research (27 - 28 November 2018 Sopot (Poland), Contacts: Michal Luszczuk, Jan Marcin Weslawski) and T-MOSAiC (December 2018 / May 2019, Ottawa (Canada) / Arkhangelsk (Russia), Contacts: João Canário, Warwick F. Vincent). For updates and more info on cross-cutting activities, please follow this link. For an overview on past activities, please check the AWG activities page.
The Cryosphere Working Group appointed Guðfinna Aðalgeirsdóttir (Tollý) as the new chair, congratulating Francisco Navarro for his great job in the previous years. This year the CWG welcomed two new WG members, Marie Sabacka (Czech Republic) - replacing Marek Stibal, and Hans-Werner Jacobi (France) - replacing Michel Fily, the 2018 Fellow, Alice Bradley, and the newly appointed Secretary Pablo Sánchez Gámez. The CWG approved two activities that continue the effort of previous years: the 4th International Summer School in Glaciology (5 - 15 June 2018, McCarthy, Alaska (US) Contacts: Regine Hock) and the SCAR/IASC/CliC Ice Sheet Mass Balance and Sea Level (ISMASS) (15 June 2018, Davos, Switzerland, Contacts: Edward Hanna). You can read about these activities here. The CWG renewed its great effort in participating and contributing into cross-cutting activities, including, for example, “NAG - The Importance of Arctic Glaciers for the Arctic Marine Ecosystem” (20 - 24 January 2019, Geilo (Norway), Contacts: Thorben Dunse, Renate Degen, More information). For updates and more info on cross-cutting activities, please follow this link. For an overview on past activities, please check the CWG activities page.
The Marine Working Group welcomed the 2018 Fellow Françoise Amélineau. Two MWG specific activities received support: the IASC-SCAR Polar Marine Diatom Workshop (6 - 10 August 2018, Milford, Iowa (USA), Contacts: Beth Caissie) and The 2019 GRC on Polar Marine Science (16 - 17 March 2019, Castelvecchio Pascoli (Italy), Contact: Jean-Eric Tremblay, More information). Five Cross-Cutting activities were also funded, including Societal Relevance of Polar Research (27 - 28 November 2018, Sopot (Poland), Contacts: Michal Luszczuk, Jan Marcin Weslawski). For updates and more info on cross-cutting activities, please follow this link. For an overview on past activities, please check the MWG activities page.
The Social and Human Working Group welcomed Susan Chatwood (Canada), new SHWG member, and Stanislav Ksenofontov, IASC Fellow 2018. Among the activities funded by the SHWG, it was highlighted that the “Gender in the Arctic”, as an IASSA Working Group, hosted an IASC-SHWG-supported event as a side meeting to the UArctic Congress – thus representing all three major Arctic social science organizations. The SHWG is also participating in 6 Cross cutting activities in 2018, including RATIC (May 2019, Arkhangelsk (Russia), Contacts: Vladimir Romanovsky) and Societal Relevance of Polar Research (27 - 28 November 2018, Sopot (Poland), Contacts: Michal Luszczuk, Jan Marcin Weslawski). For updates and more info on cross-cutting activities, please follow this link. For an overview on past activities, please check the SHWG activities page.
The Terrestrial Working Group welcomed 2018 Fellow Anna-Maria Virkkala. Two TWG-specific activities received support: Permafrost Carbon Network (9 December 2018, Washington, D.C. (USA), Contacts: Christina Schaedel) and the AVA - Arctic Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning (May 2019, Arkhangelsk (Russia), Contacts: Gabriela Schaepman-Strub). Among the cross-cutting activities, the TWG will participate in RATIC (May 2019, Arkhangelsk (Russia), Contacts: Vladimir Romanovsky) and Permafrost on All Channels 2019 (Contacts: Julie Sansoulet, Frédéric Bouchard, More information). For updates and more info on cross-cutting activities, please follow this link. For an overview on past activities, please check the TWG activities page.