Software Sustainability Collaborations Workshop 2013

The Software Sustainability Institute is running its annual Collaborations Workshop (CW13) at Merton College, Oxford from 21-22 March 2013. This workshop brings together researchers, software developers, managers, funders and more to explore ideas in software pertinent to their research and exploit any synergies that may lead to interdisciplinary collaborations.

Last year's workshop (CW12), also held in Oxford, was attended by researchers, developers, managers, funders and some independent developers was a great success. An article on the workshop can be found in the Ariadne magazine: http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue68/cw12-rpt

The 2013 workshop will give you an opportunity to meet and network with fellow researchers, learn more about the Software Sustainability Institute and how they may be of help to make you more productive in your research. It will give you an opportunity to network with other researchers and developers that may lead to new collaborations being established: http://www.software.ac.uk/blog/2013-03-07-collaborations-workshop-2013-many-many-reasons-attend
Amongst the attendees will be most of the new Institute Fellows: http://www.software.ac.uk/fellowship-programme/fellow-profiles
To find out more and register for the Software Sustainability Institute's Collaborations Workshop 2013 please go to: http://www.software.ac.uk/collaborations-workshop-2013-cw13
Places are going fast so please try to register early.

SUMup snow depth, density and accumulation data collection effort

The Surface Mass Balance and Snow on Sea Ice Working Group (SUMup) is leading NASA's effort to improve spatial and temporal estimates of surface mass balance on ice sheets and snow accumulation on sea ice.  At the 2012 SUMup meeting it was determined that easy, consolidated access to observational data would help improve modeling and remote sensing efforts. SUMup is currently compiling three observational datasets to be updated yearly and distributed to the community. SUMup has already compiled many datasets internally and are asking for additional contributions to the three datasets which are:

•  Annual Accumulation over the ice sheets and ice caps from 1800 on including ice cores, stake  and radar measurements.
•  Snow Density over sea ice, ice sheets and ice caps.
•  Snow Depth over sea ice including measurement and radar derived snow depths.

If you would like to contribute data to any of these datasets, or have addition questions please visit the SUMup webpage at http://neptune.gsfc.nasa.gov/csb/index.php?section=267 or email Lora Koenig at lora.s.koenig@nasa.gov by March 31, 2013. All data contributors will be cited in the dataset.

SnowALP - Smartphone App

SnowALP is a mobile app for crowd-sourcing snow height data. SnowALP wants to engage mountain enthusiasts in the observation and collection of environmental data such as snow depth. Collected data are used to estimate the amount of water stored as snow (i.e. Snow Water Equivalent, SWE) in the Alps.

Using SnowALP you will help studies of climate change impacts and water management.

SnowALP is available for both Android and iPhone devices. For more information go to the SnowALP - Info page

Witness the Arctic Online Issue Available Winter 2013

Articles in this issue include:

Interagency Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH)
- SEARCH Updates
   http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2013/1/article/19614

Arctic Social Sciences Program
- Demographics of True and False Arctic Facts
   http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2013/1/article/19609
- Recovered Artifacts Indicate Prehistoric Trade Across Bering Strait
   http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2013/1/article/19624

National Science Foundation News
- Impact of FY 2013 Sequestration Order on NSF Awards
   http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2013/1/article/19617
- NSF's Polar Cyberinfrastructure Program Initiative
   http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2013/1/article/19613
- Community Updates from NSF Arctic Town Hall Meetings
   http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2013/1/article/19649

Interagency News
- Administration Releases Five-Year Arctic Research Plan
   http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2013/1/article/19623
- The Arctic Report Card: Past and Present
   http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2013/1/article/19615

U.S. Arctic Research Commission
- Recent Presidential Appointments to USARC
   http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2013/1/article/19611
- USARC Resources and Reports
   http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2013/1/article/19612

Polar Research Board
- Polar Research Board Releases Report on Seasonal to Decadal Predictions of Arctic Sea Ice
   http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2013/1/article/19610

International News
- International Arctic Observing Summit to Convene Spring 2013
   http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2013/1/article/19630

A Note from the ARCUS President
- A Brief Personal Look at the Evolution of the R/V Sikuliaq
   http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic/2013/1/article/19620

The next issue of Witness the Arctic will be published in spring of 2013. For further information or to submit an article idea for future issues, please contact Betsy Turner-Bogren at ARCUS (betsy@arcus.org).

To view articles or to download a PDF file of this issue, please go to:
http://www.arcus.org/witness-the-arctic.

Faculty position in Arctic Geophysics at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS)

The department of Arctic Geophysics is now seeking candidates for the position of Professor/Associate Professor in Snow and Ice Physics with focus on glaciers, ice sheets, snow cover and sea ice. Deadline for applications is 2nd of April 2012. UNIS is located in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, the studies at UNIS are marketed internationally and all classes are offered in English. See full call at http://www.unis.no/30_ABOUT_UNIS/4020_Vacant_Positions/documents/Announcement-Professor-associateprofessor-snowandicephysics.pdf

Release of the Javascript Ice Sheet Model

The Javascript Ice Sheet Model (J-ISM) is a browser-based ice sheet model for educational purposes. The model is based on Frank Pattyn's Excel-based GRANTISM, and thus behaves more or less identically to that model.

The model is available to play with online at http://mewo2.com/ism.html
and the code is on GitHub at https://github.com/mewo2/j-ism

The model has been tested on undergrads by Martin O'Leary, Research Officer at the Department of Geography, Swansea University. The instructions he gave the students (3rd year geography undergrads) are accessible at
http://mewo2.com/assets/model.pdf and http://mewo2.com/assets/practical.pdf
Martin O'Leary welcomes comments, issues and bugfixes, please e-mail to: m.e.w.oleary@gmail.com

"State of the Earth´s Cryosphere", News Release from the USGS

A Cold Look at Planet Earth: Learning from the World’s Frozen Places

The recently published State of the Earth’s Cryosphere at the Beginning of the 21st Century summarizes past and present-day changes in the Earth’s cryosphere (the whole of its frozen water) and describes the ongoing and potential effects of those changes. Extensively illustrated in print and connected to a companion online image gallery, this volume supplies a synthesis for 10 other geographically-based volumes in the 11-volume Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World.
This Science Feature can be found at: http://www.usgs.gov/blogs/features/usgs_top_story/a-cold-look-at-planet-earth-learning-from-the-worlds-frozen-places/

5th International Workshop on Sea Ice Modelling and Data Assimilation

The workshop of the International Ice Charting Working Group Data Assimilation Working Groupwill take place in Bremen, Germany on May 15th to 16th 2013.
The focus of the workshop is on research and development related to numerical sea ice
analysis and prediction. General topics considered appropriate for this workshop include:
· Sea ice observations
· Data assimilation (methods and results)
· Sea ice model parametrizations and coupling to ocean and atmosphere
models
· Verification approaches for sea-ice analyses and forecasts

Go to: http://nsidc.org/noaa/iicwg/docs/IICWG-2013/IICWG_DA_2013_Workshop_Invitation.pdf for more information. E-mail Lilian.Schubert@awi.de before the 31 January 2013.

New datas available for Byrd Glacier

The Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) has posted a new radar depth sounder dataset and a new ice bottom, ice thickness, and ice surface grid for Byrd Glacier.
For radar depth sounder dataset go to:
https://data.cresis.ku.edu/ Click on “Radar Depth Sounder” link and then click on L1B and L2 link. The direct link is: ftp://data.cresis.ku.edu/data/rds/2011_Antarctica_TO/
For ice bottom, ice thickness, and ice surface grid go to: https://data.cresis.ku.edu/ Click on “Radar Depth Sounder” link and then click on L3 link. The direct link is: ftp://data.cresis.ku.edu/data/grids/Byrd_2011_2012_Composite.zip
Citation and acknowledgement information is provided on the main radar data products page: at https://data.cresis.ku.edu/#ACRDU
If you have any questions or find any problems with the dataset please contact:
cresis_data@cresis.ku.edu

Arctic Frontiers 2013 live and streaming webTV feed available

Arctic Frontiers 2013 - Geopolitics & Marine Production in a Changing Arctic can be followed through live and streaming webTV feed available at www.arcticfrontiers.com

The 7th Arctic Frontiers conference addresses the contemporary and emerging political issues for the changing Arctic. How do states in and outside the region prepare strategically for the new Arctic reality? How does the global security architecture impact on security in the Arctic? How important is Arctic oil and gas production for global demand and the energy security of various states? How will traditional businesses interact with new industry, and if and how will profits from industrial activities benefit the people living in the High North.

Change is the keyword which best describes the future of the Arctic. A warming Arctic with less ice creates economic opportunities but it also presents new challenges for Arctic stakeholders. Join us at this year's Arctic Frontiers Conference to engage with the experts and be ready to meet the challenges that lie ahead for the Arctic.
Got to: www.arcticfrontiers.com for more information.

Deadline 15 February 2013 for the Atmospheric Processes in Latin America and the Caribbean course

The 2013 Pan American Advanced Studies Institute (PASI) Atmospheric Processes in Latin America and the Caribbean short course will take place from 27 May - 7 June 2013, in Cartagena, Colombia. The course is intended to foster a community of early career scientists who are interested in atmospheric processes that are important to Latin America and the Caribbean. This two-week course will provide a comprehensive summary of the state of knowledge of the key processes that are important to the region including global tele-connections, regional monsoon systems, regional sources of moisture and its transport, hurricanes, ocean-air interactions, hurricanes, and small scale convection. Application deadline is 15 February 2013

For more information visit: http://www.cosmic.ucar.edu/pasi2013/index.html

December 2012 Issue of the Journal ARCTIC Available

The Arctic Institute of North America (AINA) announces publication of the December 2012 issue of the journal ARCTIC, Volume 65, Number 4. A non-profit membership organization and multidisciplinary research institute of the University of Calgary, AINA's mandate is to advance the
study of the North American and circumpolar Arctic through the natural and social sciences, as well as the arts and humanities, and to acquire, preserve, and disseminate information on physical, environmental, and social conditions in the North. Created as a binational corporation in
1945, the Institute's United States Corporation is housed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

For information on becoming an AINA member and receiving the journal, please visit the Institute's website at: http://www.arctic.ucalgary.ca/. Members have the options of receiving ARCTIC in print, online, or both in print and online.

The following papers appear in the December 2012 issue of ARCTIC:

- Shifts in Plankton, Nutrient and Light Relationships in Small Tundra
Lakes Caused by Localized Permafrost Thaw
By: Megan S. Thompson, Frederick J. Wrona, and Terry D. Prowse

- Ringed Seals and Sea Ice in Canada's Western Arctic: Harvest-Based
Monitoring 1992-2011
By: Lois A. Harwood, Thomas G. Smith, Humfrey Melling, John Alikamik,
and Michael C.S. Kingsley

- The Utility of Harvest Recoveries of Marked Individuals to Assess
Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Survival
By: Elizabeth Peacock, Jeff Laake, Kristin L. Laidre, Erik W. Born, and
Stephen N. Atkinson

- Serum Biochemistry and Serum Cortisol Levels of Immobilized and Hunted
Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) from Northern Canada
By: N. Jane Harms, Brett T. Elkin, Anne Gunn, Boyan Tracz, Jan
Adamczewski, Peter Flood, and Frederick A. Leighton

- Shorebirds Breed in Unusually High Densities in the Teshekpuk Lake
Special Area, Alaska
By: Brad A. Andres, James A. Johnson, Stephen C. Brown, and Richard B. Lanctot

- Harvest-based Monitoring in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region: Steps
for Success
By: Robert K. Bell and Lois A. Harwood

- The Naming of Kazan River, Nunavut, Canada
By: C.B. Sikstrom

- Weathering Changes: Cultivating Local and Traditional Knowledge of
Environmental Change in Tr'ondek Hwech'in Traditional Territory
By: Shirley Roburn and Tr'ondek Hwech'in Heritage Department

- Nesting Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Population Quintuples in
Northwest Greenland
By: Kurt K. Burnham, Jeff A. Johnson, Bridger Konkel, and Jennifer L. Burnham

- Renewable Energy Policies and Programs in Nunavut: Perspectives from
the Federal and Territorial Governments
By: Nicole C. McDonald and Joshua M. Pearce

The December issue also contains an Arctic Profile of Ernest William Hawkes, written by Barnett Richling; five book reviews; a Letter to the Editor; and two obituaries, one for Geoffrey Hattersley-Smith, and the other for Richard George Bolney Brown.

The InfoNorth section of the December issue contains two essays written by the AINA 2012 scholarship winners. N. Jane Harms, the recipient of the Jennifer Robinson Memorial Scholarship, provided an update on her study of avian cholera among common eiders in the eastern Canadian
Arctic. Ann Balasubramaniam, the 2012 recipient of the Lorraine Allison Scholarship, presented her research on hydro-limnological relationships in thermokarst lakes of the Old Crow Flats, Yukon.

For information on becoming an AINA member and receiving the journal,
please visit the Institute's website at: http://www.arctic.ucalgary.ca/.