ASSW 2021 Full Program

19 March 2021 | 10:00 - 16:00 (GMT)

FARO Annual meeting 

Open Session

Contact: Marie Frost Arndal (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

The Forum of Arctic Research Operators (FARO) consists of over 20 member countries that conduct research operations in the Arctic. Over FARO’s 20 years of existence, Arctic research has changed considerably. This, coupled with stunning changes in technology, has driven the evolution of operations and has made the underlying need for collaboration and information exchange across national boundaries more critical than ever. This is particularly true with large infrastructure commitments and geographically disperse observing networks. To this end, FARO acts as an international forum for information exchange, establishment of cooperation, and development of new ideas. FARO aims to encourage and optimize logistics and operational support for scientific research across the Arctic. FARO is closely associated with the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and holds its annual meeting during Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW). FARO is operated by an Executive Committee (ExCom) drawn from its membership with an overall Chair of the organization. There is a secretariat to support communications throughout the year and the organization is supported by annual membership fees. The FARO annual meeting 2021 is open to anyone – except for a short closed session at the end of the meeting.

19 March 2021 | 12:00 - 15:00 (GMT)

15th Polar Low Working Group Meeting 

Closed Session (By Invitation Only)

Contact: Polina Verezemskaya This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The workshop focuses on polar lows and mesocyclones as well as mesoscale weather extremes in both hemispheres. This includes e.g. mesoscale weather phenomena such as katabatic winds, tip jets, boundary layer fronts, and cold air outbreaks in polar regions. Contributions of experimental, climatological, theoretical, modeling, and remote sensing studies are welcome. The workshop is organized by the Polar Lows Working Group (PLWG) and is also part of the activities of the IASC (International Arctic Science Committee) Atmosphere Working Group.

19 March 2021 | 12:00 - 13:30 (GMT)

ISIRA Advisory Group of IASC  

Open Session

Contact: Yulia Zaika (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

The International Science Initiative in the Russian Arctic (ISIRA) is a Russian and international cooperative initiative to assist Arctic science and sustainable development in the Russian Arctic.

ISIRA ́s objectives include:

• Initiating planning of multinational research programs that address specific key scientific problems in the Russian Arctic;
• Providing a forum for linking on-going or planned bilateral projects;
• Facilitating improved scientific access to the Russian Arctic;
• Advising on funding and implementation of projects.

The Activities include:

• Reporting on international science activities and initiatives in the Russian Arctic;
• Providing up-to-date information on policies, regulations and logistics within the Russian Arctic;
• Supporting Russian and international early-career scientists.

Please find out more at https://iasc.info/isira

The meeting will be held online and we invite everyone interested to take a part in our discussion.

ISIRA will have its meetings at ASSW2021 on: 

• 19 March 2021 | 12:00 - 13:30 (GMT) (Open Session)
• 19 March 2021 | 13:30 - 15:00 (GMT) (Closed Session / By Invitation Only)

19 March 2021 | 19:00 - 19:30 (GMT)

#InclusiveNorth – the Inclusion in Northern Research Project  

Open Session
Contact: Marie-José Naud (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) 

The Northern research community is broad: it includes people from the North and the South, members of Indigenous communities and settlers, and involves workers and scientists from communities, government, and academia as well as stakeholders and knowledge-holders from across the Arctic Circle. Many different journeys led our members to where they are today, contributing to the richness of our community. 

However, our members have had to overcome many barriers along the roads they took to become involved in Northern research, and though our community is starting to address long-standing discrimination based on race, sex, gender identity, sexuality, and disability, a widespread lack of inclusion and representation remains.

Inherent in our community exist many systemic hurdles that we cannot ignore, including (but not limited to) the historical use of science as a tool for colonialism and the lack of diversity within academia. We must address these barriers and find ways to collectively lift them, to make our community inclusive to all who are involved in Northern research. 

The Inclusion in Northern Research Project, which was developed through the course of the last year and premiered at the Arctic Change 2020 virtual meeting, began with the creation of videos highlighting the varied journeys of our colleagues, and grew into an online discussion that included over 1000 people in 35 countries, starting important conversations about inclusion in our research community in a safe and open space.  This initiative will continue through the year ahead with a series of video dialogues on important topics in Inclusion within the northern research community, the first of which will be screened for the 2021 Arctic Science Summit Week.