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PhD course in Abisko on snow
The Abisko Scientific Research Station introduces a PhD training course on multidisciplinary issues related snow and climate change effects on it. “Snowtalks” will be held on the 19^th of March til the 23^rd of 2012.

It is held in a co-operation with University of Arctic Thematic Networks on Global Change and Arctic Medicine.

There are four topics for this course:
1. Long-term environmental changes (climate, permafrost, feed-back mechanisms, ecology).
2. Changes in snow, what snow and ice means to Sámi and impacts of changes in snow.
3. People’s health and wellbeing, infections, injuries and security, genetics, adaptation to climate change.
4. Adaptation to climate change, sustainable land and resource use.
The course includes student presentations and assignments which will be informed in second circular. The course also includes outdoor activities. Students will be awarded 5-6 ECTS of completion of the whole course with the presentation (short presentation = 5 ECTS, long presentation with written abstract 6 ECTS).

The course is funded by Nordforsk Top-level Research Initiative “Effect studies and adaptation to climate change” as the fourth course organized by the Nordic Network “People and Ecosystems in a changing world”. The participation for the whole week will give PhD students certificates for gaining credits in their home organizations. Nordic PhD students are asked to apply for free participation including the travel grant, free admission and free accommodation when submitting the registration form.

Registration opens at course website in January 2nd, 2012, deadline February 17th 2012. Number of PhD students for the course is limited to 20.

The course is tought in English.

University of the Arctic
November 23, 2011
Gold and Thorium found in Tromsö

High gold prices have led to extensive search for the material. In northern Norway a new gold discovery could become very valuable, but the expedition not only found gold.

In Vanna in Tromso, Norway, industrial chemicals were newly found; one of them is Thorium, a rare earth element.

Thorium is a natural radioactive chemical element which countries plan to use for their nuclear power for various reasons, including its safety benefits, its high absolute abundance and relative abundance compared to uranium.

It was discovered in 1828 and named after Thor, the god of thunder.

Other material includes copper, platinum, nickel, zinc, lead and especially gold.

Airplanes and helicopters were used for the studies the found was confirmed with further studies.

Although the discovery has been made, there is no confirmation as of yet if production in the area will begin. Despite a lot of interest in the area, the amount still has to be calculated more accurately, the availability, distance to markets, capital, environmental, local interests, and many more will have to be taken into consideration first.

Source: Aftenposten

November 21, 2011
Arctic shipping season over

The Northern Sea Route shipping season is now over. To much ice in the Arctic ocean hinders any more shipping.

This is the longest season ever in the route, one month longer then last year.

The Perseverance was both the first and last vessel this year to go the route, the first one was the 29th of June and the last one today.

The ship transported stable gas condensate from Murmansk in Russia to China, with the help of a Russian icebreaker.

Russia’s Ministry of Transport believes cargo transport through the NSR will increase from 1,8 million tons in 2010 to 64 million tons by 2020.

Source: Barentsobserver

Click here to read more about the Northern Sea Route.

November 18, 2011
Arctic Portal and Bioviversity in Arctic waters site opens

Arctic Portal is proud to introduce its latest project, about biodiversity in Arctic waters. In cooperation with the Fisheries Science Center of the University of Akureyri, Vistey has opened.

Click here to take a look at the site, which is available in Icelandic and a large part in English. The translation is a work in progress to be completed soon.

The purpose of the project is to educate and introduce the unique ecosystem of the Arctic waters.

The possibilities of the project are huge but the first step is Vistey, about the biodiversity in Eyjafjörður fjord, in the Northern part of Iceland. Akureyri is located in Eyjafjörður, where the Arctic Portal headquarters are.

The website is designed, programmed and hosted by Arctic Portal. The Fisheries Science Center provided the material and diver Erlendur Bogason from Strytan.is provided the photographs and the videos.

The site is a work in progress and it will be constantly updated with new material.

The future holds more locations in the Arctic for similar projects, finding these locations is a work in progress.

Click here to take a look at Vistey.

November 17, 2011
New source for science news

Science Nordic is a newly opened independent website for science news in english from the Nordic countries. The web site is a welcomed forum for Arctic research available in English.

ScienceNordic is the result of a joint effort from two well-established science news services in the region, Forskning.no in Norway and Videnskab.dk in Denmark, who work in close collaboration with partners in Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland.

The site covers everything from human sciences to natural science, health and technology.

On the site now are articles on things like the connection between glaciers and the brain and another and many others.

The site wants to rech out to the research community across the globe: researchers, students, the business sector, innovation clusters, international institutions and media – along with anybody else whose heart and mind is moved by science.

Click here to visit Science Nordic.

November 16, 2011
Polar bears a special concern

Canada will take special measures to protects its polar bears. Federal Environment Minister Peter Kent has declared the polar bear a “species of special concern”.

Officials will now create a management plan in hopes of easing human threats to the species.

“Canada is home to two-thirds of the world’s polar bear population and we have a unique conservation responsibility to effectively care for them”, Kent said.

Currently, about 534 polar bears are hunted each year in Canada but the population is around 15.500.

Source: NTN24

November 11, 2011
USA supports Nepal climate recovery

The Hariyo Ban project was introduced this week. The 5 year long program aims to reduce the adverse effects of climate change in Nepal.

The program will seek to reduce threats to biodiversity in the country, where the Himalayas are a great source of life. The program also seeks to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Around 180.000 people will be affected and 50.000 hectares of forest areas will go under improved management.

The program is supported by USAID and WWF Nepal.

Hariyo Ban is a cornerstone of President Obama’s Global Climate Change Initiative in Nepal. The program’s focus on sustainable landscapes and adaptation is expected build upon USAID’s long history of environmental programs in Nepal that have improved the livelihoods and immediate environment of many Nepalese, enabling them to be more resilient and better prepared to adapt to climate change stresses, according to the programs website.

Source: USAID – Nepal

November 11, 2011
Enourmous iceberg breaking off

A huge rift has been discovered in the West Antarctica icesheet, forming a new gigantic iceberg.

The crack is around 30km (20 miles) wide and 60m (200ft) deep. The crack keeps growing every day.

NASA expect the iceberg to break off early next year and that it will be around 880 sq km. Its about the size of German city Berlin.

The area, called Pine Island Glacier, has been thinning for the last few years so the breakup is not a huge surprise.

The enormous iceberg could be dangerous to shipping but it will be monitored closely, when it finally breaks off.

Source: BBC

November 11, 2011
New EU funded project launch: PAGE21 closes gap in our understanding of the climate system

What happens when the vast amounts of carbon in Arctic soils are released to the atmosphere? This is the central question fieldresearchers, operators of long term observatories and modellers from 18 partner institutions in the EU intend to answer with the PAGE21 project.

By pooling expertise from various subjects, the scientists aim to deliver a valuable foundation for the United Nations 5^th World Climate Report.

“I’m looking forward to close co-operation between the leading scientists in European permafrost research,” said Prof. Dr. Hans-Wolfgang Hubberten of the Research Unit Potsdam of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association. “We need to improve our basic understanding of the physical and biogeochemical processes in permafrost so as to be able to provide more reliable predictions of future global climate change,” elaborated Hubberten.

Standardized measurements of the permafrost are a prerequisite basis for the improvement of global climate models. “Today’s global models are frequently inaccurate because the permafrost regions, with all their feedback mechanisms, are under-represented.” says Hubberten. An urgent goal of PAGE21 is to undertake steps to improve the models, which provide the basis for future mitigation and adaptation strategies confronting society in the 21^st century.

For more information please read the PAGE21 press release or follow the opening of the project webpage at www.page21.eu next week.

November 8, 2011
Gold and copper found in Finnmark

Scandinavian Resources have announced a major find of gold and copper in Finnmark, Norway.

The highlights of the findings revealed 32,1 % copper and 3,75 g/t of gold, according to BarentsObserver.

“The most important task now is to determine if an economic source to this surface mineralisation exists within our project area; that is what we will focus on next summer. This is a great start and whilst it’s early days it’s very exciting to be chasing such high grade precious and base metals occurrences, Exploration manager Amanda Arrowsmith told BarentsObserver.

Exploration in the surrounding areas will continue, as well as search for iron in Northern Sweden.

Source: Barentsobserver & Scandinavian Resources statement.

November 3, 2011